[Avodah] Mood of Tehillim

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 4:45:01pm EDT, Silverman, Philip B wrote:
: I've always noticed the very animated mood of the psalms of Kabbalat
: Shabbat. I always hope the one leading the singing will choose a melody
: that is similarly upbeat. But I have a question about the first psalm
: (Psalm 95).  It starts of with a resounding "Come! Let us rejoice!" but
: ends on "and I swore in My wrath that they shall not enter the land of
: contentment." Frankly, if I were the one putting Kabbalat Shabbat
: together, I'd be tempted to leave out the last few verses of that Psalm.
: Of course, I'm sure I could find some good reasons to include it. Do you
: know of any commentator who talks about this?

I pulled from RSRH for the flow of Tehillim in QS as described in
Ashirah Lashem <http://www.aishdas.org/siddur.shtml>. I use his ideas to
explain how the 6 peraqim map to the days of the week, leaving Lekha
Dodi to describe the moment you're in, followed by Mizmor Shir leYom
haShabbos to conclude the week.

Here are some footnotes:
> 3. In Kabbalas Shabbos, we say six paragraphs of Tehillim corresponding
> to the days of the week. We then sing "L'chah Dodi", which addresses
> the very moment in time at which we find ourselves, the first moment of
> Shabbos. Last, we say two more paragraphs about Shabbos, and specifically,
> the future era, "the day which is entirely Shabbos".

> "Lichu Niranena" has two parts. First, we are called to praise Hashem
> (in four different ways: Neranenah, Naria', Negadmah, Nari'ah....

Note the similirity between Naria', without a final hei, and Nari'ah,
with. The four leshonos seem to pattern sheim havayah.

> ... about very universal things: that He is supreme over all forces,
> that He created and holds the caves and mountains, sea and land in His
> 'Hand'. Then (v. 6) we are again called to praise Him, but this time the
> focus is more particular. We look at how we Jews are Hashem's flock, how
> He watches over us even when we stray from Him, as He did in the desert.
> These two themes, the creation of the physical world and G-d's love for
> us even when we're in exile, are said now as a recollection of Sunday. As
> Shabbos ends we return to the mountains and the seas to ply our trades. We
> return from the "image of the World to Come" and back to the reality of
> the here-and-now.

Shiru Lashem Shir Chadash:
> 1. "All songs about things that are in the past are written in the
> feminine [i.e. shirah]. Just as the female is the one that gives
> birth, so too the salvations of the past [bore the seeds of] subsequent
> servitude. However, the salvation which will come in the future is called
> in the masculine [i.e. shir]. Just as the male can not give birth, so too
> the redemption which will come in the future will not have after it any
> [more] servitude." (Mechilta, Bishalach) Rav Hirsch explains that the
> feminine word shirah speaks of redemption as part of the flow of history,
> as a cause of things to come. The non-procreative masculine is saved
> for songs about the culmination of history.

> The exile of the previous chapter leads to the "shir chadash"{new song}
> of redemption. This chapter speaks of the final revelation, when Hashem's
> "Hand" in nature is recognized by all men and even nature itself sings
> His praise.

> 1. "The heavens will be happy, and the earth will rejoice, the sea will
> roar, and all that is in it. The fields will exult, and all that is in it;
> then all the trees of the field will sing with joy." Rav Hirsch points
> out that just as the corruption of the generation of the flood lead to
> the corruption of nature (B'reishis 3:17-19), so too will man's final
> redemption lead to nature's perfection.

Hashem Malakh:
> 2. The song continues into this chapter as the clouds and smoke part
> (v. 2) to reveal that the G-d of creation is also the Weaver of
> history. Theodicy, the problem of why bad things happen to good people,
> or that evil people could prosper, is perhaps the greatest challenge
> to believing in Hashem. Nothing hides His Presence more than apparent
> injustice. At the culmination of history, we will see how the righteous
> have sown a light for themselves (v. 11), a good far greater than any
> costs they may have paid along the way.

Mizmor: Shiru Lashem Shir Chadash:
> 1. With Hashem's presence taking the foreground, the Jewish people will
> assume a new role, actively teaching the other peoples and leading them
> in the new song.

>2. Note again the expression "shir chadash" (see 96:1, above).

Hashem Malakh:
> 3. This chapter concludes the sequence. In response to the new revelation
> and the lessons learned as "the Torah will come out from Zion" (Yeshiah
> 2:3, c.f. v. 2), all of humanity will serve Hashem, with Israel at
> the lead, and at our head, a prophet like Mosheh, Aharon, and Sh'muel
> (v. 6). The clouds and smoke of 97:2 (see notes above) will clear into
> a guiding pillar of cloud (v. 7). A telling contrast to the exile
> generation who strayed from that guidance (c.f. 95:10)

Mizmor leDavid:
> 1. The tehillah chosen to correspond to Friday (ch. 29) is not
> from the same section of Tehillim as those for the previous days
> (chs. 95-99). The others all have the pattern of an invitation to praise
> followed by some element of our current or future relationship with
> Hashem to praise. Friday's tehillah is about praise alone, the "sound"
> of Hashem reverberating through creation. Hashem's "voice", which in the
> future will be heard in our obedience to His ethical and religious law,
> can already be heard in the laws of nature. And so, Friday leads into
> "an image of the World to Come".

Mizmor Shir leYom haShabbos
> 1. Again the masculine "shir"(see 96:1, above); this is not a song about
> the Shabbos we are observing alone, but also the "day which is entirely
> Shabbos" toward which history progresses. Rav Hirsch writes that this
> chapter "is dedicated to that institution which is to accompany Israel
> in all its wanderings like a spiritual Well of Miriam". A chance to
> contemplate those things (c.f. v. 7 "an ignoramus will not know, and
> a fool will not understand") which will be obvious in the future era,
> to consider Hashem's role in running the universe and the role He ought
> to play in our lives.



And at 5:31:53 RPS added:
> I made an observation about Kabbalat Shabbat, and I was wondering if
> anyone else had the same observation. In the six psalms we sing, the
> ending has a word (a shoresh at least) that is repeated:

That's a frequent feature in Tehillim in general. Look through Ashrei.
That's why even though there is no "nun", "Someikh Hashem lekhol
hanofelim" tells you it would have been about nefilah.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Today is the 46th day, which is
micha at aishdas.org        6 weeks and 4 days in/toward the omer.
http://www.aishdas.org   Netzach sheb'Malchus: How can some forms of
Fax: (270) 514-1507                         "unity" be over domineering?