[Avodah] Mood of Tehillim

[Michael Kopinsky]

On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 8:47 AM, Saul Guberman <saulguberman at gmail.com>
wrote:

> On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 10:23 AM, Micha Berger <micha at aishdas.org> wrote:
>
>> When r"l we need to say tehillim, the tune is usually a sad one. Things
>> aren't going well for some choleh or in the matzav, and we are pleeing
>> with HQBH.
>>
>> Is this really correct? (And among Chassidim, is this historically
>> accurate?)
>>
>
> To me, this is all situational dependent.  The tehillim of Hallel, Kabbalat
> Shabbat & before bentching are all upbeat tunes. The Mizmor L'David sung at
> Sueda Shilshit is not sung upbeat.
>

Even the same kappitel is recited in different modes/moods.  For example,
Shir Hamaalos Mimaamakim has a different niggun for Aseres Yemei Teshuva and
for when it's being recited for a choleh.  (And this kappitel R' Micha seems
to agree should be sad/pleading, rather than reassuring. Or at least the
first half of it is.)

I think much of the difficulty is the wide variety of emotions present in
Tehillim.  Even within the same kappitel, the first half has a very
different content, and thus a very different mood, than the 2nd half.  (cf.
the email I just sent about kabbalas shabbos and L'chu n'ranenah.)  It is
difficult to assign a particular mood to one kappitel, let alone a set of
kapitlach or an entire sefer, but for simplicity sake we use one niggun for
everything.  The consequence is that when we try to add emotion to our
recitation, we can only add generic emotion, rather than emotion that fits
the particular words of the kappitel and the pasuk.

Slichos also has this difficulty.  For years (and still now, but less so) I
never got to the end of any slicha, since when I was half way through, the
tzibbur was already up to Keil Melech.  Only saying the first half of every
slicha is quite depressing - "Look at the horrible state of Your nation,
charufa busha v'cherpa, oy lanu ki chatanu, etc."  Recently I have tried to
go through the slichos the night before and learn the hard words, so in the
morning I would be able to make it through the whole thing.  I have been
shocked to discover that the slichos always have an upbeat ending, with an
affirmation of the hope that we will one day return to the Beis Hamikdash
"und alle gutte zachen."

I think the only answer to all of this is to sit down and learn what you're
saying, and to daven at a pace that works for you.

KT,
Michael
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