AND IT CAME BETWEEN THE ARMY OF THE EGYPIANS AND THE ARMY OF ISRAEL. THUS THERE WAS THE CLOUD WITH THE DARKNESS, AND IT LIT UP THE NIGHT, SO THAT ONE COULD NOT COME NEAR THE OTHER ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT.

(Shemot 14: 20)

 

 

Rejoicing Upon One's Rescue Does Not Require Rejoicing Over the Enemy's Downfall

Does God rejoice over the fall of the wicked? It is written: as they went forth ahead of the vanguard, saying, "Praise the Lord, for His steadfast love is eternal" (II Chronicles 20: 21), why does this announcement not include the expression for He is good [as the verse repeatedly appears in Tehillim]? Because God does not rejoice at the casting-down of the wicked. And Rabbi Yochanan said: regarding that which is written: One could not come near the other all through the night - The ministering angels wanted to sing, but God said to them: "My handiwork drowns in the sea and you want to sing!"

(Megillah 10b)

 

 

Thoughts On Pesukei De-Zimra

Jonathan Chipman

The Song of the Sea, generally considered the high point of Parshat Beshalah, serves as a kind of archetype for all songs of praises in the Jewish liturgy - whether that of Hallel ha-Mitzri recited on festivals, or for hymns, psalms, and piyyut in general. Hence, the "Shabbat of Song" is an appropriate occasion for discussing the "Hallel" recited every day - Pesukei de-Zimra.

Pesukei de-Zimra - the collection of psalms of praise recited at the beginning of Shaharit, the weekday and Sabbath Morning Service, and framed by the blessings of Barukh Sheamar and Yishtabah - is among the most neglected components of the Jewish liturgy. In many if not most synagogues it is treated in off-hand fashion, literally raced through; many people arrive too late to recite it properly, and chat with their neighbors during its recitation - even on Shabbat, to say nothing of weekdays. In the following essay, I wish to briefly discuss the halakhic sources of Pesukei de-Zimra and to elucidate several of its underlying ideas. (This essay is an abbreviated version of an essay (in English) circulated on my email parsha sheet, Hitzei Yehonatan, in Summer 2001, in honor of my father's yahrzeit. The full text is available at request to my email address, <yonarand @ zahav. net. il>)

The only explicit mention of Pesukei de-Zimra in Talmudic literature appears in b. Shabbat 118b:

R. Yossi said: "Would that my portion were among those who complete the Hallel every day!" Really? And has it not been said: "One who recites the Hallel every day commits blasphemy!" Here, they are referring to Pesukei de-Zimra.

Rashi, explaining this rather harsh comment, notes that the "early prophets" instituted the recitation of Hallel at certain fixed times, to commemorate acts of Divine deliverance or other Divine manifestations in history (Pesahim 117a). If it were to be recited constantly, these hymns of praise would be reduced to triviality, like an ordinary song sung for pleasure, making a mockery of it. Rashi continues that Pesukei de-Zimra, a term left undefined by the talmudic text, refers to two hymns in which the words "praise" are repeated as a leit-motif: Psalms 148 and 150.

What is the point being made here? Why is the recitation of Hallel proscribed except at certain times, and even considered blasphemous, and what in the hymns of praise known as Pesukei de-Zimra males it permitted? The late Rabbi J. B. Soloveitchik ztz'l, in an important study of this subject, states that Hazal felt that God's ineffability, His transcendence, place Him beyond all praise - and hence we are only allowed to praise Him within those frameworks of time and text specifically mandated by halakhah. This approach is epitomized by the verses, "Who can tell the mighty acts of the Lord, and make heard all His praise?" (Ps 106:2) and "To You silence is praise" (Ps 65:2). In this view, Pesukei de-Zimra is more an act of Torah study than of praise; and as praise, it is of a limited, essentially personal, private nature, not a formal part of public prayer - and only thus permitted. (Rav J. B. Soloveitchik "On Matters of Pesukei de-Zimra," [Hebrew], Shiurim le-Zekher Aba Mari z"l (Jerusalem, 1985), vol. I, pp. 17-34, esp. 17-24. Cf. in this light the story about R. Hanina in b. Berakhot 34b, and its parallel in j. Berakahot 9.1 [12d]).)

Indeed, this same idea of the innate contradiction involved in the act of praising God is eloquently expressed in the concluding section of Pesukei de-Zimra itself on Sabbaths and festivals, in the piyyut Nishmat kol Hay. "Even if our mouths were filled with song like the sea, and our tongues jubilation like the multitude of its waves, and our lips were filled with praise like the span of heaven... and our hands spread forth like eagles' [wings], and our legs swift as deer, we could not thank You... for even one part of the thousands upon thousands of thousands, myriads of myriads of goodness, You have done for us..."

But Pesukei de-Zimra may be understood in another way as well. This institution as we know it is essentially a translation into practical terms of the idea that prayer requires preparation, a certain divesting of one's thoughts of the everyday world, and a turning of ones mind and soul to totally different spheres. This is expressed in a brief mishnah dealing with the mental attitude required for prayer, in Berakhot 5.1:

One does not stand up to pray save with a serious demeanor. The pious men of old would wait one hour and then pray, so as to direct their hearts toward their Heavenly Father.

We are not told precisely what these pious men did during this hour of preparation, of "sitting" or "staying." Presumably they engaged in some form of contemplation or directed thought - what in today's idiom would be called "meditation" - clearing their minds of the concerns and worries of everyday life and directing their minds to awareness of the Divine presence, as a prelude to the worship of God. The gemara on this passage (32b), as well as Rambam and other poskim, add that this is a normative halakhic requirement: every worshipper must sit and prepare himself before prayer, be it for a full clock hour or a few moments. In any event, it seems to me that the recitation of Pesukei de-Zimra may be seen as a suitable fulfillment of this requirement - provided that it is recited calmly and slowly, and not rushed through. (Inter alia, I heard this in the name of the late Rav Joseph Kapah ztz"l, by one of his disciples, Rav Hananel Seri.)

But the Tur Shulhan Arukh, at Orah Hayyim §51, derives the reading of Pesukei de-Zimra from yet a third text: a saying in Avodah Zarah 7b (=Berakhot 32a):

Rabbi Simlai expounded: A person should always arrange (or: order) the praise of the Holy One blessed be He, and then pray.

This idea, as explained by the Bah and Beit Yosef there, expresses an ethical principle: there is something self-centered, almost sacrilegious, contemptuous towards God, in asking for one's own needs, and only thereafter reciting His praise. It is more polite and respectful to begin with His praises. But the formulation of things in the Tur also suggests that Pesukei de-Zimra is an entity unto itself, a significant religious obligation in its own right, albeit one placed in a particular location in the liturgy for a reason. (Incidentally, it should be noted that this saying of Rav Simlai is explained elsewhere as referring to the internal structure of the Amidah itself, and not to our subject.)

What is meant by "ordering the praises of God"? The phrase seems to imply more than just a chance stringing together of inspiring psalms, as if to suggest that there is a natural "order" or "sequence" to the proper praise of God. Let us briefly survey the two main opinions as to the components of Pesukei de-Zimra. Rashi, Ran and Maharsha limit it to two psalms of praise: "Praise the Lord from the heavens" (Psalm 148) and "Praise God in his holy place" (Psalm 150). A second view, that of Rambam and Rif, identifies it with the six psalms that conclude the Book of Psalms: Pss 146-150, each of which begins and end with the word "Hallelujah," plus Psalm 145, known to us (with the addition of Ps 84:5, 144:15 and 115:18) as "Ashrei," to which Hazal attach special importance (see b. Berakhot 4b). The second opinion shaped the core of Pesukei de-Zimra as we know it today, with the addition of various other verses and passages over the course of time.

The rather narrow identification by Rashi and others of Pesukei de-Zimra with Psalms 148 and 150 is puzzling. Why these two in particular? I would offer two possible explanations. The first is based on a simple linguistic pattern: the invocation of praise by means of the repeated use of the infinitive of the verb hl"l is seen as the quintessence of praise. A second explanation is that these two psalms, precisely because of their simple, repetitive structure, invoke a sense of God's comprehensive, all-embracing nature - and hence of the concomitant praise that is His due. Psalm 148 calls upon all parts of the cosmos to praise God: beginning with the celestial bodies and luminaries, and moving to the earth, from the titanic, inanimate forces of nature, through the vegetable and animal kingdoms, to mankind - from the high and mighty down to the ordinary folk: old and young, maiden and youth. Psalm 150 takes us, so to speak, on a round of the instruments of the Levitic orchestra of First Temple days, which together made a joyful sound of song to the Lord, concluding with the most sublime instrument of all, the human voice: "All that has breath praise the Lord, Hallelujah." One can easily understand why these two psalms, taken together, were described as the "Hallel of every day."

We may now return to our original question: in what sense is Pesukei de-Zimra a special category, that constitutes "Hallel" but at the same time is not an act of mockery or blasphemy? The miracles and wonders for which the classical Hallel was introduced were exceptional events, irruptions into history of the Infinite, of the God who ordinarily allows the world to run its course according to the laws which He established at the Creation. Pesukei de-Zimra, by contrast, celebrates, not the God of history, but God the Creator, God of Nature, God of the "day of small things" (yom ketanot), whose presence is felt in everyday life, in the small, hidden miracles of the ordinary.

To return to R. Yossi's saying in Shabbat: "Would that I were among those that complete the Hallel every day" means: Would that I had the religious fervor and sensitivity to praise God every day, to see Him in the here and now, and not only in the great dramatic events of history. It is through such awareness that we are asked to prepare all the powers of our soul for the encounter with the Holy One that constitutes prayer.

Rabbi Jonathan Chipman is a translator by profession, and a scholar in Jewish studies. He writes a weekly sheet (in English) on the portion of the week and the Haftara, titled "Hitsei Yehonatan". (Anyone interested in ordering a sample of subscription can write via email to: yonarand@internet-zahav.net.)

 

 

Song Joins Together Different Worlds and Times

Then Moses sang- He sang in the past, but others said he will sing in the future [the grammatical tense of the Hebrew is ambiguous].

(Mechiltah Beshalach Masechet Deshirah 1)

 

He Planted In Us Eternal Life: A Proper Ordering of Preferences

Rabban Zakai ben Gamliel would say: If you have a sapling in your hand, and they tell you: "Behold, the Messiah [has arrived]!" - first plant the sapling, and then go out to receive him.

(Avot DeRabbi Natan, b version, 31)

 

Rabbi Shmuel taught in the name of Rabbi Yehudah: If someone tells you when the redemption will come, do not believe him, as it is written, for it is a day of vengeance in My heart (Isaiah 63:4). My heart did not reveal it to My mouth, to whom shall My mouth reveal it?

Rabbi Brechiah and Rabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: I have given you three indications of [the location of] Moses' grave, for it says, he buried him [1] in the valley[2] in the land of Moab, [3] near Beit-peor (Devarim 34: 6), but even so, no one knows his burial place to this day (loc. cit.). If no mortal can come to know that for which I have given several indications, how much more so is the End [hidden from you], for it is said: for these words are secret and sealed to the time of the end (Daniel 11: 9).

(Midrash Tehillim 9)

 

But those who fool themselves and say that they will stand in their place until the Messiah arrives in the West country (Morocco), and then they will go forth to Jerusalem - I do not know how they will avoid this sh'mad [religious persecution and campaign of forced conversion]. They transgress [against the Torah] and cause others to sin. The prophet, may peace be upon him, said of their ilk: They offer healing offhand for the wounds of My poor people, saying, "All is well, all is well," when nothing is well (Jeremiah 8: 11). For there is no set hour for the Messiah's arrival on which we can depend, and say that it is near or far. And the obligation to fulfill the mitzvot does not depend on the Messiah's arrival - rather, we are [simply] required to occupy ourselves with Torah and mitzvot, and to try to fulfill them perfectly. And after we do what we are required to do, if God grants us or our grandchildren to see the Messiah - that will be even better. And if not - we have lost nothing, but rather gained by performing our obligations.

(From RaMBaM's Iggeret Hashmad, pg. 66 in the RaMBaM La'Am edition of Iggrot HaRaMBaM.)

 

The Planting of Trees Connects Humans With Eternity

When you enter the Land and you shall plant [any tree for food] (Vayikra 19: 23). The Holy One Blessed be He said to Israel: "Even though you find it full of all good things, do not say, 'Let us sit [idly] and not plant.' Rather, take care to plant, for it says, and you shall plant any tree for food. Just as you entered and found trees which others had planted, you too shall plant for your children. A person should not say, "I am old! How many years I have lived! Why should I stand here tiring myself out for others? Tomorrow I will already be dead!" Solomon said: He brings everything to pass precisely at its time; He also puts eternity [ha-olam] in their mind (Kohellet 3: 11). It is written ha-elim, without the letter vav. If the Holy One Blessed be He did not hide (he'elim) thoughts of death from the mind of man, a person would neither build nor plant, for he would say, "Tomorrow I die. Why do I stand here and tire myself for others?" That is why God hides the day of death from the hearts of human beings, in order that people build. If he is worthy, it [the building] shall be for him [who builds it]. If he is not worthy, it shall be for others.

(Midrash Tanhumah, Kedoshim 8)

 

 

 

 

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