תהלים כ״ז | Psalms 27 (interpretive translation by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l)

Contributor(s):

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, David ben Yishai (traditional attribution) and the Masoretic Text

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26 August 2017 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

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Tehilim Book 1 (Psalms 1–41)

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English Translation, אלול elul, זמן תשובה Zman teshuvah, Psalms 27, Liturgical customs of Kabbalists, devotional interpretation, interpretive translation, תהלים Psalms

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
	From the beginning of Elul we include Psalms 27
^א לְדָוִ֨ד ׀ יְהוָ֤ה ׀ אוֹרִ֣י וְ֭יִשְׁעִי מִמִּ֣י אִירָ֑א יְהוָ֥ה מָֽעוֹז־חַ֝יַּ֗י מִמִּ֥י אֶפְחָֽד׃	¹ Yah, you are my Light, my Savior, Whom need I dread? Yah, With You as my strong Protector Who can make me panic?
^ב בִּקְרֹ֤ב עָלַ֨י ׀ מְרֵעִים֮ לֶאֱכֹ֪ל אֶת־בְּשָׂ֫רִ֥י צָרַ֣י וְאֹיְבַ֣י לִ֑י הֵ֖מָּה כָשְׁל֣וּ וְנָפָֽלוּ׃	² When hateful bullies gang up on me, Wanting to harass me, To oppress and terrorize me, They are the ones who stumble and fall.
^ג אִם־תַּחֲנֶ֬ה עָלַ֨י ׀ מַחֲנֶה֮ לֹֽא־יִירָ֪א לִ֫בִּ֥י אִם־תָּק֣וּם עָ֭לַי מִלְחָמָ֑ה בְּ֝זֹ֗את אֲנִ֣י בוֹטֵֽחַ׃	³ Even if a gang surrounds me My heart is not weakened. If a battle is joined around me My trust in You is firm.
^ד אַחַ֤ת ׀ שָׁאַ֣לְתִּי מֵֽאֵת־יְהוָה֮ אוֹתָ֪הּ אֲבַ֫קֵּ֥שׁ שִׁבְתִּ֣י בְּבֵית־יְ֭הוָה כָּל־יְמֵ֣י חַיַּ֑י לַחֲז֥וֹת בְּנֹֽעַם־יְ֝הוָ֗ה וּלְבַקֵּ֥ר בְּהֵיכָלֽוֹ׃	⁴ Only one thing do I ask of You, Yah, Just this alone do I seek: I want to be at home with You, Yah, All the days of my life. I want to delight in seeing You, When I come to visit You in Your Temple.
^ה כִּ֤י יִצְפְּנֵ֨נִי ׀ בְּסֻכֹּה֮ בְּי֪וֹם רָ֫עָ֥ה יַ֭סְתִּרֵנִי בְּסֵ֣תֶר אָהֳל֑וֹ בְּ֝צ֗וּר יְרוֹמְמֵֽנִי׃	⁵ You hide me in Your Sukkah on a foul day. You conceal me unseen in Your tent And also raise me beyond anyone’s reach.
^ו וְעַתָּ֨ה יָר֪וּם רֹאשִׁ֡י עַ֤ל אֹֽיְבַ֬י סְֽבִיבוֹתַ֗י וְאֶזְבְּחָ֣ה בְ֭אָהֳלוֹ זִבְחֵ֣י תְרוּעָ֑ה אָשִׁ֥ירָה וַ֝אֲזַמְּרָ֗ה לַיהוָֽה׃	⁶ And now, as You have held my head high, Despite the presence of my powerful foes, I prepare to celebrate and thrill, Singing and making music to You, Yah!
^ז שְׁמַע־יְהוָ֖ה קוֹלִ֥י אֶקְרָ֗א וְחָנֵּ֥נִי וַעֲנֵֽנִי׃	⁷ Listen, Yah, to the sound of my cry And, being kind, answer me.
^ח לְךָ֤ ׀ אָמַ֣ר לִ֭בִּי בַּקְּשׁ֣וּ פָנָ֑י אֶת־פָּנֶ֖יךָ יְהוָ֣ה אֲבַקֵּֽשׁ׃	⁸ My heart has said: I turn to seek You, Your Presence is what I beg for.
^ט אַל־תַּסְתֵּ֬ר פָּנֶ֨יךָ ׀ מִמֶּנִּי֮ אַֽל־תַּט־בְּאַ֗ף עַ֫בְדֶּ֥ךָ עֶזְרָתִ֥י הָיִ֑יתָ אַֽל־תִּטְּשֵׁ֥נִי וְאַל־תַּֽ֝עַזְבֵ֗נִי אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׁעִֽי׃	⁹ Don’t hide Your Face from me. Don’t just put me down, You, who have been my helper Don’t abandon me, don’t forsake me, God, my support.
^י כִּי־אָבִ֣י וְאִמִּ֣י עֲזָב֑וּנִי וַֽיהוָ֣ה יַֽאַסְפֵֽנִי׃	¹⁰ Though father and mother have left me You, Yah, will hold me securely.
^יא ה֤וֹרֵ֥נִי יְהוָ֗ה דַּ֫רְכֶּ֥ךָ וּ֭נְחֵנִי בְּאֹ֣רַח מִישׁ֑וֹר לְ֝מַ֗עַן שׁוֹרְרָֽי׃	¹¹ Please teach me Your way And guide me on the straight path.
^יב אַֽל־תִּ֭תְּנֵנִי בְּנֶ֣פֶשׁ צָרָ֑י כִּ֥י קָֽמוּ־בִ֥י עֵֽדֵי־שֶׁ֝֗קֶר וִיפֵ֥חַ חָמָֽס׃	¹² Discourage those who defame me. False witnesses stood up against me, Belching out violence. Don’t let me become the victim of my foes.
^יג לׅׄוּלֵׅׄ֗אׅׄ הֶ֭אֱמַנְתִּי לִרְא֥וֹת בְּֽטוּב־יְהוָ֗ה בְּאֶ֣רֶץ חַיִּֽים׃	[I would not have survived] ¹³ If I had not hoped that I would yet see Yah’s goodness fully alive on Earth.
^יד קַוֵּ֗ה אֶל־יְה֫וָ֥ה חֲ֭זַק וְיַאֲמֵ֣ץ לִבֶּ֑ךָ וְ֝קַוֵּ֗ה אֶל־יְהוָֽה׃	¹⁴ So friend, you too, hope to Yah. Be sturdy! And make strong your heart! And most of all —keep hoping to Yah.

This English translation of Psalms 27 by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l, was first published in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). Versification by Aharon Varady.

Concerning Psalms 27:13, RaShI writes, “The word “Lulei” has dots on it to expound that which our Rabbis expounded: I know that You give reward to righteous in the world to come, but I don’t know if I have a portion with them or not.” (Cf. Berakhot 4a)

While the virtues of Psalms 27 are extolled in a general way by others, Moshe Ḥalamish writes that the earliest plausible source for saying Psalms 27 during Elul Zman is the Sefer Shem Tov Katan of R. Binyamin Beineish ha-Cohen (“the Ba’al Shem of Kratshin”) at the end of the 17th century, after which it appears in Ḥemdat ha-Yamim, Yamim Noraim 4, 14d. (Consult Ḥalamish, Hikrei Kabbalah u_Tefilah pp. 175-185. Many thanks to Pinchas Giller for this reference.)

Psalms 27 is recited twice daily from Rosh Ḥodesh Elul till Shemini Atzeret. Psalms 27:7 is found in the repetition of the Shaḥarit Amidah during Rosh Hashanah. Psalms 27:13 is found in the Musaf Amidah on Rosh Hashanah. Psalms 27:14 is one of the verses recited before the piyyut, “Ein Keloheinu.”

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“תהלים כ״ז | Psalms 27 (interpretive translation by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Rabbi Dr. Zalman Meshullam Schachter-Shalomi, affectionately known as "Reb Zalman" (28 August 1924 – 3 July 2014) was one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement. Born in Żółkiew, Poland (now Ukraine) and raised in Vienna, he was interned in detention camps under the Vichy Regime but managed to flee the Nazi advance, emigrating to the United States in 1941. He was ordained as an Orthodox rabbi in 1947 within the ḤaBaD Hasidic movement while under the leadership of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, and served ḤaBaD communities in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He subsequently earned an M.A. in psychology of religion at Boston University, and a doctorate from the Hebrew Union College. He was initially sent out to speak on college campuses by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, but in the early 1960s, after experimenting with "the sacramental value of lysergic acid", the main ingredient in LSD, leadership within ḤaBaD circles cut ties with him. He continued teaching the Torah of Ḥassidut until the end of his life to creative, free and open-minded Jewish thinkers with humility and kindness and established warm ecumenical ties as well. In September 2009, he became the first contributor of a siddur to the Open Siddur Project database of Jewish liturgy and related work. Reb Zalman supported the Open Siddur Project telling its founder, "this is what I've been looking forward to!" and sharing among many additional works of liturgy, an interview he had with Havurah magazine in the early to mid-1980s detailing his vision of "Database Davenen." The Open Siddur Project is proud to be realizing one of Reb Zalman's long held dreams.

David ben Yishai (traditional attribution)

David ben Yishai was the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah, reigning ca. 1010–970 BCE. While almost half of the Psalms are headed "l'David" and tradition identifies several with specific events in David’s life (e.g., Psalms № 3, 7, 18, 34, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63 and 142), most scholars consider these headings to be late additions and that no psalm can be attributed to David with certainty. 1 Samuel 16:15-18 describes David as a skillful harp (lyre) player and "the sweet psalmist of Israel."

the Masoretic Text

The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Tanakh for Karaite and Rabbinic Judaism. It was primarily copied, edited and distributed by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries CE. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocalization and accentuation known as the Masorah.

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4 comments to תהלים כ״ז | Psalms 27 (interpretive translation by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l)

Shavua tov! Looking forward to Shabbat Shoftim – CBI: From the Rabbi
2019-09-03 at 3:53 am · Reply.
[…] that it’s Elul (the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah), we’ll begin adding Psalm 27 to our Shabbat davenen. Our congregational melodies for Psalm 27 include Israel Katz’s “Achat […]
Shavua tov! Looking forward to Shabbat Ki Tetzei – CBI: From the Rabbi
2019-09-09 at 4:18 am · Reply.
[…] that it’s Elul (the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah), we’ll begin adding Psalm 27 to our Shabbat davenen. Our congregational melodies for Psalm 27 include Israel Katz’s […]
This year’s High Holiday theme: Come, Whoever You Are – CBI: From the Rabbi
2019-09-10 at 3:02 am · Reply.
[…] introduced the melody during services this past Shabbat, along with excerpts from Psalm 27, the daily psalm for Elul and the high holiday season. We’ll sing it again when I lead […]
Shavua tov! Join us for Kabbalat Shabbat, Selichot, and more! – CBI: From the Rabbi
2019-09-16 at 10:18 am · Reply.
[…] that it’s Elul (the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah), we’ll begin adding Psalm 27 to our Shabbat davenen. Our congregational melodies for Psalm 27 include Israel Katz’s […]

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Lulei (“if only”) – Aharon Varady, Shofar CLM font

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17