I lift my eyes up to the hills,
from where does my help come?
My help comes from The Unseen One,
Maker of the heavens and earth.

–Psalms 121:1-2, trans. Kol Haneshamah Shabbat Veḥagim p. 214-15

At B’nai Ḥavurah, the Denver Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, located in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, we consider this psalm a local favorite. Psalms 121, described as a Song for the Ascents, traditionally looks to the heights, where godly powers were believed to reside, such as Mt. Sinai, or the Acropolis, to find divine help, in the person of God or The Unseen One. My proposal is a variation of Psalms 121 that adjusts our focus to this world, away from the supernatural, to acknowledge our responsibility for the well-being of ourselves and the environment. Whatever deeds and actions that may need to be taken for repair and preservation of our world, we are responsible for. To look for others to do the work for us, or to postpone acting until divine help comes, may turn out to be the height of recklessness for our own, as well as our children’s future. First we acknowledge what is here and real, then we commit to do what we can to solve problems and make things better.

This variation is designed to allow the words to be sung, with some adjustments, in community with others who are singing the traditional version in Hebrew and English. It is one of a number of personal adaptations from Kol Haneshamah Shabbat Veḥagim, bringing environmental awareness and commitment to Jewish prayer practice by varying traditional liturgy. These adaptations are not to be taken as an expression of the Reconstructionist Movement or B’nai Ḥavurah. Rather, they grow out of my desire to participate in community services with enthusiasm, singing words that resonate with what I want to be saying, expressing the meaning I want to affirm, rather than quoting traditional phrases that usually do not resonate with me, without being too disruptive to my neighbors, especially my wife.

“אֶשָׂא עֵנַי | An adaptation of Esa Eynai (Psalms 121:1-2), by Ed Towbin-Issur haLevi” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Ed Towbin-Issur haLevi

Ed Towbin grew up in Denver, CO in a conservative congregation. As an adult he learned of Reconstructionist Judaism, which was a comfortable place for his developing theological awakening. Ed has been writing "variants" to Reconstructionist liturgy for the past 40 years, emphasizing his understanding of principles of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan. His work stresses values such as considering the divine as a process not a human-type entity; the importance of Jewish peoplehood; recognizing the human authorship of Scripture, with consequent questioning of miracles, revelations, and commandments; and rejecting ideas such as Divine Kingship and the Chosenness of the Jewish people.

Works of related interest:

 

תהלים קכ״א בלשון לאדינו | Salmo 121 | סאלמו קכא | Psalms 121 in Ladino (Estampado por Ǧ. Griffit, ca. 1852/3)

תהלים קכ״א | Psalms 121, an “up song” (shir la-ma’alot) translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi

I Lift Mine Eyes Unto the Hills (Psalms 121), a hymn to Hope in God by Cordelia Moïse Cohen (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1842)

Deliver me, a contemporary adaptation of Psalms 140 by Rabbi Brant Rosen (2019)

Song After the Revolution, an adaptation of Psalms 92 for Friday Evening by Rabbi Brant Rosen (Tzedek Chicago)

מִי שֶׁעָנָה…הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ | Mi She’anah… Hu Ya’anenu — A Seliḥah for Yom Kippur (egal adaptation by Lisa Exler and Rabbi Julia Andelman, 2004)

תפילת גשם כולל אמהות | Tefillat Geshem including the matriarchs with stanzas in a backwards acrostic, an adaptation by Eliran Sobel

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