תהלים פ״א | Psalms 81, the psalm for Thursday (translation by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l)

Contributor(s):

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Asaph ben Berechiah and the Masoretic Text

Shared on:

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

Categories:

Tehilim Book 3 (Psalms 73–89), Thursday, Psalm of the Day

Tags:

First Temple Period, devotional interpretation, interpretive translation, תהלים Psalms, English Translation, Thursday, Psalms 81, שיר של יום Shir Shel Yom, Psalm of the Day, על הגתית Al HaGitit, למנציח Lamnatse'aḥ

This psalm was the Thursday song of the Levites in the Holy Temple.

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
^א לַמְנַצֵּ֬חַ ׀ עַֽל־הַגִּתִּ֬ית לְאָסָֽף׃	¹ Accompany this Assaph song with the guitar
^ב הַ֭רְנִינוּ לֵאלֹהִ֣ים עוּזֵּ֑נוּ הָ֝רִ֗יעוּ לֵאלֹהֵ֥י יַעֲקֹֽב׃ ^ג שְֽׂאוּ־זִ֭מְרָה וּתְנוּ־תֹ֑ף כִּנּ֖וֹר נָעִ֣ים עִם־נָֽבֶל׃ ^ד תִּקְע֣וּ בַחֹ֣דֶשׁ שׁוֹפָ֑ר בַּ֝כֵּ֗סֶה לְי֣וֹם חַגֵּֽנוּ׃	² Make music to God, The Source of our strength. Trumpet a fanfare to Jacob’s God: ³ Louder, Drum rolls, Sweet sounding violins And pipes. ⁴ Greet the New Moon With the Shofar, The time When the moon is hidden, And still we celebrate.
^ה כִּ֤י חֹ֣ק לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל ה֑וּא מִ֝שְׁפָּ֗ט לֵאלֹהֵ֥י יַעֲקֹֽב׃ ^ו עֵ֤דוּת ׀ בִּֽיה֘וֹסֵ֤ף שָׂמ֗וֹ בְּ֭צֵאתוֹ עַל־אֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם שְׂפַ֖ת לֹא־יָדַ֣עְתִּי אֶשְׁמָֽע׃ ^ז הֲסִיר֣וֹתִי מִסֵּ֣בֶל שִׁכְמ֑וֹ כַּ֝פָּ֗יו מִדּ֥וּד תַּעֲבֹֽרְנָה׃ ^ח בַּצָּרָ֥ה קָרָ֗אתָ וָאֲחַ֫לְּצֶ֥ךָּ	⁵ This is the imperative for Israel. To become prepared, For being judged by Jacob’s God. (Like that day when…) ⁶ Joseph was empowered To go out and rule Egypt, Able to understand a language He never learned. (This caused that, in the end.) ⁷ The heavy load was taken from his back No longer having to knead the clay. ⁸ You called when oppressed, And I (said God) freed you.
אֶ֭עֶנְךָ בְּסֵ֣תֶר רַ֑עַם אֶבְחָֽנְךָ֨ עַל־מֵ֖י מְרִיבָ֣ה סֶֽלָה׃	In the thunder You heard my secret message. Later, I tested you at Meribah’s springs. Selah!
^ט שְׁמַ֣ע עַ֭מִּי וְאָעִ֣ידָה בָּ֑ךְ יִ֝שְׂרָאֵ֗ל אִם־תִּֽשְׁמַֽע־לִֽי׃ ^י לֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֣ה בְ֭ךָ אֵ֣ל זָ֑ר וְלֹ֥א תִ֝שְׁתַּחֲוֶ֗ה לְאֵ֣ל נֵכָֽר׃	⁹ Listen my people! I witness this to you! Israel, if only you would listen to Me. ¹⁰ Don’t cling to a strange god. Don’t worship an alien deity.
^יא אָנֹכִ֨י ׀ יְה֘וָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ הַֽ֭מַּעַלְךָ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם הַרְחֶב־פִּ֝֗יךָ וַאֲמַלְאֵֽהוּ׃ ^יב וְלֹא־שָׁמַ֣ע עַמִּ֣י לְקוֹלִ֑י וְ֝יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל לֹא־אָ֥בָה לִֽי׃ ^יג וָֽ֭אֲשַׁלְּחֵהוּ בִּשְׁרִיר֣וּת לִבָּ֑ם יֵ֝לְכ֗וּ בְּֽמוֹעֲצוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃	¹¹ It is I, Yah, Who took you up from Egypt. I fed you and you were sated to fullness. ¹² But My people did not obey me. Israel did not desire Me close. ¹³ I let them have their hearts’ way, To pursue their own devices.
^יד ל֗וּ עַ֭מִּי שֹׁמֵ֣עַֽ לִ֑י יִ֝שְׂרָאֵ֗ל בִּדְרָכַ֥י יְהַלֵּֽכוּ׃ ^טו כִּ֭מְעַט אוֹיְבֵיהֶ֣ם אַכְנִ֑יעַ וְעַ֥ל צָ֝רֵיהֶ֗ם אָשִׁ֥יב יָדִֽי׃ ^טז מְשַׂנְאֵ֣י יְ֭הוָה יְכַֽחֲשׁוּ־ל֑וֹ וִיהִ֖י עִתָּ֣ם לְעוֹלָֽם׃ ^יז וַֽ֭יַּאֲכִילֵהוּ מֵחֵ֣לֶב חִטָּ֑ה וּ֝מִצּ֗וּר דְּבַ֣שׁ אַשְׂבִּיעֶֽךָ׃	Oy! ¹⁴ If only my people would obey Me, Israel would walk in My ways. ¹⁵ In a moment, I would subdue their foes. I would, with My own hands, repay them. ¹⁶ Those who loathe Yah, but deny it, Will have their rebuke forever. (But you who obey…) ¹⁷ I will feed with the fat of grain. And satisfy With honey from the rock.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the Psalm of the Day for Thursday (Psalms 81) in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). To the best of my ability, I have set his translation side-by-side with a transcription of the vocalized text of the Psalm. –Aharon N. Varady

The association of particular psalms sung by Levites in the Temple for each day of the week is first attested in Mishnah Tamid 4.7.

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“תהלים פ״א | Psalms 81, the psalm for Thursday (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.

Asaph ben Berechiah

Asaph is identified with twelve psalms (no. 50 and 73-82). He is said to be the son of Berechiah, and an ancestor of the Asaphim. The Asaphim were one of the guilds of musicians in the Jerusalem temple. This information is clarified in the books 1 and 2 of Chronicles. In Chronicles, it is said that Asaph was a descendant of Gershom the son of Levi and he is identified as a member of the Levi'im. He is also known as one of the three Levi'im commissioned by King David to be in charge of singing in the Temple. In 1 Chronicles 6:39 David appoints a man named Heman as the main musician or singer and Asaph as Heman’s right hand assistant and the Merari at his left hand. Asaph is also credited with performing at the dedication of Solomon’s temple in 2 Chronicles 5:12.

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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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

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Works of related interest:

תהלים פ״ב | Psalms 82, the Psalm for Tuesday (translation by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l)

תהלים צ״ד | Psalms 94, the psalm for Wednesday (translation by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l)

תהלים צ״ג | Psalms 93, the psalm for Friday (translation by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l)

תהלים כ״ד | Psalms 24, the Psalm for Sunday (translation by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l)

תהלים מ״ח | Psalms 48, the psalm for Monday (translation by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi)

Still from an animation, "Lunar Eclipse: Light Scattering Seen From The Moon" The way that light is scattered by the Earth's atmosphere to turn the moon red during an eclipse is similar to how the sky turns red at sunset. (credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio, license PD)

תהלים ס״ז | Psalms 67 (interpretive translation by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l)

Lulei ("if only") - Aharon Varady, Shofar CLM font

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

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2 comments to תהלים פ״א | Psalms 81, the psalm for Thursday (translation by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l)

Jacob Ponte Mother's Name Esther
2022-09-08 at 3:57 am · Reply.
I am going to have a Colon Cancer operation what Psalm will be appropriate to read? Thank You
- Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
  2022-09-08 at 7:39 am · Reply.
  Hello Jacob, any sincere, heartfelt prayers are always suggested. Specifically for Psalms, the following were recommended when I posed your question to friends: Psalms №20, №30, №121, №130, and №142. If I hear of any further recommendations, I will let you know. Also make sure to visit prayers so-far contributed and catalogued in our project for “Well-being, health, and caregiving.” And here’s wishing you a successful medical intervention and a speedy recovery!