Say Tehillim! The Power of Psalms

There’s a lot of Tehillim being recited these days on behalf of Israel, IDF soldiers, those being held captive in Gaza, and Jewish people everywhere.

There are “Tehillim Groups” in which the entire Book of Psalms is recited (sometimes numerous times). There are chapters being recited at each prayer service. There are numerous initiatives utilizing Tehillim in praying for individuals.

We are attracted, attached, and maybe almost addicted to Tehillim.

The image above is of a Tehillim owned by Natan Sharansky. It is not an ordinary volume. In Fear No Evil, Sharansky writes:

On January 20th, 1980, my birthday, I was impatiently waiting for a congratulatory telegram from home…The next day I received an unexpected surprise – a real birthday gift! – when the official in charge of storing the prisoners’ belongings brought me a tiny book with a black binding, my Book of Psalms!”

The book provided Sharansky hope throughout his years of imprisonment, and he has never been separated from his Book Psalms ever again. In fact, it almost derailed his release. The New York Times reported:

Anatoly B. Shcharansky, describing his release from a Soviet labor camp, said today that he had flung himself into the snow and refused to continue on his way because his escorts tried to confiscate a book of Psalms that his wife had sent him from Israel.
 

''They took all my possessions from me,'' he said on Israeli television, speaking in Hebrew. ''I said I would not leave the country without the Psalms, which helped me so much. I lay down in the snow and said, 'Not another step.' ''

Natan only continued to freedom once the book was returned to him.

In Tehillim, we find comfort, solace, and strength. Tehillim is the go-to text when we feel a greater urgency to reach out and pray.

There is a long tradition for Tehillim being an important prayer tool. The Sages relate that King David, the author/compiler of Psalms, viewed his book as on par with the Torah. He felt Tehillim would be as necessary and important for the Jews as the Five Books of Moses. Jewish tradition seems to agree. Tehillim is the source for many of our prayers, and relevant Psalms are paired with every significant Jewish moment – from tragedies to celebrations to times of need.

I remember that shortly after 9/11, many synagogues would recite Tehillim after davening. Some shuls added a chapter of Tehillim in 2001 and have kept it up ever since. In September 2003, when I arrived at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, we recited Psalm 121 “in prayer for Israel and America during this period of continuing crisis.” That period continued through 2015, when the recitation ceased as it seemed to be an interminably long crisis. But it seems like there’s always a crisis.

What creates this strong connection with Tehillim? Why is it our go-to text during times of need?

Thomas Cahill, a prominent American scholar and writer noted:

“David’s Psalms reassure us that three thousand years ago people laughed and cried just as we do, bled and cursed, danced and lept—that our whole repertoire of emotions was theirs.”

In Tehillim, we realize we are not alone. King David and Jews throughout history cried out in times of difficulty and exulted joyously in times of celebration just like we do.

These days, we are reciting Psalms 121, 130, and 142 each morning and evening. These three chapters beseech God in different ways and with different emotions. (I encourage you to review them yourselves to see.)

Psalm 121 famously declares, “I lift up my eyes to the mountains…my help comes for God.” It is a confident and hopeful sentiment in which we know there will be salvation.

Psalm 130 is a cry “from the depths,” and we pray for God to redeem us while overlooking our flaws. We accept some degree of responsibility for our situation, yet ask God to save us anyway.

Psalm 142 is a cry from an almost hopeless place, which forces upon us awareness that we only have God upon whom to rely.

I read a fascinating article about Tehillim this week. The author wrote about a rabbi who said Tehillim in what seemed to be a “hopeless” situation and explored the power of Tehillim and the hold it has on us. It made me think how Tehillim allows us to channel our feelings and emotions and our faith and hopes and aspirations through a prayer mechanism that has been practiced for millennia.

Israeli journalist Sivan Rahav Meir interviewed Natan Sharansky. When she asked what gave him the strength to endure in prison, he replied: "A small book of Psalms that was always with me. I read it day and night." When she asked if he carried his book of Psalms everywhere, he answered: "No, I don't carry it; it carries me."

These days, we have a lot to carry – fear, anxiety, hatred directed our way. Reciting Tehillim won’t solve everything, but it can help carry us forward.