Book 6 in a Nutshell

B"H

	Tehilim and Perek Shirah	Tikkun Klali	Psalm 89
Rosh Hashanah	Psalms 1-3	Psalm 16 1. A michtam of David; O G-d, guard me for I have taken refuge in You. 2. You should say to the Lord, "You are my Master; my good is not incumbent upon You. 3. For the holy ones who are in the earth, and the mighty ones in whom is all my delight. 4. May the sorrows of those who hasten after another [deity] increase; I will not pour their libations of blood, nor will I take their names upon my lips.	1. A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.     2. The kindnesses of the Lord I shall sing forever; to generation after generation I shall make known Your faithfulness, with my mouth.
Yom Kippur	Psalms 4-6	5. The Lord is my allotted portion and my cup; You guide my destiny. 6. Portions have fallen to me in pleasant places; even the inheritance pleases me." 7. I will bless the Lord, Who counseled me; even at night my conscience instructs me.	3. For I said, "Forever will it be built with kindness; as the heavens, with which You will establish Your faithfulness."
Sukkot	Psalms 7-9	8. I have placed the Lord before me constantly; because [He is] at my right hand, I will not falter. 9. Therefore, my heart rejoiced, and my soul was glad; even my flesh shall dwell in safety. 10. For You shall not forsake my soul to the grave; You shall not allow Your pious one to see the pit.	4. I formed a covenant with My chosen one; I swore to David My servant.
Shemini Atzeret	Psalms 10-12	11. You shall let me know the way of life, the fullness of joys in Your presence. There is pleasantness in Your right hand forever. Psalm 32 1. Of David, a maskil Praiseworthy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is concealed. 2. Praiseworthy is the man to whom the Lord ascribes no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no guile. 3. When I was silent, my bones decayed with my moaning all day long.	5. Until eternity, I shall establish your seed, and I shall build your throne for all generations forever.
Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan	Psalms 13-15	4. For [both] day and night Your hand is heavy upon me; my freshness was transformed as in the droughts of summer, forever. 5. I would inform You of my sin, and I did not conceal my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and You forgave the iniquity of my sin forever. 6. For this let every pious man pray to You at the time that You are found, only about a flood of vast waters [that] should not reach him.	6. And the heavens acknowledge Your wonder, O Lord, also Your faithfulness in the congregation of holy ones.
First Week of Cheshvan (Potential 3rd Temple Holiday)	Psalms 16-18	7. You are a shelter for me, from an adversary You guard me; with songs of deliverance You encompass me forever, 8. "I will enlighten you and instruct you which way [to go]; I will wink My eye to you." 9. Be not like a horse, like a mule that does not discern; whose mouth must be held with bit and bridle, so that when he is being groomed, he does not come near you.	7. For who in the heavens is equal to the Lord? [Who] resembles the Lord among the sons of the mighty?
Second Week of Cheshvan (3rd Temple)	Psalms 19-21	10. Many are the pains of the wicked, but as for him who trusts in the Lord- kindness will encompass him. 11. Rejoice with the Lord and exult, You righteous, and cause all those of upright hearts to sing praises. Psalm 41 1. For the conductor, a song of David. 2. Praiseworthy is he who looks after the poor; on a day of calamity the Lord will rescue him.	8. G-d is revered in the great council of the holy ones and feared by all around Him.
Third Week of Cheshvan (3rd Temple)	Psalms 22-24	3. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be praised in the land, and You will not deliver him into the desire of his enemies. 4. The Lord will support him on his sickbed; when You have transformed his entire restfulness in his illness. 5. I said, "O Lord, be gracious to me; heal my soul because I have sinned against You."	9. O Lord, G-d of Hosts, who is like You, O Yah, Who are mighty? And Your faithfulness surrounds You.
Fourth Week of Chesvan or Rosh Chodesh Kislev	Psalms 25-27	6. My enemies speak evil of me; "When will he die and his name be lost?" 7. And if he comes to see [me], he speaks falsely; his heart gathers iniquity for him; when he goes outside, he talks. 8. All my enemies whisper together about me; concerning me, they think evil.	10. You rule over the pride of the sea; when it raises its waves, You humble them.
Rosh Chodesh Kislev or 1st week	Psalms 28-30	9. "An evil thing shall be poured into him, and once he lies down, he will no longer rise." 10. Even my ally, in whom I trusted, who eats my bread, developed an ambush for me. 11. But You, O Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up, so that I may repay them.	11. You crushed Rahab like one slain; with the arm of Your might You scattered Your enemies.
Yud Kislev	Psalms 31 - 33	12. With this I shall know that You desired me, when my enemy does not shout joyfully over me. 13. As for me, because of my innocence You shall support me, and stand me up before You forever. 14. Blessed is the Lord, the G-d of Israel from all times past and to all times to come. Amen and amen.	12. The heaven is Yours, even the earth is Yours; the inhabited earth and the fullness thereof-You founded them.
Yud Tet Kislev	Psalms 34-36	Psalm 42 1. For the conductor, a maskil of the sons of Korah. 2. As a hart cries longingly for rivulets of water, so does my soul cry longingly to You, O G-d. 3. My soul thirsts for G-d, for the living G-d; when will I come and appear before G-d? 4. My tears were my bread day and night when they say to me all day long, "Where is your G-d?"	13. North and south-You created them; Tabor and Hermon sing praises in Your name.
Chanukah	Psalms 37-39	5. These things I will remember, and I will pour out my soul [because of the pain which is] upon me, how I passed on with the throng; I walked slowly with them until the house of G-d with a joyful shouting and thanksgiving, a celebrating multitude. 6. Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you stir within me? Hope to G-d, for I will yet thank Him for the salvations of His presence. 7. My G-d, my soul is downcast upon me; therefore, I will remember You from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from the young mountain.	14. You have an arm with might; Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is high.
Chanukah/Rosh Chodesh Tevet	Psalms 40-42	8. Deep calls to deep to the sound of Your water channels; all your breakers and waves passed over me. 9. By day, may the Lord command His kindness, and at night, may His resting place be with me, a prayer to the G-d of my life. 10. I will say to G-d, my Rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why should I walk in gloom under the oppression of the enemy?"	15. Righteousness and judgment are the basis of Your throne; kindness and truth come before Your countenance.
10th of Tevet	Psalms 43-45	11. With murder in my bones, my oppressors have reproached me by saying to me all day long, "Where is your G-d?" 12. Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you stir within me? Hope to G-d, for I will yet thank Him for the salvations of my countenance and my G-d. Psalm 59 1. For the conductor, al tashcheth; of David a michtam, when Saul sent and they guarded the house to slay him. 2. Save me from my enemies, my G-d; strengthen me against those who rise up against me.	16. Fortunate is the people that know the blasting of the shofar; O Lord, may they walk in the light of Your countenance.
Third Week of Tevet	Psalms 46-48	3. Save me from workers of iniquity, and rescue me from bloodthirsty men. 4. For behold, they lurked for my soul; strong men lodge against me, neither [for] my transgression nor [for] my sin, O Lord. 5. Without iniquity, they run and prepare themselves; awaken towards me and see.	17. With Your name they rejoice every day, and with Your righteousness they are exalted.
Fourth Week of Tevet	Psalms 49-51	6. And You, O Lord, G-d of Hosts, G-d of Israel, arise to visit upon all the nations; be not gracious to any treacherous workers of iniquity forever. 7. They return in the evening, they howl like a dog and encircle the city. 8. Behold, they spew forth with their mouth; [they have] swords in their lips, for who hears?	18. For You are the glory of their might, and with Your favor our horns will be raised.
Rosh Chodesh Shvat	Psalms 52-54	9. But You, O Lord, will scoff at them; You will mock all the nations. 10. [Because of] his strength, I hope for You, for G-d is my fortress. 11. The G-d of my kindness will precede me; G-d will allow me to see in those who watch me.	19. For our shield is [devoted] to the Lord, and our king to the Holy One of Israel.
Yud Shvat	Psalms 55-57	12. Do not kill them, lest my people forget; remove them from their possessions with Your power and bring them down, O Lord our Shield. 13. The sin of their mouth is the word of their lips, and they will be seized because of their haughtiness, because of the curse and the lies that they tell. 14. Destroy [them] with wrath so that they will be no longer, and they will know that G-d rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth forever.	20. Then You spoke in a vision to Your pious ones, and You said, "I placed help on a mighty man; I lifted up a chosen one from the people.
Tu B'Shvat	Psalms 58-60	15. And they will return in the evening, they will howl like dogs, and they will encircle the city. 16. They will roam about to eat if they are not sated, so that they will lodge. 17. And I will sing of Your power, and I will sing praises of Your kindness in the morning, for You were my stronghold and a refuge on a day that I was in straits.	21. I found David My servant, I anointed him with My holy oil.
Fourth Week of Shvat	Psalms 61-63	18. My strength! To You will I sing for G-d is my stronghold, O G-d of my kindness. Psalm 77 1. For the conductor on jeduthun, a song of Asaph. 2. My voice is to G-d, and I shall cry out; my voice is to G-d, and hearken to me. 3. On the day of my distress, I sought the Lord; my wound oozes at night and does not abate; my soul refuses to be comforted.	22. With whom My hand will be established, even My arm will strengthen him.
Rosh Chodesh Adar	Psalms 64-66	4. I remember G-d and I stir; I speak and my spirit becomes faint, forever. 5. You held fast the awakenings of my eyes; I throb and I do not speak. 6. I think of days of yore, ancient years.	23. No enemy will exact from him, neither will an unjust person afflict him.
First Week of Adar	Psalms 67-69	7. I recall my music at night; I speak with my heart and my spirit searches. 8. "Will the Lord forsake [me] forever and nevermore be appeased? 9. Has His kindness ended forever? Has He issued a decree for all generations?	24. And I shall crush his adversaries from before him, and I shall strike his enemies.
Purim	Psalms 70-72	10. Has G-d forgotten to be gracious? Has He, in anger, shut off His mercy forever?" 11. And I said, "This is to terrify me, the change of the right hand of the Most High." 12. I recall the deeds of Yah when I remember Your wonder from time immemorial.	25. My faithfulness and My kindness will be with him, and with My name his horn will be raised.
Third Week of Adar	Psalms 73-75	13. And I meditate over all Your works, and I speak of Your deeds. 14. O G-d, Your way is in sanctity. Who is a power as great as G-d? 15. You are the G-d Who works wonders; You made known Your might among the peoples.	26. I shall place his hand over the sea, and his right hand over the rivers.
Rosh Chodesh Nissan	Psalms 76-78	16. You redeemed Your people with Your arm, the sons of Jacob and Joseph forever. 17. The waters perceived You, O G-d, the waters perceived You, they trembled, even the deeps quaked. 18. They poured forth thick waters; the skies let out a voice, even your arrows went abroad.	27. He will call to Me, 'You are my Father, my G-d, and the Rock of my salvation.'
First Week of Nissan	Psalms 79-81	19. The sound of Your thunder is like a wheel; the lightning illuminated the world; the earth shook and quaked. 20. In the sea was Your way, and Your path in the mighty waters, and Your steps were not known. 21. You led Your people like sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron.	28. I, too, shall make him a firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
First Day of Pessach	Psalms 82-84	Psalm 90 1. A prayer of Moses, the man of G-d. O Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. 2. Before the mountains were born, and You brought forth the earth and the inhabited world, and from everlasting to everlasting, You are G-d. 3. You bring man to the crushing point, and You say, "Return, O sons of men." 4. For a thousand years are in Your eyes like yesterday, which passed, and a watch in the night.	29. I will forever keep My kindness for him, and My covenant will remain true to him.
Pessach	Psalms 85-87	5. You carry them away as a flood; they are like a sleep; in the morning, like grass it passes away. 6. In the morning, it blossoms and passes away; in the evening, it is cut off and withers. 7. For we perish from Your wrath, and from Your anger we are dismayed.	30. And I shall make his seed endure forever, and his throne as the days of the heavens.
Fourth Week of Nissan	Psalms 88-90	8. You have placed our iniquities before You, [the sins of] our youth before the light of Your countenance. 9. For all our days have passed away in Your anger; we have consumed our years as a murmur. 10. The days of our years because of them are seventy years, and if with increase, eighty years; but their pride is toil and pain, for it passes quickly and we fly away.	31. If his sons forsake My Torah and do not walk in My judgments,
Rosh Chodesh Iyar/ 5 de Iyar	Psalms 91-93	11. Who knows the might of Your wrath, and according to Your fear is Your anger. 12. So teach the number of our days, so that we shall acquire a heart of wisdom. 13. Return, O Lord, how long? And repent about Your servants.	32. If they profane My statutes and do not keep My commandments,
Second Week of Iyar	Psalms 94-96	14. Satiate us in the morning with Your loving-kindness, and let us sing praises and rejoice with all our days. 15. Cause us to rejoice according to the days that You afflicted us, the years that we saw evil. 16. May Your works appear to Your servants, and Your beauty to their sons.	33. I shall punish their transgression with a rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
Pessach Sheini/ Lag Ba’Omer	Psalms 97-99	17. And may the pleasantness of the Lord our G-d be upon us, and the work of our hands establish for us, and the work of our hands establish it. Psalm 105 1. Give thanks to the Lord, call out in His name; make His deeds known among the peoples. 2. Sing to Him, play music to Him, speak of all His wonders.	34. But I shall not cancel My kindness from him, and I shall not betray My faith.
Fourth Week of Iyar	Psalms 100-102	3. Boast of His holy name; may the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 4. Search for the Lord and His might; seek His presence constantly. 5. Remember His wonders, which He performed, His miracles and the judgments of His mouth.	35. I shall not profane My covenant, neither shall I alter the utterance of My lips.
Rosh Chodesh Sivan/ Yom Yerushalayim	Psalms 103-105	6. The seed of Abraham His servant, the children of Jacob, His chosen ones. 7. He is the Lord our G-d; throughout all the earth are His judgments. 8. He remembered His covenant forever, the word He had commanded to the thousandth generation,	36. One thing have I sworn by My holiness, that I will not fail David.
Shavuot	Psalms 106-108	9. Which He had made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, 10. And He set it up to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11. Saying, "To you I shall give the land of Canaan, the portion of your heritage."	37. His seed will be forever and his throne is like the sun before Me.
Third Week of Sivan	Psalms 109-111	12. When they were few in number, hardly dwelling in it. 13. And they walked from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people. 14. He let no man oppress them, and He reproved kings on their account.	38. Like the moon, which is established forever, and it is a witness in the sky, eternally true."
Fourth Week of Sivan	Psalms 112-114	15. "Do not touch My anointed ones, and do not harm My prophets." 16. He called a famine upon the land; He broke every staff of bread. 17. He sent a man before them; Joseph was sold as a slave.	39. But You abandoned and You rejected; You became wroth with Your anointed.
Rosh Chodesh Tammuz	Psalms 115-117	18. They afflicted his foot with fetters; his soul was placed in irons. 19. Until His word came, the saying of the Lord purified him. 20. A king sent and released him, a ruler of peoples [sent] and loosed his bonds.	40. You abrogated the covenant of Your servant; You profaned his crown to the ground.
Second Week of Tammuz	Psalms 118-120	21. He made him the master of his household and the ruler over all his possessions. 22. To bind up his princes with his soul, and he made his elders wise. 23. Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.	41. You breached all his fences; You made his fortifications a ruin.
12,13 of Tammuz/ 17 of Tammuz	Psalms 121-123	24. And He made His people very fruitful, and He made it stronger than its adversaries. 25. He turned their heart to hate His people, to plot against His servants. 26. He sent Moses His servant, [and] Aaron whom He chose.	42. All wayfarers have plundered him; he was a disgrace to his neighbors.
Fourth Week of Tammuz	Psalms 124-126	27. They placed upon them the words of His signs and His miracles in the land of Ham. 28. He sent darkness and it darkened, and they did not disobey His word. 29. He turned their water into blood, and it killed their fish.	43. You raised the right hand of his adversaries; You caused all his enemies to rejoice.
Rosh Chodesh Av	Psalms 127-129	30. Their land swarmed with frogs in the rooms of their monarchs. 31. He commanded and a mixture of noxious beasts came, lice throughout all their boundary. 32. He made their rains into hail, flaming fire in their land.	44. You even turned back the sharp edge of his sword, and You did not raise him up in battle.
Tisha B'Av	Psalms 130-132	33. And it struck their vines and their fig trees, and it broke the trees of their boundary. 34. He spoke and locusts came, and nibbling locusts without number. 35. And they consumed all grass in their land, and they consumed the produce of their soil.	45. You have brought an end to his shining, and his throne You have cast down to earth.
Tu B'Av	Psalms 133-135	36. And He smote every firstborn in their land, the first of all their strength. 37. And He took them out with silver and gold, and there was no pauper among their tribes. 38. Egypt rejoiced with their departure for their fear had fallen upon them.	46. You have shortened the days of his youth; You have enwrapped him with shame forever.
Third Week of Av	Psalms 136-138	39. He spread out a cloud for shelter, and fire to illuminate the night. 40. They asked, and He brought quails, and the bread of heaven sated them. 41. He opened a rock and water flowed; in the deserts ran rivers.	47. How long, O Lord? Will You hide forever? Will Your anger burn like fire?
Rosh Chodesh Elul	Psalms 139-141	42. For He remembered His holy word with Abraham His servant. 43. And He took out His people with joy, His chosen ones with joyful singing. 44. And He gave them lands of nations, and they inherited the toil of kingdoms.	48. I am mindful what my old age is; for what futility have You created all the sons of man?
First Week of Elul	Psalms 142-144	45. In order that they keep His statutes and observe His laws. Hallelujah. Psalm 137 1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, we also wept when we remembered Zion. 2. On willows in its midst we hung our harps. 3. For there our captors asked us for words of song and our tormentors [asked of us] mirth, "Sing for us of the song of Zion."	49. Who is a man who will live and not see death, who will rescue his soul from the grasp of the grave forever?
Second Week of Elul	Psalms 145-147	4. "How shall we sing the song of the Lord on foreign soil?" 5. If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget [its skill]. 6. May my tongue cling to my palate, if I do not remember you, if I do not bring up Jerusalem at the beginning of my joy.	50. Where are Your former acts of kindness, O Lord, which You swore to David in your trust?
Chai Elul	Psalms 148-150	7. Remember, O Lord, for the sons of Edom, the day of Jerusalem, those who say, "Raze it, raze it, down to its foundation!" 8. O Daughter of Babylon, who is destined to be plundered, praiseworthy is he who repays you your recompense that you have done to us. 9. Praiseworthy is he who will take and dash your infants against the rock.	51. Remember, O Lord, the disgrace of Your servants, which I bear in my bosom, [the disgrace] of all great nations.
Fourth Week of Elul	Perek Shirah, Chapters 1 - 3	Psalm 150 1. Hallelujah! Praise G-d in His holy place, praise Him in the firmament of His might. 2. Praise Him with His mighty deeds, praise Him as befits His superb greatness. 3. Praise Him with a shofar blast, praise Him with psaltery and lyre.	52. Which Your enemies disgraced, O Lord, which they disgraced the ends of Your anointed.
Slichot/Rosh Hashanah	Perek Shirah, Chapters 4 - 6	4. Praise Him with timbres and dance, praise Him with stringed instruments and flute. 5. Praise Him with resounding cymbals, praise Him with resonant cymbals. 6. Let every soul praise G-d. Hallelujah!	53. Blessed is the Lord forever. Amen and Amen.

יבא ירחמיאל חיל

Book 5

Ultimately, it is important to have standards that apply to all. King Solomon was incredibly wise righteous, yet he mistakenly thought that the message in Devarim regarding kings having too many wives did not apply to him. This was a grave mistake, which ultimately led to his downfall. We have to internalize that everything in the Torah is eternal, and that no one is above its laws. These general standards also help us not deviate from the True Path: neither in the way of “elevating the world” (like King Solomon), nor in the way of separating oneself from it (like the nazirite, the Nazir).

Even if some general decrees seem inconvenient, we have to make them fit in our lives, and observe them in a manner that beautifies the mitzvoth and beautifies our lives.

This is the essence of the Book of Deuteronomy (Devarim): setting up general guidelines applicable to all. Devarim is also called Mishneh Torah (a repetition of the Torah), a review and summary of the rest of the Torah. Book 5 is an attempt to reflect these themes. The sets of 52 included in this book are as follows:

The Book of Psalms is King David’s “general” prayer book, as it contains the emotions of every person. King David is the ultimate general soul (Neshamah Klali), his life being given to him by Adam himself, whose name stands for Adam-David­-Mashiach. Perek Shirah incorporates not only man, but all of Creation.

The Book of Psalms is a read as a general Tikkun (spiritual correction), especially during the month of Elul for sins committed throughout the entire year. In fact, the Ba’al Shem Tov instituted that three psalms should read each day of this month, and that the entire book should be read by Yom Kippur. The Mishnah Berurah also sets forth the custom of reading the entire book of Psalms (twice) during this time period. The Book of Psalms along with Perek Shirah contain 156 chapters, fifty-two divided by three.  

Rebbe Nachman’s Tikkun HaKlali works as kind of “summary” of the book of Psalms. It contains the ten kinds of song contained in the Book of Psalms. Without counting the introductory verses of its Psalms, it contains 156 verses. Psalm 88 and 89 appear to be a summary of Tikkun Klali itself. (One of the hints to this idea, is the fact that according to the Baal Shem Tov's instructions, these Psalms are read on Rosh Hashanah) Without counting its introductory verse, Psalm 89 contains 52 verses. Its 33^rd verse appears to be a summary of the entire Book, similar to the way in which Tzadik B’Emunatoh Yichieh (the righteous lives by his/her faith) is the summary of the entire Torah. The 33^rd verse is, “But I shall not cancel My kindness from him, and I shall not betray My faith,” “VeChasdi Lo Afir M’Imoh, VeLo Ashaker B’Emunati.”