Week 23 (Book 6): Reviewing the Second Week of Adar - Psalms 67-69; 77:7-9; 89:24

PSALMS (Introductions and Translations from Chabad.org):

Chapter 67

This psalm is known as an especially revered prayer. It, too, speaks of the era of the ingathering of the exiles, and the wars of Gog and Magog, a time when "the Lord will be One."

1. For the Conductor, a song with instrumental music, a psalm. 2. May G-d be gracious to us and bless us; may He make His countenance shine upon us forever, 3. that Your way be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. 4. The nations will extol You, O G-d; all the nations will extol You. 5. The nations will rejoice and sing for joy, for You will judge the peoples justly and guide the nations on earth forever. 6. The peoples will extol You, O G-d; all the peoples will extol You, 7. for the earth will have yielded its produce, and G-d, our G-d, will bless us. 8. G-d will bless us; and all, from the farthest corners of the earth, shall fear Him.

Chapter 68

An awe-inspiring and wondrous prayer, David composed this psalm referring to a future event, when Sennacherib would surround Jerusalem on Passover, during the reign of Hezekiah. He also prophesies about the good we will enjoy during the Messianic era.

1. For the Conductor; by David, a psalm, a song. 2. Let G-d rise, let His enemies be scattered, and let His enemies flee before Him. 3. As smoke is driven away, drive them away; as wax melts before fire, let the wicked perish before G-d. 4. And the righteous will rejoice, they will exult before G-d and delight with joy. 5. Sing to G-d, chant praises to His Name; extol Him Who rides upon the heavens with His Name, Yah, and exult before Him. 6. A father of orphans and judge of widows is G-d, in the abode of His holiness. 7. G-d settles the solitary into a home, and frees those bound in shackles; but the rebellious [are left to] dwell in an arid land. 8. O G-d, when You went out before Your nation, when You marched through the wilderness, Selah, 9. the earth trembled, even the heavens dripped before the presence of G-d; this mountain of Sinai [trembled] before the presence of G-d, the G-d of Israel. 10. You poured generous rain, O G-d; when Your heritage was weary, You secured it. 11. Your flock settled there; in Your goodness, O G-d, You prepare for the poor. 12. My Lord will fulfill the word of the heralds to a great legion: 13. Kings of armies will flee, they will flee; and she who inhabits the home will divide the loot. 14. Even if you lie upon the hearth,1 [you will be like] wings of a dove covered with silver, her pinions with brilliant gold. 15. When the Almighty scatters kings in her midst, those in the shadow of darkness will be made snow-white. 16. The mountain of G-d is a fertile mountain, the mountain of majestic peaks is a fertile mountain. 17. Why do you prance, O mountains of peaks? This is the mountain G-d has desired as His dwelling; the Lord will even dwell there forever. 18. The chariots of G-d are twice ten thousand, [with] thousands of angels; my Lord is in their midst, at Sinai, in holiness. 19. You ascended on high and took a captive,2 you seized gifts for man; and [now] even rebels dwell with Yah, G-d. 20. Blessed is my Lord, Who each day loads us [with beneficence], the G-d Who is our deliverance forever. 21. The Lord is a G-d of deliverances for us; and to G-d, my Lord, are the many avenues of death. 22. G-d alone crushes the heads of His enemies, the hairy skull of him who goes about in his guilt. 23. My Lord said, "I will bring back from Bashan,3 I will bring back from the depths of the sea, 24. that your foot may wade through [the enemy's] blood; that the tongue of your dogs may have its portion from your enemies.” 25. They saw Your ways, O G-d, the ways of my G-d, my King, in holiness. 26. The singers began, then the musicians, in the midst of the maidens playing timbrels. 27. In assemblies bless G-d; [bless] my Lord, O you who stem from Israel. 28. There Benjamin, the youngest, rules them; the princes of Judah stone them, [as do] the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali. 29. Your G-d has decreed your strength. Show Your strength, O G-d, Who has wrought this for our sake. 30. Because of [the glory of] Your Sanctuary upon Jerusalem, kings will bring You tribute. 31. Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, the assembly of mighty bulls among the calves of nations, [until] each submits himself with pieces of silver. Scatter the nations that desire wars. 32. Nobles will come from Egypt; Kush will hasten [to raise] its hands to G-d. 33. Kingdoms of the earth, sing to G-d; sing praise to my Lord forever! 34. To the One Who rides upon the loftiest of ancient heavens-behold He gives forth His voice, a voice of might. 35. Ascribe power to G-d; His majesty is over Israel, and His might is in the skies. 36. G-d, You are feared from Your Sanctuary; it is the G-d of Israel Who grants strength and power to His people; blessed is G-d

Chapter 69

1. For the Conductor, on the shoshanim, by David. 2. Deliver me, O G-d, for the waters have reached until my soul! 3. I have sunk in muddy depths without foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the current sweeps me away. 4. I am wearied by my crying, my throat is parched; my eyes pined while waiting for my G-d. 5. More numerous than the hairs on my head are those who hate me without reason. Mighty are those who would cut me off, those who are my enemies without cause. What I have not stolen, I will then have to return. 6. O G-d, You know my folly, and my wrongs are not hidden from You. 7. Let not those who hope in You be shamed through me, O my Lord, G-d of Hosts; let not those who seek You be disgraced through me, O G-d of Israel, 8. because for Your sake I have borne humiliation, disgrace covers my face. 9. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons, 10. for the envy of Your House has consumed me, and the humiliations of those who scorn You have fallen upon me. 11. And I wept while my soul fasted, and it was a humiliation to me. 12. I made sackcloth my garment, and became a byword for them. 13. Those who sit by the gate speak of me, and [of me] are the songs of drunkards. 14. May my prayer to You, Lord, be at a gracious time; G-d, in Your abounding kindness, answer me with Your true deliverance. 15. Rescue me from the mire, so that I not sink; let me be saved from my enemies and from deep waters. 16. Let not the current of water sweep me away, nor the deep swallow me; and let not the pit close its mouth over me. 17. Answer me, Lord, for Your kindness is good; according to Your abundant mercies, turn to me. 18. Do not hide Your face from Your servant, for I am in distress-hurry to answer me. 19. Draw near to my soul and liberate it; redeem me, so that my enemies [not feel triumphant]. 20. You know my humiliation, my shame, and my disgrace; all my tormentors are before You. 21. Humiliation has broken my heart, and I have become ill. I longed for comfort, but there was none; for consolers, but I did not find. 22. They put gall into my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 23. Let their table become a trap before them, and [their] serenity, a snare. 24. Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and let their loins continually falter. 25. Pour Your wrath upon them, and let the fierceness of Your anger overtake them. 26. Let their palace be desolate, let there be no dweller in their tents, 27. for they persecute the one whom You struck, and tell of the pain of Your wounded ones. 28. Add iniquity to their iniquity, and let them not enter into Your righteousness. 29. May they be erased from the Book of Life, and let them not be inscribed with the righteous. 30. But I am poor and in pain; let Your deliverance, O G-d, streng-then me. 31. I will praise the Name of G-d with song, I will extol Him with thanksgiving! 32. And it will please the Lord more than [the sacrifice of] a mature bull with horns and hooves. 33. The humble will see it and rejoice; you seekers of G-d, [see] and your hearts will come alive. 34. For the Lord listens to the needy, and He does not despise His prisoners. 35. Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and all that moves within them, 36. for G-d will deliver Zion and build the cities of Judah, and they will settle there and possess it; 37. and the seed of His servants will inherit it, and those who love His Name will dwell in it. 

TIKKUN HAKLALI

Chapter 77

7. During the night I recall my music, I meditate with my heart, and my spirit searches: 8. Is it for eternity that my Lord forsakes [me], nevermore to be appeased? 9. Has His kindness ceased forever? Has He sealed the decree for all generations?

PSALM 89

24. And I will crush his adversaries before him, and will strike down those who hate him.  


Comments:

This week's verse in Psalm 89 is reminiscent of the first lines of Tetzaveh, which speak about crushed  (Catit) oil. There also appears to be a reference here to striking down Amalek.


Tikkun HaKlali seems related to the loss of Moshe.