Tehillim must be read not only with the heart, but also with the mind

Whenever life’s challenges became difficult, my European grandmother used to say: “Farlaz zich nisht oif nissim; zag a kapitel Tehillim — Don’t depend on miracles; recite a chapter of Psalms.”

Almost every Jew — and much of the rest of the world — is familiar with the book of Tehillim. In sickness and in health, in despair and in joy, in fear and in confidence, in the darkness of night and in the glowing midday sun, the 150 chapters of Tehillim provide sustenance and courage and hope to frail human beings. No one can exist without Tehillim — not the soldier on the battlefield, not the fearful patient in the hospital, not the scholarly rosh yeshivah, not the nervous student, not the bride and groom under the chuppah. Is there any other book in the entire world that has spoken so directly to the human heart for the past 2,500 years?

Tehillim are not only emotional, however; they are also intellectual. They must be read not only with the heart, but also with the mind. For example, the very first verse of the first chapter presents an intellectual challenge.

Ashrei ha’ish —Blessed [or happy, or praiseworthy, or fortunate] is the man

Who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked,

Or stood in the paths of sinners

Or sat in the seat of the scoffers….

Note the carefully constructed triads. Three verbs: walk, stand, and sit — paired with these three different nouns: way, counsel, and stand. “Sit” and “seat” do match up, but on the surface, “walk” would seem to fit better with “path,” rather than with “counsel.” And “stand” and “path” seem like a mismatch, because one walks in a path but does not stand in a path.

A further question: We find here a third triad — three different types of undesirable people: wicked, sinner, and scornful. How do they differ from one another? Are they listed in an upward progression — from less evil to more evil? Or in a downward retrogression — from more evil to less evil? Does wicked lead to scoffer, or does scoffer lead to wicked? And do the verbs and nouns match up with these three types of sinners?

There is a striking symmetry in this verse, and perhaps we dilute the overall effect by over-analyzing it. But Tehillim is the kind of structure whose essence is only enhanced by analysis. What emerges after a deep dive is the otherworldly inspiration underlying it all.

We can be assured that the classic Biblical commentators deal with these issues. Rashi, Rav Dovid Kimchi (Radak), and Ibn Ezra are only a few who address them. Rashi, for example, says, “Since he did not walk [with sinners], he did not stand with them, and since he did not stand with them, he did not sit with them.” That is, be careful with whom you associate, because one thing leads to another, and being in such dubious company can ultimately lead to your joining them in their scoffing.

Radak, citing Talmud Avodah Zarah 18, echoes Ibn Ezra and warns that the apparently innocent act of walking with them can lead to more serious involvement. All three commentators seem to find sitting and joining in with leitzim (scoffers) to be even more destructive than associating with the resha’im, the wicked. At the very least, with the wicked, we know precisely where he stands: he openly defies G-d and rejects all mitzvos of the Torah. But the scoffer ridicules everything, mocks the religion, laughs at the observant, pokes fun at the mitzvos — and is therefore much more toxic than the wicked.

Not only are these few lines a challenging opening to the entire book; even the very first word — ashrei — defies translation. It has been variously rendered as “blessed,” and “happy,” and “praiseworthy,” and “fortunate.” The single word, ashrei, appearing more than 25 times in Tehillim alone, seems to conflate all these concepts in that one magical word.

A further fascination of this first chapter is that first it suggests what we should avoid doing, rather than what we should actually be doing. This is in keeping with the Psalmist’s later injunction in Psalm 34: “sur mei’ra v’aseh tov — turn away from evil and do good.” The first step in serving our Creator is to reject all false physical and intellectual idols.

That elusive “happiness.” We all long for it, search for it, pursue it. Does it lie in the accumulation of possessions, in prestige, in prosperity, in fame, in physical strength and good health? The Psalmist opens his book of Tehillim with his prescription: “Ashrei ha’ish — Happy is the man,” who avoids bad influences, and whose overriding desire, in the second half of this verse, is to live in harmony with “Toras Hashem,” and it is this that is central to his life “day and night.” Simple, yet very difficult.

Tehillim is addressed both to the heart and the mind, which is why it is universally the most satisfying and invigorating book in all Tanach, and will continue to elevate and inspire us until the end of time. Yes, it takes some effort to understand it, and this was just one chapter. That there are 149 more chapters should not be discouraging, however. If the task seems overwhelming, you know what to do: Zag a kapitel Tehillim….

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1020)