{"id":81800,"date":"2020-10-20T15:59:20","date_gmt":"2020-10-20T12:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=81800"},"modified":"2020-10-20T15:59:20","modified_gmt":"2020-10-20T12:59:20","slug":"the-day-the-text-spoke-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-day-the-text-spoke-to-me\/","title":{"rendered":"The Day The Text Spoke To Me"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"81800","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":79518,"related_cahpter":"594","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"My shrink wanted to know: Did I receive any solace from the words of the prayerbook?\r\n\r\n","content":"

I\u2019ll spare you the details, this story is personal.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a decade ago, my marriage had fallen apart, and I was seeing a therapist to help get my bearings. My therapist knew I was active in my synagogue and had learned to lead various parts of the service. She wanted to know how I was coping and asked a question that brought me up short. Did I receive any solace from the words of the prayerbook?<\/span><\/p>\n

I knew what I was <\/span>davening<\/span><\/em> (praying) \u2013 even if I had to read the English to know what I was chanting in Hebrew \u2013 but I was only engaged intellectually. The notion of turning to prayer to soothe my soul was something I had read about, but never experienced myself. And then it was Elul.<\/span><\/p>\n

I had read Psalm 27 in prior years, but this time was different. \u201cFalse witnesses and those who seek ill have risen against me,\u201d I read (27:12). It didn\u2019t apply to my soon-to-be ex, but it did apply to others and some of the anxiety that I was feeling. Okay David (to whom the psalm is attributed), you have my attention. Go on.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBe strong, take courage, and place your hope in the Lord.\u201d (27:14)<\/span><\/p>\n

Those words leapt out at me. At a time when I was feeling battered and adrift, the psalmist was telling me to buck up, that I wasn\u2019t alone. In a way I never had before, I found comfort and support in the words of the <\/span>siddur<\/em> <\/span>(prayerbook). Every time I read the psalm that verse seemed directed to me. And when the problems caused by the \u201cfalse witnesses\u201d were resolved in my favor, it sealed the deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ten years later I\u2019m in a different place. I\u2019ve moved on. I have a great relationship with my adult daughter. I\u2019ve had some success as an author. And I continue to be engaged with Jewish texts including participating in the 929 Project through my current synagogue. It\u2019s still primarily an intellectual and philosophical exercise for me but when Elul rolls around again, Psalm 27 has a special place in my heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I agree with the sage advice of Ben Bag-Bag, \u201cTurn it and turn it again, for everything is in it.\u201d (Pirkei Avot 5:26). The Tanach is our heritage. When I need it to be more than a historical or moral or legal text, I know that something else I\u2019ve read many times before will speak to me in an entirely new way.`<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":81801,"id":81801,"title":"ps27-therapy","filename":"ps27-therapy.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps27-therapy.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-day-the-text-spoke-to-me\/ps27-therapy\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ps27-therapy","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":81800,"date":"2020-10-20 12:58:45","modified":"2022-08-14 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