{"id":87028,"date":"2021-01-19T17:53:23","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T15:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=87028"},"modified":"2021-01-19T17:53:23","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T15:53:23","slug":"the-many-meanings-of-a-psalm-of-shabbat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-many-meanings-of-a-psalm-of-shabbat\/","title":{"rendered":"The Many Meanings Of \u201cA Psalm Of Shabbat\u201d"},"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":"87028","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":77758,"related_cahpter":"659","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"An excursus on the deceptively ambiguous letter \u201clamed\u201d\r\n\r\n","content":"

Of the 150 Psalms that populate Sefer Tehillim, 116 of them contain titles. Many of them, such as the hard-to-translate <\/span>gittit<\/em> <\/span>and <\/span>michtam<\/span><\/em>, likely denote the ancient musical setting to which the psalm was performed. Other titles attempt to historically contextualize the content of a psalm. The title of Psalm 3, \u201cWhen David fled from Absalom his son,\u201d for example, localizes the enemies mentioned within the text as Absalom and his army.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the remaining titles list a person associated with the psalm or the occasion upon which the psalm was sung. The most common element within a title is <\/span>li\u2019David<\/span><\/em>. But, how can we best translate this? <\/span>Lamed<\/em> <\/span>in biblical Hebrew can have a slew of meanings, such as: to\/ for\/ about\/ from the genre of\/one of. Thus, <\/span>li\u2019David<\/em> <\/span>can mean that David composed the text that follows; someone composed the poem in honor of David; the psalm is about David; the following is from a collection of works attributed to David; or the poem is written in a genre associated with David. Oftentimes, we cannot determine the best meaning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Psalm 92\u2019s <\/span>mizmor shir le\u2019yom HaShabbat<\/em> <\/span>\u201cA Psalm, a song <\/span>lamed<\/em> <\/span>the day of Shabbat\u201d should be easier to translate. Presumably, the title indicates that Psalm 92 is to be sung on Shabbat. Verse 3 supports this assumption by listing the instruments that accompany the words of the poem. While the simplest translation of <\/span>le\u2019yom HaShabbat<\/em> <\/span>is \u201cfor\/on the Sabbath day\u201d; namely, a poem the Levites sing to celebrate Shabbat, Jewish tradition revels in the creative possibilities of the ambiguous <\/span>lamed<\/span><\/em>.<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The final Mishnah in Tamid, which lists the daily psalms the Levites sung in the Temple, adds another layer of meaning to Psalm 92 by re-translating and explaining its title: \u201cA Psalm, a song for the world to come \u2013 for a world that is entirely an eternal sabbath of rest.\u201d For the Mishnah, Psalm 92 is a poem about the eternal sabbath. Pesiqta Rabbati 46.2 takes the <\/span>lamed<\/em> <\/span>in a different direction. It reads Psalm 92 in light of Adam and determines that the entire saga of Genesis 2-3 \u2013 the creation and sin of Adam \u2013 took place twelve hours before the first Sabbath. Adam was expelled and not sentenced to death, according to the Pesiqta, because Shabbat interceded on Adam\u2019s behalf. Adam, in return, composed Psalm 92. He sung <\/span>le\u2019yom haShabbat<\/span><\/em>, a poem of thanks \u201cto the Sabbath day.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our Shabbat siddur expresses yet another possible reading of <\/span>lamed<\/span><\/em>. After El Adon, the siddur contains a passage which anthropomorphizes Shabbat: \u201cAnd the seventh day praises and sings: \u2018A Psalm of the Sabbath day, it is good to praise God.\u2019\u201d According to our siddur, Psalm 92 is a poem <\/span>le\u2019yom hashabbat<\/em> <\/span>\u2013 sung\/composed \u201cby the Shabbat.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Psalter contains multitudes. Its true meaning rests at the crossroads of the text itself and those who cherish it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":87029,"id":87029,"title":"ps92-mizmor shir","filename":"ps92-mizmor-shir.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ps92-mizmor-shir.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-many-meanings-of-a-psalm-of-shabbat\/ps92-mizmor-shir\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ps92-mizmor-shir","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":87028,"date":"2021-01-19 15:51:57","modified":"2021-01-19 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