Author: Rabbi David Krishef

Psalm 57

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“My life is among lions.” (57:5)

You might be one of the fortunate few who live in the bubble of a kind, supportive, and nurturing community. The rest of us live with a mixture of people, a portion of whom are aggressive, self-focused, and success-driven at any expense. They are lions, predators out to kill the antelope and drag it home for dinner before someone else spots it. It is possible to find a refuge from the lions in a religious community or a selected social group, but prepare and protect yourself for those times that you venture out into the real world, whether the PTA or the workplace.

Psalm 56

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“Regarding the silent, far-away, dove …” (56:1)

The doomsday clock hangs on a wall in the University of Chicago’s office of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Standing two and a half minutes before midnight, it signifies how close the world is to a global catastrophe.

A dove is a symbol of gentleness and peace. The closer the hands on the doomsday clock are to midnight, the farther away is the dove. The closer we bring the dove, the farther back the hands move. While the achievement of world peace is not entirely in our power, we do have the capacity to lay the groundwork to let the dove know that she is welcome.

Psalm 55

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“Would that I had wings, like a dove!” (55:7)

Why not wings like an eagle, or a vulture? Wouldn’t any wings do, to give me the ability to soar above the earth? The answer is that any achievement, including any piece of technology, can have a dark side, a violent or abusive function. A dove is a symbol of gentleness and peace. When we wish for flight, we also ought to wish for the wisdom to use the technology wisely, a lesson that Icarus learned too late.

Psalm 54

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“Adonai, who supports my life.” (54:6)

The human body, or any living system, plant or animal, is a miracle of complexity. Whether by evolution or by the word of God, life is a wonder. The individual life-form, from its cellular level functions to its large-scale interaction with its environment, has to function nearly perfectly in order to survive. I choose to express my gratitude for my existence to a God who created me and infused me with a life-force and sustaining energy. When the time comes for my life to end, I will gratefully return both my physical and metaphysical being to the Creator.

Psalm 53

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“They were fearfully afraid” or “They feared, fearfully.” (53:6)

The repetition and rhythm of the Hebrew phrase pahadu pahad is difficult to capture. We might render it, “They feared fear,” bringing to mind the line from Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first inaugural address, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” When we are afraid, we make bad decisions. Fear triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response, which discourages conversation, negotiation, or compromise. Fear, FDR goes on to say, paralyzes our efforts to advance our cause. When we are in the grips of fear, we should recall the words of Rabbi Nahman of Breslov, “the whole world is a very narrow bridge; the essence is not to be afraid.”