Psalm Project

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.”

Psalm 52

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“The righteous will see and be awestruck; they will laugh at him. (52:8)

The righteous person sees the downfall of the wicked and is struck with awe. The cynics laugh at him, assuming that he is surprised that God punishes the wicked. A truly righteous person would have expected God to mete out justice, rather than being nonplussed by God’s power. What a wonder to retain the ability to be astonished and awed by the expected! The sun rises or the tide comes in or the dandelions bloom or a turkey stands in the middle of a busy street and we are awed by the power and beauty of God’s world.

Psalm 51

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“I recognize my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” (51:5)

Judaism favors the religious person who rejects the impulse to say ‘I am a sinner and I am worthless’ in favor of saying ‘I am a sinner and my repentance completes my atonement.’ To atone, one starts by embracing the practice of daily heshbon hanefesh, self-evaluation. We begin by taking responsibility for the mistakes which happen every day, the first step towards teshuvah (repentance); and conclude by wiping ourselves clean of sin and achieving atonement.

Psalm 50

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“From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God appeared.” (50:2)

Scripture tells us that from Zion comes Torah (Isaiah 2:3, Micah 4:2), blessing (Psalms 128:5, 134:3, 135:21) and salvation (Psalms 14:7, 53:7). How are these three products of Zion connected to beauty, a word associated with physical appearance? Surely God does not manifest only in beautiful vessels! Every human being is created in the image of God, whether or not a given individual conforms to societal norms of beauty. Just as every person has a quality of beauty because he or she is the image of God, so too Zion is beautiful because it is a place which radiates God.

Psalm 49

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“The wise die; together [with] the foolish and ignorant, they perish.” (49:11)

We cannot avoid death. Our soul’s only chance at bodily existence could be interrupted at any moment with illness or sudden trauma. We might chase possessions or pleasurable experiences in order to avoid thinking about death. As the end of our lives approach, we might waste the potential wisdom of our elder years in fear focused on fighting death. Fear of death causes us to miss opportunities to do good in this world. Better to let our mortality energize us in pursuit of building a better world for others.