[ Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 12:10:17 06/19/10 Sat
June 17, 2010Dear Friend of Israel, Israel has been much in the news lately. The Gaza flotilla incident has resulted in a firestorm of negative publicity for the Jewish state, and brought to the fore vicious anti-Semitism that is deeply troubling to all who care about the fate of Israel and the Jewish people. One of the dangers of tumultuous times, whether that tumult is taking place on the world stage or in our personal lives, is that we become so preoccupied with worldly things that we succumb to despair, forgetting that we have the greatest book of all to turn to for guidance—the Bible. Today, let us reconnect with this divine source of wisdom by taking a look at the Psalms, Israel's "song book," beloved by Jews and Christians alike. The Psalms are sacred Hebrew poems and songs that express the heart and soul of humanity in its relationship to God. The psalmist sings praises to God's glory, cries out to Him in despair, laments what he believes to be God's absence from his life, and even freely express his doubts before God. The honesty of these ancient Hebrew prayers—the way they address God personally and intimately in both good times and bad—has brought men and women of God back to the book of Psalms time and again for comfort and encouragement. Today we'll look at Psalm 6, authored by David (and I remind you that King David, in the orthodox Jewish tradition, is recognized as author of all the Psalms), which expresses a wide range of human emotion. It begins with expressions of strong physical and emotional pain: "Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony." David may have been in pain from an illness or injury of some sort—or perhaps he was feeling the effects of God's chastening for wrongdoing. Whatever the case, David's anguish was taking a heavy toll; to speak of one's "bones" was to refer to the entire body. Here we see a weak person who cries out for God's strength because his own has failed. David was not only suffering under the Lord's rebuke, but was surrounded by his enemies. In the midst of these trials, David appealed to God in two ways: because of God's chesed, or loving kindness, and because David would not be able to offer God praise if he died: "Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave?" In the end, God accepts David's prayer and rescues him. David is jubilant: "The Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer." Like David, we often must admit that we cannot win the battles of life on our own. In times both good and bad, let us continually remind ourselves that God is in control of our lives. And let us continue to thank the Lord for His comforting and guiding presence, and for His gift of the Holy Scriptures. With prayers for shalom, peace, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
] | 
Feedback: 
