"Haleluya!" - Duplicity and Simplicity
Rabbi Avi Baumol
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Mizmor 146 – the first of the Halleluya series – calls out to praise God. A precondition for praise is belief. It disregards the haughty leaders who do...
Tehila U-Berakha: "Ashrei" - Part II
Rabbi Avi Baumol
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Different levels can exist in our relationship with God. One can always call out and reach God, but achieve a greater closeness if one cries out sincerely...
Tehila U-Berakha: "Ashrei" - Part I
Rabbi Avi Baumol
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Mizmor 145 – ‘Ashrei’ - is central in Jewish liturgy. An analysis of the contrast between praise of God - which creates a distance between man and his...
Rabbi Avi Baumol
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The first section of Mizmor 40, in which the poet addresses God in third person, is a 'Hymn of Gratitude'. In the second section, the poet addresses God...
Perspective Through the Eyes of the Psalmist
Rabbi Avi Baumol
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Mizmor 28 begins with a cry to God to listen, a request and gratitude to God for listening. The request in this Mizmor is unique because David does not...
"Blessing One's Soul: "The Formula for a Meaningful Life
Rabbi Avi Baumol
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The theme of Mizmor 49 is to impart wisdom about the futility of life when it involves only a desperate hunt for honor. When one takes the time and care...
Providence, Guidance, a Rod and a Staff: A Study of Life at a Time of Death
Rabbi Avi Baumol
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Mizmor 23 focuses less on death and more on the guidance of the merciful Shepherd, as God nurtures us in green pastures and on peaceful waters. It is a...
A Tefilla of a(n Un)Repentant Psalmist
Rabbi Avi Baumol
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Mizmor 17 invites two separate and almost contradictory approaches: a prayer of a 'ba'al teshuva' having realized his sins, has accepted his punishments...
The Past, Present, and Future King
Rabbi Avi Baumol
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Mizmor 16, recited at funerals, asks us at the present time - facing peril or death - to look to the past to our trusting relationship with God in order...
Rabbi Avi Baumol
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Mizmor 15, a Mizmor that lists the attributes of one who wants to dwell on God’s mountain, raises the question of the Divine nature of the book of Mizmors...
