Tehillim 23-24

Tehillim Chapter 23 – “He Lets Me Lie Down in Green Pastures”: Between Reality and Abstraction

Psalm 23 describes the serenity of David, who trusts in God — he lies in lush green pastures and even when walking through the valley of the shadow of death, he fears nothing, for God is with him. It’s no wonder this psalm has been set to numerous melodies and holds a central place during Shabbat — its vivid imagery and the sense of divine presence it conveys are deeply stirring.

In the attached link, Rav Yaakov Medan and Rav Chaim Navon discuss our psalm. We highly recommend viewing a short section of the video (from 31:38 to 39:02). In his rich imagination, Rav Medan draws us into the atmosphere of the chapter, envisioning the trails and wadis of the Judean Desert as David flees from Sha’ul, and vividly brings to life the moment the psalm was recited.

Rav Medan’s description leads to a discussion regarding the nature of the psalms. On the one hand, these psalms were composed in specific historical contexts by David. On the other hand, they serve people of all generations in their prayers and longing for God. Is it important to understand the specific context in which a psalm was composed, or is its abstraction — its timelessness — what gives it greater value?

Tehillim Chapter 24 – “Who May Ascend the Lord’s Mountain?”

Rav Elkana Cherlo explores the role of Psalm 24 as an opening psalm — it opens the week as the Psalm for Sunday, and it opens the year, read aloud on the night of Rosh Hashana.
The psalm is made up of three parts that seem to deal with different topics:
1. God as the Creator of the world.
2. Who is worthy to ascend the mountain of God — the upright person.
3. A description of the gates opening in preparation for the entry of the Ark.

This division of themes has led some scholars to argue that the psalm is a compilation of separate compositions. But Rav Elkana explains the clear connection between the parts and calls it the psalm of encountering God.

The psalm begins with a description of God’s greatness, and then progresses to the next stage by asking: Who is worthy of encountering God? The answer is that the upright and deserving person may merit such an encounter. This leads to the third stage: the Ark’s entry into the Temple, symbolizing God’s choice to dwell among the people of Israel who are worthy.

Chazal (Shabbat 30a) seem to have understood our psalm in this way as well, when describing the drama Shlomo experienced as he brought the Ark to the Temple gates. They too saw the psalm as addressing the great question: How — and under what conditions — can a person be worthy of building a dwelling place for the Shekhina?