PSALMLAB: AN IMMERSION IN SACRED POETRY | HIGH HOLIDAYS 5774

Why This? The Hebrew language is a zip line from a time-bound, place-bound, and English-bound experience to an ancient civilizations continually unfolding encounter with the Divine. Hebrew has a unique ability to engage our senses and our rational minds while gently slipping underneath them. To think and pray in Hebrew is to dwell inside nuance and potentiality, to immerse in a sea of words that are few in number but teem with hyperlinks to mystical-imaginal realms and hundreds of centuries of transcendent experience. Psalm 23 is among the best known and most loved of the 150 beautiful poems that we think date back to about the sixth through third centuries BCE. For many, this particular psalm has been a source of great strength in the face of danger and hardship. Why Now? My hope is that the combination of breathing and singing at a time when most of us are also fasting will induce a shift in perspective, an attunement to higher realms of perception, and an understanding that even at our darkest moments, we are never alone. Why Me? I offer this workshop as a prayer leader in training, as a long-serving language educator and as part of an effort to nurture Hebrew literacy. If youd like to stay in touch, please do contact me at shimonides@gmail.com. More Details The melody we will learn today originated in a contemplative community in Rishikesh, India, and came to me, via other waystations, from Shir Yaakov Feit (shiryaakov.com). The text is available to you in two forms: a) Pages 2-6: Hebrew original plus transliteration and word-for-word translation b) Page 7: Transliteration and translation only The translations are my own, and along with the text itself, they are bound to bring up questions. I welcome them, and I ask you to hold onto them until we have been able to read or sing the entire text of Psalm 23 at least five times.

PSALMLAB: PSALM 23 | HIGH HOLIDAYS 5774 | SEPTEMBER 2013

miz mor leh dah veed

song of/for David

A song of David

Line 1

hah-shem
The Eternal One

roh ee
shepherd-my

loh ekh sar

not I-lack

The Eternal One is my shepherd. I lack nothing.

Line 2a

bee noht deh sheh yahr bee tseh nee

in-pastures-of grass makes-lie-down me

[God] makes me lie down in pastures of grass.

Line 2b

ahl mey meh noo khoht yeh nah hah leh nee
to waters-of rests leads me PsalmLab | September 2013

[God] leads me to waters of rest

Page 2

Line 3a

nahf shee yeh shoh vev

soul-my restores

[God] restores my soul

Line 3b

yahn kheh nee beh mah glay tseh dek

makes-firm me in tracks of righteousness

[God] makes me firm in paths of righteousness

Line 3c

leh

mah

ahn sheh moh

name-his

for [Gods] names sake

for the sake of

Line 4a

gahm kee eh
also/even as I-walk

lekh beh gey tsahl mah vet

in valley-of deep death shadow

Even as I walk in the valley of the shadow of death

PsalmLab | September 2013

Page 3

Line 4b

loh
not

ee
I fear

rah rah
evil

kee ah
because You

tah

ee
with-me

mah dee

I fear no evil, for You are with me

Line 4c

sheev teh khah oo

rod Your and

meesh ahn teh

staff

khah
Your

Your rod and Your staff

Line 4d

heh
they

mah yeh nah

comfort

khah moo nee

me

they comfort me

Line 5a

tah
You-arrange

ah

rokh leh
to-face-my

fah

nahy shool khan

table

You prepare a table before me

PsalmLab | September 2013

Page 4

Line 5b

neh ghed tsoh reh

facing / against oppressors-my

rahy

In the presence of my oppresors

Line 5c

dee shahn tah

You-make-fat

bah sheh men roh

with-the oil head-my

shee

You anoint my head with oil

Line 5d

koh see
cup-my

reh
saturation

vah

yah

My cup is well filled

Line 6a

akh tohv
surely good PsalmLab | September 2013

vah
and-mercy

kheh sed

yir

deh foo

nee

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me

will-pursue-me

Page 5

Line 6b

kohl yeh
All days-of

may khah yahy

life-my

All the days of my life

Line 6c

veh shahv tee

and-I-dwell

beh vayt hah shehm

in-house-of the Eternal

And I will dwell in the house of the Eternal

Line 6d

leh
to-length-of Notes

oh

rekh yah
days

meem

forever

Line 1: My shepherd ( ), roi, is connected to the root rea ( ) meaning friend, companion. Line 2a: The root inside yarbitzeni ( ) lie down ( ) also means to stretch oneself out. Line 3b: The root inside paths maglei ( ) also carries the meaning circles. Line 4c: The root inside Your rod shivtekha ( ) also means sceptre, i.e. a symbol of authority and tribe. Line 4c: The root inside your staff mishantekha ( ) also means support. Lines 3a, 3b, 4b, 4c, and 5a contain articulatory waves in which consontant and vowel articulation s move from the front of the mouth towards the back and then return to the front. Line 5c: Internal alliteration on sh ( ) Page 6

PsalmLab | September 2013

miz-mor leh-dah-veed
1 2a 2b 3a 3b 3c 4a 4b 4c 4d 5a 5b 5c 5d 6a 6b 6c 6d

A song of David The Eternal One is my shepherd. I lack nothing. [God] makes me lie down in pastures of grass [God] leads me to waters of rest [God] restores my soul [God] makes me firm in paths of righteousness for [Gods] names sake Even as I walk in the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil, for You are with me Your rod and Your staff they comfort me You prepare a table before me In the presence of my enemies You anoint my head with oil My cup is well filled Surely goodness and mercy will follow me All the days of my life And I dwell in the house of the Eternal forever

hah-shehm roh-ee loh ekh-sar bee-noht deh-sheh yahr-bee-tseh-nee ahl mey meh-noo-khoht yeh-nah-hah-leh-nee nahf-shee yeh-shoh-vev yahn-kheh-nee beh mah-glay tseh-dek leh mah-ahn sheh-moh gahm kee eh-lekh beh gey tsahl-mah-vet loh ee-rah rah kee ah-tah ee-mah-dee sheev-teh-khah oo-meesh-ahn-teh-khah heh-mah yeh-nah-khah-moo-nee tah-ah-rokh leh-fah-nahy shool-khan neh-ghed tsoh-reh-rahy dee-shahn-tah bah-sheh-men roh-shee koh-see reh-vah-yah akh tohv vah kheh-sed yir-deh-foo-nee kohl yeh-may khah-yahy veh shahv-tee beh-vayt hah-shehm leh oh-rekh yah-meem

PsalmLab | High Holidays 5774 | September 2013

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