Tell me more ×
Mi Yodeya is a question and answer site for those who base their lives on Jewish law and tradition and anyone interested in learning more. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 5 down vote favorite

Who divided the Sefer Tehillim into daily sections (both day of week and day of month)?

share|improve this question
And what were those divisions based on? – yydl Aug 3 '11 at 16:25

1 Answer

up vote 6 down vote accepted

The division of Tehilim into days of the week and days of the month was done by the 14th century scholar Rabbeinu Menachem ben Zorach, a Talmid of Rabbeinu Yehuda ben HaRosh.

http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=39362&st=&pgnum=256

וכבר חלקתי ספר תהילים לאמר חלק ממנו בבל יום ויום בענין שיקראהו המתנדב לשבח ולהודות בכל חדש פעם אחת והנני כוחב אחר פרק זה החילוק שבכל יום מהחדש וכן החילוק שחלקתיו גם לקרותו פעם אחח בכל שבוע למי שעסקי תורתו מועטת שישתדל לקרותו בכל שבוע

This is the link showing the divisions - http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=39362&st=&pgnum=263

share|improve this answer
1  
Chabad.org has two different entries from Talks and Tales on their website. One calls him Ben Ibn Zorach, and one calls him Ben Zerach. One says he lived a long life, and one says he didn't. chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112352/jewish/… and chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112341/jewish/… – Menachem Aug 3 '11 at 19:42
2  
@Gershon: most interesting, thanks. It's also interesting that our present-day divisions don't always follow Rabbeinu Menachem's: he has the portion for the 4th of the month end with ch. 30 (whereas we now end with 28), for the 18th he has chs. 88-90 (where we now do 88-89), for the 20th he ends with ch. 102 (where we now also add 103), and for the 26th he has the second half of ch. 119 plus chs. 120-122 (nowadays we just do 119). There are also differences in the weekly division. I wonder on whose authority those changes were made? – Alex Aug 4 '11 at 14:09

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.