Questions tagged [tehilim-psalms]

One of the books that make up the "Kesuvim" (or "Writings). Composed mostly by King David, but includes chapters by Adam, Avraham, King Shlomo (Solomon) and others.

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Can someone please translate this commentary by Malbim on Psalm 84:7

Here’s the relevant text: עברי, והמסלות האלה הנמצאות בלבבם הם עוברים בעמק הבכא, שבבל היתה עמק ומלאה בכאים ואילנות, כמו שנקראת בשם נחל הערבים, והמליץ תפס תחת הערבים שם בכאים, שיש בהוראתו גם בכי, כי על ...
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Gentiles praying in Hebrew

Can a gentile pray in hebrew, and recite the Psalms? I am a Noahide (Chassidic Gentile) who is interested in going through the conversion process to Reform Judaism. Is it okay for me to pray the ...
3 votes
2 answers
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What does the maid's ration consist of?

In Eshet Chayil (“Woman of Valor”) that is sung on Friday nights is the phrase, "gives food to her household and a ration to her maids". From the wording, I take it that the maid's ration ...
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וּמָת֖וֹק הָא֑וֹר (u'Matok HaOhr): Why is the Torah compared to honey and a sweet light?

(I am aware of this question, however, my question focus specifically about why Torah is called sweet). In Koheles 11:7, Torah is described as וּמָת֖וֹק הָא֑וֹר (u'Matok HaOhr), a sweet light. ...
2 votes
1 answer
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I heard that some Moroccan Taamim and/or Piyoutim originate from the zemirot/songs of the Leviim in the Beit Hamikdash. Are there Torah Sources?

I heard that some Moroccan Taamim and/or Piyoutim originate from the zemirot/songs of the Leviim in the Beit Hamikdash. Are there Torah Sources? I heard that the Hida wrote that there is a link ...
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Why do some recite Tehillim 121 at Maariv?

I thought reciting Tehillim as Tefillah at and after Maariv was not done. Why do some recite Tehillim 121 before Aleinu at Maariv?
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Heter for "saying tehilim"

Rambam writes (avodah zarah 11:12): הַלּוֹחֵשׁ עַל הַמַּכָּה וְקוֹרֵא פָּסוּק מִן הַתּוֹרָה, וְכֵן הַקּוֹרֵא עַל הַתִּינוֹק שֶׁלֹּא יִבָּעֵת, הַמַּנִּיחַ סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה אוֹ תְּפִלִּין עַל הַקָּטָן ...
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Why Yagel relates to Yaakov and Yismach to Israel

In the Psalms, 14:7: "מי יתן מציון ישועת ישראל בשוב ה' שבות עמו יגל יעקב ישמח ישראל."Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the LORD turneth the captivity of His people, ...
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How to understand the sun, moon, heavens, etc. praising G?

Psalm 148 talks of the sun, moon, heavens, stars, and more giving praise to G. How can we understand this concept of inanimate objects praising G?
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Can you say tehillim on nittel nacht?

Since we say tehilim in maariv and kriat shema al hamita, why not tehilim alone on this most unholy night?
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Explanation of this verse in Psalm 137

אַשְׁרֵ֤י שֶׁיֹּאחֵ֓ז וְנִפֵּ֬ץ אֶֽת־עֹ֝לָלַ֗יִךְ אֶל־הַסָּֽלַע׃ A blessing on him who seizes your babies and dashes them against the rocks! Psalms 137:9 This verse doesn't sit well with me... It ...
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What is the order of the Great Hallel (Hallel HaGadol)?

Psalm 136, the Great Hallel (Hallel HaGadol), is a series of praises of Hashem. It is ordered starting with the wonders of creation, moving onto taking us out of slavery, followed by the miracles ...
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Does the Minhag to say Barchi Nafshi after Shabbat Mincha in winter include Shabbat Chanuka

Does the minhag (Ashkenazi Nusach Sfard) to say Barchi Nafshi after Shabbat Mincha in winter include Shabbat Chanuka? Are there any Shabbatot that the minhag is not to say Barchi Nafshi? According to ...
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The minhag to read chapter 119 in Tehilim in Chanuka (Temney Api)

I heard that there is a minhag to read Chapter 119 in Tehilim (Psalms) every Chanuka Evening (Temney Api the name of the chapter). I also heard that each evening there are 4 letters of the chapter to ...
7 votes
1 answer
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Why is the end of Tehillim 60 the same as the end of Tehillim 108?

The last eight verses of Tehillim 60 and Tehillim 108 are virtually identical. Why is this so? Tehillim 60:7-14 לְ֭מַעַן יֵחָלְצ֣וּן יְדִידֶ֑יךָ הוֹשִׁ֖יעָה יְמִֽינְךָ֣ ועננו [וַעֲנֵֽנִי׃] ...
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Pocket-size Tehillim with trop

Is there a clear, pocket-sized safer Tehillim, printed with trop ? Ideally, the girsah is corrected against the Keter Aram Soba. Everything I've seen is either fairly large or lacks trop, but I live ...
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Tefillah/tehillim for success in passing an exam

I'm taking my road test for the third time tomorrow. Is there a specific perek of tehillim I could say to help me pass?
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Are there online sources for learning Te’amim of Tehillim?

Are there any online sources for learning how to read the Sephardi Te’amim of Tehillim? While I can find recordings, I can’t find any list or descriptions of the exceptions and such—for example, when ...
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What is meant by the 974 "worlds" that were "created and destroyed"?

Midrash Tehillim 90:13 says that God created and destroyed 974 worlds before this one. What exactly does that mean? I've heard it used in defense of a modern understanding of evolution and cosmology ...
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Why adding the first verse to Ashrei Yoshvei Beitecha

The Mizmor Ashrei Yoshvei Beitecha is mostly based on the 145 chapter in Psalms. The first two verses begin in the 84:5 chapter and the last verse of the 144 chapter. It is understood that apparently ...
1 vote
4 answers
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Why is a black skin strange, unusual or weird?

Why is a black skin strange, unusual or weird? This question developed after reading the following: כוש: מה כושי משונה בעורו אף שאול משונה במעשיו Cush: Just as a Cushite has unusual skin, so did Saul ...
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Hurt my enemies or no?

In the Nusach of the Ari during K'riat Shema Al Hamitah, we pray that no person suffers or gets punished on our account. In various locations of Tehillim, such as chapter 35 and 109:20, King David ...
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3 answers
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Did God destroy Amalek in King David's time, like Rashi seems to say?

I've always understood that the war with Amalek is an ongoing concern (and that the mitzvah to blot out Amalek's memory is ongoing), but I saw some puzzling Rashi today that seems to contradict that. ...
6 votes
2 answers
586 views

When did David Hamelech write Tehillim?

When did David Hamelech write Tehillim? Or to be more technical, when did David write his first Tehillim and when did he write his last? Also was there a certain period of time within which he wrote a ...
3 votes
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What is so special about tehilim (psalms)?

I have a very hard time relating to tehilim. We say multiple a day in davening and they don't mean much to me, even when reading an english translation. Tehilim seems like it's really just religious ...
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By what mechanism does the recital of Tehillim cause Hashem to heal someone who is ill?

It is customary to say Tehillim to ask Hashem to heal someone who is ill. I want to know how this works. One possible mechanism is that the Tehillim are the praises of Hashem which must come before a ...
6 votes
2 answers
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Tehillim 119 -- what vav's to pronounce

I was saying Tehilim recently and I got up to 119, and when I reached the first "Aydosecha" (יד) I remembered that sometimes the vav is pronounced (a.k.a, there's a cholam above the normal ...
5 votes
1 answer
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What are the "19 Sections" of the Book of Psalms in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia?

The text in question is an end-note to the Book of Psalms in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Thanks to a friend whose Hebrew is fluent (mine is not), I learned that the meaning is quite ...
4 votes
1 answer
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176 verses in longest parasha, longest psalm and last page of longest Talmud tractate - what is the significance?

As was already noted before on MiYodeya, the longest parasha (Naso) has 176 verses the longest Psalm (119) has 176 verses the longest tractate of Talmud Bavli (Bava Batra) ends on daf 176 Is there ...
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Why do the Sifrei Eme"s (i.e. Job, Proverbs, Psalms) have cantillation marks?

Why do the Sifrei Eme"s (i.e. Job, Proverbs, Psalms) have cantillation marks? Are they read to a tune or is it just punctuation for personal usage? Have they ever been read publicly with the tune? (...
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Does anyone know the nusach for אפפוני חבלי מות that is sung in the movie Simon Magus?

I haven't seen the whole movie Simon Magus. It depicts 19th-century Poland. I saw a scene where a Pesach Seder is held. They're saying Hallel and I've never heard that melody for Psalm 116. They start ...
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Why does the recitation of Tehillim 145 three times a day secure one a place in Olam Haba?

It is stated in the Talmud (Brachos 4b) that one who recites "T'hila L'David" three times a day secures their place in Olam Haba. Why is this? What is so special about this psalm that it ...
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"I am prayer" in Psalm 109:4?

"In return for my love they are my adversaries; But I am all prayer." Psalm 109:4 JPS 1917 Someone quoted to me the part of this verse which says "I am all prayer". The idea "...
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"Praiseworthy is he who will clutch and dash your infants against the rock"?

I do not understand the last lines of psalm 137 ("By the rivers of Babylon"/"Al naharos bovel," the psalm recited before Birkat Ha-Mazon on weekdays. [It includes the famous lines &...
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How to use the Tikkun HaKlali?

Not too long ago I bumped onto a video on YouTube by user Shaarei Binah entitled “Tikkun HaKlali General Rectification of the Soul with Kavvanot”. I was looking at the video itself, in the description ...
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What way of dividing Tehilim by day of the week did Rabbi Menachem ben Zerah suggest?

What way of dividing Tehilim by day of the week did Rabbi Menachem ben Zerach suggest? In a similar question, a source was given, but I don't understand anything there.
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Is Psalm 74:13 prophetic of the future or a reference to the past? Was that part of the process of taming the chaotic abyss?

Is Psalm 74:13 prophetic of the future or a reference to the past? Was that part of the process of taming the chaotic abyss?: Psalm 74:13You crumbled the sea with Your might; You shattered the heads ...
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Nature of the stone in Psalm 118:22

https://biblehub.com/text/psalms/118-22.htm I often hear in church the quotes from the following psalm used in the Christian new testament. But in translation 'chief cornerstone' strikes me as a very ...
2 votes
1 answer
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Segulah of saying 13 times perek 13 of tehillim

I have heard a number of times of a segulah to say perek 13 of tehillim 13 times. Does anyone know the source of such a segulah?
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Which heart is refering in Psalms 51:12?

In Psalms 51:12 it reads Fashion a pure heart for me, O God; create in me a steadfast spirit. Which heart is refering to? Is refering to the organ that pumps blood?
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Significance of the story of how King Dovid came to write the 15 “Shir HaMaalos”

The story of how King Dovid came to write the 15 “Shir HaMaalos” is recounted in Gemoro Sukkah 53 a, b . It seems in preparing the “plumbing” for the future Temple, he disturbed an underground seal ...
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Shir Lamaalot and not Shir Hamaalot for psalm 121?

Why do all the Shir Hamaalot’s in Tehillim begin with שיר המעלות except for Psalm 121 which begins שיר למעלות? What’s different about this psalm from the rest of them?
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How can Psalm 132 reference David and imply that it was written by Solomon?

The gemora in Bava Basra 14b lists 10 people that co-authored Tehillim with David דוד כתב ספר תהלים ע"י עשרה זקנים ע"י אדם הראשון על ידי מלכי צדק ועל ידי אברהם וע"י משה ועל ידי הימן וע&...
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Why does Wednesday's shir shel yom include part of the next perek?

The Shir Shel Yom is (usually) a chapter of Tehillim said at the end of davening, unique to each day. That applies for every day except Wednesday. In some (many) customs, Wednesday's song is Tehillim ...
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Gra’s opinion on tehillim?

I heard that the Gra was against Tehillim being stated in public to the point where he would even say that Kabbalat Shabbat should be performed at home? I have two questions on this, number one is ...
3 votes
1 answer
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Layout of Shirim in Tanakh

In the Tanakh Simanim, primarily Tehillim, (Feldheim) much of Ketuvim is written in a "shir format" where there are lots of line breaks and open spaces, not unlike Hazinu, Shirat HaYam or Shirat ...
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Looking for more details about the other authors of Tehilim: Malki Tzedek, Heiman, Yeduthun and Assaf

Details about Malki Tzedek, Heiman, Yeduthun and Assaf. When did they live? Who were they? etc
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1 answer
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Based on Tehillim 92, would playing נֶבֶל not violate Shabbat?

Does Tehillim 92 validate our ability or the specific mitsvah on Shabbat to sing praises “with speech upon a harp”? | If it’s already tuned what’s the error (to not fix a string if it breaks)? In the ...
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Where can I find a tehillim that is transliterated? (meaning the hebrew is translated on top or on bottom of the page)

I'm searching for something with a big font and that is easy on the eyes.
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How does Targum on Tehillim 51:7 reconcile with Yishai being pure? Also interested in other aspects of the verse

The verse states, "Behold, with iniquity I was formed, and with sin my mother conceived me. Most the commentaries are not available in english (https://mg.alhatorah.org/Full/Tehillim/51.6#e1n6). ...

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