Psalm-23-1-6
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like it once was pre the “Masoretic Text”.
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Remember the following truth from our beloved Torah!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which
I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM
IT, that ye may keep the commandments of אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloleichem, which I command you”. Davarim -
Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).
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With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Please Note: All verses on this site are from the JPS-1917.
Introduction:
The Exodus theme
of this study shapes so much of our
scriptural history. However, it was not surprising to see the Psalmist (David) using it to write Psalm
23. He draws especially from the second and third movements of the
exodus story, when אֱלֹהִים - Elohim
guides
Let us now read this remarkable Psalm 23:1-6.
1. “A Psalm of
David. יְהוָה - the
LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2. He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. 3.
He restoreth my soul; He guideth me in straight paths for His name's sake. 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort
me. 5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine
enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I
shall dwell in the house of יְהוָה
- the
LORD for ever”.
Imagine
your world explodes, ‘death’ or ‘conflict shatters a relationship’, and you
find yourself in ‘a dark valley’. You’re afraid and helpless, but then you
recall these well-known words:
“יְהוָה - the LORD is my shepherd, …
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil, for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me”. Psalm 23:1 & 4.
But
how can a gentle shepherd help us in the valley of death?
It
is easy to miss that Psalm 23 portrays אֱלֹהִים - Elohim not just as a ‘gentle, comforting sheep herder’ but
also as an ‘undefeatable King’, who ‘demonstrated his power by rescuing his people
from enslavement’ in the Exodus story.
We
can better understand the meaning of Psalm
23 by learning to see how it blends the ideas of ‘shepherd’
and ‘king’ into a multifaceted conception of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim as entirely trustworthy. We can trust this
shepherd-king to not only ‘provide’, ‘protect’, and ‘guide people through
life’s darkest valleys’ but also ‘to destroy evil’ so thoroughly that we can
join the Psalmist in saying to אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, “I fear no evil, for You are with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me”.
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Remember what אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim, blessed be He, said the following through a number of our
prophets...
“The More Torah, the More Life”,
For Elohim is the One who
gave us our ... “Life!”
May the שָׁלוֹם - Shalom = Peace
of צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה= the LORD of hosts, be with
you, and please always uphold our blessed שַׁבָּת - Shabbat, as well as
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שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom
Aleichem - Peace be with you!
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