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Only Today: Reflections on Psalm 59, the fifth Psalm of the Tikkun HaClali
Only Today: Reflections on Psalm 59, the fifth Psalm of the Tikkun HaClali
Wellness and illness are not fixed states; they are snapshots of a moment, points in time. Nobody can truly say, “I am well”; we can only accurately say “I am well now.”
Spiritually traditional Jews will often preface statements about the future with the phrase, “בעזרת השם/b’ezrat haShem,” or “with the help of the Holy One,” as in “b’ezrat HaShem, I’ll get married next week,” or even, “b’ezrat Hashem, I’ll go to school tomorrow.” In other words, I know what I have planned for tomorrow or next month, but who can really say what will happen?
Like so many of us, the Psalmist knows that situations which seem stable are not. In Psalm 59, the fifth of Rabbi Nachman's Tikkun HaKlali “[Troubles] lie in wait for my soul; Mighty troops gather against me” (Ps 59:4; translation Norman Fischer). The circumstances that can move us from healthy to ill, from rich to poor are always present.
Necessarily, wonderfully, we live with the assumption that the blessings of today will, in fact, be present tomorrow. If we didn’t, we could never prepare for the future. We couldn’t learn, we couldn’t grow, we couldn’t raise children. And yet, we are caught up short when we are reminded that there is no guarantee of tomorrow. We are devastated when reminded of our mortality, as if it hadn’t been there all along.
The world offers us the reasonable hope of tomorrow, the space for the mundane hope of another day, but no guarantee of tomorrow.
There is no permanence; there are only the blessings that exist here and now. “I sing in the steadying light of your kindness, for You have been my release,” writes the Psalmist. “My refuge on a day when I was full of distress. To you, my strength, I will sing, for you are my shield, My kindness.”
We are graced with the tremendous opportunity to live in the light and kindness that exists today and hope that it endures till tomorrow.
Sat, July 5 2025
9 Tammuz 5785
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Wednesday ,
JulJuly 9 , 2025Morning Minyan at BHA and on Zoom
Wednesday, Jul 9th 8:45a to 10:00a
Whether you have been davvening with tallis and tefillin for years or you don’t know how to say those words you just read, come and be part of this most intimate of Jewish liturgical moments. BHA Members will lead services at BHA and on Zoom -
Friday ,
JulJuly 11 , 2025Potluck Shabbat Dinner & Kabbalat Shabbat led by BHA Members, Janis & Andy Romanoff
Friday, Jul 11th 6:00p to 8:00p
Please join us for a pot-luck Shabbat dinner in the BHA common room. We will communally clean our space in anticipation of lighting the Shabbat candles followed by Kabbalat Shabbat services led by Janis & Andy Romanoff -
Sunday ,
JulJuly 13 , 2025BHA Book Club
Sunday, Jul 13th 10:00a to 11:00a
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Wednesday ,
JulJuly 16 , 2025Morning Minyan at BHA and on Zoom
Wednesday, Jul 16th 8:45a to 10:00a
Whether you have been davvening with tallis and tefillin for years or you don’t know how to say those words you just read, come and be part of this most intimate of Jewish liturgical moments. BHA Members will lead services at BHA and on Zoom -
Friday ,
JulJuly 18 , 2025Potluck Shabbat Dinner & Kabbalat Shabbat Services at BHA Led by BHA Members
Friday, Jul 18th 6:00p to 8:00p
Please join us for a pot-luck Shabbat dinner in the BHA common room. We will communally clean our space in anticipation of lighting the Shabbat candles followed by Kabbalat Shabbat services led by BHA Members.
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