Psalm 150
Psalm 150
The command to praise God is paralyzing.
Regardless of who or what we think God is, we don't know how to offer praise. We praise those we patronize, like children or subordinates and we praise those who have not yet disappointed us, though we suspect they will, like politicians at the beginning of their terms.
But for many Jews, exhortations to “Praise the Lord” can feel foreign if not absolutely bizarre. Discuss the Lord? Sure; Seek the Lord? Perhaps. But praise the Lord? Critique is so much easier to offer - it allows us to maintain our distance and spare ourselves from disappointment.
But critique is not what is called for.
Pslam 150 is the end of the Book of Psalms and it begins like a steamroller. “Praise the Lord!” the psalmist demands. “Praise Him in his sanctuary and strength, praise Him for His might and greatness! Praise Him!”
For many, this can be easier said than done. As Rabbi Nancy Flam puts it, “What are these mighty deeds, this abundant greatness? ...I cannot praise a power who willfully changes the laws of nature to help a particular people.”
For many, the greatness of God is an abstraction and the demand to praise it is a farce.
But at the very end of the psalm, the very last line of the Book of Psalms, the Psalmist shows his hand and lets us know what he means by praise: כֹּל הַנְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּל יָהּ / Every breath praises Yah.
Every breath - every inhalation and every exhalation, every transformation of oxygen into energy, every song, every moan, every cry, every moment in which we breathe is the praise of Yah. In the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Every moment is a new arrival, a new bestowal. Just to be is a blessing, just to live is holy. The moment is the marvel.”
May we and our children and our children's’ children all praise Yah, now and forever more.
Thu, April 25 2024
17 Nisan 5784
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Thursday ,
AprApril 25 , 2024Krav Maga Class
Thursday, Apr 25th 6:00p to 7:30p
Come join us for a Krav Maga session with instruction from Krav Maga New York in Westchester. Get some exercise and learn some self defense skills at BHA. -
Friday ,
AprApril 26 , 2024Friday Torah Study For Adults Led by Rabbi Brent Spodek
Friday, Apr 26th 5:00p to 6:00p
Join us on Friday nights at BHA for a soulful exploration of the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Brent. -
Friday ,
AprApril 26 , 2024Kabbalat Shabbat at BHA Led by Rabbi Brent Spodek
Friday, Apr 26th 6:00p to 7:00p
Please join us to light the Shabbat candles followed by Kabbalat Shabbat services led by Rabbi Brent. -
Sunday ,
AprApril 28 , 2024Masa for All Ages & Grades
Sunday, Apr 28th 9:30a to 12:00p
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Sunday ,
AprApril 28 , 2024Intro to Judaism-Introduction to Jewish History
Sunday, Apr 28th 9:30a to 11:00a
This year long class divided into 3 trimesters will be proceeding from the assumption that neither this culture nor those of us who have come together this year to study it are simple or simple-minded.