When you drive the bus in Israel or wait for your turn in the post office, you can see some people that read a small book; this is the book of Psalms. When I was a child I always wondered what is there in this book that turned it into the most readable book in the Hebrew Bible.

After a few years of learning and teaching Biblical Hebrew, the answer finally came to mind. The book of Psalms is very optimistic; it does the most obvious thing that we should do in our life- it gives The Lord the thanks that he deserves.

If I need to choose one of many I would prefer this Psalm to describe the idea above, as written:

" הַלְלוּ-יָהּ:הַלְלִי נַפְשִׁי אֶת-יְהוָה.אֲהַלְלָה יְהוָה בְּחַיָּי; אֲזַמְּרָה לֵאלֹהַי בְּעוֹדִי.אַל-תִּבְטְחוּ בִנְדִיבִים בְּבֶן- אָדָם, שֶׁאֵין לוֹ תְשׁוּעָה. תֵּצֵא רוּחוֹ יָשֻׁב לְאַדְמָתוֹ; בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, אָבְדוּ עֶשְׁתֹּנֹתָיו. אַשְׁרֵי שֶׁאֵל יַעֲקֹב בְּעֶזְרוֹ: שִׂבְרוֹ, עַל-יְהוָה אֱלֹהָיו. עֹשֶׂה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ-- אֶת-הַיָּם וְאֶת-כָּל-אֲשֶׁר-בָּם; הַשֹּׁמֵר אֱמֶת לְעוֹלָם. עֹשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּט לָעֲשׁוּקִים--נֹתֵן לֶחֶם, לָרְעֵבִים; יְהוָה מַתִּיר אֲסוּרִים. יְהוָה פֹּקֵחַ עִוְרִים--יְהוָה זֹקֵף כְּפוּפִים; יְהוָה, אֹהֵב צַדִּיקִים. יְהוָה, שֹׁמֵר אֶת-גֵּרִים--יָתוֹם וְאַלְמָנָה יְעוֹדֵד; וְדֶרֶךְ רְשָׁעִים יְעַוֵּת. יִמְלֹךְ יְהוָה לְעוֹלָם אֱלֹהַיִךְ צִיּוֹן, לְדֹר וָדֹר: הַלְלוּ-יָהּ."

"Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul.I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them he remains faithful forever.He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, and the Lord loves the righteous.The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.The Lord reigns forever, you're God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord."(Psalms 146:1-10)

The psalm starts and ends with the same words. The idea that repeats in the text above is the one and the only one that we should trust and the others that we can't. You can trust only the thing that is eternal – this is G-d. He was there when the world was created and still with us until today. If you understand this, dear friend, you will try to act like him in the time that he gave us live- you will help the prisoners, the widows, the poor people, the sojourners and more!

Have a blessed week, Eli

Hebrew-Transcription-Translation

עִוְרִים-'ivrîm-Blind people

צַדִּיקִים-tsaddîqîm-Righteous people

לְעוֹלָם-lə'ôlām- Forever

שָׁמַיִם-šāmayim-Heavens

רְשָׁעִים-rəšā'îm-Wicked people

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