Psalm 23

By Ashrei (Ima Sari Wisenthal)

Managing depression, crises and feeling so deeply lost, G-d guiding through pain, in an endless circle of life and death, joy and pain. He guides us more closely, especially when death is present, as our holiday and Shabbat tables become the Jewish way to fight against our enemies: setting the table becomes an act of war, our way to fight for our freedom. Our way to preserve our history - the truth, against a world that is drowning in lies.

מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד יְהֹוָ֥ה רֹ֝עִ֗י לֹ֣א אֶחְסָֽר׃

A psalm of David.

 As God shepherds me; I shell not draw-back and disappear from the world.

בִּנְא֣וֹת דֶּ֭שֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵ֑נִי עַל־מֵ֖י מְנֻח֣וֹת יְנַהֲלֵֽנִי׃

In meadows of grass He lies me to brood and meditate;

on the restful waters of death He directs my life;

נַפְשִׁ֥י יְשׁוֹבֵ֑ב יַֽנְחֵ֥נִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶ֝֗דֶק לְמַ֣עַן שְׁמֽוֹ:

He mischievously revives my soul; 

In cyclical righteous paths He guides me for the benefit of His name.

גַּ֤ם כִּֽי־אֵלֵ֨ךְ בְּגֵ֪יא צַלְמָ֡וֶת לֹא־אִ֘ירָ֤א רָ֗ע כִּי־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּדִ֑י שִׁבְטְךָ֥ וּ֝מִשְׁעַנְתֶּ֗ךָ הֵ֣מָּה יְנַֽחֲמֻֽנִי׃

For even when I will walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your family's generational rod and upright resting brace —

they are the essence that will console me. 

תַּעֲרֹ֬ךְ לְפָנַ֨י ׀ שֻׁלְחָ֗ן נֶ֥גֶד צֹרְרָ֑י דִּשַּׁ֥נְתָּ בַשֶּׁ֥מֶן רֹ֝אשִׁ֗י כּוֹסִ֥י רְוָיָֽה׃

You set up before me a table, against my enemies;

You fertilised my mind with richness and miraculous oil;

my cup is swelling with abundance.

אַ֤ךְ ׀ ט֤וֹב וָחֶ֣סֶד יִ֭רְדְּפוּנִי כׇּל־יְמֵ֣י חַיָּ֑י וְשַׁבְתִּ֥י בְּבֵית־יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה לְאֹ֣רֶךְ יָמִֽים׃ {פ}

If only goodness and loving-kindness shall haunt me all the days of my life,

and I will return and settle in the house of G-d throughout the longevity of days.

This powerful Psalm connects us to our roots. The repetitive nature of fighting for justice and for our lives. Even though it's tempting to give up, to withdraw from society, to not speak up, to not play your role in hard times, with G-d as your shepherd, you cannot avoid the role in life you were given - abandoning your responsibility is no longer an option. You will show up and give a hand, you will help in whatever way you can.

The heritage is our process of inspiration and source of strength. Our family Shabbat and holiday dinners are the ultimate weapon against the war Jews faced in Kind David’s time, and it is the best weapon we have in the face of our current enemies; our places of battle are not only in the war zone, they need to be won in our family tradition, belief and sharing of learning and Jewish values that we will prevail. It is this faith and hope that kept the Jewish people going through thousands of years of endless brutality and attempts to have them convert to any other religion. While we fought by preserving our set tables, all those who tried to put an end to the Jewish people have long disappeared, as will the current terror organisation - the latest version of antisemitism with the goal to annihilate the Jewish people and the Jewish state. It didn’t work in Kind David’s time, it will not work today. Our weapons are deeper than bombs and missiles, our weapons are rooted in our tradition of family, love discussion and peace loving education. 

If we try our best to live by this call for good deeds, we will be haunted not by what we've lost or what we failed to do; we will be haunted for eternity by the echoes of the pain we went through to ensure we stay kind, good, and true to those who we are as a people. Only in this way will we make our lives and our people eternal - and we and the generations that will follow us will keep flourishing until the end of days. 

“If only goodness and loving-kindness shall haunt me all the days of my life,…”

The pain of always trying and wanting to do good and so often failing can be haunting. Many times we think we are doing the kind thing only to find out we hurt someone on the way. We are challenged to know that even if we do something out of love and kindness, it's likely to cause pain and hurt to someone.  

In the context of war, innocent bystanders are used as human shields in Gaza and Lebanon and are hurt in the efforts to illuminate the very terrorists that have no concern for their lives. For the sake of the good, of ending the fighting, of freeing those who are suffering in vain, some innocent people die. Even fighting forces that are so clearly evil, it is never in isolation. It is never truly pure. So, at some point, we can even start avoiding the good deeds because they, too, cause pain and can come back to haunt us. This is the case with soldiers who return from battle with PTSD - trauma for doing the right thing. Good deeds and doing the right thing can also be haunting. If I will be haunted by any type of emotional weight, I, like David, would hope that I am haunted by the pain of doing the right thing, and not by the regret of not speaking up and not stepping up when I was needed.   

Imagine a world where we would all choose to be haunted by our good deeds and not by our by the deeds we avoided or the regret for the bad deeds we have done. This is a choice every single one of us has. Choose to be haunted by the good, and while it might not always be easy - we will be building a significantly better world. And we can. It is that simple. 

Ashrei