Psalm 23

Tehillim 23

תהלים כג

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Ps. 23

Hebrew

מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד, יְהֹוָה רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר: בִּנְאוֹת דֶּשֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵנִי, עַל
מֵי מְנֻחוֹת יְנַהֲלֵנִי: נַפְשִׁי יְשׁוֹבֵב, יַנְחֵנִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶדֶק לְמַעַן
שְׁמוֹ: גַּם כִּי־אֵלֵךְ בְּגֵיא צַלְמָוֶת לֹא־אִירָא רָע, כִּי־אַתָּה עִמָּדִי
שִׁבְטְךָ וּמִשְׁעַנְתֶּךָ הֵמָּה יְנַחֲמֻנִי: תַּעֲרֹךְ לְפָנַי שֻׁלְחָן נֶגֶד צֹרְרָי
דִּשַּׁנְתָּ בַשֶּׁמֶן רֹאשִׁי, כּוֹסִי רְוָיָה: אַךְ טוֹב וָחֶסֶד יִרְדְּפוּנִי כָּל־יְמֵי
חַיַּי, וְשַׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית־יְהֹוָה לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים:

Sephardi

Mizmor leDavid, Adonai ro'i lo echsar: bin'ot deshe yarbitzeni, al
mei menuchot yenahaleni: nafshi yeshovev, yancheni vema'gelei-tzedek lema'an
shemo: gam ki-elech begei tzalmavet lo-ira ra, ki-atah imadi
shivtecha umishantecha hemah yenachamuni: ta'aroch lefanai shulchan neged tzorerai
dishanta vashemen roshi, kosi revayah: ach tov vachesed yirdefuni kol-yemei
chayai, veshavti beveit-Adonai le'orech yamim:

English

A psalm of David. The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You set a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup is filled to overflowing. May goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life, and may I live in the House of the LORD for evermore.

No Kiddush is said before Se’uda Shelishit. However, some say the following:

Ex. 16

Hebrew

וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה, אִכְלֻהוּ הַיּוֹם, כִּי־שַׁבָּת הַיּוֹם לַיהֹוָה, הַיּוֹם לֹא תִמְצָאֻהוּ
בַּשָּׂדֶה: רְאוּ כִּי־יְהֹוָה נָתַן לָכֶם הַשַּׁבָּת עַל־כֵּן הוּא נֹתֵן לָכֶם בַּיּוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי
לֶחֶם יוֹמָיִם, שְׁבוּ אִישׁ תַּחְתָּיו אַל־יֵצֵא אִישׁ מִמְּקֹמוֹ בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי:
וַיִּשְׁבְּתוּ הָעָם בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי:

Sephardi

Vayomer Moshe, ichluhu hayom, ki-Shabbat hayom laAdonai, hayom lo timtza'uhu
basade: re'u ki-Adonai natan lachem haShabbat al-kein hu notein lachem bayom hashishi
lechem yomayim, shevu ish tachtav al-yetze ish mimekomo bayom hashvi'i
vayishbetu ha'am bayom hashvi'i:

English

And Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is the Sabbath for the LORD, today You will not find it in the field. For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; and so He will give you the bread of two days on the sixth of every week: sit each of you in his place, and do not go out on the seventh day.” And all of the people rested on the seventh day.

Ex. 20

Hebrew

עַל־כֵּן בֵּרַךְ יְהֹוָה אֶת־יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת וַיְקַדְּשֵׁהוּ:

Sephardi

Al-kein berach Adonai et-yom haShabbat vayekadeshehu:

English

Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.

Hebrew

סַבְרִי מָרָנָן

Sephardi

Savri maranan

English

Please pay attention, my masters.

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם
בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן.

Sephardi

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha'olam
borei peri hagefen.

English

Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

Commentary

The metaphor then changes. Now the Psalmist is a guest at God’s table, his cup of wine filled to overflowing, his head anointed with oil (oil was placed on the heads of honored guests at banquets: see Ecclesiastes 9:8; Psalm 92:11). Though his enemies are close, they can do him no harm for he is under his host’s protection. The last line delivers the unexpected denouement: the place where the poet experiences these rich feelings of safety is the Temple, “the House of the LORD.”

Said here, toward the end of Shabbat, the psalm has particular force. Often Jews were all too conscious of the dangers that lay ahead as they left the refuge of Shabbat and prepared to reengage with the world outside. With them, however, they took the courage born of faith that “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”

Psalm 23: One of the most sublime passages in all religious literature: a poetic masterpiece – a mere 57 words long – of trust in God’s gentle care. In the first half, the Psalmist sees himself as a sheep of God’s flock, vulnerable yet safe under the shepherd’s protective eye. The tone of serenity is conveyed by a series of pastoral images: “green pastures,” “still waters,” and ma’aglei tzedek, “right (i.e. safe) paths.”

The mood then quickens. The Psalmist speaks of “the valley of the shadow of death” (or “a valley of deep darkness”), perhaps a crevice in the rocks where the sun cannot penetrate and where there may be danger from predators. At this point, the psalm shifts from third to second person as the author turns directly to God, uttering in six simple Hebrew words one of the great declarations of faith: “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”