Verses Of Praise

Pesukei D'zimrah

פְּסוּקֵי דְּזִמְרָה

Visible layers

God cares for the Jewish Nation

Hebrew

הַלְלוּיָהּ, כִּי טוֹב זַמְּרָה
אֱלֹהֵינוּ, כִּי נָעִים
נָאוָה תְהִלָּה: בּוֹנֵה יְרוּשָׁלַיִם
יְיָ, נִדְחֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל יְכַנֵּס:
הָרוֹפֵא לִשְׁבוּרֵי לֵב,1 וּמְחַבֵּשׁ
לְעַצְּבוֹתָם: מוֹנֶה מִסְפָּר
לַכּוֹכָבִים, לְכֻלָּם שֵׁמוֹת
יִקְרָא:2 גָּדוֹל אֲדוֹנֵינוּ וְרַב כֹּחַ,
לִתְבוּנָתוֹ אֵין מִסְפָּר: מְעוֹדֵד
עֲנָוִים יְיָ, מַשְׁפִּיל רְשָׁעִים
עֲדֵי אָרֶץ: עֱנוּ לַיְיָ בְּתוֹדָה,
זַמְּרוּ לֵאלֹהֵינוּ בְּכִנּוֹר:

Sephardi

Halleluyah, ki tov zamrah
Eloheinu, ki na'im
na'vah tehilah: boneh Yerushalayim
Adonai, nidchei Yisrael y'khanes:
harofei lishvurei lev,1 um'chabesh
l'atzvotam: moneh mispar
lakokhavim, l'khulam shemot
yikra:2 gadol Adoneinu v'rav ko'ach,
litvunato ein mispar: m'oded
anavim Adonai, mashpil resha'im
adei aretz: enu la-adonai betodah,
zamru leiloheinu b'chinor:

English

הַלְלוּיָהּ Praise the Lord, Sing to our God because He is good. It is fitting to praise Him because He is pleasant. The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem. God will gather together those of the Children of Israel, who are scattered across distant lands, and He will bring them in to Jerusalem when it is rebuilt. He is the healer of broken-hearted people,1 and He bandages their wounds. He counts the number of stars in the sky and gives a name to each one,2 even the most distant ones. So too, He counts and remembers even the most distant Jewish person. Our Master, God, can do all of this because He is great and very powerful, and His understanding is unlimited. The Lord encourages humble people, and He lowers wicked people down to the ground. Raise your voices to the Lord in thanks, and play on a harp for our God.

God controls the forces of nature

Hebrew

הַמְכַסֶּה שָׁמַיִם בְּעָבִים,
הַמֵּכִין לָאָרֶץ מָטָר, הַמַּצְמִיחַ
הָרִים חָצִיר: נוֹתֵן לִבְהֵמָה3
לַחְמָהּ, לִבְנֵי עֹרֵב אֲשֶׁר
יִקְרָאוּ: לֹא בִגְבוּרַת הַסּוּס
יֶחְפָּץ, לֹא בְשׁוֹקֵי הָאִישׁ
יִרְצֶה: רוֹצֶה יְיָ אֶת יְרֵאָיו,4
אֶת הַמְיַחֲלִים לְחַסְדּוֹ:5
שַׁבְּחִי יְרוּשָׁלַיִם אֶת יְיָ, הַלְלִי
אֱלֹהַיִךְ צִיּוֹן: כִּי חִזַּק בְּרִיחֵי
שְׁעָרָיִךְ, בֵּרַךְ בָּנַיִךְ בְּקִרְבֵּךְ:
הַשָּׂם גְּבוּלֵךְ שָׁלוֹם, חֵלֶב
חִטִּים יַשְׂבִּיעֵךְ: הַשֹּׁלֵחַ
אִמְרָתוֹ אָרֶץ, עַד מְהֵרָה
יָרוּץ דְּבָרוֹ: הַנֹּתֵן שֶׁלֶג
כַּצָּמֶר, כְּפוֹר כָּאֵפֶר יְפַזֵּר:
מַשְׁלִיךְ קַרְחוֹ כְפִתִּים, לִפְנֵי
קָרָתוֹ מִי יַעֲמֹד: יִשְׁלַח
דְּבָרוֹ וְיַמְסֵם, יַשֵּׁב רוּחוֹ
יִזְּלוּ מָיִם: מַגִּיד דְּבָרָיו
לְיַעֲקֹב, חֻקָּיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו
לְיִשְׂרָאֵל: לֹא עָשָׂה כֵן
לְכָל גּוֹי,6 וּמִשְׁפָּטִים בַּל
יְדָעוּם, הַלְלוּיָהּ:7

Sephardi

Hamkhaseh shamayim be'avim,
hamekhin la'aretz matar, hamatzmiach
harim chatzir: noten livheimah3
lachmah, livnei orev asher
yikre'u: lo vigvurat hasus
yechpatz, lo v'shokei ha'ish
yirtzeh: rotzeh Adonai et yere'av,4
et hameyachalim lechasdo:5
shabchi Yerushalayim et Adonai, halleli
Elohayich Tziyon: ki chizek berichei
she'arayikh, berach banayikh b'kirbekh:
hasam g'vulayikh shalom, chelev
chitim yasbi'ekh: hasholeach
imrato aretz, ad meherah
yarutz d'varo: hanotein sheleg
katzamer, k'for ka'efer y'fazer:
mashlikh karcho ch'fitim, lifnei
karato mi ya'amod: yishlach
d'varo v'yamsem, yashev rucho
yizlu mayim: magid devarav
leyaakov, chukav umishpatav
l'Yisrael: lo asah chen
lechol goy,6 umishpatim bal
yeda'um, halleluyah:7

English

He covers the heaven with clouds. He prepares rain for the earth and makes grass grow on mountains. By doing this, He provides food for animals3 living on mountains, which would otherwise have nothing to eat. God even feeds young, helpless ravens that are left alone by their parents, when they call out for food. He does not desire those who rely on the strength of a horse, instead of relying on Him, to save them in a war. He also does not want a person who relies on the strength of his legs. The Lord wants those who fear Him,4 people who long for His kindness and trust in Him.5 Thank the Lord, people who live in the rebuilt Jerusalem. Praise your God, people of Zion (Jerusalem), because He has strengthened the bolts of your cities' gates and protected you from your enemies. He has blessed your children with success, those who live in your midst. He makes sure that there is peace and safety within your borders. He takes care of you and gives you the best wheat to satisfy you. He sends forth His word to control the weather on Earth; the rain runs so quickly to follow His order. He gives us snow, as white as wool. He scatters frost like ashes over the ground on cold mornings. He throws His ice in chunks, making hail. Who can withstand the cold that God can create? But as soon as He wants to, He sends His order and all the ice melts, and He blows His warm wind and the waters flow again. Praise God because He revealed Himself and told His words of Torah to the Children of Jacob. He gave His commandments, some with reasons and some without reasons, to the Children of Israel. He didn't do this for any other nation;6 they don't know the commandments of His Torah. For giving us the wonderful gift of Torah, thank and praise the Lord.7

Commentary

1 We have “broken hearts,” because in exile we cannot completely unite ourselves with God as we would like. Our broken hearts will be healed when God is once again revealed, with the rebuilding of the Temple.

2 Jewish people are compared to stars. Just as a star seems small to us (from earth) but is in fact very large, so is every Jewish person significant. Every one of us has a special “name”—we each contribute something unique and valuable to the world.

3 A person should consider: If an animal can find its sustenance without worry, certainly humans, who are the highest of all creations, should not need to be concerned about it! A person worries about his livelihood only because his negative behavior causes his livelihood to be withheld. Through repentance he can fix this problem and no longer need to worry.

4 The “horse” in this verse symbolizes words of prayer. Just as a horse transports things from one place to another, so do words of prayer carry a person to a higher level of emotional attachment to God. However, God is not content with these emotions, as powerful as they may be, because they are carried by a “horse”—they come from an external source (prayer). God wants our emotions to be internal—He desires people who “fear Him” innately, without the dependence on prayer.

5 This refers to those who do not seek any personal gain from God. Rather, they await the revelation of God’s kindness only so that God’s greatness should be made known.

6 The written Torah is written and available “for all nations” to read, and it may therefore be misinterpreted by them. The Oral Torah, on the other hand, is spoken only by the Jewish Nation; they are God’s “words” that are exclusively for the descendants of “Jacob” and nobody else.

7 An alternative interpretation of these two verses: Only one who speaks God’s “words to Jacob” (i.e. words of Torah), and does not speak the words of “any other nation” (i.e. mundane, worldly issues), will be able to “praise the Lord” properly.