(א) עַ֥ל נַהֲר֨וֹת ׀ בָּבֶ֗ל שָׁ֣ם יָ֭שַׁבְנוּ גַּם־בָּכִ֑ינוּ בְּ֝זָכְרֵ֗נוּ אֶת־צִיּֽוֹן׃ (ב) עַֽל־עֲרָבִ֥ים בְּתוֹכָ֑הּ תָּ֝לִ֗ינוּ כִּנֹּרוֹתֵֽינוּ׃ (ג) כִּ֤י שָׁ֨ם שְֽׁאֵל֪וּנוּ שׁוֹבֵ֡ינוּ דִּבְרֵי־שִׁ֭יר וְתוֹלָלֵ֣ינוּ שִׂמְחָ֑ה שִׁ֥ירוּ לָ֝֗נוּ מִשִּׁ֥יר צִיּֽוֹן׃ (ד) אֵ֗יךְ נָשִׁ֥יר אֶת־שִׁיר־ה' עַ֝֗ל אַדְמַ֥ת נֵכָֽר׃ (ה) אִֽם־אֶשְׁכָּחֵ֥ךְ יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח יְמִינִֽי׃ (ו) תִּדְבַּ֥ק־לְשׁוֹנִ֨י ׀ לְחִכִּי֮ אִם־לֹ֪א אֶ֫זְכְּרֵ֥כִי אִם־לֹ֣א אַ֭עֲלֶה אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַ֑ם עַ֝֗ל רֹ֣אשׁ שִׂמְחָתִֽי׃ (ז) זְכֹ֤ר ה' ׀ לִבְנֵ֬י אֱד֗וֹם אֵת֮ י֤וֹם יְֽרוּשָׁ֫לִָ֥ם הָ֭אֹ֣מְרִים עָ֤רוּ ׀ עָ֑רוּ עַ֝֗ד הַיְס֥וֹד בָּֽהּ׃ (ח) בַּת־בָּבֶ֗ל הַשְּׁד֫וּדָ֥ה אַשְׁרֵ֥י שֶׁיְשַׁלֶּם־לָ֑ךְ אֶת־גְּ֝מוּלֵ֗ךְ שֶׁגָּמַ֥לְתְּ לָֽנוּ׃ (ט) אַשְׁרֵ֤י ׀ שֶׁיֹּאחֵ֓ז וְנִפֵּ֬ץ אֶֽת־עֹ֝לָלַ֗יִךְ אֶל־הַסָּֽלַע׃
(1) By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, sat and wept, as we thought of Zion. (2) There on the poplars we hung up our lyres, (3) for our captors asked us there for songs, our tormentors, for amusement, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” (4) How can we sing a song of the LORD on alien soil? (5) If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither; (6) let my tongue stick to my palate if I cease to think of you, if I do not keep Jerusalem in memory even at my happiest hour. (7) Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem’s fall; how they cried, “Strip her, strip her to her very foundations!” (8) Fair Babylon, you predator, a blessing on him who repays you in kind what you have inflicted on us; (9) a blessing on him who seizes your babies and dashes them against the rocks!
Questions I
Other than the fact that the psalm speaks of Babylon, why is this the quintessential psalm of exile and destruction? What is the psalm's central message?
Consider the symbol of music in your answer. How many of the verses relate to song either directly or through association? What was the purpose of music in that time in our history? Why might the loss of music express the central message of this psalm?
Malbim Psalm 137:1
By the rivers of Babylon – In Babylon we were not weeping and mourning Zion for the sake of the material goods we had lost, the wealth and possessions, fields and vineyards, because also ‘by the rivers of Babylon, there we sat’ meaning we had an established settlement. We also had there fields and vineyards, as it is written “build houses and live in them, plant vineyards and eat their fruits” (Jeremiah 29:5) Nevertheless, we also wept when we remembered Zion because we recalled the holiness of Zion, where the "there" was the Holy Temple, the service and the Divine Presence. For this we wept, for the spiritual joy which was lost to us.
Comment I
According to the prophet Jeremiah, the residence in Babylon will not be a short. The feeling of being cut off will not be fleeting. Psalm 137 is about losing our connection to holiness and relationship with God.
The tone and images of the psalm shift in verses 7 through 9, yet the theme of the psalm continues. Take a look at two commentaries below.
Daniel E. Polish--Bringing the Psalms to Life, 137:9
"Not the noblest of emotions, but our own: they reflect what most of us feel in the midst of travail. even if we are not proud of such sentiments, we can identify them as being profoundly human."
Matthew Henry--Bible Commentary, 137:9
As an utter destruction. The very little ones of Babylon, when it is taken by storm, and all in it are put to the sword, shall be dashed to pieces by the enraged and merciless conqueror. None escape if these little ones perish. Those are the seed of another generation; so that, if they be cut off, the ruin will be not only total, as Jerusalem’s was, but final. It is sunk like a millstone into the sea, never to rise.
Comment II
Babylon is a symbol of being in "the most distant place" not only in terms of geography, but also in terms of our state of being. The holiday of Tish b'Av is about acknowledging the darkest parts of our souls, like the parts that could wish for the destruction of a people. Tish b'Av is about the times in our lives when we can't sing holy songs. It’s about the times we feel cut off from God.
Take a look at Rami Shapiro's interpretation of Psalm 137 below.
Psalm 137 Rami Shapiro-Accidental Grace
By the rivers of Babylon
I collapse in tears
bemoaning my fate.
There was a time I believe in my own power.
I thought I could conjure You
through rite and ritual,
control You through psalms and sacrifice,
and make of You a fortress and shield against my enemies.
I was wrong, and my error has cost me everything.
So I sit and weep
hoping my tears can do what my magic could not:
show me the truth.
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
and again lift my sword in service to arrogance,
let my right hand shrivel.
If I abandon truth,
and again allow injustice to masquerade as deserved glory,
let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
reducing my speech to mumbling.
Ignorance has brought me here.
Arrogance is the cause of my ruin.
Let me remember how these led to the crumbling of my city,
and the shattering of my Temple.
And let me give thanks to You for leading me here.
Please, God, silence the vengefulness within me
that justifies battering the babies of my enemies
on the rocks of their city until their bodies dissolve in pools of blood and fat.
Help me step beyond anger to humility,
beyond cruelty to kindness,
beyond hatred to forgiveness and love,
and in this way realize a new way of being as I sit by the waters of Babylon.
Questions II
One last question: Tish b'Av comes seven short weeks before Rosh haShannah. How does Tish b'Av, a holiday that acknowledges the times we feel farthest from God, lead into our spiritual preparation for High Holidays?