Psalm 81

A composite liturgy of North Israelite (see vs. 6) origin.

The first section (vss. 2—6a) is a hymn composed either for the Passover or for the Feast of Tabernacles. The second part (vss. 6b—17) is a divine oracle in which God reminds his people that it was he who freed them from their slavery in Egypt, led them out of bondage and fed them in the wilderness; he commanded them to worship no strange gods and punished them for their disobedience. If they will but obey him, he will give them victory over their foes and bless them with prosperity.

As one may gather from the ensuing NOTES, the application of the principles of Northwest Semitic grammar may well clear up some of the outstanding syntactic difficulties; cf. especially vss. 5, 6, 7, 8, 11. In its striking use of prepositions, this poem resembles Ps xv. -Anchor Bible

This psalm focuses on the Exodus from Egypt, particularly on the end of the enslavement, which occurred on Rosh Hashanah (Rosh Hashanah 1 la). This psalm was therefore recited in the Holy Temple on Rosh Hashanah (Radak; Meiri). The Psalmist addresses those in exile and instructs them on how to expedite their redemption (Sforno). -Book of Psalms with English Translation and Commentary: With Commentary from the Talmud, Midrash, Kabbalah, Classic Commentators, and the Chasidic Masters.

In Psalm 80, Israel beseeched God to redeem His people from exile.

Psalm 81 celebrates the Divine salvation which ended our servitude in Egypt. The climax of the redemption from bondage in Egypt occurred when the Jews actually left the land on the fifteenth of Nissan, a day which is commemorated by the Passover festival. However, the process of redemption began six months earlier, on the first of Tishrei, Rosh Hashanah, when the Israelites stopped working as slaves for their Egyptian taskmasters (Rosh Hashanah 1 la).

This composition commemorates that event: From the burden I removed his shoulder, I let his hands pass from the kettle (v. 7). This psalm also speaks of the shofar blast (v. 4), a powerful call to celebrate new found freedom and a new year.

This psalm was designated to accompany the Temple sacrifices on Rosh Hashanah (Rosh Hashanah 30b). It is also the Song of the Day, for the fifth day of the week, as will be explained in the commentary to verse 2. -Artscroll

Sing joyously to God, our strength. On Rosh Hashanah, we should thank God for the good He did for us on this day. Although the redemption from Egypt occurred on the fifteenth of Nissan, it began when the Egyptians stopped enslaving the Israelites—on Rosh Hashanah. It is therefore appropriate for us to sing to God our strength, Who showed strength in freeing us from enslavement. Despite the great power of our Egyptian masters, they could no longer enslave us once God decided to free us (Radak).

Confident Song

One might have assumed that it was best to reserve celebration until the completion of a given task. Premature rejoicing seems arrogant at best, harmful at worst. As a people, we have yet to finish our task of fashioning the world into a home for God. One could argue that it is not yet time to rejoice.

But as Radak explains, we praise God even for the beginning of redemption. Just as an army marches into battle with song, so must we approach our task with joy and confidence.⁶⁸ It is the rejoicing that emboldens us and gives us strength. The Psalmist therefore urges us to Sing joyously to God because we know that He is our strength. This confidence will ensure our success (Ihe Rebbe).

Sound the shofar to the God of Jacob. The Psalmist refers to the God ofJacob, since it was the descendants of Jacob's children, the tribes, who were enslaved. Furthermore, it was when Jacob migrated to Egypt with his children that the 210 years of enslavement began (Radak). -Book of Psalms with English Translation and Commentary: With Commentary from the Talmud, Midrash, Kabbalah, Classic Commentators, and the Chasidic Masters.

3. Lift your voices in song. The Hebrew says, perhaps elliptically, “Lift song.”

4. Blast the ram’s horn on the new moon. The subject—which will prove to be only an ostensible subject—of the psalm is now made explicit: the glad song and the sounding instruments are part of the ritual celebration of the new moon, which was a major feast day in biblical times. A whole orchestral ensemble is specified here: singing, stringed instruments, a percussion instrument, and a horn section.

when the moon starts to wax. The Hebrew keseh derives from the verb that means “to cover.” Although many interpreters understand it as a reference to the full moon, it is something of a stretch to imagine that the festive celebration of the new moon invoked in the first verset somehow goes on to a point in time fourteen days later in the second verset. In any case, “cover” accords far better with the time of month when the moon is only a thin sliver than with the time when it is bright and full. -Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (p. 2931).

4. Blow the shofar on the new moon. The Psalmist instructs us to sound the shofar on the first day of the month of Tishrei, which is Rosh Hashanah. The shofar blast signifies the emancipation of slaves, which is why we sound the shofar on Yom Kippur of the Jubilee to declare the slaves free of their masters. Similarly, we sound the shofar on Rosh Hashanah to commemorate the anniversary of our liberation from forced labor and the beginning of our freedom (Radak).

On the new moon (chodesh), The first day of the month is called chodesh after the new (chadash) moon. This is why the entire month is called chodesh (Radak).

The theme of monthly renewal goes deeper than Chasidut the physical reappearance of the moon. At each month's end, the Divine energy allotted for that month ceases. The new month brings with it a new allotment of Divine energy. Thus, the "newness" of a month is in the very Divine force which sustains it.

Of all the months, Tishrei epitomizes renewal, since the Divine energy for the entire upcoming year is conceived on it. The specific energies suited for each individual month are conceived on Rosh Hashanah, the onset of Tishrei. Thus, the theme of redemption in the month of Nissan, the theme of the Giving of the Torah in the month of Sivan, and so on, already exist in abstract form in Tishrei. As the year progresses, this energy takes on the specific character suited for its specific month.

Tishrei is therefore called the new moon, since Tishrei is a blueprint for all the spiritual and material landmarks that are to come throughout the entire year (Rabbi Schneur Zalman ofLiadi).

Rosh Hashana and Sukkot

In the designated time for the day of our Festival, Rosh Hashanah. This interpretation follows Radak and Metzudot.

The Talmud likewise interprets the day of our Festival as referring to Rosh Hashanah but translates the verse differently: "Which is the holiday in which the new moon is hidden (bakeseh)? Say that it is Rosh Hashanah." On Rosh Hashanah, the moon is but a sliver. In the morning, it is hidden from those in the west, and in the evening from those in the east (Rosh Hashanah 8a and Rashi there).

Meiri interprets the phrase as follows: the day (Rosh Hashanah) that designates the day of our Festival, which is Sukkot. The date of Rosh Hashanah, the first of Tishrei, determines the date of Sukkot (Meiri; see Pesikta Rabbati, parashah 39).

Alshich follows Meiri's understanding of Festival but adopts the Talmud's interpretation of bakeseh as hidden: Rosh Hashanah is a day when the results of God's judgment are hidden until the day of our Festival, Sukkot, when, with lulav in hand, we celebrate our exoneration (see Yalkut Shimoni on Psalms 16:11).

Chabad teachings interpret the verse in a manner similar to that of Alshich. The Days of Awe, from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur, are described as "hidden," because our accomplishments during this time are hidden and concealed. Our primary focus throughout these days is to "inspire" God to rededicate His energies to sustaining creation for another year. By renewing our dedication to Him through repentance and introspection, we effect a mirroring rededication in God. All this heavenly drama, however, takes place within God Himself at a plane hidden from the created world.

These spiritual and material reservoirs created on the High Holy Days can be accessed during Sukkot, which is the day of our Festival of the present verse. The latter half of the present verse can be interpreted in this light: during the hidden time, we create Divine inspiration that later is manifest on the day of our Festival, Sukkot. This is why Sukkot is called "the season of our rejoicing," since we can only rejoice over something that is revealed. During Sukkot, we begin to enjoy the Divine energies that emanated during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi).-Book of Psalms with English Translation and Commentary: With Commentary from the Talmud, Midrash, Kabbalah, Classic Commentators, and the Chasidic Masters.

5. For it is an ordinance in Israel. The ordinance referred to is the celebration of the new moon in all its ritual propriety. -Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (p. 2931).

*****

For it is a decree for Israel, a law for the God of Jacob. Sound the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, because it is a decree and law upon you by the God of Jacob to do so (Radak).

The Jewish people do not understand the ultimate reason for the mitzvah, which only God knows. So, while it is an inscrutable decree for Israel (chok), it is a just and explicable law (mishpat) by the God of Jacob (Meiri).

Alternatively: It is a decree for Israel to sound the shofar because it is a day of judgment by the God of Jacob (Rashi). The purpose of the shofar blast is to awaken us to repentance and thereby to be judged meritoriously (Metzudot).

The Heavens Await

All the angels gather near the Holy One, Blessed is Midrash He, and say: "Master of the Universe, when is Rosh Hashanah?" He responds: "You are asking Me? Both I and you must ask the terrestrial court."

When the terrestrial court establishes the new month of Tishrei, thus establishing the day of Rosh Hashanah, God tells the angels to prepare the celestial court for judgment: "Set up a podium, advocates, and clerks—for the terrestrial court has issued a ruling and said that today is Rosh Hashanah."

Hence the verse: When it is a decree for Israel—when Israel establishes the day of Rosh Hashanah—then there is a judgment by the God ofJacob (Midrash Tehillim; see Rosh Hashanah 8a). -Book of Psalms with English Translation and Commentary: With Commentary from the Talmud, Midrash, Kabbalah, Classic Commentators, and the Chasidic Masters.

He placed it as a testimony in Jehoseph (Joseph) when he went forth over the land of Egypt; I heard a language I did not know. This verse is particularly cryptic and lends itself to several interpretations:

Joseph as the Jewish Nation

As we have seen in the previous psalm (verse 2), the Jewish nation may be called Joseph. %us: He placed the mitzvah of shofar as a testimony in Joseph—i.e., in the Jewish nation—to recall when he, the Jewish nation, went forth over the land of Egypt during the Exodus. The Psalmist speaks of Israel going over Egypt, or upon Egypt, as it is written: the children of Israel were leaving with an "upraised arm, " i.e., triumphantly (Exodus 14:8)

During the redemption, I, the Jewish nation, heard the Egyptians speaking a language I did not know—i.e., Egyptian, a language that would have been foreign to me were it not for the exile (Radak).⁷³

Joseph as Joseph

The verse can also be read as a reference to Joseph the individual, who was released from prison on Rosh Hashanah (Rosh Hashanah 10b). On that day, they placed an ornament on Joseph, when he went forth to rule over the land of Egypt. (By having Joseph released on that day, God set it as a testimony that he would free the Israelites from forced labor on that day in the future—Sforno.)

Now, Egyptian law stipulated that only a person with knowledge of all seventy (basic) languages was fit to rule over Egypt. So the angel Gabriel came and taught Joseph all the languages that he did not know. Joseph thought about this as he went forth over Egypt: I heard a language I was taught languages that were previously unknown to me (Metzudot and Rashi from Sotah 36b; see below).

Angelic Tutor

When Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Without you, no man shall raise his arm... (in all of Egypt)" (Genesis 41:44), Pharaoh's astrologers said: "A servant purchased by his master for twenty silver coins—shall you appoint him as a ruler over us?!"

Pharaoh replied: "I see royal characteristics in him."

They said to Pharaoh: "But (according to Egyptian law) he must know the seventy languages."

The angel Gabriel came to teach Joseph the seventy languages, but Joseph could not master them. Gabriel then added one letter from God's Name to Joseph's name, as it is written: He placed it as a testimony in Jehoseph (Joseph), when he went forth over the land of Egypt; I heard a language I did not know. Only after a letter of God's Name was added to Joseph, rendering him "Jehoseph," was he able to hear and understand a language that he did not previously know (Sotah 36b).

A testimony in Jehoseph. Jehoseph is another form of Joseph. Similarly: Yochanan/Yehochanan, or Yonadav/Yehonadav (Radak).

An Extra Letter

In this verse, the letter hey of God's Name is added Talmud to Joseph's name. Because he sanctified God's Name in a secluded place (by not sinning with Potiphar's wife, even though they were alone), one letter of God's Name was added to his name (Sotah 36b).

I heard a language I did not know. Alternatively, when the Israelites witnessed the supernatural miracles of the Exodus, they perceived a "language"—a reality—that they could not have perceived with their rational minds (Meiri). -Book of Psalms with English Translation and Commentary: With Commentary from the Talmud, Midrash, Kabbalah, Classic Commentators, and the Chasidic Masters.

7. I delivered his shoulder from the burden. The celebratory psalm now segues into a Prophetic psalm, with God addressing the people.

the hod. The Hebrew dud refers to the basketlike receptacle in which the laborers carried bricks or material for the manufacture of bricks. -Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (p. 2931).

7. I delivered his shoulder from the burden. The celebratory psalm now segues into a Prophetic psalm, with God addressing the people.

the hod. The Hebrew dud refers to the basketlike receptacle in which the laborers carried bricks or material for the manufacture of bricks. -Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (p. 2931).

8. The waters of Meribah. A reference to two incidents in the Torah where the Israelites demand water, and Moses strikes a rock to bring water forth: in one incident, Moses does so with God’s permission (Exodus 17: 7); in the other incident, Moses does so without God’s permission (Numbers 20: 13). These events will be recalled again in Psalm 95: 8. -Levy, Rabbi Richard N.. Songs Ascending: The Book of Psalms (Vol. 2)

10–11. There shall be among you no foreign god . . . / I am the LORD your God / Who brings you up from the land of Egypt. The entirety of these two verses is a free paraphrase of the beginning of the Ten Commandments. -Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (p. 2931).

11. Open your mouth wide, state all your desires, and will fulfill them. I am the one Who saved you from Egypt, which demonstrates My control over the world. I am capable of fulfilling all your desires, and I will do so as long as you hearken to Me (Metzudot).

When to be Bold

The Talmud asserts that when praying, one should approach God humbly like a pauper who does not have the gumption to ask for a bountiful gift. But the phrase open your mouth wide (to state all your desires) seems to indicate otherwise. To reconcile this contradiction, the Talmud interprets our verse as a reference to Torah study. When asking God for a blessing in the area of Torah study, it is appropriate to open your mouth wide and ask for bountiful blessings (Berachot 50a and Rashi there). The verse begins by reminding us that God did the "impossible" by taking us out of Egypt. It is obviously not beyond him to fulfill our requests to understand the Torah (Maharsha).

If you have set up your prayer, do not constrict your mouth—open your mouth wide and I will fulfill it (Jerusalem Talmud, Taanit 3:6).

Reconciling the Talmuds

The first teaching above, from the Babylonian Chasidut Talmud, seems to contradict the second teaching, which is from the Jerusalem Talmud. The former likewise contradicts the plain meaning of the verse, according to which we are told to ask God to fulfill all our desires, not only those related to Torah.

The resolution lies in understanding the varying levels of prayer. We pray to God for what we need, but what we "need" depends on who we are. At times, our priorities are skewed, and we desperately "need" material things that are in fact luxuries. Of this the verse says, in its plain meaning: Open your mouth wide—turn to God for whatever you feel you need. Recognize that the only place to look for the fulfillment of your needs is God, not your own power.

At this level, the Psalmist is addressing a nonideal state. Clearly, though, he is not encouraging us to have an abundance of needs. How then are we meant to understand the Psalmist's unqualified command—open your mouth wide—suggesting that there is a time when doing so is ideal?

The Babylonian Talmud addresses this question. First, says the Talmud, we should strive to be the type of people whose prayer for material things is modest because we should be modest. We should be the type of people who are not materially needy. How then should we understand the Psalmist's command, open your mouth wide?—as a reference to matters of Torah. Our only neediness should be in the realm of the spirit, to yearn for greater closeness to God and His Torah. -Book of Psalms with English Translation and Commentary: With Commentary from the Talmud, Midrash, Kabbalah, Classic Commentators, and the Chasidic Masters.

12. But My people did not heed My voice. This sequence is a thumbnail summary of the Wilderness narrative—and, by implication, of subsequent Israelite history: God generously provides for the urgent needs of the people (“Open your mouth wide, that I may fill it”), but the people repeatedly rebels. -Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (p. 2931).

16. Those who hate the LORD. These are Israel’s enemies. God is still speaking, but, in a grammatical move fairly common in biblical Hebrew, He refers to Himself in the third person.

their time of doom. The Hebrew says only “their time.” The translation follows the inference of most interpreters, which, one must concede, is chiefly based on the need to make sense of the term in context. An emendation yields “their terror.”

17. I would feed him the finest wheat. The “him” must refer to Israel. Such switches without signaling transition in pronominal reference occur frequently in biblical usage. The Masoretic Text also shows a third-person verb (“and He would feed him”), but many scholars emend this to the first person, as does this translation. -Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (pp. 2931-2932).

Honey from the rock. This phrase is found in Moses’ farewell song, Haazinu, Deuteronomy 32: 13. -Levy, Rabbi Richard N.. Songs Ascending: The Book of Psalms (Vol. 2)

Psalm 81

This psalm was the Thursday song

of the Levites in the Holy Temple.

Accompany this Asaph song with the guitar.

Make music to God,

the Source of our strength;

trumpet a fanfare to Jacob’s God.

Louder! Drum rolls!

Sweet-sounding violins and pipes.

Greet the New Moon with the shofar,*

the time when the moon is hidden—

and still we celebrate.

This is the imperative for Israel—

to become prepared for being judged by Jacob’s God.

[Like that day when]

Joseph was empowered

to go out and rule Egypt,

able to understand

a language he never learned.

[This caused, in the end,]

the heavy load to be taken from his back,

no longer having to knead the clay.

You called when oppressed

and I freed you.

In the thunder you heard

my secret message;

later, I tested you at Meribah’s springs.

Selah!

Listen my people!

I witness this to you!

Israel, if only you would listen to Me:

“Don’t cling to a strange God;

don’t worship an alien deity.

It is I, YaH,

who took You up from Egypt;

I fed You

and You were sated to fullness.”

But My people did not obey me;

Israel did not desire Me close.

I let them have their hearts’ way,

to pursue their own devices.

Oy! If only my people would obey Me,

Israel would walk in My ways—

in a moment

I would subdue their foes;

I would with My hands

repay them.

Those who loathe Me, but deny it

will have their rebuke forever.

[but you who obey,]

I will feed with the fat of grain

and satisfy

with honey from the rock.

-Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman. Psalms in a Translation for Praying .

Spiritual Applications

“Oh that My people would listen to Me!” As the poet imagines God speaking such words, he reminds us that we too need to empathize with God sometimes. Now and then it would broaden our spiritual experience to offer a prayer to God not just for what we need, but for what God might need— and while God, we assume, does not need material gifts or solutions to problems, the poet here is surely correct that God needs to know that the Holy One’s creatures are listening, and are heeding the divine voice. We can assure God that we are listening, but we need to go beyond that, and encourage people we know to listen, to help them perceive what messages God is giving them, and how they can act on them.

We also need to help people understand another important teaching that the poet places in God’s mouth: “There shall be no strange god with you.” What would that mean? If God is everywhere, how could we even imagine a “strange” god? A frequent answer is that strange gods are powers that we attribute to money or status or possessions, about which we think: if we only had them, they would automatically change the kind of people we are. One of the interesting things about this psalm is that it too suggests that we will find God’s presence in something other than substances— the sound of the thunder, a celebration on a drum. We might argue that while status and money have no intrinsic substance beyond what we can use to negotiate, some possessions do have substance: jewelry, for example, or works of art, or handsomely turned out furniture. If we asked about such possessions, “Where can I find God’s presence in this precious stone, in the highly polished wood of this table?” we might remember that God created them, that people bearing God’s image worked to produce them; we might also remember that God is called a Rock, and that jewels made up the breastplate of the High Priest; that a table was a primary focus of worship in the tabernacle in the wilderness.

Such an analysis on our part would turn such objects from being gods in themselves to opportunities to worship God the Creator, who dwells with the hiding place of thunder— where might that be? in the clouds? in the air as electric particles collide? in our ears, where the sound registers? No wonder we are urged to take the hearing of thunder as an opportunity to say a blessing (praising God whose might and power fill the universe)! We do not say a blessing when we play a musical instrument, because the sound derives from our own skill (the blessing for the shofar is for the command to hear it, not to play it)— but perhaps we should, since like the shofar, the sound of a drum or a violin is the product of our bodies and the instrument itself.

Praised are You, O God, who helps us forge

instruments from the wood and metal and

string You create, that respond to Your

presence with sounds from Your realm— the hiding place of music.

We might even create a prayer for money— not praying to it, but praying to God to help us use it to accomplish God’s mitzvot. The Talmud suggests that the Levites chose this psalm for the fifth day of the week (our Thursday), when God formed the creatures of earth and sky, so they might praise God’s name (Rosh HaShanah 31a). Thursday offers an

opportunity to listen for these choruses of praise from the natural world, and to join in with our own. -Levy, Rabbi Richard N.. Songs Ascending: The Book of Psalms (Vol. 2)