1. Opening Question
How do I address God?
Does it make a difference how (by what name) I call God?
Abie Rotenberg, "Ke'ayol Taarog,"(1981?) performed by Dveykus [The word deveikut/דבקות means 'cleaving (to God)']
This song uses the words of Psalm 42:2 in Hebrew
כְּאַיָּ֗ל תַּעֲרֹ֥ג עַל־אֲפִֽיקֵי־מָ֑יִם כֵּ֤ן נַפְשִׁ֨י תַעֲרֹ֖ג אֵלֶ֣יךָ אֱלֹקִֽים
Ke'ayol ta'arog al-afeekei mayim, kein nafshi ta'arog eilekha, Elokim
Like a hind crying for water,
my soul cries for You, O God
2. Psalms about "God"
The Elohistic Psalter
Psalter means a collection of psalms.
Elohistic means having to do with the name "Elohim" for God.
Adele Berlin & Marc Zvi Brettler, The Jewish Study Bible, Introduction to Psalm 42
Psalm 42 begins a collection called the Elohistic Psalter. Comprised of Psalms 42-83, this section much prefers the Hebrew "elohim," "God"...to Lord (Hebrew "YHVH"), in sharp contrast to the rest of the Psalter. Phrases like (Psalms 43:4) "O God, my God" are awkward in Hebrew, and may reflect a revision of the more common and expected, "O Lord, my God" (e.g., Jonah 2:7). ...
Scholars suggest that most of the references to God in this grouping are secondary, and were originally Lord ("YHVH"); these were changecd by an editor who preferred to call the deity "'elohim," God.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Koren Siddur (2009), Introduction, "Keywords of Prayer: The Names of God," p. xlv
The two key names, in prayer as in the Torah, are (1) the Tetragrammaton, י-ה-ו-ה, the 'four letter' name, and (2) א-להים Elohim. The Sages understood the Tetragrammaton as God's compassion. Elohim is God's attribute of justice.
Judah HaLevi (c. 1075-1141, in his Kuzari, IV:1) made a more fundamental distinction. The ancients used the word El or Elo'ah to designate a force of nature: the sun, the sea, the storm, and so on. These they personified as gods. Often, therefore, el, or elil, denotes an idol. In Hebrew... Elohim in the plural means "the One who is the totality of powers, forces and causes in the universe." It refers to God as we experience Him in creation and its natural laws, as well as in justice and its moral laws. ...
The Tetragrammaton...is God's proper name, standing in relation to Him as the names Abraham or Sarah attach to human beings (hence it is sometimes referred to as HaShem, 'the name'). The use of a proper name in connection with God means that a direct relationship between us and heaven is possible.
----
Note: we do not pronounce the Four-Letter Name of God as it is written. Indeed, we do not have a living Jewish tradition about how the name should be pronounced. Rather, we usually say "Adonai" as if it were written א-ד-ו-נ-י. "Adonai" means 'my Lord.' So we do not express this name as God's proper name at all.
3. Psalms of the Sons of Korach
The psalms associated with the "Sons of Korach" are 42-49, 84-85, and 87-88. This collection includes the psalm of the day for Monday (48) and a psalm often recited in the house of mourning (49).
(19) Levites of the sons of Kohath and of the sons of Korah got up to extol the LORD God of Israel at the top of their voices.
(יח) וַיִּקֹּ֧ד יְהוֹשָׁפָ֛ט אַפַּ֖יִם אָ֑רְצָה וְכׇל־יְהוּדָ֞ה וְיֹשְׁבֵ֣י יְרוּשָׁלַ֗͏ִם נָֽפְלוּ֙ לִפְנֵ֣י ה' לְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֺ֖ת לַה'׃ (יט) וַיָּקֻ֧מוּ הַלְוִיִּ֛ם מִן־בְּנֵ֥י הַקְּהָתִ֖ים וּמִן־בְּנֵ֣י הַקׇּרְחִ֑ים לְהַלֵּ֗ל לַֽה' אֱלֹקֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּק֥וֹל גָּד֖וֹל לְמָֽעְלָה׃ (כ) וַיַּשְׁכִּ֣ימוּ בַבֹּ֔קֶר וַיֵּצְא֖וּ לְמִדְבַּ֣ר תְּק֑וֹעַ וּבְצֵאתָ֞ם עָמַ֣ד יְהוֹשָׁפָ֗ט וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ שְׁמָע֗וּנִי יְהוּדָה֙ וְיֹשְׁבֵ֣י יְרוּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם הַאֲמִ֜ינוּ בַּֽה' אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ וְתֵ֣אָמֵ֔נוּ הַאֲמִ֥ינוּ בִנְבִיאָ֖יו וְהַצְלִֽיחוּ׃
(כא) וַיִּוָּעַץ֙ אֶל־הָעָ֔ם וַיַּעֲמֵ֤ד מְשֹֽׁרְרִים֙ לַה' וּֽמְהַלְלִ֖ים לְהַדְרַת־קֹ֑דֶשׁ בְּצֵאת֙ לִפְנֵ֣י הֶחָל֔וּץ וְאֹמְרִים֙ הוֹד֣וּ לַה' כִּ֥י לְעוֹלָ֖ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃ (כב) וּבְעֵת֩ הֵחֵ֨לּוּ בְרִנָּ֜ה וּתְהִלָּ֗ה נָתַ֣ן ה' ׀ מְ֠אָֽרְבִ֠ים עַל־בְּנֵ֨י עַמּ֜וֹן מוֹאָ֧ב וְהַר־שֵׂעִ֛יר הַבָּאִ֥ים לִֽיהוּדָ֖ה וַיִּנָּגֵֽפוּ׃
(18) Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem threw themselves down before the LORD to worship the LORD. (19) Levites of the sons of Kohath and of the sons of Korah got up to extol the LORD God of Israel at the top of their voices. (20) Early the next morning they arose and went forth to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: Trust firmly in the LORD your God and you will stand firm; trust firmly in His prophets and you will succeed.”
(21) After taking counsel with the people, he stationed singers to the LORD extolling the One majestic in holiness as they went forth ahead of the vanguard, saying, “Praise the LORD, for His steadfast love is eternal.” (22) As they began their joyous shouts and hymns, the LORD set ambushes for the men of Ammon, Moab, and the hill country of Seir, who were marching against Judah, and they were routed.
4. Psalms 42-43 in Liturgy
42:6, 42:12, and 43:5 are quoted in Lecha Dodi (Friday night liturgy)
Psalms 42 and 43 appear
- in the mystical practice of "Tikkun Chatzot" (a midnight prayer)
- as a psalm for Sukkot in Sephardic practice and the practice of the Gaon of Vilna
(יב) לא תֵבושי וְלא תִכָּלְמִי.
מַה תִּשתּוחֲחִי וּמַה תֶּהֱמִי.
בָּךְ יֶחֱסוּ עֲנִיֵּי עַמִּי.
וְנִבְנְתָה עִיר עַל תִּלָּהּ.
Do not be ashamed, do not be confounded.
Why be downcast? Why do you mourn?
In you the needy of My people find shelter,
And the city shall be rebuilt on its hill. (Transl. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Koren Siddur)
5. Our Text(s): Psalms 42-43
Our psalm(s) open Book 2 of Psalms; they are the first of the psalms of the Sons of Korach; and they are the first of the Elohistic psalms.
(א) לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מַשְׂכִּ֥יל לִבְנֵי־קֹֽרַח׃
(ב) כְּאַיָּ֗ל תַּעֲרֹ֥ג עַל־אֲפִֽיקֵי־מָ֑יִם כֵּ֤ן נַפְשִׁ֨י תַעֲרֹ֖ג אֵלֶ֣יךָ אֱלֹקִֽים׃ (ג) צָמְאָ֬ה נַפְשִׁ֨י ׀ לֵאלֹקִים֮ לְאֵ֢-ל חָ֥֫י מָתַ֥י אָב֑וֹא וְ֝אֵרָאֶ֗ה פְּנֵ֣י אֱלֹקִֽים׃ (ד) הָיְתָה־לִּ֬י דִמְעָתִ֣י לֶ֭חֶם יוֹמָ֣ם וָלָ֑יְלָה בֶּאֱמֹ֥ר אֵלַ֥י כׇּל־הַ֝יּ֗וֹם אַיֵּ֥ה אֱלֹקֶֽיךָ׃ (ה) אֵ֤לֶּה אֶזְכְּרָ֨ה ׀ וְאֶשְׁפְּכָ֬ה עָלַ֨י ׀ נַפְשִׁ֗י כִּ֤י אֶעֱבֹ֨ר ׀ בַּסָּךְ֮ אֶדַּדֵּ֗ם עַד־בֵּ֥ית אֱלֹ֫קִ֥ים בְּקוֹל־רִנָּ֥ה וְתוֹדָ֗ה הָמ֥וֹן חוֹגֵֽג׃
(ו) מַה־תִּשְׁתּ֬וֹחֲחִ֨י ׀ נַפְשִׁי֮ וַתֶּהֱמִ֢י עָ֫לָ֥י הוֹחִ֣לִי לֵ֭אלֹקִים כִּי־ע֥וֹד אוֹדֶ֗נּוּ יְשׁוּע֥וֹת פָּנָֽיו׃
(ז) אֱלֹקַ֗י עָלַי֮ נַפְשִׁ֢י תִשְׁתּ֫וֹחָ֥ח עַל־כֵּ֗ן אֶ֭זְכׇּרְךָ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ יַרְדֵּ֑ן וְ֝חֶרְמוֹנִ֗ים מֵהַ֥ר מִצְעָֽר׃ (ח) תְּהוֹם־אֶל־תְּה֣וֹם ק֭וֹרֵא לְק֣וֹל צִנּוֹרֶ֑יךָ כׇּֽל־מִשְׁבָּרֶ֥יךָ וְ֝גַלֶּ֗יךָ עָלַ֥י עָבָֽרוּ׃ (ט) יוֹמָ֤ם ׀ יְצַוֶּ֬ה ה' ׀ חַסְדּ֗וֹ וּ֭בַלַּיְלָה שִׁירֹ֣ה עִמִּ֑י תְּ֝פִלָּ֗ה לְאֵ֣-ל חַיָּֽי׃ (י) אוֹמְרָ֤ה ׀ לְאֵ֥-ל סַלְעִי֮ לָמָ֢ה שְׁכַ֫חְתָּ֥נִי לָֽמָּה־קֹדֵ֥ר אֵלֵ֗ךְ בְּלַ֣חַץ אוֹיֵֽב׃ (יא) בְּרֶ֤צַח ׀ בְּֽעַצְמוֹתַ֗י חֵרְפ֥וּנִי צוֹרְרָ֑י בְּאׇמְרָ֥ם אֵלַ֥י כׇּל־הַ֝יּ֗וֹם אַיֵּ֥ה אֱלֹקֶֽיךָ׃
(יב) מַה־תִּשְׁתּ֬וֹחֲחִ֨י ׀ נַפְשִׁי֮ וּֽמַה־תֶּהֱמִ֢י עָ֫לָ֥י הוֹחִ֣ילִי לֵ֭אלֹקִים כִּי־ע֣וֹד אוֹדֶ֑נּוּ יְשׁוּעֹ֥ת פָּ֝נַ֗י וֵאלֹקָֽי׃ {פ}
(1) For the leader. A maskil of the Korahites.
(2) Like a hind crying for water,
my soul cries for You, O God; (3) my soul thirsts for God, the living God;
O when will I come to appear before God! (4) My tears have been my food day and night;
I am ever taunted with, “Where is your God?” (5) When I think of this, I pour out my soul:
how I walked with the crowd, moved with them,-b
the festive throng, to the House of God
with joyous shouts of praise.
(6) Why so downcast, my soul,
why disquieted within me?
Have hope in God;
I will yet praise Him
for His saving presence.-c
Note c in JPS translation: Several ancient versions and Heb. mss. connect the first word in v. 7 with the end of 6, reading yeshu‘ot panai we’Elohai, “my ever-present help, my God,” as in vv. 12 and Ps. 43.5.
(7) O my God, my soul is downcast;
therefore I think of You
in this land of Jordan and Hermon,
in Mount Mizar, (8) where deep calls to deep
in the roar of Your cataracts;-b
all Your breakers and billows have swept over me. (9) By day may the LORD vouchsafe His faithful care,
so that at night a song to Him may be with me,
a prayer to the God of my life. (10) I say to God, my rock,
“Why have You forgotten me,
why must I walk in gloom,
oppressed by my enemy?” (11) Crushing my bones,-b
my foes revile me,
taunting me always with, “Where is your God?”
(12) Why so downcast, my soul,
why disquieted within me?
Have hope in God;
I will yet praise Him,
my ever-present help, my God.
(א) שׇׁפְטֵ֤נִי אֱלֹקִ֨ים ׀ וְרִ֘יבָ֤ה רִיבִ֗י מִגּ֥וֹי לֹֽא־חָסִ֑יד מֵ֤אִישׁ מִרְמָ֖ה וְעַוְלָ֣ה תְפַלְּטֵֽנִי׃ (ב) כִּֽי־אַתָּ֤ה ׀ אֱלֹקֵ֣י מָֽעוּזִּי֮ לָמָ֢ה זְנַ֫חְתָּ֥נִי לָֽמָּה־קֹדֵ֥ר אֶתְהַלֵּ֗ךְ בְּלַ֣חַץ אוֹיֵֽב׃ (ג) שְׁלַח־אוֹרְךָ֣ וַ֭אֲמִתְּךָ הֵ֣מָּה יַנְח֑וּנִי יְבִיא֥וּנִי אֶל־הַֽר־קׇ֝דְשְׁךָ֗ וְאֶל־מִשְׁכְּנוֹתֶֽיךָ׃ (ד) וְאָב֤וֹאָה ׀ אֶל־מִזְבַּ֬ח אֱלֹקִ֗ים אֶל־אֵ-ל֮ שִׂמְחַ֢ת גִּ֫ילִ֥י וְאוֹדְךָ֥ בְכִנּ֗וֹר אֱלֹקִ֥ים אֱלֹקָֽי׃
(ה) מַה־תִּשְׁתּ֬וֹחֲחִ֨י ׀ נַפְשִׁי֮ וּֽמַה־תֶּהֱמִ֢י עָ֫לָ֥י הוֹחִ֣ילִי לֵ֭אלֹקִים כִּי־ע֣וֹד אוֹדֶ֑נּוּ יְשׁוּעֹ֥ת פָּ֝נַ֗י וֵאלֹקָֽי׃ {פ}
(1) Vindicate me, O God,
champion my cause
against faithless people;
rescue me from the treacherous, dishonest man. (2) For You are my God, my stronghold;
why have You rejected me?
Why must I walk in gloom,
oppressed by the enemy? (3) Send forth Your light and Your truth;
they will lead me;
they will bring me to Your holy mountain,
to Your dwelling-place, (4) that I may come to the altar of God,
God, my delight, my joy;
that I may praise You with the lyre,
O God, my God.
(5) Why so downcast, my soul,
why disquieted within me?
Have hope in God;
I will yet praise Him,
my ever-present help, my God.
6. Commentaries
6a. Yearning for the Temple
Amos Hakham, Commentary (Da'at Mikra, Hebrew), Introduction, p. 18 (transl. by David Rosenberg) (2007 edition)
Many psalms express yearning for the House of God, for Zion, and for Jerusalem. Here too, the words may be explained in a general way, that the intention is not precisely to come to the 'temple below.' These references intimate a yearning for closeness [דבקות/deveikut] to God, His service, and awe for Him. ... In this time, the words can also be taken as a prayer for the rebuilding of the Temple and the return of the divine presence to Jerusalem.
6b. Water
verse (8) where deep /tehom calls to deep
in the roar of Your cataracts;
all Your breakers /mishbarekha and billows have swept over me.
תְּהוֹם־אֶל־תְּה֣וֹם ק֭וֹרֵא לְק֣וֹל צִנּוֹרֶ֑יךָ כׇּֽל־מִשְׁבָּרֶ֥יךָ וְ֝גַלֶּ֗יךָ עָלַ֥י עָבָֽרוּ׃
Adele Berlin & Marc Zvi Brettler, Commentary
A mythological reference, alluding to the cosmic waters of creation, and perhaps also to the souruces of the Jordan River in northern Israel. The psalmist feels overwhelmed by these waters; compare Jonah 2:4.
(2) the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep/tehom and a wind from God sweeping over the water—
(4) You cast me into the depths,
Into the heart of the sea,
The floods engulfed me;
All Your breakers /mishbarekha and billows
Swept over me.
"Deep Calls To Deep," Simon Peter Davis
Found at https://www.929.org.il/lang/en/page/609/post/83232
6c. Can we see God? (verse 3)
(ג) צָמְאָ֬ה נַפְשִׁ֨י ׀ לֵאלֹקִים֮ לְאֵ֢-ל חָ֥֫י מָתַ֥י אָב֑וֹא וְ֝אֵרָאֶ֗ה פְּנֵ֣י אֱלֹקִֽים׃
(3) my soul thirsts for God, the living God;
O when will I come to appear before God!
(יב) כִּ֣י תָבֹ֔אוּ לֵֽרָא֖וֹת פָּנָ֑י מִֽי־בִקֵּ֥שׁ זֹ֛את מִיֶּדְכֶ֖ם רְמֹ֥ס חֲצֵרָֽי׃
(12) That you come to appear before Me—
Who asked that of you?
Trample My courts
Amos Hakham, Commentary to 42:3, note 4b, p. 241. (paraphrase by David Rosenberg)
Shadal, in his commentary to Isaiah 1:12, suggests that initially all the references to (appearing before God) were in the Kal pattern [meaning, 'to see'] and that the vocalization was changed to the Nif'al (Passive) pattern [meaning, 'to be seen, to appear'] out of respect for God, to indicate that one cannot see God with the human eye.
Samuel David Luzzatto or "ShaDaL", Italian Jewish scholar and commentator (1800-1865).
For example, לראות can be pronounced lir'ot (to see) or lei'ra'ot (to be seen)
6d. Where is your God? (verses 4 and 11)
Amos Hakham, Commentary to 42:4
According to the thought process of idolators, the psalmist is stuck without worship and hence without any god at all.
Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, The Koren Tehillim (2015), commentary to Psalm 42, pp. 211 and 210
Many a Holocaust story describes incidents in which extreme physical torture was made even more unbearable by precisely this taunt, 'Where is your God?'
Among those stories is one related by a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, Yosef Friedensohn. He tells of a brave hasidic Jew whom he witnessed being whipped by a Gestapo officer. At one point the Nazi paused and said to his victim, 'God has abandoned you, hasn't He?' Mr. Friedensohn, standing at some distance from the scene, felt those words piercing his flesh like daggers.
But the brave victim proudly stood his ground, and proclaimed in Yiddish, 'Yah! Aber nisht auf eibik und nisht total!' 'Yes, He has abandoned us, but not forever, and not totally.'
Jina Davidovich & Jeremy Shuback "Where is Your God" (video), BimBam, August 21, 2013
Seen at https://youtu.be/kT4hCs-iMgQ