(א) מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד ה' רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר׃
(ב) בִּנְאוֹת דֶּשֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵנִי עַל־מֵי מְנֻחוֹת יְנַהֲלֵנִי׃
(ג) נַפְשִׁי יְשׁוֹבֵב יַנְחֵנִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶדֶק לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ׃
(ד) גַּם כִּי־אֵלֵךְ בְּגֵיא צַלְמָוֶת לֹא־אִירָא רָע כִּי־אַתָּה עִמָּדִי שִׁבְטְךָ וּמִשְׁעַנְתֶּךָ הֵמָּה יְנַחֲמֻנִי׃
(ה) תַּעֲרֹךְ לְפָנַי שֻׁלְחָן נֶגֶד צֹרְרָי דִּשַּׁנְתָּ בַשֶּׁמֶן רֹאשִׁי כּוֹסִי רְוָיָה׃
(ו) אַךְ טוֹב וָחֶסֶד יִרְדְּפוּנִי כׇּל־יְמֵי חַיָּי וְשַׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית־ה' לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים׃
(1) A psalm of David.
Adonai is my shepherd; I lack nothing.
(2) [God] lays me down in green pastures;
and leads me to peaceful waters
(3) Restoring my being, guiding me in cycles of righteousness for the sake of the divine name.
(4) And although I walk through the valley of death's shadow, I fear no harm, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff—they are a comfort to me.
(5) You array a table for me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
(6) Only goodness and kindness will pursue me all the days of my life, and I shall settle in God's house for many long years.
Only goodness and kindness will pursue me: I am grateful to You for the goodness that You have given me up to now. Only: This is what I ask from You: that Your goodness and Your kindness will pursue me.
All the days of my life: and wars and worldly concerns will not trouble me.
טוב לנפשי, וחסד עם אחרים ללמדם ולהורותם לעבוד את ה', עד שיהיה לי חוק, כי אילו רציתי להניח הטוב רגע אחד, הוא היה רודף אחרי.
Goodness for myself, and kindness with others, to teach them and instruct them to serve God. This is even a law for me, for if I wanted to bring goodness at a given moment, it [kindness] would follow after me.
(א) ויירא יעקב מאוד וייצר לו וגו', שמעתי מפי אאמו"ר בשם הבעל שם טוב הקדוש ביאור פסוק (תהילים כ״ג:ו׳) אך טוב וחסד ירדפוני כל ימי חיי וכו', כי לפעמים האדם אינו יודע טובתו, כי מי זה האיש אשר יחכם להבין אופני טובתו, והגם שהטובה רודפת אחריו בחמלת ה' עליו שרוצה להופיעו אור ישע והצלחה, הוא פונה עורף ולא פנים, ובורח ממה שהיה טובתו באמת, כי אין אתו ידיעה כלל שאם יעשה זה ירוויח ויצליח, על כן ביקש דוד ברוח קדשו עבור כלל ישראל, אך טוב וחסד, שאתה רוצה לעשות עמי ואין בי דעת לקבלם ולהביאם אלי, ואולי הנני עוד בורח מפניהם, על כן אני מבקש מאתך שהם ירדפו אחרי, בלי אוכל לברוח מפניהם עד שאקבלם ואביא ברכה לתוך ביתי, וזהו ירדפונ"י שהם ירדפו אחרי עד שישיגוני:
"And Jacob was terribly afraid, and it distressed him," (Breishit 32:8). I heard from the mouth of my father, my teacher, in the name of the holy Baal Shem Tov, an elucidation of this verse "Only goodness and kindness will pursue me all the days of my life." (Psalms 23:6) For sometimes, a person does not realize their goodness. Who is the person who is wise enough to understand the cycles of their goodness, and even that goodness pursues after them through God's compassion on him, that God wants to show the light of deliverance and triumph, and [the person] turns away and doesn't face it, but runs away from what is actually good for them. For they don't know at all that if they do [face it], it will inspire and support them. Thus, David [the Psalmist] asks through his holy inspiration on behalf of the entirety of Israel, "Indeed goodness and kindness..." that You want to do with me, and I do not know how to receive them and to bring them toward me. and perhaps, here I am even running away from them. All the while I ask from You that they [goodness and kindness] pursue me, without being able to escape them until I receive them and bring the blessing into my home. And that is the meaning of "[they] will pursue me," that they chase after me until they overtake me.
Marlanda Dekine
Grandma Thelma told me if I slept on my back
a hag would ride me and I’d never return, so I trained
my body to sleep on my stomach. Even now,
if I wake up cold, I open my mouth
and repeat the 23rd Psalm.
Grandma Thelma told me I might see a plat-eye
when I was seven years old. I could imagine
cypress knees growing full bodies
to walk the hungry road, an entire body
of eye nicknamed Plat.
Grandma Thelma told me I’d feel welcomed by the eye.
I’d be made to feel safe and loved,
but if I looked directly into that big white-bodied cornea,
I’d forget where I came from.
I’d be disappeared.