Special Custom for the Month of Elul and High Holidays
The Baal Shem Tov instituted a custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms).
See below for today's additional chapters.
Chapter 55
David composed this psalm upon escaping from Jerusalem in the face of the slanderers, Doeg and Achitofel, who had declared him deserving of death. David had considered Achitofel a friend and accorded him the utmost honor, but Achitofel betrayed him and breached their covenant. David curses all his enemies, so that all generations should "know, and sin no more."
1For the Conductor, with instrumental music, a maskil by David.
2Listen to my prayer, O God, do not hide from my pleas.
3Pay heed to me and answer me, as I lament in my distress and moan -
4 because of the shout of the enemy and the oppression of the wicked; for they accuse me of evil and hate me passionately.
5My heart shudders within me, and the terrors of death have descended upon me.
6Fear and trembling penetrate me, and I am enveloped with horror.
7And I said, "If only I had wings like the dove! I would fly off and find rest.
8Behold, I would wander afar, and lodge in the wilderness forever.
9I would hurry to find shelter for myself from the stormy wind, from the tempest.”
10Consume, O Lord, confuse their tongue; for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
11Day and night they encircle her upon her walls, and iniquity and vice are in her midst.
12Treachery is within her; fraud and deceit never depart from her square.
13For it is not the enemy who taunts me-that I could bear; nor my foe who raises himself against me, that I could hide from him.
14But it is you, a man of my equal, my guide and my intimate.
15Together we took sweet counsel; we walked with the throng to the house of God.
16May He incite death upon them, let them descend to the pit alive; for there is evil in their dwelling, within them.
17As for me, I call to God, and the Lord will save me.
18Evening, morning and noon, I lament and moan-and He hears my voice.
19He redeemed my soul in peace from battles against me, because of the many who were with me.
20May God-He who is enthroned from the days of old, Selah-hear and humble those in whom there is no change, and who do not fear God.
21He extended his hands against his allies, he profaned his covenant.
22Smoother than butter are the words of his mouth, but war is in his heart; his words are softer than oil, yet they are curses.
23Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous man falter.
24And You, O God, will bring them down to the nethermost pit; bloodthirsty and treacherous men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in You.
Chapter 56
David composed this psalm while in mortal danger at the palace of Achish, brother of Goliath. In his distress David accepts vows upon himself.
1For the Conductor, of the mute dove far away. By David, a michtam, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
2Favor me, O God, for man longs to swallow me; the warrior oppresses me every day.
3My watchful enemies long to swallow me every day, for many battle me, O Most High!
4On the day I am afraid, I trust in You.
5[I trust] in God and praise His word; in God I trust, I do not fear-what can [man of] flesh do to me?
6Every day they make my words sorrowful; all their thoughts about me are for evil.
7They gather and hide, they watch my steps, when they hope [to capture] my soul.
8Should escape be theirs in reward for their iniquity? Cast down the nations in anger, O God!
9You have counted my wanderings; place my tears in Your flask-are they not in Your record?
10When my enemies will retreat on the day I cry out, with this I will know that God is with me.
11When God deals strictly, I praise His word; when the Lord deals mercifully, I praise His word.
12In God I trust, I do not fear-what can man do to me?
13My vows to You are upon me, O God; I will repay with thanksgiving offerings to You.
14For You saved my soul from death-even my feet from stumbling-to walk before God in the light of life.
Chapter 57
David composed this psalm while hiding from Saul in a cave, facing grave danger. Like Jacob did when confronted with Esau, David prayed that he neither be killed nor be forced to kill. In the merit of his trust in God, God wrought wonders to save him.
1For the Conductor, a plea to be spared destruction. By David, a michtam, when he fled from Saul in the cave.
2Favor me, O God, favor me, for in You my soul took refuge, and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until the disaster passes.
3I will call to God the Most High; to the Almighty Who fulfills [His promise] to me.
4He will send from heaven, and save me from the humiliation of those who long to swallow me, Selah; God will send forth His kindness and truth.
5My soul is in the midst of lions, I lie among fiery men; their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongue a sharp sword.
6Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be upon all the earth.
7They laid a trap for my steps, they bent down my soul; they dug a pit before me, [but] they themselves fell into it, Selah.
8My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and chant praise.
9Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I shall awaken the dawn.
10I will thank You among the nations, my Lord; I will praise You among the peoples.
11For Your kindness reaches till the heavens, Your truth till the skies.
12Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be over all the earth.
Chapter 58
David expresses the anguish caused him by Avner and his other enemies, who justified Saul's pursuit of him.
1For the Conductor, a plea to be spared destruction; by David, a michtam.
2Is it true that you are mute [instead of] speaking justice? [Instead of] judging men with fairness?
3Even with your heart you wreak injustice upon the land; you justify the violence of your hands.
4The wicked are estranged from the womb; from birth do the speakers of falsehood stray.
5Their venom is like the venom of a snake; like the deaf viper that closes its ear
6so as not to hear the voice of charmers, [even] the most skillful caster of spells.
7O God, smash their teeth in their mouth; shatter the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
8Let them melt like water and disappear; when He aims His arrows, may they crumble.
9Like the snail that melts as it goes along, like the stillbirth of a woman-they never see the sun.
10Before your tender shoots know [to become] hardened thorns, He will blast them away, as one [uprooting] with vigor and wrath.
11The righteous one will rejoice when he sees revenge; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
12And man will say, "There is indeed reward for the righteous; indeed there is a God Who judges in the land."
Chapter 59
This psalm speaks of the great miracle David experienced when he eluded danger by escaping through a window, unnoticed by the guards at the door. The prayers, supplications, and entreaties he offered then are recorded here.
1For the Conductor, a plea to be spared destruction, By David, a michtam, when Saul dispatched [men], and they guarded the house in order to kill him.
2Rescue me from my enemies, my God; raise me above those who rise against me.
3Rescue me from evildoers, save me from men of bloodshed.
4For behold they lie in ambush for my soul, mighty ones gather against me-not because of my sin nor my transgression, O Lord.
5Without iniquity [on my part,] they run and prepare-awaken towards me and see!
6And You, Lord, God of Hosts, God of Israel, wake up to remember all the nations; do not grant favor to any of the iniquitous traitors, Selah.
7They return toward evening, they howl like the dog and circle the city.
8Behold, they spew with their mouths, swords are in their lips, for [they say], "Who hears?”
9But You, Lord, You laugh at them; You mock all nations.
10[Because of] his might, I wait for You, for God is my stronghold.
11The God of my kindness will anticipate my [need]; God will show me [the downfall] of my watchful foes.
12Do not kill them, lest my nation forget; drive them about with Your might and impoverish them, O our Shield, my Master,
13[for] the sin of their mouth, the word of their lips; let them be trapped by their arrogance. At the sight of their accursed state and deterioration, [people] will recount.
14Consume them in wrath, consume them and they will be no more; and they will know that God rules in Jacob, to the ends of the earth, Selah.
15And they will return toward evening, they will howl like the dog and circle the city.
16They will wander about to eat; when they will not be sated they will groan.
17As for me, I shall sing of Your might, and sing joyously of Your kindness toward morning, for You have been a stronghold to me, a refuge on the day of my distress.
18[You are] my strength, to You I will sing, for God is my stronghold, the God of my kindness.
Additional Three Chapters
The Baal Shem Tov instituted a custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms).
Today's Chapters are 28, 29, and 30.
Chapter 28
A prayer for every individual, entreating God to assist him in walking the good path, to prevent him from walking with the wicked doers of evil, and that He repay the wicked for their wickedness and the righteous for their righteousness.
1By David. I call to You, O Lord; my Strength, do not be deaf to me; for should You be silent to me, I will be like those who descend to the pit.
2Hear the sound of my pleas when I cry out to You, when I raise my hands toward Your holy Sanctuary.
3Do not draw me along with the wicked, with evildoers who speak of peace with their companions, though evil is in their heart.
4Give them according to their deeds, and the evil of their endeavors; give them according to their handiwork, render to them their just desserts.
5For they pay no heed to the acts of the Lord, nor to the work of His hands; may He destroy them and not rebuild them.
6Blessed is the Lord, for He has heard the voice of my pleas.
7The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusted and I was helped; my heart exulted, and with my song I praised Him.
8The Lord is a strength to them; He is a stronghold of deliverance to His anointed.
9Grant salvation to Your people and bless Your heritage; tend them and exalt them forever.
Chapter 29
The Name of God appears eighteen times in this psalm, corresponding to which our Sages established eighteen blessings-the Amidah. The entire psalm can be interpreted as referring to the giving of the Torah and the ingathering of the exiles.
1A psalm by David. Render to the Lord, children of the mighty, render to the Lord honor and strength.
2Render to the Lord the honor due to His Name; bow down to the Lord in resplendent holiness.
3The voice of the Lord is over the waters, the God of glory thunders; the Lord is over mighty waters.
4The voice of the Lord resounds with might; the voice of the Lord resounds with majesty.
5The voice of the Lord breaks cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6He makes them leap like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7The voice of the Lord strikes flames of fire.
8The voice of the Lord makes the desert tremble; the Lord causes the desert of Kadesh to tremble.
9The voice of the Lord causes the deer to calve, and strips the forests bare; and in His Sanctuary all proclaim His glory.
10The Lord sat [as King] at the Flood; the Lord will sit as King forever.
11The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.
Chapter 30
This psalm teaches one not to be distressed if God visits suffering upon him in this world, for only through suffering can one enter the World to Come. Even one of great spiritual stature should realize that his stability is not guaranteed, but that all is in the hands of God.
1A psalm, a song of dedication of the House, by David.
2I exalt You, Lord, for You have uplifted me, and did not allow my enemies to rejoice over me.
3Lord, my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me.
4Lord, You have brought up my soul from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not descend to the pit.
5Sing to the Lord, you His pious ones, and praise His holy Name.
6For His wrath endures but for a moment, when He is conciliated there is [long] life; when one retires at night weeping, joy will come in the morning.
7In my security I thought, "I shall never falter.”
8Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; when You concealed Your countenance I was alarmed.
9I called to You, O Lord, and I made supplication to my Lord:
10What profit is there in my death, in my going down to the grave? Can dust praise You? Can it proclaim Your truth
11 Lord, hear and be gracious to me; Lord, be a help to me.
12You have turned my mourning into dancing; You have undone my sackcloth and girded me with joy.
13Therefore my soul shall sing to You, and not be silent; Lord my God, I will praise You forever.
Tehillim Ohel Yoseph Yitzchok,
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