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 135
1Praise the Lord! Praise the Name of the Lord; offer praise, you servants of the Lord-
2who stand in the House of the Lord, in the courtyards of the House of our God.
3Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to His Name, for He is pleasant.
4For God has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel as His beloved treasure.
5For I know that the Lord is great, our Master is greater than all supernal beings.
6All that the Lord desired He has done, in the heavens and on earth, in the seas and the depths.
7He causes mists to rise from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings forth the wind from His vaults.
8It was He who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of man and beast.
9He sent signs and wonders into the midst of Egypt, on Pharaoh and on all his servants.
10It was He who struck down many nations, and slew mighty kings:
11Sichon, king of the Amorites; Og, king of Bashan; and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
12And He gave their lands as a heritage, a heritage to His people Israel.
13Lord, Your Name is forever; Lord, Your remembrance is throughout all generations.
14Indeed, the Lord will judge on behalf of His people, and have compassion on His servants.
15The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the product of human hands.
16They have a mouth, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
17they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouth.
18Like them will their makers become-all who trust in them.
19House of Israel, bless the Lord; House of Aaron, bless the Lord;
20House of Levi, bless the Lord; you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
21Blessed is the Lord from Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Chapter 136
This psalm contains twenty-six verses, corresponding to the twenty-six generations between the creation of the world and the giving of the Torah.
1Praise the Lord for He is good, for His kindness is forever.
2Praise the God of the supernal beings, for His kindness is forever.
3Praise the Master of the heavenly hosts, for His kindness is forever.
4Who alone performs great wonders, for His kindness is forever.
5Who makes the heavens with understanding, for His kindness is forever.
6Who spreads forth the earth above the waters, for His kindness is forever.
7Who makes the great lights, for His kindness is forever.
8The sun to rule by day, for His kindness is forever.
9The moon and stars to rule by night, for His kindness is forever.
10Who struck Egypt through its firstborn, for His kindness is forever.
11And brought Israel out of their midst, for His kindness is forever.
12With a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, for His kindness is forever.
13Who split the Sea of Reeds into sections, for His kindness is forever.
14And brought Israel across it, for His kindness is forever.
15And cast Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Reeds, for His kindness is forever.
16Who led His people through the desert, for His kindness is forever;
17Who struck down great kings, for His kindness is forever.
18And slew mighty kings, for His kindness is forever.
19Sichon, king of the Amorites, for His kindness is forever.
20And Og, king of Bashan, for His kindness is forever.
21And gave their land as a heritage, for His kindness is forever.
22A heritage to Israel His servant, for His kindness is forever.
23Who remembered us in our humiliation, for His kindness is forever.
24And redeemed us from our oppressors, for His kindness is forever.
25Who gives food to all flesh, for His kindness is forever.
26Praise the God of heaven, for His kindness is forever.
Chapter 137
Referring to the time of the destruction of the Temple, this psalm tells of when Nebuchadnezzar would ask the Levites to sing in captivity as they had in the Temple, to which they would reply, "How can we sing the song of God upon alien soil?" They were then comforted by Divine inspiration.
1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept as we remembered Zion.
2There, upon the willows, we hung our harps.
3For there our captors demanded of us songs, and those who scorned us-rejoicing, [saying,] "Sing to us of the songs of Zion.”
4How can we sing the song of the Lord on alien soil?
5If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget [its dexterity].
6Let my tongue cleave to my palate if I will not remember you, if I will not bring to mind Jerusalem during my greatest joy!
7Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of [the destruction of] Jerusalem, when they said, "Raze it, raze it to its very foundation!”
8O Babylon, who is destined to be laid waste, happy is he who will repay you in retribution for what you have inflicted on us.
9Happy is he who will seize and crush your infants against the rock!
Chapter 138
David offers awesome praises to God for His kindness to him, and for fulfilling His promise to grant him kingship.
1By David. I will thank You with all my heart, in the presence of princes I shall praise You.
2I will bow toward Your Holy Sanctuary, and praise Your Name for Your kindness and for Your truth; for You have exalted Your word above all Your Names.
3On the day that I called out You answered me, You emboldened me, [You put] strength in my soul.
4Lord, all the kings of the land will give thanks to You when they hear the words of Your mouth.
5And they will sing of the Lord's ways, for the glory of the Lord is great.
6For though the Lord is exalted, He sees the lowly; the High One castigates from afar.
7If I walk in the midst of distress, keep me alive; against the wrath of my enemies stretch out Your hand, and let Your right hand deliver me.
8Lord, complete [Your kindness] on my behalf. Lord, Your kindness is forever, do not forsake the work of Your hands.
Chapter 139
A most prominent psalm that guides man in the ways of God as no other in all of the five books of Tehillim. Fortunate is he who recites it daily.
1For the Conductor, by David, a psalm. O Lord, You have probed me, and You know.
2You know my sitting down and my standing up; You perceive my thought from afar.
3You encircle my going about and my lying down; You are familiar with all my paths.
4For there was not yet a word on my tongue-and behold, Lord, You knew it all.
5You have besieged me front and back, You have laid Your hand upon me.
6Knowledge [to escape You] is beyond me; it is exalted, I cannot know it.
7Where can I go [to escape] Your spirit? And where can I flee from Your presence?
8If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the grave, behold, You are there.
9Were I to take up wings as the dawn and dwell in the furthest part of the sea,
10there, too, Your hand would guide me; Your right hand would hold me.
11Were I to say, "Surely the darkness will shadow me," then the night would be as light around me.
12Even the darkness obscures nothing from You; and the night shines like the day-the darkness is as light.
13For You created my mind; You covered me in my mother's womb.
14I will thank You, for I was formed in an awesome and wondrous way; unfathomable are Your works, though my soul perceives much.
15My essence was not hidden from You even while I was born in concealment, formed in the depths of the earth.
16Your eyes beheld my raw form; all [happenings] are inscribed in Your book, even those to be formed in future days-to Him they are the same.
17How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How overwhelming, [even] their beginnings!
18Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand, even if I were to remain awake and always with You.
19O that You would slay the wicked, O God, and men of blood [to whom I say], "Depart from me!”
20They exalt You for wicked schemes, Your enemies raise [You] for falsehood.
21Indeed, I hate those who hate You, Lord; I contend with those who rise up against You.
22I hate them with the utmost hatred; I regard them as my own enemies.
23Search me, Lord, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
24See if there is a vexing way in me, then lead me in the way of the world.
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 82, 83, and 84.
Chapter 82
This psalm admonishes those judges who feign ignorance of the law, dealing unjustly with the pauper or the orphan, while coddling the rich and pocketing their bribes.
1A psalm by Asaph. God stands in the council of judges; among the judges He renders judgment:
2How long will you judge wickedly, ever showing partiality toward the evildoers?
3Render justice to the needy and the orphan; deal righteously with the poor and the destitute.
4Rescue the needy and the pauper; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5But they do not know, nor do they understand; they go about in darkness, [therefore] all the foundations of the earth tremble.
6I said that you are angels, supernal beings, all of you;
7but you will die as mortals, you will fall like any prince.
8Arise, O God, judge the earth, for You possess all the nations.
Chapter 83
A prayer regarding the wars against Israel in the days of Jehoshaphat, when the nations plotted against Israel.
1A song, a psalm by Asaph.
2O God, do not be silent; do not be quiet and do not be still, O God.
3For behold, Your enemies are in uproar, and those who hate You have raised their head.
4They plot deviously against Your nation, and conspire against those sheltered by You.
5They say, "Come, let us sever them from nationhood, and the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”
6For they conspire with a unanimous heart, they made a covenant against You-
7 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites,
8Geval and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
9Assyria, too, joined with them, and became the strength of the sons of Lot, Selah.
10Do to them as to Midian; as to Sisera and Yavin at the brook of Kishon,
11who were destroyed at Ein Dor, and were as dung for the earth.
12Make their nobles like Orev and Ze'ev, all their princes like Zevach and Tzalmuna,
13who said, "Let us inherit the dwellings of God for ourselves.”
14My God, make them like whirling chaff, like straw before the wind.
15As a fire consumes the forest, and a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
16so pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your storm.
17Fill their faces with shame, and they will seek Your Name, O Lord.
18Let them be shamed and terrified forever; let them be disgraced and perish.
19And they will know that You, Whose Name is the Lord, are alone, Most High over all the earth.
Chapter 84
In this psalm of prayers and entreaties, the psalmist mourns bitterly over the destruction of Temple from the depths of his heart, and speaks of the many blessings that will be realized upon its restoration. Fortunate is the one who trusts it will be rebuilt, and does not despair in the face of this long exile.
1For the Conductor, on the gittit, a psalm by the sons of Korach.
2How beloved are Your dwellings, O Lord of Hosts!
3My soul yearns, indeed it pines, for the courtyards of the Lord; my heart and my flesh [long to] sing to the living God.
4Even the bird has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she lays her young on the [ruins of] Your altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God.
5Fortunate are those who dwell in Your House; they will yet praise You forever.
6Fortunate is the man whose strength is in You; the paths [to the Temple] are in his heart.
7For those who pass through the Valley of Thorns, He places wellsprings; their guide will be cloaked in blessings.
8They go from strength to strength; they will appear before God in Zion.
9O Lord, God of Hosts, hear my prayer; listen, O God of Jacob, forever.
10See our shield, O God, and look upon the face of Your anointed one.
11For better one day in Your courtyards than a thousand [elsewhere]. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God, than dwell [in comfort] in the tents of wickedness.
12For the Lord, God, is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and glory; He does not withhold goodness from those who walk in innocence.
13O Lord of Hosts! Fortunate is the man who trusts in You.
Tehillim Ohel Yoseph Yitzchok,
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