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 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.
Chapter 31
Composed by a destitute and oppressed David, running from Saul while placing his trust in God, this psalm instructs man to put his trust in God alone.
1For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2In You I have taken shelter, O Lord, I shall never be shamed; rescue me in Your righteousness.
3Turn Your ear to me, save me quickly; be to me a rock of refuge, a fortress to deliver me.
4For You are my rock and my fortress; for the sake of Your Name, direct me and lead me.
5Remove me from the net they planted for me, for You are my stronghold.
6I entrust my spirit into Your hand; You will redeem me, Lord, God of truth.
7I despise those who anticipate worthless vanities; but I trust in the Lord.
8I will rejoice and delight in Your kindness, for You have seen my affliction; You know the troubles of my soul.
9You have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet on spacious ground.
10Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from vexation-my soul and my stomach.
11For my life is spent in sorrow, my years in sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones are wasted away.
12Because of my adversaries I have become a disgrace-exceedingly to my neighbors, and a dread to my friends; those who see me outside flee from me.
13Like a dead man, I was forgotten from the heart; I became like a lost vessel.
14For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side, when they assembled together against me and plotted to take my life.
15But I trusted in You, O Lord; I said, "You are my God.”
16My times are in Your hand; save me from the hands of my enemies and pursuers.
17Shine Your countenance upon Your servant; deliver me in Your kindness.
18O Lord, let me not be ashamed, for I have called You; let the wicked be shamed, let them be silent to the grave.
19Let the lips of falsehood-which speak insolently against the righteous, with arrogance and contempt-be struck dumb.
20How abundant is Your good that You have hidden for those who fear You; in the presence of man, You have acted for those who take refuge in You.
21Conceal them from the haughtiness of man, in the shelter of Your countenance; hide them in a shelter from the strife of tongues.
22Blessed is the Lord, for He has been wondrous in His kindness to me in a besieged city.
23I said in my panic, "I am cut off from before Your eyes!" But in truth, You heard the voice of my pleas when I cried to You.
24Love the Lord, all His pious ones! The Lord preserves the faithful, and repays with exactness those who act haughtily.
25Be strong and fortify your hearts, all who put their hope in the Lord!
Chapter 32
This psalm speaks of forgiveness of sin, and of the good fortune of one who repents and confesses to God wholeheartedly.
1By David, a maskil.Fortunate is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2Fortunate is the man to whom the Lord does not reckon his sin, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3When I was silent, my limbs wore away through my wailing all day long.
4For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my marrow became [dry] as the droughts of summer, Selah.
5My sin I made known to You, my iniquity I did not cover. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and You have forgiven the iniquity of my transgression forever.
6For this let every pious man pray to You, at a time when You may be found; indeed, the flood of many waters will not reach him.
7You are a refuge to me; protect me from distress; surround me with songs of deliverance forever.
8I will enlighten you and educate you in the path you should go; I will advise you with what I have seen.
9Be not like a horse, like a mule, senseless, that must be muzzled with bit and bridle when being adorned, so that it not come near you.
10Many are the agonies of the wicked, but he who trusts in the Lord is surrounded by kindness.
11Rejoice in the Lord and exult, you righteous ones! Sing joyously, all you upright of heart!
Chapter 33
This psalm teaches the righteous and upright to praise God. For the more one knows of the Torah's wisdom, the more should he praise God, for he knows and understands His greatness.
1Sing joyously to the Lord, you righteous ones; it is fitting for the upright to offer praise.
2Extol the Lord with a harp; sing to Him with a ten-stringed lyre.
3Sing to Him a new song; play well with sounds of jubilation.
4For the word of the Lord is just; all His deeds are done in faithfulness.
5He loves righteousness and justice; the kindness of the Lord fills the earth.
6By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their hosts.
7He gathers the waters of the sea like a mound; He places the deep waters in vaults.
8Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world tremble before Him.
9For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it endured.
10The Lord has annulled the counsel of nations; He has foiled the schemes of peoples.
11The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of His heart throughout all generations.
12Fortunate is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose as a heritage for Himself.
13The Lord looks down from heaven; He beholds all mankind.
14From His dwelling-place He looks intently upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
15It is He Who fashions the hearts of them all, Who perceives all their actions.
16The king is not saved by a great army, nor a warrior rescued by great might.
17The horse is a false guarantee for victory; with all its great strength it offers no escape.
18But the eye of the Lord is directed toward those who fear Him, toward those who hope for His kindness,
19to save their soul from death and to sustain them during famine.
20Our soul yearns for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.
21For our heart shall rejoice in Him, for we have put our trust in His Holy Name.
22May Your kindness, Lord, be upon us, as we have placed our hope in You.
Chapter 34
This psalm tells of when David was in grave danger while at the palace of Achish, brother of Goliath. David acted like a madman, letting spittle run down his beard, and writing on the doors: "Achish, king of Gath, owes me one hundred thousand gold coins," leading Achish to eject him from the palace. In his joy, David composed this psalm in alphabetical sequence.
1By David, when he feigned insanity before Avimelech, who then drove him away, and he left.
2I bless the Lord at all times; His praise is always in my mouth.
3My soul glories in the Lord; let the humble hear it and rejoice.
4Exalt the Lord with me, and let us extol His Name together.
5I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
6Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never humiliated.
7This poor man called, and the Lord heard; He delivered him from all his tribulations.
8The angel of the Lord camps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.
9Taste and see that the Lord is good; fortunate is the man who trusts in Him.
10Fear the Lord, you His holy ones, for those who fear Him suffer no want.
11Young lions may want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
12Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
13Who is the man who desires life, who loves long life wherein to see goodness?
14Guard your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.
15Turn away from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.
16The eyes of the Lord are directed toward the righteous, and His ears toward their cry.
17The wrath of the Lord is upon the evildoers, to excise their memory from the earth.
18But when they [repent and] cry out, the Lord hears, and saves them from all their troubles.
19The Lord is close to the broken-hearted, and saves those with a crushed spirit.
20Many are the afflictions of a righteous person, but the Lord rescues him from them all.
21He protects all his bones; not one of them is broken.
22Evil brings death upon the wicked, and the enemies of the righteous are condemned.
23The Lord redeems the soul of His servants; all who take shelter in Him are not condemned.
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 100, 101, and 102.
Chapter 100
This psalm inspires the hearts of those who suffer in this world. Let them, nevertheless, serve God with joy, for all is for their good, as in the verse: "He whom God loves does He chastise." The psalm also refers to the thanksgiving sacrifice-the only sacrifice to be offered in the Messianic era.
1A psalm of thanksgiving. Let all the earth sing in jubilation to the Lord.
2Serve the Lord with joy; come before Him with exultation.
3Know that the Lord is God; He has made us and we are His, His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4Enter His gates with gratitude, His courtyards with praise; give thanks to Him, bless His Name.
5For the Lord is good; His kindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness is for all generations.
Chapter 101
This psalm speaks of David's secluding himself from others, and of his virtuous conduct even in his own home.
1By David, a psalm. I will sing of [Your] kindness and justice; to You, O Lord, will I chant praise!
2I will pay heed to the path of integrity-O when will it come to me? I shall walk with the innocence of my heart [even] within my house.
3I shall not place an evil thing before my eyes; I despise the doing of wayward deeds, it does not cling to me.
4A perverse heart shall depart from me; I shall not know evil.
5He who slanders his fellow in secret, him will I cut down; one with haughty eyes and a lustful heart, him I cannot suffer.
6My eyes are upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the path of integrity, he shall minister to me.
7He that practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; the speaker of lies shall have no place before my eyes.
8Every morning I will cut down all the wicked of the land, to excise all evildoers from the city of the Lord.
Chapter 102
An awe-inspiring prayer for the exiled, and an appropriate prayer for anyone in distress.
1A prayer of the poor man when he is faint [with affliction], and pours out his tale of woe before the Lord.
2O Lord, hear my prayer, let my cry reach You!
3Hide not Your face from me on the day of my distress; turn Your ear to me; on the day that I call, answer me quickly.
4For my days have vanished with the smoke; my bones are dried up as a hearth.
5Smitten like grass and withered is my heart, for I have forgotten to eat my bread.
6From the voice of my sigh, my bone cleaves to my flesh.
7I am like the bird of the wilderness; like the owl of the wasteland have I become.
8In haste I fled; I was like a bird, alone on a roof.
9All day my enemies disgrace me; those who ridicule me curse using my name.
10For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with tears,
11because of Your anger and Your wrath-for You have raised me up, then cast me down.
12My days are like the fleeting shadow; I wither away like the grass.
13But You, Lord, will be enthroned forever, and Your remembrance is for all generations.
14You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for it is time to be gracious to her; the appointed time has come.
15For Your servants cherish her stones, and love her dust.
16Then the nations will fear the Name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth Your glory,
17when [they see that] the Lord has built Zion, He has appeared in His glory.
18He turned to the entreaty of the prayerful, and did not despise their prayer.
19Let this be written for the last generation, so that the newborn nation will praise the Lord.
20For He looked down from His holy heights; from heaven, the Lord gazed upon the earth,
21to hear the cry of the bound, to untie those who are doomed to die,
22so that the Name of the Lord be declared in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem,
23when nations and kingdoms will gather together to serve the Lord.
24He weakened my strength on the way; He shortened my days.
25I would say: "My God, do not remove me in the midst of my days! You Whose years endure through all generations.”
26In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
27They will perish, but You will endure; all of them will wear out like a garment; You will exchange them like a robe, and they will vanish.
28But You remain the same; Your years will not end.
29The children of Your servants will abide; their seed shall be established before You.
Tehillim Ohel Yoseph Yitzchok,
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