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 39
David's prayer bewailing his suffering. But it is not suffering itself that pains him, rather he is saddened by its disturbing his Torah study. For man's days are few, "and if not now, when (will he study)?" for he may die, today or tomorrow. He therefore requests that his suffering be removed, to enable him to study Torah and acquire a place in the World to Come.
1For the Conductor, for yedutun, a psalm by David.
2I said that I would guard my ways from sinning with my tongue; I would guard my mouth with a muzzle, [even] while the wicked one is before me.
3I became mute with stillness, I was silent [even] from the good, though my pain was crippling.
4My heart grew hot within me, a fire blazed in my utterance, as I spoke with my tongue.
5O Lord, let me know my end and what is the measure of my days, that I may know when I will cease.
6Behold, like handbreadths You set my days; my lifetime is as naught before You. But all is futility, all mankind's existence, Selah.
7Only in darkness does man walk, seeking only futility; he amasses riches and knows not who will reap them.
8And now, what is my hope, my Lord? My longing is to You.
9Rescue me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of the degenerate.
10I am mute, I do not open my mouth, for You have caused [my suffering].
11Remove Your affliction from me; I am devastated by the attack of Your hand.
12In reproach for sin You chastened man; like a moth, You wore away that which is precious to him. All mankind is nothing but futility, forever.
13Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry; do not be silent to my tears, for I am a stranger with You, a sojourner like all my forefathers.
14Turn from me, that I may recover my strength, before I depart and I am no more.
Chapter 40
The psalmist speaks of the numerous wonders that God wrought for the Jewish people, asking: "Who can articulate His might? I would relate and speak of them, but they are too numerous to recount!" He created the world and split the sea for the sake of Israel, [yet] He desires no sacrifices, only that we listen to His voice.
1For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2I put my hope in the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.
3He raised me from the turbulent pit, from the slimy mud, and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps.
4He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God; multitudes will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord.
5Fortunate is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and did not turn to the haughty, nor to those who stray after falsehood.
6You have done much, O You, Lord my God-Your wonders and thoughts are for us; none can compare to You; should I relate or speak of them, they are too numerous to recount!
7You desired neither sacrifice nor meal-offering, but [obedient] ears You opened for me; You requested neither burnt-offering nor sin-offering.
8Then I said, "Behold, I come with a Scroll of the Book written for me."
9 I desire to fulfill Your will, my God; and Your Torah is in my innards.
10I proclaimed [Your] righteousness in a vast congregation; behold I will not restrain my lips-O Lord, You know!
11I did not conceal Your righteousness within my heart; I declared Your faithfulness and deliverance; I did not hide Your kindness and truth from the vast congregation.
12May You, Lord, not withhold Your mercies from me; may Your kindness and truth constantly guard me.
13For countless evils surround me; my sins have overtaken me and I cannot see; they outnumber the hairs of my head, and my heart has abandoned me.
14May it please You, Lord, to save me; O Lord, hurry to my aid.
15Let those who seek my life, to end it, be shamed and humiliated together; let those who desire my harm retreat and be disgraced.
16Let those who say about me, "Aha! Aha!" be desolate, in return for their shaming [me].
17Let all those who seek You exult and rejoice in You; let those who love Your deliverance always say, "Be exalted, O Lord!”
18As for me, I am poor and needy; my Lord will think of me. You are my help and my rescuer; my God, do not delay!
Chapter 41
This psalm teaches many good character traits, and inspires one to be thoughtful and conscientious in giving charity-knowing to whom to give first. Fortunate is he who is thoughtful of the sick one, providing him with his needs.
1For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2Fortunate is he who is thoughtful of the poor, [for] the Lord will save him on the day of evil.
3The Lord will guard him and keep him alive; he will be praised throughout the land; You will not deliver him to the desires of his enemies.
4The Lord will support him on the bed of illness; You will turn him over in his bed all throughout his sickness.
5I said, "Lord, be gracious to me! Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You!”
6My foes say that evil [awaits] me: "When will he die, and his name perish?”
7And if one comes to see [me], he speaks insincerely, for his heart gathers iniquity for himself, and when he goes out he speaks of it.
8Together they whisper against me-all my enemies; against me they devise my harm, [saying]:
9"Let his wickedness pour into him; now that he lies down, he shall rise no more.”
10Even my ally in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has raised his heel over me.
11But you, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up, and I will repay them.
12With this I shall know that You desire me, when my enemies will not shout gleefully over me.
13And I, because of my integrity, You upheld me; You set me before You forever.
14Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, to all eternity, Amen and Amen.
Chapter 42
This psalm awakens the hearts of the Children of Israel who do not feel the immense ruin, loss, and bad fortune in their being exiled from their Father's table. Were they wise, they would appreciate their past good fortune in coming thrice yearly, with joy and great awe, to behold God during the festivals, free of adversary and harm. May God place mercy before us from now to eternity, Amen Selah.
1For the Conductor, a maskil by the sons of Korach.
2As the deer cries longingly for brooks of water, so my soul cries longingly for You, O God!
3My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When will I come and behold the countenance of God?
4My tears have been my bread day and night, when they say to me all day, "Where is your God?”
5These do I recall, and pour out my soul from within me: how I traveled [to Jerusalem] in covered wagons; I would walk leisurely with them up to the House of God, amid the sound of rejoicing and thanksgiving, the celebrating multitude.
6Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you wail within me? Hope to God, for I will yet thank Him for the deliverances of His countenance.
7My God! My soul is downcast upon me, because I remember You from the land of Jordan and Hermon's peaks, from Mount Mitzar.
8 Deep calls to deep at the roar of Your channels; all Your breakers and waves have swept over me.
9By day the Lord ordains His kindness, and at night His song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
10I say to God, my rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why must I walk in gloom under the oppression of the enemy?”
11Like a sword in my bones, my adversaries disgrace me, when they say to me all day, "Where is your God?”
12Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you wail within me? Hope to God, for I will yet thank Him; He is my deliverance, [the light of] my countenance, and my God.
Chapter 43
A significant prayer concerning the magnitude of the troubles we have suffered at the hands of the impious nations. May it be God's will to send Moshiach and Elijah the Prophet, who will lead us to the Holy Temple to offer sacrifices as in days of old.
1Avenge me, O God, and champion my cause against an impious nation; rescue me from the man of deceit and iniquity.
2For You are the God of my strength; why have You abandoned me? Why must I walk in gloom under the oppression of the enemy?
3Send Your light and Your truth, they will guide me; they will bring me to Your holy mountain and to Your sanctuaries.
4Then I will come to the altar of God-to God, the joy of my delight-and praise You on the lyre, O God, my God.
5Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you wail within me? Hope to God, for I will yet thank Him; He is my deliverance, [the light of] my countenance, and my God.
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 106, 107, and 108.
Chapter 106
The psalmist continues the theme of the previous psalm, praising God for performing other miracles not mentioned previously, for "who can recount the mighty acts of God?" Were we to try, we could not mention them all!
1Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord for He is good, for His kindness is everlasting.
2Who can recount the mighty acts of the Lord, or proclaim all His praises?
3Fortunate are those who preserve justice, who perform deeds of righteousness all the time.
4Remember me, Lord, when You find favor with Your people; be mindful of me with Your deliverance;
5to behold the prosperity of Your chosen, to rejoice in the joy of Your nation, to glory with Your inheritance.
6We have sinned as did our fathers, we have acted perversely and wickedly.
7Our fathers in Egypt did not contemplate Your wonders, they did not remember Your abundant kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, at the Sea of Reeds.
8Yet He delivered them for the sake of His Name, to make His strength known.
9He roared at the Sea of Reeds and it dried up; He led them through the depths, as through a desert.
10He saved them from the hand of the enemy, and redeemed them from the hand of the foe.
11The waters engulfed their adversaries; not one of them remained.
12Then they believed in His words, they sang His praise.
13They quickly forgot His deeds, they did not wait for His counsel;
14and they lusted a craving in the desert, they tested God in the wilderness.
15And He gave them their request, but sent emaciation into their souls.
16They angered Moses in the camp, and Aaron, the Lord's holy one.
17The earth opened and swallowed Dathan, and engulfed the company of Abiram;
18and a fire burned in their assembly, a flame set the wicked ablaze.
19They made a calf in Horeb, and bowed down to a molten image.
20They exchanged their Glory for the likeness of a grass-eating ox.
21They forgot God, their savior, Who had performed great deeds in Egypt,
22wonders in the land of Ham, awesome things at the Sea of Reeds.
23He said that He would destroy them-had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him, to turn away His wrath from destroying.
24They despised the desirable land, they did not believe His word.
25And they murmured in their tents, they did not heed the voice of the Lord.
26So He raised His hand [in oath] against them, to cast them down in the wilderness,
27to throw down their progeny among the nations, and to scatter them among the lands.
28They joined themselves to [the idol] Baal Peor, and ate of the sacrifices to the dead;
29they provoked Him with their doings, and a plague broke out in their midst.
30Then Phineas arose and executed judgement, and the plague was stayed;
31it was accounted for him as a righteous deed, through all generations, forever.
32They angered Him at the waters of Merivah, and Moses suffered on their account;
33for they defied His spirit, and He pronounced [an oath] with His lips.
34They did not destroy the nations as the Lord had instructed them;
35rather, they mingled with the nations and learned their deeds.
36They worshipped their idols, and they became a snare for them.
37They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
38They spilled innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land became guilty with blood.
39They were defiled by their deeds, and went astray by their actions.
40And the Lord's wrath blazed against His people, and He abhorred His inheritance;
41so He delivered them into the hands of nations, and their enemies ruled them.
42Their enemies oppressed them, and they were subdued under their hand.
43Many times did He save them, yet they were rebellious in their counsel and were impoverished by their sins.
44But He saw their distress, when He heard their prayer;
45and He remembered for them His covenant and He relented, in keeping with His abounding kindness,
46and He caused them to be treated mercifully by all their captors.
47Deliver us, Lord our God; gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to Your Holy Name and glory in Your praise.
48Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, forever and ever. And let all the people say, "Amen! Praise the Lord!"
Chapter 107
This psalm speaks of those who are saved from four specific perilous situations(imprisonment, sickness, desert travel, and sea travel) and must thank God, for their sins caused their troubles, and only by the kindness of God were they saved. It is therefore appropriate that they praise God and tell of their salvation to all.
1Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His kindness is everlasting.
2So shall say those redeemed by the Lord, those whom He redeemed from the hand of the oppressor.
3He gathered them from the lands-from east and from west, from north and from the sea.
4They lost their way in the wilderness, in the wasteland; they found no inhabited city.
5Both hungry and thirsty, their soul languished within them.
6They cried out to the Lord in their distress; He delivered them from their afflictions.
7He guided them in the right path to reach an inhabited city.
8Let them give thanks to the Lord, and [proclaim] His wonders to the children of man,
9for He has satiated a thirsting soul, and filled a hungry soul with goodness.
10Those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, bound in misery and chains of iron,
11for they defied the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High-
12He humbled their heart through suffering; they stumbled and there was none to help.
13They cried out to the Lord in their distress; He saved them from their afflictions.
14He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and sundered their bonds.
15Let them give thanks to the Lord for His kindness, and [proclaim] His wonders to the children of man,
16for He broke the brass gates and smashed the iron bars.
17Foolish sinners are afflicted because of their sinful ways and their wrongdoings.
18Their soul loathes all food, and they reach the gates of death.
19They cried out to the Lord in their distress; He saved them from their afflictions.
20He sent forth His command and healed them; He delivered them from their graves.
21Let them give thanks to the Lord for His kindness, and [proclaim] His wonders to the children of man.
22Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and joyfully recount His deeds.
23Those who go down to the sea in ships, who perform tasks in mighty waters;
24they saw the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep.
25He spoke and caused the stormy wind to rise, and it lifted up the waves.
26They rise to the sky, plunge to the depths; their soul melts in distress.
27They reel and stagger like a drunkard, all their skill is to no avail.
28They cried out to the Lord in their distress, and He brought them out from their calamity.
29He transformed the storm into stillness, and the waves were quieted.
30They rejoiced when they were silenced, and He led them to their destination.
31Let them give thanks to the Lord for His kindness, and [proclaim] His wonders to the children of man.
32Let them exalt Him in the congregation of the people, and praise Him in the assembly of the elders.
33He turns rivers into desert, springs of water into parched land,
34a fruitful land into a salt-marsh, because of the wickedness of those who inhabit it.
35He turns a desert into a lake, and parched land into springs of water.
36He settles the hungry there, and they establish a city of habitation.
37They sow fields and plant vineyards which yield fruit and wheat.
38He blesses them and they multiply greatly, and He does not decrease their cattle.
39[If they sin,] they are diminished and cast down through oppression, misery, and sorrow.
40He pours contempt upon distinguished men, and causes them to stray in a pathless wilderness.
41He raises the needy from distress, and makes their families [as numerous] as flocks.
42The upright observe this and rejoice, and all the wicked close their mouth.
43Let him who is wise bear these in mind, and then the benevolent acts of the Lord will be understood.
Chapter 108
1A song, a psalm by David.
2My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and chant praises even with my soul.
3Awake, O lyre and harp; I shall awaken the dawn.
4I will thank You among the nations, Lord; I will sing praises to You among the peoples.
5Indeed, Your kindness reaches above the heavens; Your truth reaches to the skies.
6Be exalted upon the heavens, O God, [show] Your glory upon all the earth.
7That Your beloved ones may be delivered, help with Your right hand and answer me.
8God spoke in His holiness that I would exult, I would divide portions [of the enemies' land], I would measure the Valley of Succot.
9Mine is Gilead, mine is Manasseh, and Ephraim is the stronghold of my head, Judah is my prince.
10Moab is my washbasin, I will cast my shoe upon Edom, I will shout over Philistia.
11Who brings me to the fortified city? Who led me unto Edom?
12Is it not God, Who has [until now] forsaken us, and did not go forth, O God, with our armies?
13Give us help against the adversary; futile is the help of man.
14Through God we will do valiantly, and He will trample our oppressors.
Tehillim Ohel Yoseph Yitzchok,
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