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 104
This psalm tells of the beauty of creation, describing that which was created on each of the six days of creation. It proclaims the awesomeness of God Who sustains it all-from the horns of the wild ox to the eggs of the louse.
1My soul, bless the Lord! Lord my God, You are greatly exalted; You have garbed Yourself with majesty and splendor.
2You enwrap [Yourself] with light as with a garment; You spread the heavens as a curtain.
3He roofs His heavens with water; He makes the clouds His chariot, He moves [them] on the wings of the wind.
4He makes the winds His messengers, the blazing fire His servants.
5He established the earth on its foundations, that it shall never falter.
6The depths covered it as a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
7At Your exhortation they fled; at the sound of Your thunder they rushed away.
8They ascended mountains, they flowed down valleys, to the place which You have assigned for them.
9You set a boundary which they may not cross, so that they should not return to engulf the earth.
10He sends forth springs into streams; they flow between the mountains.
11They give drink to all the beasts of the field; the wild animals quench their thirst.
12The birds of the heavens dwell beside them; they raise their voice from among the foliage.
13He irrigates the mountains from His clouds above; the earth is satiated from the fruit of Your works.
14He makes grass grow for the cattle, and vegetation requiring the labor of man to bring forth food from the earth;
15and wine that gladdens man's heart, oil that makes the face shine, and bread that sustains man's heart.
16The trees of the Lord drink their fill, the cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17wherein birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the cypress.
18The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rabbits.
19He made the moon to calculate the festivals; the sun knows its time of setting.
20You bring on darkness and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
21The young lions roar for prey, and seek their food from God.
22When the sun rises, they return and lie down in their dens.
23Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening.
24How manifold are Your works, O Lord! You have made them all with wisdom; the earth is full of Your possessions.
25This sea, vast and wide, where there are countless creeping creatures, living things small and great;
26there ships travel, there is the Leviathan that You created to frolic therein.
27They all look expectantly to You to give them their food at the proper time.
28When You give it to them, they gather it; when You open Your hand, they are satiated with goodness.
29When You conceal Your countenance, they are terrified; when You take back their spirit, they perish and return to their dust.
30When You will send forth Your spirit they will be created anew, and You will renew the face of the earth.
31May the glory of the Lord be forever; may the Lord find delight in His works.
32He looks at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33I will sing to the Lord with my soul; I will chant praise to my God with my [entire] being.
34May my prayer be pleasant to Him; I will rejoice in the Lord.
35May sinners cease from the earth, and the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!
Chapter 105
When David brought the Holy Ark up to the City of David, he composed this psalm and sang it before the Ark. He recounts all the miracles that God performed for the Jews in Egypt: sending before them Joseph, who was imprisoned, only to be liberated by God, eventually attaining the status of one who could imprison the princes of Egypt without consulting Pharaoh.
1Offer praise to the Lord, proclaim His Name; make His deeds known among the nations.
2Sing to Him, chant praises to Him, speak of all His wonders.
3Glory in His holy Name; may the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4Search for the Lord and His might; seek His countenance always.
5Remember the wonders that He has wrought, His miracles, and the judgements of His mouth.
6O descendants of Abraham His servant, children of Jacob, His chosen ones:
7He is the Lord our God; His judgements extend over the entire earth.
8He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He has commanded to a thousand generations;
9the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac.
10He established it for Jacob as a statute, for Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11stating, "To you I shall give the land of Canaan"-the portion of your inheritance,
12when they were but few, very few, and strangers in it.
13They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.
14He permitted no one to wrong them, and admonished kings for their sake:
15"Do not touch My anointed ones, and do not harm My prophets.”
16He called for a famine upon the land; He broke every source of bread.
17He sent a man before them; Joseph was sold as a slave.
18They afflicted his foot with chains, his soul was put into iron;
19until the time that His words came, the decree of the Lord purified him.
20The king sent [word] and released him, the ruler of nations set him free.
21He appointed him master of his house and ruler of all his possessions,
22to imprison his princes at will, and to enlighten his elders.
23Thus Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham (Egypt).
24He multiplied His nation greatly, and made it mightier than its adversaries.
25He turned their hearts to hate His nation, to conspire against His servants.
26He sent Moses, His servant; Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27They placed among them the words of His signs, miracles in the land of Ham.
28He sent darkness and made it dark, and they did not defy His word.
29He transformed their waters to blood, and killed their fish.
30Their land swarmed with frogs in the chambers of their kings.
31He spoke, and hordes of wild beasts came, and lice throughout their borders.
32He turned their rains to hail, flaming fire in their land;
33it struck their vine and fig tree, it broke the trees of their borders.
34He spoke, and grasshoppers came, locusts without number;
35and it consumed all grass in their land, it ate the fruit of their soil.
36Then He smote every firstborn in their land, the first of all their potency.
37And He took them out with silver and gold, and none among His tribes stumbled.
38Egypt rejoiced at their leaving, for the fear [of Israel] had fallen upon them.
39He spread out a cloud for shelter, and a fire to illuminate the night.
40[Israel] asked, and He brought quail, and with the bread of heaven He satisfied them.
41He opened a rock and waters flowed; they streamed through dry places like a river,
42for He remembered His holy word to Abraham His servant.
43And He brought out His nation with joy, His chosen ones with song.
44He gave them the lands of nations, they inherited the toil of peoples,
45so that they might keep His statutes and observe His laws. Praise the Lord!
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 61, 62, and 63.
Chapter 61
David composed this prayer while fleeing from Saul. The object of all his thoughts and his entreaty is that God grant him long life-not for the sake of pursuing the pleasures of the world, but rather to serve God in awe, all of his days.
1For the Conductor, on the neginat, by David.
2Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer.
3From the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is faint [with trouble]: Lead me upon the rock that surpasses me!
4For You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.
5I will dwell in Your tent forever; I will take refuge in the shelter of Your wings, Selah.
6For You, God, heard my vows; You granted the inheritance of those who fear Your Name.
7Add days to the days of the king; may his years equal those of every generation.
8May he sit always before God; appoint kindness and truth to preserve him.
9Thus will I sing the praise of Your Name forever, as I fulfill my vows each day.
Chapter 62
David prays for the downfall of his enemies. He also exhorts his generation that their faith should not rest in riches, telling them that the accumulation of wealth is utter futility.
1For the Conductor, on the yedutun, a psalm by David.
2To God alone does my soul hope; my salvation is from Him.
3He alone is my rock and salvation, my stronghold; I shall not falter greatly.
4Until when will you plot disaster for man? May you all be killed-like a leaning wall, a toppled fence.
5Out of their arrogance alone they scheme to topple me, they favor falsehood; with their mouths they bless, and in their hearts they curse, Selah.
6To God alone does my soul hope, for my hope is from Him.
7He alone is my rock and salvation, my stronghold; I shall not falter.
8My salvation and honor is upon God; the rock of my strength-my refuge is in God.
9Trust in Him at all times, O nation, pour out your hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us forever.
10Men are but vanity; people [but] transients. Were they to be raised upon the scale, they would be lighter than vanity.
11Put not your trust in exploitation, nor place futile hope in robbery. If [corrupt] wealth flourishes, pay it no heed.
12God spoke one thing, from which I perceived two: That strength belongs to God;
13and that Yours, my Lord, is kindness. For You repay each man according to his deeds.
Chapter 63
Hiding from Saul, and yearning to approach the place of the Holy Ark like one thirsting for water, David composed this prayer on his behalf and against his enemy.
1A psalm by David, when he was in the Judean desert.
2O God, You are my Almighty, I seek You! My soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You; [like one] in a desolate and dry land, without water,
3so [I thirst] to see You in the Sanctuary, to behold Your might and glory.
4For Your kindness is better than life; my lips shall praise You.
5Thus will I bless you all my life, in Your Name I will raise my hands [in prayer].
6As with fat and abundance my soul is sated, when my mouth offers praise with expressions of joy.
7Indeed, I remember You upon my bed; during the watches of the night I meditate upon You.
8For You were a help for me; I sing in the shadow of Your wings.
9My soul cleaved to You; Your right hand supported me.
10But they seek desolation for my soul; they will enter the depths of the earth.
11They will drag them by the sword; they will be the portion of foxes.
12And the king will rejoice in God, and all who swear by Him will take pride, when the mouths of liars are blocked up.
Tehillim Ohel Yoseph Yitzchok,
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