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 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.
Chapter 109
David composed this psalm while fleeing from Saul. At that time he faced many enemies who, despite acting friendly in his presence, spoke only evil of him; he therefore curses them bitterly.
1For the Conductor, by David, a psalm. O God of my praise, be not silent.
2For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me; they spoke to me with a false tongue.
3They have surrounded me with words of hate, and attacked me without cause.
4In return for my love they hate me; still, I am [a man of] prayer.
5They placed harm upon me in return for my favor, and hatred in return for my love.
6Appoint a wicked man over him; let an adversary stand at his right.
7When he is judged may he go out condemned; may his prayer be considered a sin.
8May his days be few; may another take his position.
9May his children be orphans and his wife a widow.
10May his children wander about and beg; may they seek charity from amid their ruins.
11May the creditor seize all that he has, and may strangers plunder [the fruits of] his labor.
12May he have none who extends him kindness, and may none be gracious to his orphans.
13May his posterity be cut off; may their name be erased in a later generation.
14May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by the Lord, and the sin of his mother not be erased.
15May they be before the Lord always, and may He cut off their memory from the earth.
16Because he did not remember to do kindness, and he pursued the poor and destitute man and the broken-hearted, to kill [him].
17He loved the curse and it has come upon him; he did not desire blessing, and it has remained far from him.
18He donned the curse like his garment, and it came like water into his innards, like oil into his bones.
19May it be to him like a cloak in which he wraps himself, as a belt with which he girds himself always.
20This is from the Lord for the deeds of my enemies, and [for] those who speak evil against my soul.
21And You, God, my Lord, do [kindness] with me for the sake of Your Name; for Your kindness is good, rescue me!
22For I am poor and destitute, and my heart has died within me.
23Like the fleeting shadow I am banished, I am tossed about like the locust.
24My knees totter from fasting, and my flesh is lean without fat.
25And I became a disgrace to them; they see me and shake their heads.
26Help me, Lord, my God, deliver me according to Your kindness.
27Let them know that this is Your hand, that You, Lord, have done it.
28Let them curse, but You will bless; they arose, but they will be shamed, and Your servant will rejoice.
29May my adversaries be clothed in humiliation; may they wrap themselves in their shame as in a cloak.
30I will thank the Lord profusely with my mouth, and amid the multitude I will praise Him,
31when He stands at the right of the destitute one to deliver him from the condemners of his soul.
Chapter 110
This psalm records the response of Eliezer, servant of Abraham (to those who asked how Abraham managed to defeat the four kings). He tells of Abraham killing the mighty kings and their armies. Read, and you will discover that the entire psalm refers to Abraham, who merited prominence for recognizing God in his youth.
1By David, a psalm. The Lord said to my master, "Sit at My right, until I make your enemies a stool for your feet.”
2The staff of your strength the Lord will send from Zion, to rule amid your enemies.
3Your people [will come] willingly on the day of your campaign; because of your splendid sanctity from when you emerged from the womb, you still possess the dew of your youth.
4The Lord has sworn and will not regret: "You shall be a priest forever, just as Melchizedek!”
5My Lord is at your right; He has crushed kings on the day of His fury.
6He will render judgement upon the nations, and they will be filled with corpses; He will crush heads over a vast land.
7He will drink from the stream on the way, and so will hold his head high.
Chapter 111
This psalm is written in alphabetical sequence, each verse containing two letters, save the last two verses which contain three letters each. The psalm is short yet prominent, speaking of the works of God and their greatness.
1Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, in the counsel of the upright and the congregation.
2Great are the works of the Lord, [yet] available to all who desire them.
3Majesty and splendor are His work, and His righteousness endures forever.
4He established a memorial for His wonders, for the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
5He gave food to those who fear Him; He remembered His covenant always.
6He has declared the power of His deeds to His people, to give them the inheritance of nations.
7The works of His hands are true and just; all His mandates are faithful.
8They are steadfast for ever and ever, for they are made with truth and uprightness.
9He sent redemption to His people, [by] commanding His covenant forever; holy and awesome is His Name.
10The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord; sound wisdom for all who practice it-His praise endures forever.
Chapter 112
This psalm, too, follows alphabetical sequence, each verse containing two letters, save the last two which contain three letters each. It speaks of the good traits man should choose, and of how to give charity-the reward for which is never having to rely on others.
1Praise the Lord! Fortunate is the man who fears the Lord, and desires His commandments intensely.
2His descendants will be mighty on the earth; he will be blessed with an upright generation.
3Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
4Even in darkness light shines for the upright, for [He is] Compassionate, Merciful, and Just.
5Good is the man who is compassionate and lends, [but] provides for his own needs with discretion.
6For he will never falter; the righteous man will be an eternal remembrance.
7He will not be afraid of a bad tiding; his heart is steadfast, secure in the Lord.
8His heart is steadfast, he does not fear, until he sees his oppressors [destroyed].
9He has distributed [his wealth], giving to the needy. His righteousness will endure forever; his might will be uplifted in honor.
10The wicked man will see and be angry; he will gnash his teeth and melt away; the wish of the wicked will be ruined.
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 67, 68, and 69.
Chapter 67
This psalm is known as an especially revered prayer. It, too, speaks of the era of the ingathering of the exiles, and the wars of Gog and Magog, a time when "the Lord will be One."
1For the Conductor, a song with instrumental music, a psalm.
2May God be gracious to us and bless us; may He make His countenance shine upon us forever,
3that Your way be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.
4The nations will extol You, O God; all the nations will extol You.
5The nations will rejoice and sing for joy, for You will judge the peoples justly and guide the nations on earth forever.
6The peoples will extol You, O God; all the peoples will extol You,
7for the earth will have yielded its produce, and God, our God, will bless us.
8God will bless us; and all, from the farthest corners of the earth, shall fear Him.
Chapter 68
An awe-inspiring and wondrous prayer, David composed this psalm referring to a future event, when Sennacherib would surround Jerusalem on Passover, during the reign of Hezekiah. He also prophesies about the good we will enjoy during the Messianic era.
1For the Conductor; by David, a psalm, a song.
2Let God rise, let His enemies be scattered, and let His enemies flee before Him.
3As smoke is driven away, drive them away; as wax melts before fire, let the wicked perish before God.
4And the righteous will rejoice, they will exult before God and delight with joy.
5Sing to God, chant praises to His Name; extol Him Who rides upon the heavens with His Name, Yah, and exult before Him.
6A father of orphans and judge of widows is God, in the abode of His holiness.
7God settles the solitary into a home, and frees those bound in shackles; but the rebellious [are left to] dwell in an arid land.
8O God, when You went out before Your nation, when You marched through the wilderness, Selah,
9the earth trembled, even the heavens dripped before the presence of God; this mountain of Sinai [trembled] before the presence of God, the God of Israel.
10You poured generous rain, O God; when Your heritage was weary, You secured it.
11Your flock settled there; in Your goodness, O God, You prepare for the poor.
12My Lord will fulfill the word of the heralds to a great legion:
13Kings of armies will flee, they will flee; and she who inhabits the home will divide the loot.
14Even if you lie upon the hearth, [you will be like] wings of a dove covered with silver, her pinions with brilliant gold.
15When the Almighty scatters kings in her midst, those in the shadow of darkness will be made snow-white.
16The mountain of God is a fertile mountain, the mountain of majestic peaks is a fertile mountain.
17Why do you prance, O mountains of peaks? This is the mountain God has desired as His dwelling; the Lord will even dwell there forever.
18The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, [with] thousands of angels; my Lord is in their midst, at Sinai, in holiness.
19You ascended on high and took a captive, you seized gifts for man; and [now] even rebels dwell with Yah, God.
20Blessed is my Lord, Who each day loads us [with beneficence], the God Who is our deliverance forever.
21The Lord is a God of deliverances for us; and to God, my Lord, are the many avenues of death.
22God alone crushes the heads of His enemies, the hairy skull of him who goes about in his guilt.
23My Lord said, "I will bring back from Bashan, I will bring back from the depths of the sea,
24that your foot may wade through [the enemy's] blood; that the tongue of your dogs may have its portion from your enemies.”
25They saw Your ways, O God, the ways of my God, my King, in holiness.
26The singers began, then the musicians, in the midst of the maidens playing timbrels.
27In assemblies bless God; [bless] my Lord, O you who stem from Israel.
28There Benjamin, the youngest, rules them; the princes of Judah stone them, [as do] the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.
29Your God has decreed your strength. Show Your strength, O God, Who has wrought this for our sake.
30Because of [the glory of] Your Sanctuary upon Jerusalem, kings will bring You tribute.
31Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, the assembly of mighty bulls among the calves of nations, [until] each submits himself with pieces of silver. Scatter the nations that desire wars.
32Nobles will come from Egypt; Kush will hasten [to raise] its hands to God.
33Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praise to my Lord forever!
34To the One Who rides upon the loftiest of ancient heavens-behold He gives forth His voice, a voice of might.
35Ascribe power to God; His majesty is over Israel, and His might is in the skies.
36God, You are feared from Your Sanctuary; it is the God of Israel Who grants strength and power to His people; blessed is God.
Chapter 69
1For the Conductor, on the shoshanim, by David.
2Deliver me, O God, for the waters have reached until my soul!
3I have sunk in muddy depths without foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the current sweeps me away.
4I am wearied by my crying, my throat is parched; my eyes pined while waiting for my God.
5More numerous than the hairs on my head are those who hate me without reason. Mighty are those who would cut me off, those who are my enemies without cause. What I have not stolen, I will then have to return.
6O God, You know my folly, and my wrongs are not hidden from You.
7Let not those who hope in You be shamed through me, O my Lord, God of Hosts; let not those who seek You be disgraced through me, O God of Israel,
8because for Your sake I have borne humiliation, disgrace covers my face.
9I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons,
10for the envy of Your House has consumed me, and the humiliations of those who scorn You have fallen upon me.
11And I wept while my soul fasted, and it was a humiliation to me.
12I made sackcloth my garment, and became a byword for them.
13Those who sit by the gate speak of me, and [of me] are the songs of drunkards.
14May my prayer to You, Lord, be at a gracious time; God, in Your abounding kindness, answer me with Your true deliverance.
15Rescue me from the mire, so that I not sink; let me be saved from my enemies and from deep waters.
16Let not the current of water sweep me away, nor the deep swallow me; and let not the pit close its mouth over me.
17Answer me, Lord, for Your kindness is good; according to Your abundant mercies, turn to me.
18Do not hide Your face from Your servant, for I am in distress-hurry to answer me.
19Draw near to my soul and liberate it; redeem me, so that my enemies [not feel triumphant].
20You know my humiliation, my shame, and my disgrace; all my tormentors are before You.
21Humiliation has broken my heart, and I have become ill. I longed for comfort, but there was none; for consolers, but I did not find.
22They put gall into my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
23Let their table become a trap before them, and [their] serenity, a snare.
24Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and let their loins continually falter.
25Pour Your wrath upon them, and let the fierceness of Your anger overtake them.
26Let their palace be desolate, let there be no dweller in their tents,
27for they persecute the one whom You struck, and tell of the pain of Your wounded ones.
28Add iniquity to their iniquity, and let them not enter into Your righteousness.
29May they be erased from the Book of Life, and let them not be inscribed with the righteous.
30But I am poor and in pain; let Your deliverance, O God, streng-then me.
31I will praise the Name of God with song, I will extol Him with thanksgiving!
32And it will please the Lord more than [the sacrifice of] a mature bull with horns and hooves.
33The humble will see it and rejoice; you seekers of God, [see] and your hearts will come alive.
34For the Lord listens to the needy, and He does not despise His prisoners.
35Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and all that moves within them,
36for God will deliver Zion and build the cities of Judah, and they will settle there and possess it;
37and the seed of His servants will inherit it, and those who love His Name will dwell in it.
Tehillim Ohel Yoseph Yitzchok,
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