Vayera (Psalms)

Psalm 25: A Psalm of Total Devotion

This Shabbat we read the account of Akedat Yitzhak, the Binding of Isaac, seen as the very paradigm of self-sacrifice and total dedication to God (on the ethical and theological difficulties, see my blogsite; details below). Indeed, Prof Yeshayahu Leibowitz often spoke of this parsha as emblematic of Judaism, in which man is called to exhibit total devotion to God, in contrast to Christianity, in which the central symbol of the Crucifixion represents the opposite: God sacrificing Himself for man’s salvation.

Psalm 25, which we shall discuss here, is recited daily by Sephardim and Habad Hasidism in the Tahanun prayer, which is interpreted by the Zohar as a kind of inner act of Kiddush Hashem, in which the worshipper acts out a kind of symbolic death for God’s sake. (Ashkenazim, finding this far too dangerous and liminal spiritually for daily recitation, recite Psalm 6 instead.) The opening words of the psalm, “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul,” are seen as expressing this attitude.

The psalm itself is one of several alphabetical or near-alphabetical acrostics in the Psalter (along with Psalms 34, 145, the eight-fold acrostic of 119, and Psalms 111 and 112, in which the acrostic is formed by strophes or half-verses). In fact, this psalm is not concerned primarily with the theme of self-sacrifice, but interweaves several basic themes: sin and contrition; prayer for Divine guidance and help; and trust and confidence in God. One does not feel here quite the same sense of preoccupation with sin or the urgent need for atonement and forgiveness as one does in such psalms of repentance as Psalms 32 or 51; rather, the author alludes to “the sins and transgressions of my youth” (v. 7) or God “instructing sinners in the way” (v. 8) as a kind of given: the human being is a wayward creature, who needs teaching and direction to lead the proper kind of life. The central concern is that he be taught the right path, and be gently guided along it at all times: “Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me Your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for You are my God…“ (vv. 4-5a); or “God is good and upright, therefore he teaches sinners in the way” (a verse around which a notable midrash on teshuvah is built; see HY V: Nitzavim); “He shall lead the humble in the right path, and teach him his way” (v. 9). Again, reminiscent of Psalm 34’s “Who is the man who chooses life?,” he asks the question, “Who is the man who fears the Lord? He shall teach him the path to be chosen.”

The tone here, as I understand it, is not one of acute guilt or self-loathing because of one’s sinfulness, as is found in Christian teachings of Original Sin as well as in some Jewish schools, but rather a kind of matter-of-fact awareness that human beings are imperfect, and tend to stray from the upright path, left to their own devices, and a kind of quiet confidence. A person’s deepest need is for guidance in God’s way—but in a kind of calm, loving, non-punitive way. In this sense the psalm is extremely spiritual; again and again, what is asked for, rather than concrete needs, is simply to be shown the path, for God to relieve his distress and travail by turning him towards Him. God removes sin, and saves the former sinner from his enemies and other dangers in life.