Scholars have identified 12 Psalms, two of which appear in the Psalms of the Day, as a collection of the Psalms of Asaph. According to the Society for Old Testament Study, “they are widely regarded by scholars as a coherent group of Psalms written in reaction to the exile of 586 BCE.” Most of the Biblical references to this figure, Asaph, appear in later books—particularly Chronicles and Nehemiah. According to these texts, Asaph had responsibilities for the Ark and for the music used in the Temple, making it logical that Psalms would be attributed to him. Perhaps more important, though, is which Psalms are attributed to him. The first is Psalm 50, but the main collection is Psalms 73-83, which— according to scholars—open the third “book” of Psalms. It is, overall, the darkest of the sections of Psalms, he writes, then, of that sense of betrayal and abandonment. He [...]

While there is no official “Hump Day” in the weekly Shabbat cycle, Wednesday is—according to Hasidic tradition at least—a bit of a turning point. In Hasidic tradition, Tuesday night is the last possible time to make havdalah, officially ending Shabbat; the same tradition suggests you can begin saying Shabbat Shalom on Wednesdays.Reading the Psalm of the Day for Wednesday, though, you certainly feel like the Psalmist is going through something. While the Psalms of Kabbalat Shabbat, with their celebrations of creation and new possibilities, begin with Psalm 95, today’s Psalm 94—which immediately precedes those—is painful. The verses of the psalm begin with a violent plea:אֵל־נְקָמ֥וֹת יְהֹוָ֑ה אֵ֖ל נְקָמ֣וֹת הוֹפִֽיעַ׃God of retribution, LORD,God of retribution, appear!Nekamah, the word here for retribution, is the word we see often in Israel today; when a soldier falls in battle, or an Israeli is killed in a terrorist attack, we will see HY”D—an abbreviation meaning May [...]

There is a tradition in many Orthodox communities to hold weddings on Tuesdays, the third day of the Jewish week. In the creation story, which we read this past Shabbat as the Torah cycle began anew, the third day is the day on which God creates the Earth and its vegetation. Perhaps more importantly, it is the only day in the course of creation in which God’s declaration that it is good appears twice; because of this double use of good, Tuesdays are seen as an auspicious day for marriages. The Psalm of the Day, Psalm 82, brings a bit of a different perspective though. Rather than a joyous Psalm, or one of celebration, today’s Psalm is focused on Divine judgment. Even more powerful, perhaps, the Psalmist seems to call out unfair judgements; the Psalmist suggests—like Abraham in Genesis—that the judge of the world is not behaving justly: עַד־מָתַ֥י [...]