ADULT LEARNING AT CONGREGATION ETZ CHAYIM
with Rabbi Cartun

The Psalms of the Day*
Tuesday evenings, 7:30 - 9:00 pm
Ocotober 8 - December 10

A 10 week trip through the Psalms read on each day of the week, starting with an introduction to what Psalms are, when and by whom they were written, & different ways the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament number the verses. What can modern readers expect to "get from" these ancient songs, with idioms and cultural references related to their time? We'll try to decipher why these 7 out of 150 Psalms in the Book were chosen for their days!

            We'll make available several translations and commentaries, especially the new one by Rabbi Benjy Segal (A New Psalm, available online) as well as in hardcopy beginning in October.  Rabbi Segal, of the Conservative Schechter Institute in Jerusalem, was rabbi of congregation Kol Emeth in the early 70's.

            What does each Psalm in this progression say by itself, and what do they say about the Levitical Priesthood who chose them over 2000 years ago to be chanted each day in the Temple? Last, what do these Psalms evoke in us, both on their own, and as statements of the passage of time through a week?

*The Psalms of the Day are Psalm 24 (Sunday), Ps 48 (Monday), Ps 82 (Tuesday),

Ps 94:1-95:3 (Wednesday/Midweek), Ps 81 (Thursday), Ps 93 (Friday)

& Ps 92 (Shabbat: This contains the songs Mizmor Shir, Mah Gadlu, and Tzaddik KaTamar.)