The Tanakh Podcast

"i lift up my eyes to the mountains. From where will my help come?" This is one of the most famous and popular mizmorim. In what context might it have been composed and recited?

This psalm opens one of the most famous sub-sections of Tehillim - the Songs of Ascent or Shirei Hamaalot. In this podcast we: 1. offer 4 explanations for the term "Shir Ha-Maalot" 2. Study Psalm 120 which speaks about hate speech, peace and war.

This - the longest pslam - is a paean to Torah, its study, its laws and the meaning it offers those who walk on the pure path of Torah. Its poetry is wrapped in an delightful eightfold alphabetical acrostic.

Have you noticed the ups and downs of Hallel; how it lurches from elation to the depths of anxious despair in a single line - and then back again? And why do we double certain lines in Hallel?

Our Mizmor invites the world to appreciate the Jewish people and to acclaim the everlasting truth of God's worldview.

Are vows important? Why is making a vow like buying on credit, and why are vows so central in this Mizmor? Our answer will take us to the colourful world of the Temple, where people would celebrate in the company of friends after a life-threatening situation.

This Mizmor is a struggle with those who mock Israel for worshipping a God they cannot see. In return, the Mizmor mocks and belittles the idolaters who serve man-made ineffective gods. In response for Israel's trust in the Divine, the poet promises that God will bless Israel.

The Exodus is depicted not merely as an historical revolution; there is a revolution in nature - water turns to dry land; dry land turns to water! This joyous Mizmor from Hallel expresses the overlap between the emergence of Israel and God's powerful presence in nature. Music. Intro - Sinai Tor. End - Naftali Kempeh

Chapter 113 starts what we know as "Hallel" "Where one finds God's greatness; there you find his smallness and humility" Musical Intro - Mekimi - Yosef Karduner Musical ending - Mekimi - Yonina

This Mizmor is the mirror image of Psalm 111; but whereas the previous psalm depicted God, now we describe the character of the righteous human individual. We suggest that the combination of Psalm 111 and 112 is encouraging us to model our human actions on God's traits.