Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi believed deeply that each of us have the capacity to communicate directly with God, yet often we are at a loss as to where to begin. What better place to begin our collective search than with our age-old prayers, the psalms (tehillim) of the Hebrew Bible?*

This lunchtime brown bag series will explore four different psalms as a way into both a deeper understanding of the Jewish traditional texts and a deeper appreciation of our own souls’ yearnings.

Over the centuries, the redactors of our prayer books (siddurim) have chosen particular psalms as part of the standardized liturgy, and Jewish Renewal has highlighted and elevated others through chants and songs. And yet there is so much more to uncover! We will begin our exploration this fall with Psalm 81, the psalm sung in Jerusalem by the Levites on Thursdays. In the next two sessions, we will turn our attention to Psalm 40 – a relatively unknown psalm – and Psalm 23 – a classic psalm of comfort. At our fourth meeting, we will discuss Psalm 30, traditionally associated with Chanuka, and also often recited as part of the morning liturgy.

Ideally, we will come to build a sense of community through our sustained exploration of different psalms together over time as well as offering you a window into the tremendous richness to be found in these traditional texts of prayer.

Each session is "stand alone" and you can register separately. Classes meet Nov. 7, 21, Dec 5, 12.

*No Hebrew is required. The texts will be provided both in Hebrew and in traditional and alternative English translations, including those of Reb Zalman himself.