Ivdu et Hashem b’Simcha – Let us serve YHVH with joy! (Psalm 100: 2)

Psalms Brown Bag Series with Rabbi Diane Tiferet Lakein:

Nevei Kodesh, Thursdays 12 – 1 pm

$10/class for NK members and $12/class for Guests 

This third lunchtime brown bag series will explore four new psalms as a way into both a deeper understanding of the Jewish traditional texts and a deeper appreciation of our own souls’ yearnings. Especially in times of increased anxiety and stress, psalms can provide us with a vehicle both for expressing our dismay and fear, and also for reconnecting us with a sense of possibility and Presence.

We will begin our exploration this spring with Psalm 16, a psalm “expressing the quiet joy one can experience when one ‘takes refuge’ in God” (R Richard Levy).  Next, we will turn our attention to two psalms which are used in the traditional Saturday morning liturgy – Psalm 34, which invites us to “taste and see that YaH is good” and Psalm 90, which acknowledges how fleeting the lifespan of humans is, compared to God’s eternity, and how crucial it is to treasure hayom/this day. We will end on a high note, with Psalm 126, which celebrates our coming home to the land, and expresses a longing for “homecoming to a state of well-being, at-homeness with both our Earth and our God” (R Miryam Glazer).

Newcomers are welcome at any point!* This class is offering through Zoom, the link will be provided when you register. 

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