The God Squad: More Psalms of comfort

J from Belmore, N.Y., sent in her Psalm of Comfort :

A couple of weeks ago you invited your readers to share our favorite Psalm of hope. I always return to Psalm 139, especially:

Truly you have formed my inmost being;

you knit me in my mother's womb.

I give you thanks that I am fearfully,

wonderfully made;

wonderful are your works.

My soul also you knew full well;

nor was my frame unknown to you

When I was made in secret,

when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.

There is something very liberating about a God who knows everything about you, body and soul, from before you were born, your every thought and action. I read unfathomable and unconditional love between those lines, and to me, that gives me hope and strength through whatever I face in my life.

God bless you, and keep up the good work,

G from Mycanopy, Florida wrote:

Your column [which I've read for many years, even back when it was still a dual effort!] often provides uplift when I badly need it. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Ninety-first Psalm is particularly meaningful to me.

There's a splendid solo/anthem ["Ninety-First Psalm"] by composer James G. MacDermid that has been wonderfully inspirational since I first heard it in University days, 75 years ago.

It abridges the words somewhat, But IMO, it skillfully captures the message of this song of the Prophets.

A video of this 'Sacred Song' (the composer's term!) can be found on YouTube:

Pax Vobiscum!

Psalm 91:

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

King James Version (KJV)

More on the Trail of Tears…

LB from Holtsville, Long Island wrote,

Dear Rabbi Gellman,

I was blown away to read the touching gift the Choctaw's managed to send the Irish citizens just a few years later as they suffered from the potato famine. Thanks so much for sharing this true story and including the heartfelt recent updates from the Irish people!!!

Thank you so much LB for your kind words. Many readers also appreciated this amazing story of compassion of the Choctaw Native American tribes and the reciprocal generosity of the Irish people in sending much needed support to the Choctaws and Hopi and Navajo peoples during this pandemic. The ancient rabbis taught that “a good deed produces a good deed” (in Hebrew: mitzvah goreret mitzvah) however I don’t think they ever imagined that it would take almost two hundred years for that spiritual calculus to be completed.

Unfortunately, there was a typo that several careful readers picked up on. The “Trail of Tears” that caused the suffering and death from exposure and disease for thousands of Native Americans and that began with the Indian Removal Act of 1830 took tribes from the southeast to new lands in southeast Oklahoma and not, as my column stated from the southwest to Oklahoma. The Choctaws lived in northern Mississippi and in fact many Choctaws never made the move to Oklahoma and live in northern Mississippi to this day. The point is that even our own worst suffering should not blind us from the suffering of others.

(Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including “Religion for Dummies,” co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman.)