PSALM 124

During the winter months, there is a Jewish tradition of studying a special set of psalms - "tehilim" - on Shabbat afternoons. These psalms, #120-#134, are known as the Shir HaMaalot/Songs of Ascent psalms, as that is the first phrase in each psalm.  Each week, one of these psalms will be presented here.  We have so far covered Psalm 104, the Psalm for the New Month, and Psalms 120-123. This week, we look at Psalm 124, which we can find in Sefaria at https://www.sefaria.org/Psalms.124?lang=bi.

In this text, as we ascend towards the Temple Mount, we celebrate all of the ways in which G-d has saved us in the past and will continue to save us in times to come. We emphasize the themes of divine protection and deliverance, and how they are connected to our miraculous preservation throughout history. We give thanks for the preservation and deliverance granted to us, and express our hope and trust in G-d's ability to deliver his people, now and forever.

Psalm 124.

A song of ascents. Of David.

Were it not for the Lord, who was on our side, let Israel now declare,

were it not for the Lord, who was on our side when men assailed us,

they would have swallowed us alive in their burning rage against us;

the waters would have carried us off, the torrent would have swept over us;

over us would have swept the seething waters.

Blessed is the Lord, who did not let us be ripped apart by their teeth.

We are like a bird escaped from the fowler's trap; the trap broke and we escaped.

Our help is the name of the Lord, maker and heaven and earth.