Guiding Questions: Psalms 85

This is part of the Tanakh Yomi Project.

  1. In Psalms 85:2, God is asked to “favor the land” — might this be a tefillah for rain? (Skip ahead, for a moment, to Psalms 85:13)
  2. If there is no rain, according to Psalms 85:3, what would be the cause of it?
  3. And, in the Middle East, what is the essential ingredient for “life”?
  4. Would the construct of Psalms 85:12 indicate growth and rain “from heaven”?
  5. Translating Psalms 85:13 other than in the JPS version (and in accordance with Dahood, (Psalms, volume 2) “with a crash will God give His rain and our land will give its produce,” would this seem in keeping with the nature of the tefillah?
  6. In any event, however Psalms 85:13 may be translated, what is the essential attribute of the Divine as set forth in Psalms 85:14?

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    Exploring Judaism is the digital home for Conservative/Masorti Judaism, embracing the beauty and complexity of Judaism, and our personal search for meaning, learning, and connecting. Our goal is to create content based on three core framing: Meaning-Making (Why?), Practical Living (How?), and Explainers (What?).

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Perek Yomi materials originally produced by the USCJ and Dr. Morton K. Siegel.
We are grateful to be able to share this material.

Author

  • favicon of exploring judaism logo

    Exploring Judaism is the digital home for Conservative/Masorti Judaism, embracing the beauty and complexity of Judaism, and our personal search for meaning, learning, and connecting. Our goal is to create content based on three core framing: Meaning-Making (Why?), Practical Living (How?), and Explainers (What?).

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