HIGHLIGHTS: Dan Misha Goldman's psych-death-guitar. "Who is the life of life …"

DESCRIPTION:

Psalm 23, or “Psalm of David,” is often sung graveside at Jewish funerals. Imagery of abundance permeates the text — “He restores my soul … goodness and mercy will pursue me.” There is an incongruence in hearing mourners sing this psalm of praise and thanksgiving as they are moored to the epicenter of their grief. I imagine that they are almost singing it through gritted teeth — to sing the words “my cup overflows” when the heart is scorchingly hollowed out by sorrow seems to be a suggestive inversion. The traditional melody of the psalm similarly lulls — it is hypnotic and optimistic and belies the anguish of the context. 

This arrangement starts out very controlled and builds to a grief-stricken plead with death. Certain parts of the arrangement (the voices, the guitars) maintain a fidelity to appearances, insisting that all is well, while other characters (the bass saxophone) wail in bereavement. This psalm seems to infer that death is certain, life is tenuous, and it is the responsibility of the bereaved to stay alert enough to face the sacred, liminal chasms that profound loss presents to us. 


מִזְמור לְדָוִד,
יְהוָה רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר.
בִּנְאוֹת דֶשֶׁא יֵרְבִּיצֵנִי,
עַל-מֵי מְנֻחוֹת
יְנַהֲלֵנִי.
נַפְשִׁי יְשׁוֹבֵב, יַנְחֵנִי
בְמַעְגְלֵי-צֶדֶק לְמֵעֵן
שְׁמוֹ.
גַם כִּי-אֵלֵךְ בְּגֵיא
צַלְמָוֶת לֹא-אִירָא רָע
כִּי-אַתָּה עִמָדִי, שִׁבְטְךָ
וּמִשְׁעַנְתֶּךָ הֵמָה
יְנַחֲמֻנִי.
תַּעֲרֹךְ לְפָנַי
שֻׁלְחָן נֶגֶד צֹרְרָי,
דִשַנְתָּ בַשֶמֶן
רֹאשִי כּוֹסִי רְוָיָה.
אַךְ, טוֹב וָחֶסֶד
יִרְדְפוּנִי כָּל-יְמֵי חַיָי,
וְשַׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית-יְהוָה
לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים.


A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures: 
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul:
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death,
I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies:
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Adapted from 1917 Jewish Publication Society Translation

Daniela Gesundheit - Psalm of David / Mizmor L’David  מזמור לדוד

Non-denominational devotional pop music from Toronto / Los Angeles. 

Daniela Gesundheit - Psalm of David / Mizmor L’David מזמור לדוד

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