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Three Ways Tehillim is a Woman’s Prayer

Miriam Kellner

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Sefer Tehillim is one of the treasures weโ€™ve been lugging around for thousands of years and across continents and diasporas, holding tight to its security and power. Although it is one of the twenty-four books of Tanach, Tehillim is a unique sefer, quite unlike the megillot and teachings that comprise most of Torah. It is a book of prayers, of song, and as we will attempt to discover in this article, a prayer of a very feminine nature.

Harnessing the Gift of the Lev

Men, Kabbalah teaches us, are compared to the sun; women, to the moon. The sun is the constant, the provider, the bestower of our celestial system. The moon waxes and wanes, dips and grows, renews ever stronger each month, much like the woman. One simple remez for this correlation is found in the Hebrew words for sun; ื—ื, and for moon; ืœื‘ื ื”. The letters in ื—ื also give us the word ืžื—, mind; the male processes and patterns are represented in the cognitive agenda. ืœื‘ื ื” contains within it the word ืœื‘, heart. Thatโ€™s the female space. 

Despite the fierce cultural bias to upend these stereotypes, there is much research to support the claim that women are significantly more emotional than men. Women are far more likely to cry, to take compassion on a needy stranger, and they are overwhelmingly represented in industries that require effortless empathy, such as counseling. 

Inasmuch as all prayer is a product of the heart1, Sefer Tehillim is truly the pinnacle of emotional expression. Its chapters tell of ecstatic highs and desperate lows, poetic phrases of a heart so fully reliant on Hashem in every situation. And although we have unfortunately not retained the musical notations of this special book, the fact that it is written as a song already teaches us what a pure expression of basic emotion it is. 

Divine Dialogue: The Five Books of Prayer

There are many fascinating parallels and connections between Moshe, ืจื‘ืŸ ืฉืœ ื™ืฉืจืืœ, the teacher of Israel; and Dovid, ืžืœืš ื™ืฉืจืืœ, king of Israel2. One beautiful example is found in this very detailed Midrash3:

ื•ืžื™ ื”ื•ื ืžืฉื•ื‘ื— ืฉื‘ื ื‘ื™ืื™ื ื•ืžืฉื•ื‘ื— ืฉื‘ืžืœื›ื™ื. ืžืฉื•ื‘ื— ืฉื‘ื ื‘ื™ืื™ื ื–ื” ืžืฉื”. ืžืฉื•ื‘ื— ืฉื‘ืžืœื›ื™ื ื–ื” ื“ื•ื“. ืืช ืžื•ืฆื ืฉื›ืœ ืžื” ืฉืขืฉื” ืžืฉื” ืขืฉื” ื“ื•ื“. ืžืฉื” ื”ื•ืฆื™ื ืืช ื™ืฉืจืืœ ืžืžืฆืจื™ื. ื•ื“ื•ื“ ื”ื•ืฆื™ื ืืช ื™ืฉืจืืœ ืžืฉืขื‘ื•ื“ ืžืœื›ื™ื•ืช. ืžืฉื” ืขืฉื” ืžืœื—ืžื•ืช ื‘ืกื™ื—ื•ืŸ ื•ืขื•ื’. ื•ื“ื•ื“ ืขืฉื” ืžืœื—ืžื•ืชื™ื• ืฉืœ ื”ืงื‘”ื” ืฉื ืืžืจ (ืฉืžื•ืืœ-ื ื›ื” ื›ื—) ื›ื™ ืžืœื—ืžื•ืช ื”’ ืื“ื•ื ื™ ื ืœื—ื. ืžืฉื” ืžืœืš ืขืœ ื™ืฉืจืืœ ื•ื™ื”ื•ื“ื” ืฉื ืืžืจ (ื“ื‘ืจื™ื ืœื’ ื”) ื•ื™ื”ื™ ื‘ื™ืฉื•ืจื•ืŸ ืžืœืš. ื•ื“ื•ื“ ืžืœืš ืขืœ ื™ืฉืจืืœ ื•ื™ื”ื•ื“ื”. ืžืฉื” ืงืจืข ืœื”ื ืืช ื”ื™ื. ื•ื“ื•ื“ ืงืจืข ืœื”ื ืืช ื”ื ื”ืจื•ืช ืฉื ืืžืจ (ืชื”ืœื™ื ืก ื‘) ื‘ื”ืฆื•ืชื• ืืช ืืจื ื ื”ืจื™ื. ืžืฉื” ื‘ื ื” ืžื–ื‘ื—. ื•ื“ื•ื“ ื‘ื ื” ืžื–ื‘ื—. ื–ื” ื”ืงืจื™ื‘ ื•ื–ื” ื”ืงืจื™ื‘. ืžืฉื” ื ืชืŸ ืœื”ื ื—ืžืฉื” ื—ื•ืžืฉื™ ืชื•ืจื”. ื•ื›ื ื’ื“ื ื ืชืŸ ืœื”ื ื“ื•ื“ ืกืคืจ ืชื”ืœื™ื ืฉื™ืฉ ื‘ื• ื—ืžืฉื” ืกืคืจื™ื.

โ€ฆAnd who is the most praiseworthy among the prophets and the most praiseworthy among the kings? The most praiseworthy among the prophets is Moshe. The most praiseworthy among the kings is David. You find that everything Moshe did, David did. Moshe brought Israel out of Egypt, and David brought Israel out of the bondage of kingdoms. Moshe fought wars against Sichon and Og, and David fought the wars of Hashemโ€ฆ Moshe ruled over Israel and Yehudaโ€ฆAnd David ruled over Israel and Yehuda. Moshe parted the sea for them, and David parted the rivers for them, as it is said (Psalm 78:13), ‘He divided the sea and made them pass through, and he made the waters stand like a heap.’ Moshe built an altar, and David built an altar. This one sacrificed, and that one sacrificed. Moshe gave them the five books of the Torah, and parallel to that, David gave them the Book of Tehillim, which contains five books.

What Moshe gave us in Torah, David gave us in prayer. Moshe brought us the Written Torah: the template, the body of wisdom that contains in it infinite lessons, layers and deductions. Similarly, David gave us the template for tefillah; Tehillim is the original model for all prayers, teaching us about the most effective format and the level of absolute trust and desperation we can aim for, and indeed, Tehillim makes up a large chunk of our daily prayers.

The creation of the woman brought to the world the gift of relationship, where previously there was no such human possibility. Tefillah, too, is the creation of a mode by which we can turn our connection with Hashem into a dialogue: Torah is how Hashem communicates with us, and tefillah is how we communicate back with Him. David, like the archetypal woman, taught us how to transform lives of service into beautiful, cosmic, and everlasting conversations. 

To Sing in the Nights: Vessel of Emunah

The Gemara tells us4 that when Nevuchadnezzar heard about the miracle that the navi Yechezkel performed in reviving the dead remains of the Dura Valley, he began to praise Hashem with the most beautiful songs, until an angel came and stopped his praise. The Gemara adds that had he continued singing, his praise would have denigrated the songs of David; Rashi explains that his singing was so beautiful that Hashem would have preferred his offerings to Davidโ€™s.

The Kotzker Rebbe teaches us that the angel did not stop the king from singing, he merely slapped him on the mouth. Nevuchadnezzar, now experiencing pain, ceased singing of his own accord. This served as the demonstration why Davidโ€™s praises of Hashem remain superior; because he praised Hashem all day, every day, through the most incredible tribulations and dangers. 

What Moshe gave us in Torah, David gave us in prayer. Moshe brought us the Written Torah: the template, the body of wisdom that contains in it infinite lessons, layers and deductions. Similarly, David gave us the template for tefillah; Tehillim is the original model for all prayers, teaching us about the most effective format and the level of absolute trust and desperation we can aim for, and indeed, Tehillim makes up a large chunk of our daily prayers.

David Hamelech teaches this to us expressly in Tehillim, chapter 92:

ื˜ึ—ื•ึนื‘ ืœึฐื”ึนื“ึฅื•ึนืช ืœึทื™ื”ึนื•ึธึ‘ื” ื•ึผืœึฐื–ึทืžึตึผึ–ืจ ืœึฐืฉึดืืžึฐืšึธึฃ ืขึถืœึฐื™ึฝื•ึนืŸ ืœึฐื”ึทื’ึดึผึฃื™ื“ ื‘ึทึผื‘ึนึผึฃืงึถืจ ื—ึทืกึฐื“ึถึผึ‘ืšึธ ื•ึถึืึฑืžึฅื•ึผื ึธืชึฐืšึธ ื‘ึทึผืœึตึผื™ืœึฝื•ึนืช

It is good to praise Hashem, to sing hymns to Your name, Most High, to proclaim Your love by day, Your faithfulness each nightโ€ฆ

Night or day, light or dark, good times and challenging times, David never once stopped praising Hashem. Rav Hirsch writes: David knew how to utilize every moment of both joy and affliction as a means of striving upward before G-d to clarity of thought and purity of resolve and conviction, and he could turn his every thought and emotion into a song borne by the strains of his heart. It was for this reason that he could leave such creations of his spirit to his people as an eternal heritage, so that the minds and spirits of both the individual and the nation, throughout the ages to come, and notwithstanding the changes time might bring, might be able to fight their way through the same struggleโ€ฆ5

The ability to sing in the nights, to retain faith in the most challenging darkness, is a signature female power. We see it demonstrated in Mitzrayim, where the womenโ€™s effort in keeping their familiesโ€™โ€™ spirit alive was the final merit by which the nation was redeemed. We see it again immediately after the miracle of Kriat Yam Suf, where Miriam and the women produced tambourines they had brought along with them to play and sing, so certain they were of the impending salvation. It was Esther who was the silver lining in the Purim story, and women, again, who will bring the final redemption. 

Wherever the Jewish People have been tried, we got through because of the womenโ€™s emunah. And wherever theyโ€™ve been, as well, they carried with this book of faith, 150 chapters of sheer emotion, climatic tefillah, and perfect faith. And the artist of this special compilation6 is the forebearer of the final redemption, which, as Chazal tell us, will once again be in the merit of the righteous women. 

  1. Taanit 2a โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  2. Often, a third member shown to be connected is Adam, whose name (ืื“ื) stands for these three Jewish leaders and originators: ืื“ื, ื“ื•ื“, ืžืฉื”. In Chassidus, the Baal Shem Tov is also mentioned, whose yahrzeit is on Shavuot, just like Dovid.ย  โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  3. Midrash Tehillim 1 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  4. Sanhedrin 92b โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  5. Rav Hirsch on Tehillim, Introduction, translation by Feldheim Publishers โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  6. David wrote most of Tehillim, with some chapters prophetically received that are part of later narratives, and some chapters received through the tradition from earlier personalities.ย  โ†ฉ๏ธŽ

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