by Nan C. Merrill
My spirit soared when a Voice
spoke to me:
"Come, come to the Heart
of Love!"
How long I had stood within the
house of fear
yearning to enter the gates
of Love!
The New Jerusalem, the Holy City,
is bound firmly together;
All who seek the Heart of Love,
those who have faced their fears,
Enter the gates in peace and with great joy,
singing songs of thanksgiving.
There, in harmony with the cosmos,
the community gathers united
in love.
Pray for the peace of the world!
May all nations prosper as one!
May peace reign among all peoples,
and integrity dwell within
every heart!
Then will friends and neighbors, and
former enemies as well,
cry out, "Peace be within you!"
For the good of the universe and
in gratitude to the Beloved,
Let us serve the Holy One,
of all nations
with glad hearts.
From Psalms of the Jewish Liturgy, A Guide to Their Beauty, Power, and Meaning,
by Miriyam Glazer who writes of this psalm:
When God created the world, says the Zohar, God placed the waters of the ocean around the earth and in the heart of the inhabited world, God placed Jerusalem. For many Jews, it does feel as if Jerusalem is, still today, the center of the world, whether we are talking about Yerushalayim shel' ma'lah, heavening Jerusalem, or the Jerusalem of everyday. When the state of Israel is threatened, when war comes, when terrorist bombs explode in the city's bustling downtown, Jews all over the world gather together, urgently reciting Ps 122.
That is when Ps 122 feels most like a prayer coming from one's very soul, and the pain one feels for the disparity between the hope and the reality is most acute.
But the wars within and around Jerusalem are also evidence of more profound divisions within us and in the world as a whole. To pray for the peace of Jerusalem is thus in a sense to pray for the whole world; not because Jerusalem is the world, but because to achieve a true, full peace for that long-troubled city would take such a revolution in human consciousness, all humanity would be affected.
Se translates this psalm as follows:
spoke to me:
"Come, come to the Heart
of Love!"
How long I had stood within the
house of fear
yearning to enter the gates
of Love!
The New Jerusalem, the Holy City,
is bound firmly together;
All who seek the Heart of Love,
those who have faced their fears,
Enter the gates in peace and with great joy,
singing songs of thanksgiving.
There, in harmony with the cosmos,
the community gathers united
in love.
Pray for the peace of the world!
May all nations prosper as one!
May peace reign among all peoples,
and integrity dwell within
every heart!
Then will friends and neighbors, and
former enemies as well,
cry out, "Peace be within you!"
For the good of the universe and
in gratitude to the Beloved,
Let us serve the Holy One,
of all nations
with glad hearts.
From Psalms of the Jewish Liturgy, A Guide to Their Beauty, Power, and Meaning,
by Miriyam Glazer who writes of this psalm:
When God created the world, says the Zohar, God placed the waters of the ocean around the earth and in the heart of the inhabited world, God placed Jerusalem. For many Jews, it does feel as if Jerusalem is, still today, the center of the world, whether we are talking about Yerushalayim shel' ma'lah, heavening Jerusalem, or the Jerusalem of everyday. When the state of Israel is threatened, when war comes, when terrorist bombs explode in the city's bustling downtown, Jews all over the world gather together, urgently reciting Ps 122.
That is when Ps 122 feels most like a prayer coming from one's very soul, and the pain one feels for the disparity between the hope and the reality is most acute.
But the wars within and around Jerusalem are also evidence of more profound divisions within us and in the world as a whole. To pray for the peace of Jerusalem is thus in a sense to pray for the whole world; not because Jerusalem is the world, but because to achieve a true, full peace for that long-troubled city would take such a revolution in human consciousness, all humanity would be affected.
Se translates this psalm as follows:
I rejoiced when they said to me,
"Let us go to the House of Adonai!"
Our feet were standing within your gates, Jerusalem
Jerusalem, built as a city bound together well
It was there the tribes went -- God's tribes -
to fulfill laws of Torah be giving thanks to Adonai
for there in Jerusalem the thrones of judgment stood,
thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,
May those who love you feel tranquil!
May there be peace within your ramparts,
serenity in your citadels.
For the sake of my comrades and friends,
I pray for your peace
For the sake of the house of Adonai, our God
I seek your good.
I rejoiced in my heart when they said to me
Let us go to the House of God
And now my feet are standing
Inside your gates, oh, Yerushalayim
L'man achai v'reyai adabrah nah shalom bach
L'man beit YHVH Eloheynu, avaksha tov lach
Pray for the Peace that holiness brings
May those who love you prosper
Pray for the freedom beyond all walls
And the hope security offers
L'man achai v'reya adabrah nah shalom bach
L'man beit YHVH Eloheynu, avaksha tov lach
For the sake of my brothers, my sisters and friends
I call out “peace be with you”
For the sake of the name of the One our God
I wish the best for you
L'man achai v'reyai adabrah nah shalom bach
L'man beit YHVH Eloheynu, avaksha tov lach
And as a postscript, let me leave you with Micah 4:1-4:
...the many nations shall go up and shall say
"Come, let us go up to the Mount of Adonai...
That we may be instructed in God's ways,
And walk in God's paths.."
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not take up sword against nation;
they shall never again know war.
Every one will sit under their vine and fig tree
And no one will make them afraid."
Let us breathe peace into our hearts, minds, and spirits this week. shalom, saalem, shanti
"Let us go to the House of Adonai!"
Our feet were standing within your gates, Jerusalem
Jerusalem, built as a city bound together well
It was there the tribes went -- God's tribes -
to fulfill laws of Torah be giving thanks to Adonai
for there in Jerusalem the thrones of judgment stood,
thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,
May those who love you feel tranquil!
May there be peace within your ramparts,
serenity in your citadels.
For the sake of my comrades and friends,
I pray for your peace
For the sake of the house of Adonai, our God
I seek your good.
Psalm 122 – Interpretation
Copyright Rabbi Shawn Zevit begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting, 1998I rejoiced in my heart when they said to me
Let us go to the House of God
And now my feet are standing
Inside your gates, oh, Yerushalayim
L'man achai v'reyai adabrah nah shalom bach
L'man beit YHVH Eloheynu, avaksha tov lach
Pray for the Peace that holiness brings
May those who love you prosper
Pray for the freedom beyond all walls
And the hope security offers
L'man achai v'reya adabrah nah shalom bach
L'man beit YHVH Eloheynu, avaksha tov lach
For the sake of my brothers, my sisters and friends
I call out “peace be with you”
For the sake of the name of the One our God
I wish the best for you
L'man achai v'reyai adabrah nah shalom bach
L'man beit YHVH Eloheynu, avaksha tov lach
And as a postscript, let me leave you with Micah 4:1-4:
...the many nations shall go up and shall say
"Come, let us go up to the Mount of Adonai...
That we may be instructed in God's ways,
And walk in God's paths.."
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not take up sword against nation;
they shall never again know war.
Every one will sit under their vine and fig tree
And no one will make them afraid."
Let us breathe peace into our hearts, minds, and spirits this week. shalom, saalem, shanti
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