Ariel Ben Avraham – JERUSALEM IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS (II)
“My voice unto the Lord calls, and He answers me from the mount of His sacredness, forever.” (Psalms 3:5)
This and the remaining verses to be quoted, reiterate what we have pointed out before. In, by and with sacredness we have to approach God, for that is the connecting link between Him and the Jewish people.
The emphasizing “forever” that we see frequently in the Psalms, is to be understood as something previously established for eternity. In sacredness God responds, bringing us to the eternity of His sacredness.
“And I, in Your abundant loving kindness, shall I come in Your house; I bow down toward the temple of Your sacredness in reverence of You.” (5:8)
King David evokes one of God’s attributes of compassion, “abundant in loving kindness” (Exodus 34:6-7) to approach Him in prayer.
This we understand also as an attribute that we must share with God in order to come to the place of His sacredness, to which we also must approach with reverence.
Here reverence means not in fear of God, but in acknowledgment of His unfathomable presence that makes us feel infinitesimally insignificant before Him.
This is not the first or the last occasion when King David invites us to adopt humbleness, for this also is one of the prerequisites to evoke God’s presence in prayer. Reverence here is an expression of utmost humility, as well as the bowing down to the magnificence of our Creator.
“Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion; proclaim among the peoples His doings.” (9:12)
In the Jewish prayer book, we recite psalms to entreat God to hear our voice, and to grant us what we need every day to live according to His will. In this entreating prelude we approach Him by recognizing His works and constant marvels and miracles for us, in order to connect and partake of the blessings of His loving kindness and truth.
We also understand “praising” Him, not only by exalting and glorifying Him with words, but also by acting according to His ways and attributes; for we honor Him more by our actions than by our words. Thus we properly proclaim His works among the peoples, while being mindful that He dwells in the sacredness of Zion.
- Ariel Ben Avraham
- Kochav Yaakov, Safed, northern Galilee, Israel
- Ariel Ben Avraham (f. Zapata) was born in Cartagena, Colombia in 1958. After studying Cultural Anthropology in Bogotá moved to Chicago in 1984 where he worked as a television writer, reporter and producer for 20 years. In the 1990’s he produced video documentaries related to art, music, history and culture such as “Latin American Trails: Guatemala” distributed by Facets.org. Most of his life he studied ancient spiritual traditions and mysticism of major religions, understanding the mystic experience as the individual means to connect with the Creator of all. Since 2004 he studies and writes about Jewish mysticism and spirituality mainly derived from the Chassidic tradition, and the practical philosophy of the teachings of Jewish mystic sages. The book “God’s Love” is the compilation of many years studying and learning Jewish mysticism. The messages of his book are part of the content, exercises and processes of a series of seminars, lectures and retreats that he facilitates in Israel.
