"More powerful than any medicine to relieve pain and more
effective than any drug to carry us on a wave of
euphoria..."
What is this book that we carry with us everywhere in our
briefcases and pocketbooks, that we take with us on the short
excursion to the market or the long bus ride out of the city?
What is this book that comes in all sizes, from not much
bigger than a postal stamp, to the oversized edition for the
vision impaired? What is this book that has been translated
into every language, has been borne to the far corners of the
earth, has been hidden and smuggled across borders? This book
that our enemies burned and reviled. This book that
accompanied us into every exile, whose pages are stained with
our tears? This book that constantly reminds us of our
precious identities, sets us back on our feet, gives us back
our dignity, and releases us to breathe with a new spirit?
What is this book that is more powerful than any medicine to
relieve pain and more effective than any drug to carry us on a
wave of joy in the simple knowledge that we are Jews with a
Father in Heaven? What is this book that the mere recitation
of its words can bring us preciously close to Hashem and our
own radiant souls?
There are many books that can be deeply uplifting. There are
books that we read over and over again at certain times in our
lives because they seem to be written expressly for us with
the precise message that we needed to hear at that moment. But
what book can be exactly what we needed to hear at that exact
moment -- at every single moment and every
single juncture in our lives? What book speaks to teenage
girls and grandmothers, hi-tech executives and bus drivers,
housewives and housepainters? What book spoke consistently for
2,000 years to a People who was persecuted and wandering from
one land to the next in search of a safe haven? Whose words
were murmured over the birthing mother, whose words were
whispered by the bride on her way to the marriage canopy, the
same words that were said at every one of life's major
passages, as well as on the ordinary days, and even on the
last day, the last words spoken.
What is this book whose value makes it priceless, but it can
be bought in any bookstore for a few shekels?
If we could have only one book or even one, only
possession, what would it be?
This book, the Book of Tehillim.
On the subject of Tehillim, our Sages say that if we only knew
what the saying of these words accomplishes, what movements
they set in motion in the Upper Worlds, what heavenly
assistance they arouse, what healing, and what light they
bring down, then we would be saying these words in every spare
moment. There are people who do. Their Book of Tehillim
hardly leaves their hands, or they know the words by heart and
say them as they wait at the street corner for the light to
change, or in the check-out line at the supermarket.
Our Sages elaborate that, even more than an individual alone
saying the words of Tehillim, their recitation in a group is
many times more powerful. When one person in the group is able
to pierce through to the heavens as his heart cries out these
words, the whole gathering of people can be carried up along
on the trajectory of that one individual.
Now as enemies surround us and there is nothing that we can do
directly to stop the fighting in Gilo, the shooting at
innocent children in Hebron, the walking suicidal incendiaries
and the many other incomprehensible acts of violence against
us, there is something extremely effective that each one of us
can do. Armed with the Book of Tehillim, we can be
spiritual warriors, so to speak. We can join the battleground
on the spiritual plane, at the root and emanation of what we
see happening down on earth, and we can fight using one of the
greatest weapons bequeathed to us in our spiritual arsenal.
The wise among us, and even those among our enemies, know that
this is a spiritual war being waged, a war of good against
evil, the value of life against the death-affirming, of G-d-
consciousness against G-dlessness. The bloodshed here is a
manifestation of the struggle being waged There. Strengthening
our bond with our Creator, expressing our love for Him, our
trust in Him and our thankfulness, and feeling His love return
to us -- in all the ways we know how to do this -- bring us
closer to a victory over the darkness.
*
The words of Tehillim are more than words; they create a
bonding and manifest the love between ourselves and Hashem.
This book that is more than any book can express our love that
is more than any love. Said in a group, the effect is
compounded many times.
There are already thousands of Tehillim groups that meet
daily or weekly around the world. There are more than one
thousand in Eretz Yisroel alone, in every city from the Golan
Heights to the southern coast of Eilat. Groups have been
organized in such places as Russia, Turkey, Australia and
Argentina.
The formation of women's Tehillim groups has a long history.
From the time of the Chida, the Sefer Hamechulok, the
sectioned Tehillim, began. Over forty years ago, in the
neighborhood of Shaarei Chessed, such revered figures as
Rebbetzin Auerbach zt'l, Rebbetzin Schwadron
zt'l and others of their caliber would stream into a
small shul, daily, in the still, silent hours of the
afternoon, to pierce the heavens with Tehillim, to pour out
their hearts over the sad situation of the Jewish People. They
would complete the entire Tehillim, anticipating the
Redemption and igniting the hearts of Jewry as one.
In weekly or monthly groups, the entire Sefer Tehillim is
read in less than twenty minutes. By joining together, we can
accomplish far more than as individuals.
In Kiryat Sefer, the formation of women's groups was inspired
several years ago by the plight of an elderly Yemenite woman
who was suffering from a severe case of diabetes which had
rendered her unable to speak. Her daughter realized that the
best way to help was by talking publicly about the enormous
benefit of Tehilim. The woman requested that her daughters
form seven women's Tehillim groups on the block where she
lived in Kiryat Sefer.
These groups met for the first time on Erev Pesach and by
Shavuos, seven weeks later, there were forty-nine Tehillim
groups.
*
There are no leaders of a Tehillim group, only sayers of
Tehillim, which means that the usual social dynamics problems
that groups can suffer when personal egos are involved simply
don't come up. The book of Tehillim has been divided into 28
short pamphlets which can be passed out, so that each person
contributes a portion of the complete recitation. Depending on
the size of the group and its fluency, the Tehillim saying may
last only ten minutes, whereas one person saying the entire
Tehillim would need from two to three hours to forge through
the whole book.
Our Sages tell us that the portion an individual says in a
group effort is counted as far more valuable than one person
saying the whole book. The kinship and feeling of connection
among the members of the group, the simple act of gathering
for a shared purpose with one heart and one mind, and the
spirit of togetherness is what makes these Tehillim groups so
precious.
In many incidents of bombs detonating with only negligible
injuries in Jerusalem neighborhoods, or instances of near
disasters, open miracles, it has been discovered that at the
time of the detonation, a Tehillim group was meeting in the
vicinity. The bombing in the Bais Yisroel neighborhood on Tu
Bishvat is the most publicized incident where only one woman
was slighty injured in a blast that could have claimed many,
many lives, G-d forbid, and wrought havoc.
Even if there is already a Tehillim group on your block,
others can be scheduled at different times in the week,
convenient to other women. For information about the groups
and how to obtain the Tehillim pamphlets, call 02-537-8813,
537-2775.
There is no end to thanking and praising Hashem, and it is
written that the Final Redemption will come when the sounds of
Tehillim fill the world.
