Ashrei Yoshvei Beytecha
Od Yehalelucha - Od Yehalelucha
Happy are those who dwell in your house
They will keep on praising You, keep on praising you
Bnei Korach:
Psalm 84 is one of 11 psalms attributed to Bnei Korach:
42, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49; 84, 85, 87, 88
Beyond the story about Korach and family found in Numbers 16 and the comment that the "sons of Korach did not die" (Num 26:11), the Korachites are mentioned elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible; archaeological finds from the 8th century BCE also list "Bnai Korach" among other families.
According to the genealogies in Chronicles 1, the prophet Samuel was descended from Korach, and the Korachites were doorkeepers of the Temple.
Psalms 84
with translation from the Koren Jerusalem Bible
(1) For the leader; on the gittith. Of the Korahites. A psalm.
(2) How lovely is Your dwelling-place, O Lord of hosts HaShem Tzevaot. (3) I long, I yearn for the courts of the Lord; my body and soul shout for joy to the living God. (4) Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself in which to set her young, near Your altar, O Lord of hosts, HaShem Tzevaot, my king and my God.
(5) Happy are those who dwell in Your house; they forever praise You. Selah.
(6) Happy is the man who finds refuge in You, whose mind is on the [pilgrim] highways. (7) They pass through the Valley of Baca, regarding it as a place of springs, as if the early rain had covered it with blessing.-a (8) They go from “strength to strength.”rampart to rampart,-b appearing before God in Zion. (9) O Lord, God of hosts, HaShem Elohim Tzevaot, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob [Elohei Yaakov]. Selah. (10) O God, behold our shield, look upon the face of Your anointed.
(11) Better one day in Your courts than a thousand [anywhere else]; I would rather stand at the threshold of God’s house than dwell in the tents of the wicked. (12) For the Lord God HaShem Elohim is sun and shield; the Lord HaShem bestows grace and glory; He does not withhold His bounty from those who live without blame. (13) O Lord of hosts HaShem Tzevaot, happy is the man who trusts in You.
From Norman Fischer's Opening to You: Zen Inspired Translations of the Psalms
Psalm 84 in context:
Psalm 84 begins a group of psalms at the end of Book III within the 150 psalms, from this psalm to Psalm 89.
These psalms attempt to provide hope to the exilic Israelite community, but despite their celebration of the historic traditions of the Jewish people, remind the reader that these elements no longer provide the hope they once did. Within this group, "Psalm 84 ties the presence of the divine to the temple." [Wallace, Robert E. (2011). "The Narrative Effect of Psalms 84–89". Journal of Hebrew Scriptures.]
This psalm, referred to as a "pilgrimage psalm" is quoted from quite extensively in our liturgy, as we shall see. Some Mizrahi communities include it in full in the Shabbat Mincha afternoon service.
It is also used in the Catholic rites for the dedication of churches and altars, and in Protestant worship less prescriptively but often for similar uses. In the Anglican Book of Common Prayer it is the psalm for the evening of the 16th day of the month.
A field day of quotations:
English expressions:
"Even the sparrow has found a home..." (Ps 84:4)
"From strength to strength..." (Ps 84:8)
Ashrei Yoshvei Beytecha
Od Yehalelucha - Od Yehalelucha
Happy are those who dwell in your house
They will keep on praising You, keep on praising you
(5) Happy are those who dwell in Your house; they forever praise You. Selah.
Ashrei:
You may reasonably have thought this was the first verse of Ashrei, an alphabet acrostic psalm which is said twice in each daily Shacharit morning prayer service and once daily at Mincha afternoon prayers. According to the Talmud, saying this psalm three times a day guarantees a place in the world that is coming. (Bavli Brachot 4b)
"Ashrei" continues:
(טו) אַשְׁרֵ֣י הָ֭עָם שֶׁכָּ֣כָה לּ֑וֹ אַֽשְׁרֵ֥י הָ֝עָ֗ם שֱׁה' אֱלֹקָֽיו׃ {פ}
Then psalm 145 in its entirety, starting:
א) תְּהִלָּ֗ה לְדָ֫וִ֥ד אֲרוֹמִמְךָ֣ אֱלוֹקַ֣י הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וַאֲבָרְכָ֥ה שִׁ֝מְךָ֗ לְעוֹלָ֥ם וָעֶֽד׃ (ב) בְּכׇל־י֥וֹם אֲבָֽרְכֶ֑ךָּ וַאֲהַֽלְלָ֥ה שִׁ֝מְךָ֗ לְעוֹלָ֥ם וָעֶֽד׃
(15) Happy the people who have it so; happy the people whose God is the LORD.
Then Psalms 145 in its entirety, starting:
(1) A song of praise. Of David. I will extol You, my God and king, and bless Your name forever and ever. (2) Every day will I bless You and praise Your name forever and ever.
And finally:
now and forever.
Hallelujah.
Happy is the one that trusts in You:
happy is the man who trusts in You.
As well as being found in the opening paragraph of the Havdallah liturgy, in some traditions this is one of three verses said at the beginning of every Maariv evening service - sometimes three times each. (An interesting example of Jewish mantra practice - repeating certain statements in order to settle and train the mind).
Some people connect these three verses with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This verse is the one connected with Isaac.
(ה) ה' צְבָא֣וֹת עִמָּ֑נוּ מִשְׂגָּֽב־לָ֨נוּ אֱלֹקֵ֖י יַֽעֲקֹ֣ב סֶֽלָה׃
ה' צְבָא֑וֹת אַֽשְׁרֵ֥י אָ֝דָ֗ם בֹּטֵ֥חַ בָּֽךְ׃
ה' הוֹשִׁ֑יעָה הַ֝מֶּ֗לֶךְ יַעֲנֵ֥נוּ בְיוֹם־קׇרְאֵֽנוּ:
(5) The Lord of Hosts is with us – He is a refuge for us – the G-d of Yaakov / Jacob forever. (Ps 45:14)
Lord of Hosts – happy is the one who has trust in you. (Ps 84:13)
Lord, Save! The King answers on the day we call! (Ps 20:10)
Two different zemirot (Shabbat table songs):
(ב) מַה־יְּדִיד֥וֹת מִשְׁכְּנוֹתֶ֗יךָ ה' צְבָאֽוֹת׃ (ג) נִכְסְפָ֬ה וְגַם־כָּֽלְתָ֨ה ׀ נַפְשִׁי֮ לְחַצְר֢וֹת ה' לִבִּ֥י וּבְשָׂרִ֑י יְ֝רַנְּנ֗וּ אֶ֣ל אֵֽל־חָֽי׃
(2) How lovely is Your dwelling-place, O LORD of hosts.
(3) I long, I yearn for the courts of the LORD; my body and soul shout for joy to the living God.
מַה יְּדִידוּת מְנוּחָתֵךְ, אַתְּ שַׁבָּת הַמַּלְכָּה. בְּכֵן נָרוּץ לִקְרָאתֵךְ, בּֽוֹאִי כַלָּה נְסוּכָה. לְבוּשׁ בִּגְדֵי חֲמוּדוֹת, לְהַדְלִיק נֵר בִּבְרָכָה. וַתֵּֽכֶל כָּל־הָעֲבוֹדוֹת, לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ מְלָאכָה:
לְהִתְעַנֵּג בְּתַעֲנוּגִים. בַּרְבּוּרִים וּשְׂלָיו וְדָגִים:
How lovely is your rest, o You Shabbos Queen. This is why we run to greet you: "Come! Annointed Queen!" Wearing special clothing, we light candles with a blessing. All work must be concluded, for on it we "Do no labour."
Chorus: Taking delight in pleasures; swans and quail and fish.
In case you're interested, here's a whole source sheet unpacking Mah Yedidut that I made for another class. Mah Yedidut is also full of quotations and allusions.
(א) צָמְאָה נַפְשִׁי
(ב) לֵאלֹקִים לְאֵל חָי
(ג) לִבִּי וּבְשָׂרִי
(ד) יְרַנְּנוּ אֶל-אֵל חָי:
My soul thirsts, she thirsts for the divine, for the living God; my heart and my flesh they sing to the living God.
Tzamah Nafshi is a popular Shabbat evening zmirah in the Ashkenazi community. However, its author, the great medieval sage Ibn Ezra, originally wrote it in homage to the holiday of Shmini Atzeret.
Various musical interpretations:
Ashrei by Aly Halpert:
https://open.spotify.com/track/4Kg3dWzOSHLZQYxMUwMzd2?si=dfc3e29c50844cfd
Ashrei by R Shefa Gold, sung by Aviva Chernik:
https://open.spotify.com/track/0xCti2W8nD4tYPF9xDNqTI?si=6c73148645804a4a
Ashrei by Shoshana Jedwab:
https://open.spotify.com/track/2shG1rTuGLR96CeQu8OIkl?si=26f0593daae34500
Christian settings:
Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630, Germany):
https://open.spotify.com/track/5f9Arkm1dDlFk4sXO2ufQn?si=fc3b718e80c04fc5
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897, Germany), in his German Requiem:
https://open.spotify.com/track/1Hpcybyqa1SkNhx5e16rFf?si=f032a8122a924005
Psalm 84 by Australian Christian rock band Sons of Korah:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNLHdnzFqNI
Even the Sparrow (actually most of the psalm) by Jim Winder:
https://open.spotify.com/track/0zr36UsL4l97MZQ7n3blLd?si=1a994ca91c1e411d
Post denominational and totally interpretive:
Even the Sparrow, by contemporary saxophonist and post-jazz composer James Brandon Lewis:
https://open.spotify.com/track/30o2Ai85o0gZgxmJsrEqHP?si=2ec0b1a2580641a5