Our recent prayer lessons have dealt with the Shema and its attendant blessings. But at a recent question and answer session, Dr. Arthur Cederbaum asked a great question about pesukei d’zimra, the preliminary psalms we read as a “warm-up” before the core of the service, the Shema and Amidah. He noted that there is a series of psalms, beginning with the Ashrei (Ps. 145) and continuing through Ps. 150, the last chapter in the Book of Psalms. Why these psalms, and why the whole series of them?
In point of fact, these psalms, called “The Daily Hallel,” and popular as a unit from at least the 1st century, were originally the only content of pesukei d’zimra. (You wouldn’t know that now, since so many additional prayers have been added—I’ll explain why in a moment). All of them begin and end with “halleluyah”—which, before it was taken over by Christian circles, was understood as a command: hallelu—praise/yah—G-d. And, indeed, these last 6 psalms are entirely about praising G-d.
Recitation of these psalms was considered voluntary until about 1,000 years ago, when they became an integrated part of the daily prayers. They were intended to help people avoid praying in a mood of sadness or lightheadedness or with a lack of focus. As the came to be considered obligatory, they were preceded and followed by blessings—baruch sheamar at the beginning and yishtabach at the end. Baruch sheamar ends with “Blessed are you, Lord, King hailed (mehullal, linked to hallel and halleluyah) with psalms of praise.”
The psalms are interconnected: Ps. 145, the Ashrei, ends with “Let my mouth speak G-d’s praise, and all creatures praise His holy name for ever and ever;” Ps. 146 talks about G-d ruling justly; Ps. 147 and 148 about G-d redeeming the people; Ps 149 about Israel bringing the rulers of the nations of the world to justice. Ps. 146-149 talk about G-d as the ruler of the universe, but they also all conclude with a mention of G-d’s special relationship with Israel. Ps. 150 shifts to a purely universal perspective, wishing that “Every living breath be a praise of G-d,” thus fulfilling the concluding hope of the Ashrei.
The addition of pesukei d’zimrah to our service reflects the frustration of the human soul in finding adequate words to address and praise G-d. That same frustration led to the many additions to pesukei d’zimrah itself, additions (like the Song of the Sea) we will address in the future.