The Sabbath is a time of refuge, protection, and consolation for the Jewish people and a day of return to God. It accompanies Israel on its spiritual journey, writes Dr. Thérèse M. Andrevon-Gottstein, a French-Israeli theologian engaged in Jewish-Christian dialogue for 30 years, in her commentary on Psalm 92, read in the Catholic Church on Sunday, March 2.
Psalm 92 is dedicated to the Sabbath. "This means that it was recited in the Temple on the Sabbath day, and today it also appears several times in the Sabbath liturgy, which begins on Friday evening," explains Dr. Thérèse M. Andrevon-Gottstein. The first two verses of the psalm ("A song for the day of Shabbat. It is good to praise the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High") already reveal "the greatness of the Shabbat in Judaism, which is much more than a day of rest."
Who is the Author of the Psalm? Two Interpretations
Two main answers are commonly given when discussing the authorship of the psalm. "Many psalms begin with 'mizmor le David,' which means a hymn not in honor of David but authored by David. Psalm 92 would therefore have been written by the Shabbat itself, which has been personalized by Jewish tradition (the Shabbat bride)," points out Dr. Thérèse M. Andrevon-Gottstein. "This psalm would therefore have its source in the Shabbat itself, which praises God by beginning with 'it is good' ('tov' in Hebrew), echoing the 'it was good' (tov) proclaimed by God on the evening of each of the six days of Creation," she adds.
On the other hand, as Dr. Andrevon-Gottstein notes, "several midrashim (Jewish commentaries) name Adam as the author of Psalm 92 (Vayikra Rabbah 10, 5) in the context of repentance and gratitude toward the Shabbat." Furthermore, "the midrash commenting on Psalm 92 (Midrash Shocher Tov, 92, 2) suggests that Adam sinned on the day of his creation, the sixth day, at the eleventh hour. He should have been expelled from Eden at the twelfth hour, just before the onset of Shabbat. However, the Shabbat pleaded on Adam's behalf so that he would not be expelled from Eden before the end of his day: 'How could the Master of the world punish at the day of my holiness?' For this reason, Adam intoned the psalm in honor of the Shabbat."
The full cometary follows:
“A psalm. A sabbath song. It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praise to your name, Most High”. (Ps 92, 1-2).
This first verse indicates that the Psalm is dedicated to the Shabbat. It was chanted in the Temple on the Shabbat, and today, it appears several times in the Shabbat liturgy, which begins on Friday evening. In Judaism, the title of a psalm is always recited and constitutes the first verse. This title is, therefore, the subject of interpretations, like the other verses. The many commentaries on the title of Psalm 92 show the greatness of the Shabbat in Judaism, which is much more than a day of rest.
The first question that arises from the commentators is, ‘Who composed this psalm?’. Several options are open, given that one does not necessarily exclude the other but reinforces the value of Shabbat. The first answer comes from a literal reading. In Hebrew, the verse is ‘mizmor shir le yom hashabbat’. ‘Le’ means ‘to, for,’ but also ‘of.’ For example, many psalms begin with ‘mizmor le David’, meaning a hymn, not in honor of David, but of David as the author. Psalm 92 would, therefore, have been written by the Shabbat itself, which has been personalized by Jewish tradition (the Shabbat bride). Thus, the Saturday morning service sequence says: ‘This is the canticle of the day, of the seventh day, on which God completed his work. On the seventh day, sing ‘mizmor shir’ ...' in the active form (Prayer book for Saturday morning). This psalm would, therefore, have its source in the Shabbat itself, which praises God by beginning with “it is good to praise the Lord” (tov in Hebrew), which echoes the “it was good” (tov) proclaimed by God on the evening of each of the six days of Creation.
Several midrashim make Adam the author of Psalm 92 (Vayikra Rabbah 10, 5) in the context of his repentance and gratitude towards Shabbat. Indeed, the midrash on Psalm 92 (Midrash Shocher Tov, 92,2) suggests that Adam sinned on the very day of his creation, the sixth day, at the 11th hour. He should have been expelled from Eden at the twelfth hour, just before the onset of Shabbat. However, the Shabbat pleaded on Adam's behalf so that he would not be expelled from Eden before the end of his day: How could the Master of the world punish at the day of my holiness?’ Adam then intoned the psalm for the day of the Shabbat (verse 1). However, Shabbat said to him, ‘You say a psalm to me? You and I will intonate a song for the Lord as it is written: ‘It is good to praise...’ (verse 2).
These numerous commentaries on this psalm show how important Shabbat is for a Jew: a refuge, protection, consolation, and a day of return to God. Shabbat is Israel's partner on its journey.