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4th June 2026
ThursdayReflection
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Torah Today
growing numbers of Christians are returning to
the Jewish/Hebraic roots of their faith
"Psalm 33"
We don't know the author, but I assume it's David. And the 22 verses of the Psalm seem to be one continuous, solid hymn that is to be sung, to be played, to be accompanied by orchestra and drums, singing, choirs, just everything you can throw in there.
In fact, we will find here in the opening verses a number of references to kinds of music and instruments that appear for the first time in the Book of Psalms, and for that matter, for the first time in the entire Bible.
This hymn is an expression of love for God, and it also reflects His love for us.
What you might want to do at this moment is pause the teaching and just read through Psalm 33, and make it your own hymn of praise.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with harps, sing to him with stringed instruments. 3 Sing a new song to him, play the harp with skill, and shout for joy!
'Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre'.
The Sea of Galilee is called Kinneret, the Sea of Kinneret, because the shape of the lake is similar to the ancient harp or lyre.
'With a harp of ten strings' - now here the word for harp is not the same as lyre back here.
What's interesting is, in the Talmud it says that in the Temple the harps that are used all have seven strings.
But in the Messianic kingdom, the harps will all have eight strings.
But in the world to come, the eternal world to come, the harps will all have ten strings.
I don't know where they got that.
Well, it's a beautiful sentiment. And I don't know how far back that sentiment goes, but whoever the psalmist was for Psalm 33, maybe they had this in mind.
And as they write this Psalm, they're looking to the future - to the world to come - and that's why it's referring to the harp of ten strings.
'With a harp of ten strings, make melody to Him; a new song.'
This is the first time the word shir occurs in the body of a Psalm itself.
They say that in this world and in Israel's history, the word shirah is used for songs.
Getting in trouble, we call out to God, and then He redeems us, and we sing a shirah.
And then again, we get into a tough spot, we cry out, He helps us, we sing a shirah, a song again.
So they say in this world, and through Jewish history, the word shirah describes the songs that we sing.
This form refers to the Messianic kingdom - when it's unchanging, when we're not falling, crying out, being rescued once again and singing a song.
But we'll sing a shir instead of a shirah.
We'll sing something that doesn't go through these changes and through these phases, but it'll be a constant song of joy, remembering what God has done to us.
So again, I think it's a beautiful insight.
I'm not trying to give you rock-solid theology on this, but a way to meditate on this.
But it is as good as any explanation for why it's sometimes shirah, feminine, sometimes shir, masculine.
'And then it says, "play skillfully with loud shouts."'
And maybe you've heard the term niggun.
A niggun is a wordless melody - a melody you just sing, lai lai lai lai lai lai lai, or hummed. And there's just no words.
At Beth Tikkun, we begin our prayer services by singing a niggun.
There are no words, but it's just a way of attuning your heart with God's heart and with the moment in time that we come to pray.
And then we begin to pray words and sing words.
But I always love this part where we sing the niggun, this wordless melody.
And 'loud shouts' here.
That's the word that is used when we blow the shofar.
And Rosh Hashanah in Scriptures is called Yom Teruah, the Day of Blowing of Shofars.
But teruah can refer to the sound a shofar makes, but also the human voice."
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This is an edited version.
The full article is avaiable on request
'Torah Today'
Jesus revealed that the heart of the Torah is to love God and to love our neighbour.
This is also the heart of our ministry.
Torah Today applies timeless wisdom to life here and now by exploring God's word and learning to live within His kingdom principles.
We live in a unique time when growing numbers of Christians are returning to the Jewish/Hebraic roots of their faith
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