Berakhot 097

2:
A vestige of the custom that those early saints had has survived to this day. Some of them used to recite the whole of the book of Psalms as their meditational aid. Even though most people today are not capable of reciting the whole of the book of psalms in order to get themselves into the right frame of mind for reciting the Amidah, we still do read the last six psalms of the book before commencing public worship. It's as if we were joining those ancient saints for the tail end of their meditations. We call the meditational reading of these six psalms Pesukei de-Zimra. All too often the recitation of these psalms in the synagogue has become a fixed mechanical task with little or no meditational benefit. This is not as it should be. Rabbi Shelomo Ganzfried [Eastern Europe, mid-19th century CE] states that one should "recite the whole of Pesukei de-Zimra slowly and tunefully, not hurriedly; one should enunciate the words clearly as if one were counting money. One should concentrate on the meaning of the words." [Kitzur Shulĥan Arukh 14:2] Not everyone is, of course, capable of reciting even just these six psalms in the appropriate way. If that is the case, one should recite the berakhah before Pesukei de-Zimra [Barukh she-Amar], after that Psalm 145 (Ashrei), and then the berakhah after Pesukei de-Zimra [Yishtabaĥ] – and these passages should be recited with as much concentration and emotional intensity as one can muster. If there are other meditations, passages, quotations that would serve the purpose better – each one according to his or her own personal preferences – then I can see no reason why they should not be introduced before Barukh she-Amar. The whole idea is that we should do our best to put ourselves into the right frame of mind for reading the Shema and the Amidah. This is far more important than the mechanical uttering of the set number of psalms. I know that in many congregations the rabbi makes a selection of psalms from Pesukei de-Zimra, rather than everyone mechanistically reciting them all as a meaningless ritual incantation. Where the purpose is to assist the members of the congregation in achieving a suitable frame of mind for worship, surely there can be nothing more beneficial. (Where people can derive the requisite benefit from the complete recitation of all the psalms of Pesukei de-Zimra, this, of course, is the preferred course to take.)

To be continued.

Mitch Bruntel demurred at the concept put forward by Rick Dinitz identifying (following Rambam) DNA with an angel: How do we reconcile God's rejection of those who cannot perform this mitzvah due to infertility?

Before closing the discussion on this topic I must give Rick Dinitz the right of response:

I hope I didn't give the wrong impression. I don't see infertility as God's rejection. That idea requires a conceptual leap that I wouldn't make. As we can view the cellular machinery as a Mal'akh – an agent of God's will – we can also view infertility as the work of a Mal'akh – equally an expression of God's will. The classic phrase (for which I can't cite a reference) is that "beside every blade of grass is an angel, telling it to grow." We can deduce that next to every seed that doesn't sprout, is an angel telling it to stay put. In every infertile womb or testicle is an angel, blocking the way.

In what way do such angels do God's will? We cannot know for certain. Perhaps by encouraging couples to pray for children (as did our ancestors Rivkah and Yitzchak). Perhaps by encouraging couples to adopt someone special. Perhaps by encouraging doctors to learn more. Perhaps by encouraging those who do not encounter such obstacles to feel greater compassion for those who do. Perhaps by preventing a congenital birth defect that would cause untold anguish. Of course, intellectual honesty requires that I deduce the next step as well. Next to every malformed fetus is an angel telling it to grow in an unusual way (Barukh m'shaneh habriot). That angel also does God's will, even though we are unable to explain why God wills the anguish that results. God's will is often opaque to us.

When one is accustomed to seeing angels, one sees them everywhere. This outlook helps us remember that everything that exists, every process that unfolds, every event that happens in the universe is an expression of God's will – whether or not we understand it, expect it, like it, or notice it.