Sunday, January 2, 2011

Happy is the man

. Are you up to a new photo challenge? Robert of Daily Athens invites us to illustrate a favorite verse from the Psalms every Sunday. Like him, I start with Psalm 1. 
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(Please enlarge the photo)
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אַשְׁרֵי הָאִישׁ-- אֲשֶׁר לֹא הָלַךְ, בַּעֲצַת רְשָׁעִים;וּבְדֶרֶךְ חַטָּאִים, לֹא עָמָד, וּבְמוֹשַׁב לֵצִים, לֹא יָשָׁב כִּי אִם בְּתוֹרַת יְהוָה, חֶפְצוֹ; וּבְתוֹרָתוֹ יֶהְגֶּה, יוֹמָם וָלָיְלָה     Ashrei ha-ish asher . . . . 

1 HAPPY IS the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the scornful. 
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. 
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, {N}
that bringeth forth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf doth not wither; and in whatsoever he doeth he shall prosper.
4 Not so the wicked; but they are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD regardeth the way of the righteous; but the way of the wicked shall perish.
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Note: The Hebrew term ashrei, usually translated as "happy," carries much deeper meaning than our modern use of the English word. Ashrei implies peace, satisfaction, fulfillment, and tranquility of worldview. It is the mindset of the righteous. 
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17 comments:

  1. This is wonderful Dina! Great for the picture and your explanations to the text in hebrew.

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  2. I'm looking forward to future entries, and especially learning more of the nuance of the original Hebrew.

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  3. A lovely choice. Thanks too for letting me know about this new photo challenge, I've joined in as well.

    -----------------------------------
    My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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  4. Beautiful, Dina, and thank you for the little Hebrew lesson. I saw mention of this challenge over at Robin's...I think I might join in too.

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  5. Of great honour your participation and heart felt interpretation, explanation, teaching.

    And yes, there are various parts which do leave me without sleep; sometimes due to its strength, hope and joy, other times in pure struggle to be as strong as its writers in faith.

    Once again, thank you very much. Great pleasure to see you the next week.

    daily athens

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  6. A wise way to start the new year.

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  7. I must admit that this is not a challenge for me, but good lick yo the participants!

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  8. You have now become our Biblical scholar! :)
    Lovely piece.

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  9. I add my thanks, Dina, for the Hebrew lesson. It's one of my regrets that when I was young, I passed up the opportunity to begin studying some Hebrew; I thought it was too time-consuming, I was in a hurry to start my life! So thanks for sharing your knowledge! By the way, that's one of my favorite Psalms. It paints such a vivid picture and now you have captured the essence in a photo: the lushness of the green trees as a metaphor for a righteous life! Lovely!

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  10. Fantastic new meme, Dina...
    As Sara wrote, the petit Hebrew lesson deepens the meaning...

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  11. Dina, I hate that awful blue barrel which ruins the effect of this beautiful picture!

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  12. What a great idea. There are 150 psalms so this will take us almost 3 years and that is a good thing.
    I wish you all the best in 2011, Dina. Does your daughter live in Queensland? Imagine the flooded area is as large as France and Germany together. My daughter lives in Queensland but is not suffering from the flood. It's such a horrible thing that so many people should lose all their possessions.
    I hope your daughter is okay!

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  13. What a perfect photograph for the verse. Thank you for both translations.

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  14. Shalom and thank you all.

    Wil, my daughter lives in NSW, in Sydney, so she is OK. I am glad your daughter was spared the flooding.

    VP, but the blue barrel is part of the monk's reality. Who am I to blot it out (even if I knew how)? :)

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  15. Splendid and significant verse indeed. Great the meaning of the term ashrei.

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  16. Ah, you may remember that I do the psalm from each Sunday's liturgy. It is time for me to look up the readings for tomorrow. I am about half way through the third cycle of readings.

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