Rabbis on the Psalms
Rabbi Baruch HaLevi lectures at Gordon College on Psalm 145
By Steven Fletcher
Gordon College’s four part convocation series “Rabbis on the Psalms,” began on September 11, 09. Rabbi Baruch HaLevi, a self-described “pulpit rabbi” and leader of the Congregation Shirat Hayam in Swampscott, MA, began the series with a lecture on Psalm 145, a psalm central to the Jewish community.
“All you need to know is in this Psalm,” said HaLevi. Psalm 145 is an acrostic poem, which he described as the A to Z of what you need to know to live your life. The Psalm is incorporated into each of the Jewish daily prayers.
Dr. Marvin Wilson, professor of biblical studies at Gordon College engineered the series; continuing Gordon’s 40-year legacy of inviting Jewish Scholars and Rabbis to speak on campus.
“Every student needs to learn some things about interfaith relations,” said Wilson. “When we bring Jewish Scholars to campus, it helps us understand better how to build relations with one of the largest religious minorities in America.” Wilson believes that Christians can learn from Jews, and vise versa. Gordon College takes Christian-Jewish relations “very seriously” according to Wilson.
“It’s a bit audacious for the Church to take the psalms from the Jews and interpret them back to the Jews,” said Wilson. He understands that in order to comprehend the Old Testament more fully, it is necessary to listen to the people who wrote it.
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