Rabbi says Psalm 23 holds life's answers

By Kristin E. Holmes
Knight Ridder News Service

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The 23rd Psalm "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in straight paths for His Name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil For Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever." — Reprinted from "The Lord Is My Shepherd," by Harold S. Kushner

"The Lord is my shepherd," the words begin. "I shall not want."

The 23rd Psalm is considered the most recognizable of the Bible's 150 psalms. With its imagery of worldly fears allayed by recognition of the divine, the prayer is offered as a salve to the grieving.

But Rabbi Harold S. Kushner argues that there is more than comfort to the psalm. Its 15 lines, he said, hold an entire theology and answers to many of life's questions.

"It can tell you how to see the world, where to find God and understand how bad things happen," said Kushner, 68, a retired congregational rabbi and best-selling author. "The most important lesson is that in times of trouble, God does not explain, God comforts."

Kushner's new book, "The Lord Is My Shepherd: Healing Wisdom of the Twenty-Third Psalm" (Alfred A. Knopf, $19.95), is a phrase-by-phrase analysis of the psalm.

The psalm has been recited on record by Laurence Olivier, inscribed on pendants and plaques, and converted into joke versions such as the one that begins, "The Lord is my programmer, I shall not crash."

The psalm is familiar mostly because it is heard so often at funerals.

Psalms are liturgical prayers that were probably written to be sung, said Elizabeth Huwiler, an Old Testament professor at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.

The psalms have varying subjects: praise, thanksgiving, tribulation.

Kushner calls the 23rd a three-act play depicting one man's story. First there is peace and serenity, then darkness and grief — and finally a new relationship with God after he has been the source of strength at a time when all seemed lost. It could be the rabbi's story.

Kushner's son Aaron died at 14 from progeria, a rare and incurable disease that speeds up the victim's aging. Before Aaron's death, Kushner had a wonderful life as the rabbi at Temple Israel in Natick, Mass. But his son's illness and death caused the rabbi to face his own "valley of the shadow of death." In the process, he discarded a view of God as an all-powerful force who controls everything in a master plan.

Kushner emerged with a new concept of God and the inspiration to write his best-selling 1981 book, "When Bad Things Happen to Good People."

Bad things happen not because God wants them to happen but because he has given human beings free will and they often choose to do bad things, the rabbi said. "Laws of nature and simple bad luck could also be the culprits."

Kushner finds this outlook throughout the 23rd Psalm.

"It doesn't say I will fear no evil because evil only happens to bad people," he said. "It says there is a lot of evil out there, but I can handle it because God is on my side."

For Kushner, "the 23rd offers lessons on gratitude ('my cup runneth over'), direction ('he guides me in straight paths') and inner peace ('he makes me to lie down in green pastures').

Kushner's fascination with the psalm began when he was a doctoral student 30 years ago and researched it for his dissertation. After that he used it repeatedly to comfort congregation members.

It wasn't until Sept. 11, 2001, that he gave the psalm deeper reflection.

"All sorts of people began calling me up to (ask) how could God let something like this happen or how could people do this in the name of God," Kushner said.

As Kushner fielded question after question, he realized that his response could be found in the psalm.

"I was telling them that God's promise is never that life would be fair; God's promise is that whenever we have to confront the unfairness, He will be with us," the rabbi said. "The third or fourth time I said that, I realized I was (paraphrasing) the 23rd Psalm."