Mizmor le-David

views updated

MIZMOR LE-DAVID

MIZMOR LE-DAVID (Heb. מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד; "A Psalm to David"), a frequently occurring superscription to a number of psalms whose authorship is ascribed to King *David. Many of them form part of the traditional liturgy. Among them are (1) Psalm 29 ("Ascribe unto the Lord, O ye sons of might"), the last of the six psalms chanted at the Sabbath eve service at which the Sabbath is welcomed; and on Sabbath mornings, after the conclusion of the *Torah reading, when the Torah scroll is carried back in solemn procession to the *Ark. (2) Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want"), which in the Sephardi ritual is sung prior to the *Kiddush on Sabbath morning, and in the Ashkenazi ritual, on Sabbath afternoon at the third meal (*Seudah Shelishit). According to one talmudic opinion (Pes. 118a), it was also sung as a festive hymn at the Passover *seder.

bibliography:

je, 8 (1904), 624–5; Elbogen, Gottesdienst, index s.v. Psalm 29.