Rest (each night) in Peace

Ps 25:13

All we want is a good night's sleep, to live well, not to hurt anyone, and to rest in peace, on each and every night and when it is our time for the final resting.

And all or most of what we want is for what we’ve created and worked for in our lifetime to be cherished, and perhaps for future generations to inherit what is worthy from us and hand it on, better. 

Is this so much to ask? 

Today as millions around the world are in deep conflict over the war between Israel and Hamas, during these days in which the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is front and center and the horrific costs of lives is mourned and remembered -- it’s a real question, and a painful one. Why is it so much to ask? 

The authors of this psalm, whatever their reality, aspire for forgiveness and for guidance on the path of honest living. PSLAM 25 discusses one of the rewards for living a righteous life is in this next line, which has two quite different though connected interpretations: 

נַ֭פְשׁוֹ בְּט֣וֹב תָּלִ֑ין וְ֝זַרְע֗וֹ יִ֣ירַשׁ אָֽרֶץ׃

“They shall live a happy life, and their children shall inherit the land.”

Ps 25:13

That’s the JPS 2023 translation, but it is actually quite an interpretation. Alter’s translation suggests

“His life will repose in bounty”; while the Koren Bible prefers “His soul shall abide in prosperity; and his seed shall inherit the earth”, and Fisher’s version is: “And their souls will abide in happiness, larger than their lives.”

Is this verse referring to our yearning for tranquility during our lifetime or after we die? This has been debated for centuries. 

The simplest way to read this text is that it is the human wish to sleep in peace, and for one’s future generations to benefit from this privilege as well.   The first three words of this verse can be translated as ‘their soul will sleep well’ - and it can refer to each night’s needed sleep or the big sleep at the end of it all. It’s interesting that so many commentators and translators read it as a rare reference to the afterlife experience. 

On this day, as people in Israel are preparing to mark in myriad ways the nation’s 76th birthday, it’s the simplest and most humble wish for a good night’s sleep that seems most meaningful. 

This meaning of the text is also echoed in the Jewish Sefaridc tradition in which people wish each other “a good night” using this exact quote from the psalm.  One person says to the other: “B’Tov Talin” - Sleep well. And the other responds “U’v’rachim Takitz’ - wake up with compassion. 

In the middle of so much misery over who gets to own, rule, inherit the land, with so many sleepless nights for so many, may these be our blessing for each other, our interdependence and shared legacy of hope for generations - sleep well, in peace, wake up with kindness, and when it is our time to go, may we be and all we love be held with gentle love for as long as it takes. 

May we live to celebrate the courageous peacemaking efforts defeat the confrontational approaches, share the land, the love, and sleep in peace, and wake up rested.

Tonight is also my birthday. I was born on the eve of Israel’s Independence Day and have since shared my birthday with the state. And so I wish for everybody reading this, and for myself, and for every single soul living in Israel, Palestine and all over the world - sleep well tonight and as often as possible.

Let peace prevail. It begins on our pillows.

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