Shiviti: The Secret of Psalm 67 as Controversial Ritual Art
Ps 67:4
Psalm 67, almost halfway through the 150 chapters of the contemplative book within The Book, has been the topic of fierce theological debate for the last few hundred years.
It’s all because some Kabbalists have deciphered and designed it as a secret mystical code and visual aid for spiritual contemplation, suspected by some in the Jewish community as being a subversive Sabbatean statement.
The origin of the practice of drawing ornate plaques with the full text of today’s psalm in the shape of the sacred Menorah is not clear, but goes back to at least the 16th century. The plaques are named Shiviti - for the instruction to contemplative the divine in front of us, always, based on the words in the Psalms and most often featuring psalm 67.
I’ve seen these plaques in ancient synagogues around the world but never knew that they were controversial.
In 1739, the Polish-German Rabbi Jacob Joshua Falk, an anti-Sabbatean crusader, condemned the practice:
“There are those who nowadays write some verses on a small parchment, such as "I have set the Lord before me always" or "A fire must be kept burning" (Lev. 6:6) or "God will be merciful" (Psalms 67:2), drawn in the shape of a menorah. I do not know what it signifies and this practice is closer to being forbidden than being permitted…”
What’s all the rage about?
According to tradition, this psalm is depicted in the shape of the lampstand of the Tabernacle- the menorah - and was thought to have been on King David's shield.
There are multiple psalms that describe divine strength and military might yet this psalm does not reference either.
Why would King David choose this one for his protective armor?
The word that appears five times in the seven-versed Psalm is a derivative of gratitude. Perhaps that’s at the heart of this mystery? It’s not strength that will win our battles - but how grateful we are to God and how that gratitude humbles us to be in service to a better world? Some interpret this message to be the reason for David’s incursions - not to conquer lands but rather to spread awareness of God’s presence and the call for our gratitude, no matter what religion or nation we come from:
יוֹד֖וּךָ עַמִּ֥ים ׀ אֱלֹהִ֑ים י֝וֹד֗וּךָ עַמִּ֥ים כֻּלָּֽם׃
Peoples will thank You, O God;
all peoples will thank You.
Ps 67:4
Perhaps that’s part of why the Shiviti plaques were deemed so dangerous by some rabbinic voices that feared the universalist message, whether it links back to David, or not?
There are more mysteries to this psalm, leading to its becoming a visual, sacred symmetrical iconography.
In his commentary on the prayer book, the 15th century Spanish-Jewish sage David Abudarham writes:
“There are communities with the tradition to recite Psalm 67 each day of the 49 days of the Counting of the Omer because the Psalm has 49 words in it (excluding the introductory verse), corresponding to the 49 days from Passover to Shavuot Also, the Psalm has seven verses (excluding the introductory verse), corresponding to the seven weeks. Some communities recite the Psalm each day because it is call the Menorah Hymn, and those who read it each day are deemed as having lit the Pure Menorah in the Temple and receive the face of the divine presence, because the seven verses correspond to the seven branches of the menorah. Also, the 49 words correspond to the 49 ornaments on the menorah. 22 almond cups, 9 flowers, 11 buds, 7 lights, totaling 49. (Ex. 25:33-35). The first verse has 4 words corresponding to the Menorah's accessories: 2 tongs and 2 firepans (Ex. 25:38).”
So what is it about this text, this imagery that is so potent and potentially heretical? Perhaps the best way to find out is to do what generations have done before us, and see what happens?
The common practice is to place any form of the Shiviti plaque
in front of you during times of prayer, and look at it closely, as one does at a great work of art, focusing on what the eye finds, finding patterns, and perhaps getting lost between the lines, lit up by some sort of intention that come only help us become more present, more connected to our inner source of life, more alive, and more grateful?
Shiviti: Be Here. In the Presence of the Infinite Everpresence, we are invited, face to face, to be, forever, here and now.
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