Why is there so much pain and suffering in our world?
How do we handle all this hurt and what can our traditional responses do to help us cope and find some ways to deal with all this anguish?
Psalm 22 contains one of the most haunting and persistent human questions - asked by several high profile biblical celebrities at pivotal moments in their lives. It doesn’t give an answer - but it does give us a way to pause and ponder as so many have before us, finding comfort in the questions and the knowledge that we are not alone in our anguish and search for answers.
The psalm begins, as many do, with an instruction for its performance, which might include reference to a mysterious musical instrument, or to the timing of the psalm’s recital -- right at the break of dawn.
What this mystery may hint at may have to do with what dawn represents in many mythic traditions -- that moment when the darkest hour gives way to the awaited renewal of light, life and hope.
לַ֭מְנַצֵּחַ עַל־אַיֶּ֥לֶת הַשַּׁ֗חַר מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃ אֵלִ֣י אֵ֭לִי לָמָ֣ה עֲזַבְתָּ֑נִי רָח֥וֹק מִֽ֝ישׁוּעָתִ֗י דִּבְרֵ֥י שַׁאֲגָתִֽי׃
For the leader; on ayyeleth ha-shaḥar - the dow of dawn, a psalm of David:
My God, my God,
why have You abandoned me;
why so far from delivering me
and from my anguished roaring?
Ps 22:1-2
This painful question, perhaps first attributed to King David at one of the many moments of his feeling abandoned and lost, echoes through time in the mouths of at two other Jewish leaders at the most perilous moment of their lives.
The first is Queen Esther, and the second is Jesus.
What’s fascinating here is not just that literary traditions have put these exact anguished words of this psalm in their mouths - but also what the exact meaning of their protesting question may have meant for them - and what it may mean for us.
A Talmudic legend describes the moment in which Queen Esther, whose Jewish identity is hidden while her people are in danger, risks her life to enter the king’s inner chamber and plead for her people’s lives. The legends imagines the moment at the threshold - as her courage is lost - and then found:
“Rabbi Levi said: As soon as she reached King’s chamber, which was full of idols, the Divine Presence abandoned her; whereupon, she recited: “My God, my God; why have you abandoned me?” (Psalms 22:2). Could it be that you treat wrongdoings as though it were deliberate, and forced behavior as though it were willing?”
The queen’s question can be understood in the context of this courageous and complex moment - a woman risking her life to save her people, feeling trapped and abandoned by the deity she grew up believing in - while all around her other gods and a powerful ruler defy her very existence and narrative. Esther, as the story goes, regains her strength and her composure, rising to the challenge and averting the decree.
The other mythic moment that this question is hurled at the creator does not end as happily. Jesus, on the cross, cries out in anguish, and according to this famous version of the gospels - quotes these very words:
“About the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Matthew 27:46
The Gospels use the Aramaic rendition of the psalm but what’s really really lost here in translation is the meaning of the question itself.
It’s the word ‘why’ - in its original Hebrew that gives new meaning to this existential question that challenges our understanding of the possible purpose of pain and the meaning of suffering.
David Curwin points out that there are several Hebrew words for ‘why’ and the one used in this psalm is of particular importance:
“When David asks, “Why have you abandoned me?” the Hebrew word translated as “why” is lama. That isn’t the only word for “why” in Hebrew, and the choice here is significant.
The other word for “why” is madua. Also found in Biblical Hebrew, it is a contraction of ma yadua, so it originally meant “what is known.” As such, it refers to the cause (in the past) of a thing or event.
Lama, which is more commonly used in both rabbinic and modern Hebrew, has a different etymology. Formed from the prefix l- and the word ma, it means “for what.” Sometimes it refers to a cause in the past (like in Genesis 4:7 and 12:18), but it can also be asking about a future purpose.
This may be the same perspective that David asks in our psalm. He does not ask madua, what was the reason for God’s abandonment. The reasons for the tragedies in our world are beyond us. But David wants to know, lama – what is the purpose of all this? What lessons should I be learning? What should I be doing to make things better?
Every language is richer in some areas, and poorer in others. English has far more words than Hebrew does, but unlike Hebrew (and some European languages), it only has the one word for “why.” With these unique nuances, we can understand that sometimes we need to look backward to causes, but in other cases looking forward, determining the purpose of an action, is the central issue.”
The ‘Why’ of David, Jesus and Esther meets so many unanswered questions of anguish by so many known and unknown people throughout time - and right now. Does suffering have purpose? Is there a way to make sense of our pain, to rise from the rubble of hardships towards a resurrected faith in a world that can be governed by love?
There’s one more curious link between our psalm and the mythic imaginations that placed its words in other people’s mouths. Queen Esther is named for Ishtar - the Goddess of the ancient world, revered and worshiped in Persia as the Morningstar - later known as Venus, or the dow of dawn. Is there a hint in our psalm to the way to deal with our dark hours - knowing that even the darkest hour might lead, somehow, to the dawn?
To understand Esther’s choice of biblical quotations, two points must be stipulated. One, her given name was Hadassah (Esther 2:7) and Esther seems to be the name she appropriated for her public, non-Jewish, appearances. Two, Esther is a Hebraization of Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess, who is depicted in art and literature as the morning star (just like Venus, the Roman goddess of love).
We’ll each find out in our own way - how to respond to hate and hurt, what helps us rise above and find some answers. The eternal question - why - still echoes loudly, but this psalm won’t end with a question mark. It will insist that answers wait inside the fog, and even in our darkest hours -- there is a ray of light and spark of hope. This psalm leads into the most famous of these poems - leading us through the valley of shadows, with some sort of purpose, towards the next dawn.
With so much sorrow in our world right now, so many threats, and so much hate, we hold on to each other’s faith in better days, in brighter dawns, and in the power of protesting injustice on our path to peace within and beyond.
Image: Marc Chagall, Christ in blue sky 1949/1950
WHAT’S THE MOST POPULAR PSALM OF ALL?
Join me tomrrow, on May 9th, for our monthly Zoom conversation Below the Bible Belt - and find out.
The 150 chapters of the Psalms are not just poetry but also prayer, often used at bedsides and at funerals, at births or weddings and each time we pause to honor life. Of all the psalms - somehow, there is one that has risen to to the rank of being the most popular and famous. Can you guess which one?
We’ll be linking the popular psalm from our oldest book with today’s heartbreaking front-page news as we keep finding ways to lift up our hearts and find comfort in our ancient poetry.
Whether you are new to this journey or have been on it for a while - please join us on May 9th 2024, 5pm ET and please bring your questions, comments, responses and reflections on the PSLAMS so far.
Here’s the link to the next Below the Bible Belt Zoom Live Conversation:
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