Thursday 12 May 2011

naomi's question of the day - #5

"naomi's question of the day" is a new feature of the Nishmablog featuring a question for you to ponder, extend and/or respond to through your comments.

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May 12, 2011

In Ashrei is stated:
God is close to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth
Why isn't is just written "to all who call upon Him in truth"?

Should we assume stylistic flourishes exist in tefillas?



3 comments:

Nishma said...

About 90% of Tehillim is written in couplets

As I understand it - this is such a couplet

A good resource - believe it or not - is CS Lewis's Reflection on the Psalms

Shalom,
RRW

Garnel Ironheart said...

Oh, that's because there's a piece missing from the text only found in old handwritten original versions of Tehillim from the 10th century BCE. The actual first verse once read:
God is close to all who call upon Him as long as they accept the long distance charges unless it's Saturday when he doesn't answer the phone 'cause it's Shabbos., to all who call upon Him in truth."

That's why the second "to all" is there, because of the long interlude in the middle.

Sophie said...

Ashrei is a perek of Tehillim. Tehillim is poetry, or at the very least, quite poetic. There are obviously commentators who pick apart every verse and find deeper meaning in every repeated clause, and that could undoubtedly be done for this verse as well, but my inclination is to appreciate it for the poetry that it is.