Psalm 122

Have you visited Israel, yet? If so, do you remember your emotions as you first stepped off the plane? For many of us there was an excitement of great anticipation, as if tapping a collective memory of yearning. Each of my returns to Israel prompt a distinctive feel of homecoming.

Psalm 122 is a pilgrimage poem, “House of Adonai, let us go. Standing are our feet within your gates.” Once present in Jerusalem, the Psalmist addresses Jerusalem directly as if a living being. Prayer is evoked for the peace and tranquility of the city and its residents.

Join me for Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel Independence Day- for a Psalm of 2,500-plus-years ago that expresses a Psalmist’s loving description of the Holy City.

Dedicated to Sylvia Kaplan as her children conclude the eleven months of Kaddish. I had the privilege to tour with my mother-in-law on her two trips to Israel, including one sponsored by CBI.

Music of Psalm 122: by Shlomo Carlebach:
Verse 7: to listen click here.
Verse 8-9: to listen click here.


One of the Songs of Ascents, Psalm 122 appears in Hebrew on the walls at the entrance to the City of David.


Sylvia Kaplan