Psalm 1
Adapted from the Words of David
Asher ha’ishe
Asher ha’ishe, happy the man
Who makes no plans,
Who charts no voyage
According to the advice or counsel
Of the condemned and wicked,
The fallen ones.
Asher ha’ishe, happy the man
Who does not arise to dwell,
To be employed,
To transverse a road,
To take a journey
—He is in no wise a passenger—
Of those accounted as criminals,
The transgressors of Torah.
Asher ha’ishe, happy the man
Who does not settle,
Who does not marry,
Who does not continue in company,
Does not make his dwelling or place of sorjourn
With the teachers of mockery,
The ambassadors of scorn.
The baruk and happy
Has pleasure in and favors
The Torah of the Self-Existing One,
AHAYAH.
In the Torah,
He speaks, he imagines,
He studies and ponders,
Both during the day season
And when darkness of adversary twists from the light.
The baruk and happy one
Is a firm tree
He shall be transplanted,
Rooted and secure,
By life-giving streams,
Where shall be gathered together
A flourishing watercourse.
In due time,
A fruitful reward shall be his.
His foliage will not wither or fade,
No dishonor or blight shall strike.
His labors,
His industry,
His office of governance,
His service and sacrifice
Shall break forth unto profit and prosperity.
The condemned shall be winnowed like chaff.
With violent exhalation,
The ruach shall drive them away.
The morally wrong
Shall not rise when the verdict or judicial ruling comes,
The transgressors of the Torah
Shall not congregate
With the tsiddiym.
The Self-Existing One,
AHAYAH,
Ascertains, acknowledges,
Advises,
And through careful observation,
Cares for, instructs,
And recognizes
The course of life
Or the mode of action
Of the tsiddiym.
The morally wrong,
The transgressors of Torah,
With their customs and mode of action,
Shall perish
With no chance of escape.
Pamela Glasgow
