There are countless compliments and praises of the sacred and holy book of T’hilim. Our rabbis and great sages teach us that we can save many people from sickness or anything bad by just reciting T’hilim.
According to the Zohar, all the chapters of Sefer T’hilim were composed with ruach ha’kodesh. Though the Gemara (Bava Basra 14b) relates that other great men, such as Adam HaRishon and Moshe Rabbeinu, have contributed to T’hilim, only David HaMelech had the wisdom, understanding, and insight to bring it all together.
The Tzemach Tzedek writes, “If you only knew the power that lies in the verses of T’hilim and their effects in the celestial heights, you would recite them all the time. Know that the chapters of T’hilim break through all barriers and soar aloft from level to level unimpeded. They intercede before the Master of the Universe and secure their effect with kindness and mercy.”
“Through the T’hilim we bring closer the redemption” (Midrash T’hilim, Shir HaShirim).
The Pele Yoetz says, “One who routinely says T’hilim is protected from all harm befalling his house, his family, etc. One who wishes to attach himself to Hashem and His praises should be connected to Sefer T’hilim. We have a tradition that one who has a problem, or pain, or is going on the road, should read the entire T’hilim all day without stopping, with kavanah and humbleness. He will see wonders. It’s a tradition that has been tried and tested (and works).”
Rabbi Haim Palagi writes that one who recites T’hilim (and Birkas HaMazon) daily lengthen their years and days. Rabbi Haim Palagi also writes that this world stands upon T’hilim, and one redeems himself from any damages, and redemption will come through the recitation of T’hilim.
The Chida explains, “One who recites T’hilim each day is considered as though he fulfilled the entire Torah and merits a place beneath the Throne of Glory… One who is accustomed to [reciting] T’hilim repels all kinds of calamities and several harmful plagues from him, his household, his family members, and his entire generation.”
The third Lubavitcher Rebbe said that if we knew the power of T’hilim, we would never want to stop saying it. When the Jewish People recite T’hilim with a broken heart, the Almighty forgives all their sins. The words of T’hilim have a power to effect changes in the Higher Realm.
The Shulchan Arch explains that T’hilim has an awesome power that is inherent in the words themselves, and one who reads the books of Tanach without understanding their contents has nevertheless fulfilled his obligation to study Torah.
The Rambam teaches that a healthy person may read verses and chapters of Psalms in order that in the merit of its recitation he should be protected, and he should be saved from difficulty and harm.
There is a famous story told about the Baal Shem Tov that further teaches us the power of reciting T’hilim. The Baal Shem Tov once became aware of a harsh decree of annihilation against the Jews of a certain town. The Baal Shem Tov ascended to heaven to see how he can intercede. When upon high, he realized that there is nothing he himself can do concerning this decree. The decree has been made. When the Baal Shem Tov was descending back through the heavenly chambers to this world, he noticed a strong light emanating from a certain chamber. He inquired about it, and was informed that it was the chamber of a certain simple villager, who completes the Psalms five times a day, and the light was the shine of the divine sparks produced by the words of his Psalms. The Baal Shem Tov went to visit this villager and asked him: If you knew that your reward in the World to Come can be traded in to save an entire village, would you agree? The villager said, yes. And with that response in hand, the entire village was saved. The previous Rebbe concluded: From this story, we see the importance of the letters of the Torah; for by just saying the words of T’hilim, this simple Jew was able to generate a sparkling light in the heavens that saved a village (chayenu.org).
List of People Who Need a R’fuah Sh’leimah
(a complete recovery)
Please recite Psalms 20, 30, 88, 121, and 130.
Yeshayahu Yosef ben Zari
Rachamim ben Sa’eda Mazal
Alter Shmuel ben Chavah Leah
Meir Yaakov ben Esther
Yehudah ben Dinah
Chaim Avraham ben Shifrah Zisel
Yosef ben Basya
Yehudah Yudel ben Miriam Gittel
Yisachar Dov ben Chayah Brachah
Refael Aharon ben Devorah
Meshulam David ben Alta Hendel
Moshe ben Chasiya
Rafael Avraham ben Ivonne
Tinok ben Tzivia
Gideon ben Ludmilla
Yishai ben Moriasha Tovah
Yosef ben Miriam
Rafael Moshe Yehudah ben Feiga Necha
Yerachmiel Daniel ben Tovah Basha
Chaim Meir Binyamin ben Chanah Sarah
Pinchas ben Feiga Dinah
Yitzchak Mordechai ben Rose Nizha
Chaim Menachem ben Leah
Yechiel HaLevi ben Rachel
Moshe Shmuel ben Freida
Sariel Yosef Yitzchak ben Bat-Chen
Lev David ben Chanah
Nisan ben Rachel
Rivkah Fruma bas Leah Baila
Irina Ester Chayah bas Yafah
Yafah bas Basanda
Chayah Sheva bas Sheina Reizel
Hadassah bas Hennah Rivkah
Ruchamah Perel Malkah Leah bas Chanah Serel
Hinda Zalma bas Sarah
Esther Hadasah bas Devorah
Sarah bas Ilanah
Rechamah bas Feiga Rivkah
Tinokes bas Efrat Tehilah
Efrat Tehila bas Nina
Chayah Esther Yirat bas Feige Dinah
Tziporah Yeta bas Yehudis
Rachel bas Hinda Reizel
Efrat bas Sonia
Gila Glikel bas Feige
Chayah Rachel bas Yafah
Bilyura bas Shurah Shoshanah
To add names of individuals
who need a r’fuah sh’leimah
to next week’s T’hilim column,
please email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and complete the Google form.