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.