At this time of distress and pain, many of us turn to contemporary media sources to grapple with the unfathomable. For centuries, seekers have looked to the words of the Psalms to express their longings and fear, and to seek solace.
“In turning to these ancient poetic works, modern readers join a diverse intergenerational chorus of seekers who view these sources as a prism through which to explore their deepest thoughts and feelings, and to share them with God and their communities.” said Rabbi Or Rose, founding director of the Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership of Hebrew College, in the recent announcement of the launch of the website “Calling Out from the Depths: The Book of Psalms.”
Rabbi Rose partnered with his colleague and teaching partner, Dr. Andrew Davis, associate director of Old Testament at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry (funded by a grant from Confraternity of Christian Doctrine — U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops), to curate this unique collection of contemporary interreligious reflections on the psalms, which includes the voices of clergy, scholars, poets, musicians, activists and visual artists. They each offer personal reflections on the ancient and time-honored texts in light of contemporary events and mores. Many of these commentators were featured in an earlier iteration of this project—PsalmSeason—which the Miller Center developed in partnership with Interfaith America (formerly the Interfaith Youth Core) during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. During these heartbreaking times, you may find special resonance in the interpretations of Psalm 6, “A Cry for Healing.” In his introduction to Psalm 6, Dr. Davis writes, “Whether we hear it simply as a cry for divine help or analyze its poetic form, Psalm 6 offers us honest words of lament for the times when hardships in our own lives leave us speechless.”
Explore more text and multimedia resources for this moment using the site’s interactive database to explore content by psalm number, theme, content type and teaching tools.
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