Psalm 23: To Have Enough
From basic material needs to self-actualization to collective joy
It’s weird to try to analyze Psalm 23. It is one of the most commonly read psalms, especially in Judaism, but also in popular culture. When I type the words “The Lord is my” in Google Docs, Google suggests the autocomplete of “shepherd.”
Throughout this series I’m trying to reread things for the first time, and take a look at the various psalms from a new perspective, for myself at least. How do you analyze something you’ve known by heart since you were a child, singing it every shabbat afternoon?
So I took another look at Psalm 23, and tried to silence the voices of my college professor and the slew of rabbis and commentaries who try to fill my mind when I read it.
As I came to the end of the first verse, I had a realization.
“I lack nothing.” I said a similar sentiment to my neighbor Leah last week when she offered to take me to Target. “I don’t need anything.” It was uttered in a moment of calm, when I realized that I have all my basic needs. I have an amazing new apartment, delicious gluten-free bread, safety, friendship, feelings of accomplishment, and happiness in my creative activities. I also have really good wi-fi.
As I thought this, I realized that I just cycled through Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. (Abraham Maslow designed it in 1943 inspired by conversations with the Blackfeet Nation about their teepee and their ethos. Hence, the pyramid shape. There is criticism that he misrepresented or misinterpreted their belief system.)
The psalmist uses an animal metaphor for the first part. We see the sheep/shepherd, the pastures/water, because the basic level of Maslow’s hierarchy is common to both human and animal alike. We need food and shelter. We need security and protection.
But more so, we need community, friendship and love. In verse 23:5, the most important part in my reading is the first four words in Hebrew: “you spread a table for me.” A table is where you come together with friends and family. It’s a verse of abundance, one that fulfills the level of self-esteem and prestige. I don’t just have enough, I have enough to share. I even have too much.
And that is when you can reach the level of self-actualization, of knowing that goodness and kindness fills your life. That you are privileged. And you have the comfort of knowing stability.
And I realized that this is why this is so oft-recited. Because it is all about our basic needs, it is the mantra we read to feel that level of privilege, that we are OK. To realize and accept our privilege. It’s not about expensive vacations or designer clothing no one is going to see because of isolation. It’s the feeling that everything will be alright. And during a time when the world is in turmoil, that verbal acknowledgement provides a level of comfort.