12 | NOVEMBER 19 • 2020 

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essay
A Psalm for Sheep

I 

seldom go to temple. But 
when I do, I always remain 
silent as the congregation 
reads, for words recited in uni-
son can be all too easily uttered 
by the tongue 
alone and not 
by the mindful 
heart. On those 
occasions, I 
instead stare 
at the printed 
page, hoping 
that the mean-
ing of words long-shackled by 
habit will rise up to meet me as 
though for the first time, their 
significance fresh and new. And 
each year, at least one passage 
I have seen many times before 

inevitably surprises me with its 
hidden message.
This past Yom Kippur, it was 
the verses of Psalm 23 that took 
me by surprise. What part of 
the Bible could be more familiar 
than the 23rd Psalm — but, per-
haps because of that very fact, 
less truly understood? 

 The Lord is my shepherd; I 
shall not want. 
 He maketh me to lie down in 
green pastures. 
 He leadeth me beside the still 
waters. 
 He restoreth my soul;
 He guideth me in straight 
paths for His name’
s sake. (Jewish 
Publication Society translation.)

Like a caring shepherd atten-
tive to his flock, we are told, 
God nurtures us even as He 
guides us in paths of righteous-
ness. But the literary mood of 
the psalm then darkens, becom-
ing at once more personal.

 Yea, though I walk through the 
valley of the shadow of death,
 I will fear no evil,
 For Thou art with me;
 Thy rod and Thy staff, they 
comfort me.

Here the Lord is no longer 
referred to in the more remote 
third person, for the ‘
He’
 has 
now become a more intimate 
“Thou,
” 
 one who, we see, 

protects us against harm and 
bestows blessings upon us. 

 Thou preparest a table before 
me in the presence of mine enemies;
 Thou hast anointed my head 
with oil; my cup runneth over.

Such divine protection and 
blessings, the psalm goes on 
to say, are guaranteed for life. 
Indeed, they may extend into 
the world to come, as the next 
verse implies.

Surely goodness and mercy 
shall follow me all the days of my 
life;
 And I shall dwell in the house of 
the Lord forever.

Stephen 

Bertman

A contradiction found in the most famous of all Psalms 
should lead us to reassess not only God’s nature but 
also our own human purpose. 

The Plummers
in Israel

The outcry regarding Pastor 
Glenn Plummer and his spouse 
Dr. Paula Plummer (Nov. 12, pg. 
28) reminds me of a similar case 
years ago when the Mormons 
planned to establish a center in 
Jerusalem. Both Mormonism 
and the Church of God in 
Christ are Christian denomina-
tions known for their prosely-
tizing activities. In the Mormon 
case, they pledged to stay away 
from Jewish Israelis.
Although for Evangelists the 
goal is to proselytize in order 
to hasten the Second Coming, 
Pastor Plummer said that his 
aim is friendship and building 
bridges, something that runs 

counter to past pronounce-
ments. His new title as Bishop 
Designate of Israel also is sus-
pect.
Israelis, no matter the degree 
of their religious observance, 
are proud of their being mem-
bers of the Jewish people and 
are weary of any attempt to 
convert them. The suggestion 
of Dr. Pauline Plummer being 
the new “First Lady” is ludi-
crous at its core. Israel isn’t 
America, and Israel doesn’
t 
have a First Lady, and this hon-
orable couple should remember 
that if indeed their only aim 
in making Aliyah is friendship 
and building bridges.

— Rachel Kapen

West Bloomfield

letters

continued on page 14

that issue. I have since spoken 
about the matter with mem-
bers of the Berman family who 
helped organize the statement 
and submitted it to the JN.
As for the story itself, the 
JN stands by its reporting. We 
believe we were responsible 
in our approach to the allega-
tions. We take our integrity as 
a journalism-based publica-
tion seriously, and this story 
fell well within our bounds, 
as well as our responsibility to 
the community. 
However, I also recognize 
that, to at least 400 of our 
readers, the story itself was 
seen as a breach of trust. So 
I’
d like to say: Our intention 
was not, and is never, to 
“smear” any candidate. The 

JN has talked to Rep. Berman 
for many stories in the past, 
including a recent piece on his 
legislation to make it easier 
for victims of sexual assault at 
Michigan’
s universities to sue 
the institutions. We will con-
tinue to call him for comment 
whenever the opportunity 
arises. He is a part of this 
community, as are all of the 
Jews who signed the state-
ment, as are all of you reading 
this editorial. 
Our commitment to our 
audience that led our deci-
sions throughout this elec-
tion will endure after it — to 
inform our Jewish community 
of the truth, and to keep us 
functioning together as one
Jewish community. 

EDITOR’S NOTE continued from page 10

