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"Ashrei" revisited

By Aaron Eby | Comments (5) | Posted on June 22, 2007

Remember a while back when I posted on the topic of the difficulty of translating Hebrew to English, and used the term "Ashrei" as a case in point? If you didn't read that one, you can see it here.

I was recently translating some of the Grace After Meals. On weekdays, it is common to preface the blessing with Psalm 137, "By the rivers of Babylon" as a reminder of the sadness of exile. This Psalm contains what might be the most difficult and heartbreaking verses in the entire Bible. I couldn't keep my eyes from welling up with tears as I contemplated what this verse is trying to say.

O devastated daughter of Babylon, blessed is he who rewards you with the same payment that you gave to us. Blessed is he who grasps and smashes your little children upon the rocks. (Psalm 137:8-9).

One thought that occurred to me is that it probably would be accurate to read the word "your" (in "your little children") with emphasis as if it were underlined or italicized, meaning that the Israelites had endured precisely that type of treatment from the Babylonians.

The word for "blessed," as you may have guessed, is the elusive term ashrei. I had somewhat decided to settle on the term "blessed" for ashrei, but this verse really puts a wrench in it.

I was pondering: who exactly is "he who grasps..."? Should I be capitalizing this pronoun? Does this refer to divine retribution of some sort, or is it someone else? As I read the passage over in Hebrew I arrived at the conclusion that it is not talking about direct divine punishment, but simply whoever the next big army or oppressive regime is that comes and conquers the Babylonian Empire.

Ashrei in this context does not have so much of a spiritual meaning as it might in other places. I am convinced it is something more practical, and should be understood in terms of simple gladness or contentment. I could imagine a soldier or military general at war feeling ashrei at the end of the day as he looks over the destruction he accomplished and the success of the campaign. He is fully content and glad about the devastation he wreaked, even upon women and infants.

So while I think "blessed" works fine in other places, I think it gives a very wrong impression here. I don't think anyone gets a special blessing from God for violence against little ones. Translating loosely, I think it would get the point across to say, "Some day, someone will do the same thing to you that you did to us--and they will be perfectly happy to smash your little ones against the rocks (like you did to ours)."

This reading confirms my suspicion that we have read a little too much into the term ashrei elsewhere. At any rate, I maintain that it is a feeling of satisfaction, gladness, or contentment. I also maintain that it reflects a sense of "when all is said and done," either in a temporal sense such as after a project is accomplished, or as a person is nearing the end of his life, or when they enter the world to come.

Of course, words often have different meanings in different contexts, so it could be justified to translate ashrei as "blessed" in other places and as something else here. Nonetheless, it adds another dimension to my understanding of the word and its implications.

Any reactions?

Aaron Eby
6 Tammuz 5767

About the Author: Aaron Eby writes for messiah magazine and other FFOZ publications. He is also the author of the forthcoming siddur project, as well as the forthcoming Hebrew lesson DVD.

Visitor Comments

B"H

The following is from a letter written by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, zt"l, in response to a query sent to him. The letter is dated 9 Teves 5705. The excerpt reads as follows:

With regard to your question concerning the statement in Magen Avos (the maamar entitled Shuvah, sec. 2) that ashrei ("fortunate") is the opposite of hoy ("woe"). The source for the statement is the Yalkut Shimoni at the beginning of the book of Tehillim which speaks of the 20 times ashrei is mentioned in Tehillim as corresponding to the 20 times hoy is mentioned in Yeshayahu. The explanation on a simple level is that ashrei refers to good fortune and pleasure while hoy refers to the opposite, discomfort and suffering.

Posted by: Brian Reed | June 22, 2007 3:33 PM

Thanks Brian for that info. We also find the Master using the term oy or hoy (in Greek as ουαι) as the opposite of ashrei.

Knowing the antonym of a word can help determine its meaning. Thanks for bringing that up.

Peace
Aaron

Posted by: Aaron | June 22, 2007 8:35 PM

Aaron,

Thanks for explaining this difficult verse. I really like the paraphrase you offer and it seems to be the true meaning of the verse. When I came across this Psalm in the Grace After Meals I have always cringed. Your post has completely changed my view.

Shalom,
Toby

Posted by: Toby Janicki | June 22, 2007 10:08 PM

Aaron - I've actually been thinking a lot about this term, especially in regard to the "Beatitudes." I think "beloved" might encompass the general concept, particularly with the difficulty of "ashrei are those who mourn..."

In regard to your current text, however, it probably wouldn't work. I think Brian's insight is great, especially for this passage, but wouldn't necessarily work for the aforementioned "mourning" passage. You might have to go with different terms to fit the context, since we do not have the dynamic equivalent in English. We see this same problem come up in regard to emunah [Heb] and pistos [Gr]. We have to use two separate English words to capture the full essence of the concepts of both faith and faithfulness for which the Hebrew and Greek convey. We're praying for you.

B'Hatzlecha in your endeavors...

Posted by: Darren Huckey | June 22, 2007 11:53 PM

Aaron,

Thanks for your insight!

It would be nice to find a single word in English that most closely expresses the meaning of "ashrei", wherever it occurs. I found your description of the military general very helpful in understanding the connotations of this word. It seems to imply a sense of satisfaction that doesn't necessarily include happiness per se. I would vote for "content" or "satisfied" as an English equivalent.

This also makes sense to me in the Beatitudes. One who mourns may never be happy about their situation, but they may feel a certain sense of satisfaction or closure after grieving. Thus, it wouldn't be a contradiction to say, "Satisfied are those who mourn."

Posted by: Carrie | June 25, 2007 7:17 PM

We Thank You offers a simple and innovative liturgy for disciples of Yeshua by weaving the ancient meal blessings of Judaism together with recently discovered prayers of the early believers.

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