Foreword by Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, PhD Invitation and Introduction Historical Background of Shir Shel Yom Historical Background of Psalm 104 for Rosh Chodesh Get Started xxv Notes to Readers Composer’s Commentary by Cantor Richard Cohn Tools for the Practice xxxvii Guide for the Month Daily Directions xl Shir Shel Yom Blessing Introductions to the Shir Shel Yom Psalms Shir Shel Yom Psalms 21 Psalm 24 for Sunday Psalm 48 for Monday Psalm 82 for Tuesday Psalms 94:1–95:3 for Wednesday Psalm 81 for Thursday Psalm 93 for Friday Psalm 92 for Shabbat/Saturday Reflections for Focus: Shir Shel Yom Psalms Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Rosh Chodesh Psalm 104 for Rosh Chodesh Reflections for Focus: Rosh Chodesh Tishrei Cheshvan Kislev Tevet Sh’vat Adar Nisan Iyar Sivan Tammuz Av Elul Acknowledgments Notes Resources for Reading Psalms Appendix: Ten-Year Calendar for Rosh Chodesh Index About the Author
Opening Your Heart with Psalm 27 Table of Contents
Foreword by Rabbi David Stern An Invitation: Introductions and Instructions Reading Psalm 27 at This Season A Note to Readers Composer’s Commentary by Cantor Richard Cohn Daily Directions 2 Blessing for the Practice Psalm 27 Practice for the Practice Reflections for Focus: The Month of Elul Reflections for Focus: The Ten Days of T’shuvah Reflections for Focus: The Wilderness of Work Reflections for Focus: The Celebration of Sukkot Acknowledgments Citations Resources for Reading Psalms Psalm 27: Jewish Publication Society Translation Index to Psalm 27 Verses
Rabbi Debra J. Robbins is a member of the clergy team at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, Texas, focusing on teaching, pastoral care, and spiritual practice. She was ordained in 1991 at the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, and is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality Clergy Leadership Program.
Rabbi Robbins has served the Central Conference of American Rabbis in a variety of leadership roles and is a member of the Women's Rabbinic Network. She was part of the City of Dallas Ethics Reform Task Force and served as president of Reading Village, a non-profit organization working in Guatemala to help teens become leaders through literacy. She is the cofounder of Common Table at the Fox and Crow, an organization founded in March 2020 to address food insecurity on the Outer Cape of Massachusetts. Rabbi Robbins is the current and founding chair of the Vaad HaMikvah of the Rabbinic Association of Greater Dallas in support of the Dallas Community Mikvah and is pursuing certification with the American Red Cross to do chaplaincy work in emergency situations.
On a more personal note, Rabbi Robbins is married to Larry Robins, president and CEO of PediPlace in Lewisville, Texas. Her son, Sam, an avid mountain biker, lives and works in Denver, Colorado. She enjoys walking and training her Golden Retriever, treasures time reading (especially historical fiction), and loves relaxing by the tidal marsh in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.
