Shir Hamaalot
Psalm 126 in Hebrew,
a Grace After Meals (2')
Simple and suitable for the communal Grace After Meals, Shir Hamaalot is a Hebrew setting of Psalm 126. Although the 126th Psalm is usually translated in the past tense, the original Biblical Hebrew can be translated equally accurately in the future tense. Thus seen as prophetic, 126th Psalm may be a jubilant expression of individual and collective ecstasy as well as a Messianic vision of peace.
(Wallach also has an exuberant four-part choral setting of Psalm 126 in English accompanied by a Middle Eastern Drum.)
When the Lord delivers us from exile,
It will all seem like a dream.
Our mouths will fill with laughter,
And our hearts with glorious song.
Rain down your grace upon us, Lord,
Renew us as a stream renews the arid soil;
Surge through us like a river as it swells the desert sands.
Deliver us, deliver us, Lord,
So that they who sow in tears may reap in joy,
And those who went forth weeping, carrying sacks of seed
Will return home singing, carrying sheaves of wheat.