How to Read Tehillim

How to Read Tehillim 

1. Tehillim is read during daylight hours: from dawn to sunset.
And at midnight (from 12 at night), if you did not manage to read during the day.

The concept of “midnight” in Judaism depends on the length of the day, so it is best checked in a halachic calendar. The day is divided into 12 parts, so in summer such an “hour” is longer and in winter shorter. Likewise, when the clocks change to summer time, everything shifts by an hour.

Chazal relate that at midnight the wind would touch the strings of King David’s harp and wake him.
And King David would rise and offer praises to the Creator.
If you did not manage to read the day’s portion of Tehillim, you may confidently read it at midnight.

Reading Tehillim at night:

Several poskim, among them Rabbeinu Chida (Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806) and the Ben Ish Chai (Rav Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), say that one should not read the Tanakh, Tehillim included, after dark on weekdays.

On the night of Shabbat and Yom Tov it is permitted to read Tehillim and the Tanakh.

The Arizal (Rav Yitzchak Luria of Safed, 1534-1572) mentions the custom of reading chapter 26 of Tehillim on Thursday night, as written in “Chok LeYisrael”, and therefore some poskim hold that whoever permits reading the 26th psalm permits all reading of the Tanakh.

Indeed, the “Chesed LaAlafim” (Rav Eliezer Papo, 1786-1827) points out that Thursday night is regarded like Friday night in this respect. So those who wish to read Psalms on Thursday evening have a basis to rely on. This is the ruling of the Ner LeTzion. (dailyhalacha.com)

2. Before reading chapters of Tehillim, we always say the opening and closing verses.
The Sages teach that this is like coming to an audience with an earthly king: you would first greet him, addressing him with the words “Your Highness, most illustrious...” and so on, and only then would you turn to him.
And if an earthly king deserves such titles, how then should we address the King of Kings?

The structure of reading Tehillim:

Opening: Psalm 95:1-3.
Closing: Psalm 14:7, Psalm 37:39,40.
Three verses each.

On every Rosh Chodesh, during illness and in hard times (many have made it a practice to read daily for their children and relatives), we read the psalm for one’s age: the number of full years + 1.
If the psalm has fewer than 12 verses, we return to its beginning and read until we reach 12 lines, since a full year’s cycle = 12 months.
For example, psalm 15 has only 5 verses, so we read it to the end, return to its beginning and read it again plus its first 2 lines: 5+5+2=12. In this way we bring the number of lines up to 12.
Only the psalms for one’s age are read this way.

How to Read Tehillim by Age, According to the Baal Shem Tov

During illness, psalm 119 is read.
It is composed so that its 22 sections correspond to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Each section corresponds to one letter. So first we read, from psalm 119, the letters of the sick person’s name, then the letters of the phrase “Kra Satan” — (“tear apart the Satan”).
For example, for the name David we read by the letters of the Hebrew name: דויד + קרע שטנ
After this, psalms 20, 121, 130 are read.
And at the end, the psalm for one’s age.

Reading Tehillim 119 According to the Letters of a Name—the Segula of Rabbeinu Chida

Reading Tehillim on Rosh Chodesh (the New Month):
1) Psalm 104, the psalm of the creation of the world.
verses 2-6: the 1st day of Creation
verses 7-13: the 2nd day of Creation
verses 14-18: the 3rd day of Creation
verses 19-24: the 4th day of Creation
verses 25-26: the 5th day of Creation
verses 27-35: the 6th day of Creation.

2) We read “Hallel” (praise):
psalms 113-118 (115 and 116 in shortened form).

3) We read the psalms for the age of each member of the family.

Reading Tehillim on Shabbat

On holy Shabbat it is not customary to ask the Creator for help, because the Light of Shabbat itself has boundless power:
we simply read Tehillim.
At Kabbalat Shabbat (welcoming Shabbat) we read:
Psalm 95, corresponding to the 1st day of the week;
96, the 2nd day of the week;
97, the 3rd day of the week;
98, the 4th day of the week;
99, the 5th day of the week.
Psalm 29, the 6th day of the week (said standing; it corresponds to the “Shemoneh Esrei” and the “Ana BeKoach” )
Then comes the kabbalistic prayer “Ana BeKoach”:
(on how this prayer corresponds to psalm 29, see the section “The Hidden Meaning of Tehillim”).
The hymn “Lecha Dodi”.
And the 2 Shabbat psalms, 92 and 93.

Reading Shir HaMa'alot

On Shabbat afternoon, from Rosh Hashanah to Pesach,  it is customary to read “Shir HaMa'alot”, the “Song of Ascents” — the 15 psalms of David HaMelech (120-134); from Pesach to Rosh Hashanah one reads “Pirkei Avot”.
In Temple times, the choir of Levites stood on the 15 steps that led from the Women’s Courtyard of the Temple to the inner courtyard.
The number of steps matched exactly the number of psalms headed “Song of Ascents”.
Chazal teach that the Levites sang these 15 psalms when the water was drawn from a deep well during the festival of Sukkot.
This water was then poured on the altar, just as was done with wine on other days of the year. (Talmud, Sukkah 5:4)
“Some sages hold that the words ‘Song of Ascents’
are a musical term, like the others in the headings of the psalms.
It means a song begun in a low voice, with the voice rising as the singing goes on.” (Meiri)

Shir HaMa'alot—15 Psalms Against the Flood and Witchcraft

In the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, the Levites recited a particular psalm matching (in meaning and content) the “spirit” of the day of the week:
on the 1st day of the week (Sunday), psalm 24;
on the second (Monday), psalm 48;
on the third, psalm 82;
on the fourth, psalm 94;
on the fifth, psalm 81;
on the sixth, psalm 93;
on the seventh (Shabbat), psalm 92.
It is also good to read psalms 1 to 4: reading them in this order neutralizes the “Samech Mem” (the accusing angel).

Reading Tehillim on Yom Kippur

On Yom Kippur, reading chapters of Tehillim is a must. The root letters of the word “Kippur”, כפר — in gematria, 300; on this basis the Sages teach that on Yom Kippur one reads the whole Book of Tehillim twice: 150 psalms + 150 psalms = 300.
On Yom Kippur Tehillim should come easily, for it is the one day of the year when the Yetzer HaRa (also called the Satan) has no power over the world.
To illustrate: the word “Satan” (with the definite article) has the gematria 364 (השטן), where ה=5, ש=300, ט=9, נ=50; this number (364) alludes to the Satan’s power over all the days of the year but one (364 = 365-1).
And the Sages teach that this one day is Yom Kippur, which takes up no place in time, just as the Aron HaKodesh (which stood in the Kodesh HaKodashim) took up no place in space.

When it seems to you that “the waters have come up”, when your heart is heavy and it seems there is no way out and that G-d has abandoned you (chas veshalom), open the book of Tehillim, the eternal rescuer of our people from every trouble; turn to the Almighty as David HaMelech did, and the answer will come without delay.
1. Begin with the opening verses;
2. Read the chapters that speak of Hashgacha Pratit, Divine Providence: 23, 91, 118, 145;
3. Read chapter 67 of Tehillim, picturing the text in the shape of the Menorah, the symbol of the miracle;
4. Read your psalm for your age (full years + 1);
5. Seal it with the psalms of protection and help: 20, 121, 130;
6. Thank the Creator and say the 3 closing verses.

Say the name of the greatest defender of the Jewish people, the “Sanegor shel Yisrael”, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak ben Sarah Sasha of Berditchev (saying his name alone works wonders, all the more so after Tehillim).

Segula for Rachamim — reciting the name of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev after Tehillim 

When you have prayed long for something, your prayers have been heard and the Creator has granted you your heart’s desire, open the book of Tehillim and read psalm 100 (the psalm of thanksgiving): thank the Creator of the Universe, for all that He, blessed be He, wants from us is thanks for the miracles He sends us every second, since a person could not live a single minute without His will.
Be thankful to Him for everything.

(Compiled from commentaries in editions of Tehillim by various publishers)