Psalm 22

Now that Purim is behind us with all of its unusual Halachot for this year, there is actually one item that was left out for those who observed פורים משולש, the three day Purim.

Normally, when Purim falls on a weekday, the Minhag in certain Ashkenazi synagogues, is to say Chapter 22 in תהילים instead of the שיר של יום, the regular psalm of the day. This custom is according to the גר״א, also known as the Vilna Gaon. If Purim falls on Shabbat, we read מזמור של ליום השבת as usual.

Psalm 22 speaks of איילת השחר, the darkness before the dawn. There is also the Pasuk, אנכי תולעת ולא איש, “I am a worm and not a man.” It teaches us both of our own human vulnerability. It also teaches that even when things so bleak and hopeless, as it did in the Purim story, salvation can always come. We must submit totally to G-d, and He can change things in a moment.