'שוחר טוב זה דוד': חטיבת הפתיחה של מדרש תהילים כמבוא לספר תהילים: חטיבת הפתיחה של מדרש תהילים כמבוא לספר תהילים

This article focuses on the literary nature of Midrash Psalms by offering a careful study of the opening section of the Midrash. We show that this section is a highly structured unit whose purpose is to present the Psalm, ‘Blessed is the Man’, as a title encapsulating the themes of the entire Book of Psalms.The proems [petihtaot – opening derashot] placed at the beginning and end of this midrashic unit both emphasize the Psalm’s connection with David,characterized as a prophet mediating between God and His people. The first proem signals the overall theme of the unit which understands ‘Blessed is the man’ as David’s blessing of the people of Israel, whereas the concluding proem reads ‘Blessed’ as David’s praise of God. The rest of the proems continue to develop the concept initially presented in the first proem and display a variety of general insights regarding the concept of blessing and how David formulated such a blessing.This finding enhances our understanding of the literary nature of Midrash Psalms. Although it might appear to be an indiscriminate, random compilation of all the traditions known to the midrashic editor, it is a carefully considered and edited composition whose editor shaped its structure to convey a particular message and reading of the Book of Psalms