Reciting L'David and Mizmor Shir

Q. Why don't we say a special perek of Tehillim at the end of davening from Pesach to Shavuot the way we say L'David Hashem Ori from Rosh Chodesh Elul to Shemini Atzeret or Mizmor Shir Chanukat ha-Bayit l'David on Chanukah?

A. Thanks for your question. Think about Yaakov giving Yoseif a fancy coat. Everyone thinks that Yaakov was just showing favoritism but that's not it at all. Ten of his sons had mothers and Binyamin was just a baby. Yoseif was the only one who lost his mother, remembered her, and felt a sense of loss. Simply put, Yoseif needed a boost that the others ddn't require.

So why am I talking about Yoseif? Because parents don't always treat all their children the same. Sometimes they treat them differently because they know what each child needs.

Similarly, Chazal instituted for the various holidays that which is appropriate for each holiday. We don't drink four cups of wine on Shavuos and we don't have a Chanukah seudah (at least not in the same way that we have a Purim seudah); what we do on one occasion may not be the right thing for another.

L'David was instituted when it was because of its references to the various holidays; similarly, Mizmor Shir references Chanukah. The word "omer" doesn't appear in Tehillim at all. The word "count" appears four or five times, but none of them are anything that screams "This Psalm must be made part of the liturgy!" I'd say that L'David and Mizmor Shir were added because they were appropriate, not because we needed a Psalm there per se. If there's no compelling sentiment, I don't think people need to add a Psalm at the end of davening just to have one there.

Rabbi Jack's book Ask Rabbi Jack is now available from Kodesh Press and on Amazon.com.