Their idols are silver and gold. The handiwork of man,
A mouth they have but they do not speak,
Eyes they have but they do not see.
Ears they have but they do not hear,
A nose they have but they do not smell.
Their hands-but they do not feel;
Their feet-but they do not walk;
They make not sound with their throat.
(Translation by Robert Alter, The Book of Psalms)
Abraham Joshua Heschel paraphrases the verse of the psalm “The dead praise not the Lord” as “Those who are spiritually dull cannot praise the Lord.” ‘Praising the Lord’ in our approach is not the empty words of the liturgy, but living fully in our bodies and with our senses, activating the God-given credentials of our individual aptitudes.