After completing the reading of Sefer Tehillim, one should conclude with three pesukim (verses): “O that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion! When Hashem returns the captivity of His people, Yaakov will rejoice, Yisrael will be glad. The salvation of the righteous is from Hashem; He is their strength in time of distress. Hashem helps them and rescues them; He rescues them from the wicked and saves them, for they took refuge in Him.” Immediately afterward, one should read three pesukim from the first mizmor, “Ashrei ha’ish asher lo halach” (Fortunate is the man who did not walk), etc.
Sources and Explanations
HaRav HaGaon Pinchas Zevichi, in his Sefer Tehillim with the commentary ‘Ateret Paz,’ writes that this is the common custom: when one finishes Sefer Tehillim, he immediately begins from the first chapter until the pasuk “and all that he does shall prosper.” This is also found in most printed editions of Tehillim.
He cites there that the reason for this is so as not to give the Satan an opening to say that they have finished reading and do not wish to read any more. This is like what the Beit Yosef (siman 282) writes regarding the completion of the Torah on Shemini Atzeret: “We read Parashat Bereshit, in order not to give the Satan an opening to say, ‘They have finished the Torah and do not wish to read any more.’”
This is also found in Sefer HaEshkol (vol. 2, p. 65), Sefer HaManhig (Hilchot Sukkah, ot 58), Abudarham (folio 81b), Shibbolei HaLeket HaShalem (siman 372), the Radbaz (vol. 1, siman 1279), and Birkei Yosef (Orach Chaim 669:1). The Eliyah Rabbah (Orach Chaim 132:6) writes that when leaving the synagogue at the conclusion of the tefillah, the custom is to first say ‘Adon Olam’ after the kaddish. The reason, as the Matteh Moshe writes, is that since the tefillah begins with it, immediately upon finishing one begins it again, so that the Satan should not accuse, as mentioned above.
As for the reason that only three pesukim are read and the first mizmor is not completed, the Ateret Paz writes there that it is because the last pasuk is “but the way of the wicked shall perish” (Tehillim 1:6), and one should always conclude with something good. This is like what the Rema (Orach Chaim 138:1) writes regarding the Torah reading, that one should always take care to conclude with something good. Likewise, the Shulchan Aruch (428:6) writes that the curses in Torat Kohanim are not divided; rather, one person reads all of them, and one begins with the pesukim before them and concludes with the pesukim after them, etc. — that is, in order to begin with something good and conclude with something good. See also Tosafot (Ketubot 112b, s.v. Atidin) on the words of the Gemara (ibid.), “In the future, all the barren trees in Eretz Yisrael will bear fruit,” where they write: “Since he wishes to conclude with something good, he cited it here.”
From the sefer “Shaf Veyativ – Laws of Saying Tehillim” by Rabbi Shay Tahan, Chapter 3: Laws Before and After Saying Tehillim, Halacha 5 (p. 36 in the print edition). Translated from the Hebrew original.
