לַמְנַצֵּחַ מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד׃ בְּבוֹא־אֵלָיו נָתָן הַנָּבִיא כַּאֲשֶׁר־בָּא אֶל־בַּת־שָׁבַע׃ - For the conductor, a psalm of David. When Natan the prophet came to him after he had gone in to Bat-Sheva.
Psalm 51 is King David's psalm in the aftermath of the sin involving Bat-Sheva. Let us briefly recount the episode, which was studied at length in Sefer Shmuel II: King David was walking on the roof when he saw a woman bathing. He sent to inquire who she was, and they told him that she was Bat-Sheva, the daughter of Eliam, daughter of Achitophel the Gilonite. He sent for her and was with her, and she subsequently conceived from him. David attempted every possible way to conceal the matter: when her husband, Uriah the Hittite, returned from battle, David told him to go down to his house, so that when her pregnancy became noticeable, everyone would assume it was from Uriah. But Uriah refused; David told him twice, yet he did not heed his words and did not go down to his house. David then sent Uriah to the front lines where the fighting was heaviest, instructing Yoav to place him in a position where he would be killed, and so it was: Uriah fell by the sword of the Ammonites.
Afterwards, as the Malbim expresses it, everything "worked out" for David. For anyone who went out to battle in the army of the House of David wrote a conditional bill of divorce for his wife, stipulating that if he did not return, she would be divorced. Since he did not return, she turned out to be retroactively divorced, meaning David had not been with a married woman. Uriah's execution also appeared justified, for Uriah had rebelled against the monarchy in two respects: first, by saying "and my master Yoav," referring to Yoav as his master in the presence of the king; and second, when the king commanded him twice to go down to his house, he disobeyed and began offering arguments against the king's instructions. Thus he fell into the category of a rebel against the monarchy (mored b'malchut), whose execution was legally warranted. In the words of the Malbim, David "washed his hands in innocence," for ultimately everything had resolved itself.
Yet it was then that the Holy One, blessed be He, sent Natan the prophet to inform him that his deed was improper in the eyes of Hashem. For the act in itself was flawed: both in taking a woman who was not his, and in causing the death of Uriah through the chain of events. Had David not initiated the affair, Uriah would never have uttered what he said, and the situation would never have developed as it did. His death was therefore brought about on David's account. Natan the prophet rebuked David, and David immediately declared, "I have sinned." Natan informed him that his sin would indeed be forgiven, but that the Holy One, blessed be He, would raise up evil against him from within his own household.
The Radak explains: Do not imagine that "when Natan the prophet came to him" means that during the rebuke itself David told the prophet to wait because he had a song to sing. Rather, the meaning is that after Natan returned home, David uttered this psalm. That is, David expresses his gratitude to Hashem after Natan the prophet departs from his house at the conclusion of the rebuke.
The holy Alshich raises a profound difficulty: "Is this not considered bizarre?" - an idiom of the early sages meaning that the matter appears strange and defies reason - that instead of demonstrating submission, weeping, and groaning over the pronouncement of the sin and over Hashem's wrath upon him, not only did he say "Lamnatzei'ach" or "Mizmor," but he said both Lamnatzei'ach and Mizmor, which signify double joy! When a prophet arrives and delivers such grave words, it would have been fitting to weep and sigh; was "Lamnatzei'ach" not enough that you also add "Mizmor"? "Whereas what was fitting was a lamentation" - he ought to have recited a dirge, not sung and chanted praises!
The Alshich explains: It is human nature for someone caught in wrongdoing to seek justifications and rationalizations, and David had many such arguments. Bat-Sheva was destined for David from the six days of Creation, though he took her prematurely ("ate her unripe"). It is written that Uriah the Hittite had never approached her intimately, as stated in the holy Zohar. She was the extra twin who rightfully belonged to him, as explained at length in the book Mishnat HaGilgulim - that the extra twin taken by Kayin now returned to David, since David stemmed from the soul-root of Hevel, while Uriah stemmed from Kayin. Furthermore, the Holy One, blessed be He, had told him beforehand that He would test him, which contributed to his stumble. In short, David had numerous grounds upon which he could have justified his conduct.
The Alshich continues: It is the way of people to search for justifications for their deeds until their urge to right their wrong cools off, leaving their iniquity engraved upon their bones. At first a person finds arguments, then those arguments calm his conscience, his urgency cools, and he no longer sees any need to repent. But when a prophet arrives and rebukes you, the entire picture changes - you do not cool off, and you immediately recognize the imperative to repent. Thus, an immense kindness was shown in that the Holy One, blessed be He, sent Natan the prophet to David. David says: Were it not for this, woe to me, for I would have cooled off, justified myself, and felt no distress over the matter, leaving the iniquity preserved against me for the World to Come. How precious, therefore, is His kindness in sending me a prophet, through which I was awakened.
Regarding this, David says both "To the chief Musician" (La-menatzei'ach) and "A Psalm" (Mizmor), a double song corresponding to two kindnesses. The first kindness - "When Nathan the prophet came to him": the very fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, sent someone to arouse me. Hashem could have left me in my slumber, and woe to me for all eternity. The second kindness - even when the prophet was sent, the Holy One, blessed be He, told him, "You acted in secret, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun," meaning the disgrace would be in public, as indeed happened when his son Avshalom rose up and took his wives before the sun. The Alshich notes: the Holy One, blessed be He, could have brought the rebuke of Nathan the prophet publicly as well by this same measure - woe to that shame, woe to that humiliation! Nathan could have stood before David and his men and rebuked him, and all the media would immediately have publicized what David did and what the prophet told him. And David had "more than the hairs of my head" who hated him without cause, and this would have been an opportunity for them to cast mud at him. Instead, the Holy One, blessed be He, did him a second kindness: while He carried out the punishment publicly, He concealed the prophet's rebuke and did it in private quarters. That is the emphasis - not merely "when Nathan the prophet came," but "when he came to him," to me personally, without the matter receiving publicity. Furthermore, stating "after he had gone in to Batsheva" hints that through the rebuke he was privileged to achieve repentance, for Nathan told him in the Name of Hashem, "Hashem also has passed away your sin; you shall not die." Thus, there were two kindnesses: that the prophet came to him and through this he repented and his sin was removed, and that it was personal and kept private. For both of these, he sings a double song.
The Chomat Anach, the Chida, explains: It is written in the holy Zohar that when Nathan the prophet came to him, David said, "I have sinned," and Hashem said to him, "Hashem also has passed away your sin; you shall not die." What is "your sin" (chatatecha)? This is the prosecuting angel (mekatreg). The accuser is called "your sin." We recite this every day: "A God merciful and gracious... forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin" - the iniquity (avon) is the destroying angel created from iniquity, the transgression (pesha) is the destroying angel created from transgression, and the sin (chata'ah) is the destroying angel created from sin.
The Tomer Devorah states - and whoever wishes to hear a wonderful, detailed explanation of this matter will find it in the shiurim on Tomer Devorah - that this iniquity, transgression, and sin seeks to exact retribution from the one who performed it. It requires life-force, and the source of its vitality comes from extracting punishment from the one who created it. But the Holy One, blessed be He, knows that if the destroying angel exacts retribution from the person, what will remain of him? Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, sustains the destroying angel and grants it temporary vitality, so that the person will have an opportunity and the time to repent. This is the meaning of "He bears" (nosei) - Hashem carries, nourishes, and sustains the angels created from the iniquity, transgression, and sin, until "and cleanses" (ve-nakeh), until the person does teshuvah, at which point the Holy One, blessed be He, cleanses away his sin. This is "Hashem also has passed away your sin" - He removed the accuser, the destroying angel. And regarding this, David says, "To the chief Musician, a Psalm," that Hashem passed away this destroying angel.
חׇנֵּנִי אֱלֹהִים כְּחַסְדֶּךָ כְּרֹב רַחֲמֶיךָ מְחֵה פְשָׁעָי׃ - Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your kindness; according to the greatness of Your compassions, blot out my transgressions.
According to the Chida, "according to Your kindness" means like that kindness You have already shown me by passing away the destroying, prosecuting angel; and now, "blot out my transgressions," that the accusers be blotted out completely, as it is written, "I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions" - these are your transgressions, the angels prosecuting your transgressions.
Radak explains: "According to Your kindness" - not according to my deeds, for my deeds were indeed severe, but according to Your kindness, for You, Master of the Universe, are the Master of kindness; therefore, be gracious to me and treat me with graciousness. And "blot out my transgressions" in the plural - either this refers also to other transgressions I committed, or the transgressions here are two: the matter of Batsheva and the matter of Uriah. In the matter of Batsheva there was a flaw in that he robbed her, and the second matter was the killing of Uriah, and we will see the claim regarding him later on.
The Malbim explains that David asks here for grace and forgiveness from three perspectives. First, from the perspective of lovingkindness - "Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your kindness," unearned kindness that requires no reasons or justifications, for You are benevolent. Second, from the perspective of mercy - when You see my state, that the sinner is humbled and broken, that in itself is a reason to have mercy on him, and this is "according to the greatness of Your compassions, blot out my transgressions," have mercy on me on account of my brokenness. And the third is from the perspective of justice and equity, that it is proper to blot out my transgressions.
[הֶרֶב] כַּבְּסֵנִי מֵעֲוֺנִי וּמֵחַטָּאתִי טַהֲרֵנִי׃ - Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
כִּי־פְשָׁעַי אֲנִי אֵדָע וְחַטָּאתִי נֶגְדִּי תָמִיד׃ - For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
The Malbim explains that the continuation of the argument is "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin... so that You may be justified in Your words," whereas "For I know my transgressions" is a kind of parenthetical thought within the discourse. And what is the difference between avon (iniquity) and chet (sin)? Avon is the distortion of the intellect that leads to wrongdoing - avon from the root meaning distortion (ivut) - which denies the commandment or the Commander, as if no one ever commanded this mitzvah. Chet is the physical act itself. Avon is a stain that remains in the soul, for even when you have finished that corrupt deed, the intellectual distortion remains, as you have not rid yourself of your mind. Therefore, even after the sin has ended, the iniquity still exists. This is why he requests "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity" - wash my soul from the stains upon it, for a distortion of the intellect requires laundering.
By contrast, chet, says the Malbim, is like ritual impurity (tum'ah) that touches the body. Sin defiles a person: if you touched impurity, you became defiled; if you touched sin, you became defiled, even though the defiling object is no longer with you. If you touched a creeping creature (sheretz), you became defiled, and it does no good to say that you are no longer touching it. The contact created impurity, and now purification (taharah) is required. And by purifying him of the impurity, the stain on the soul is also removed. This is "and cleanse me from my sin" - a form of immersion (tevilah) through which purity comes. That is to say: I do not deny now that You commanded the mitzvah, nor do I deny the Creator; therefore, Master of the Universe, wash me from the avon, from the distortion of intellect. And on the other hand, I am no longer touching the sheretz, but in any case, cleanse me from the chet.
And corresponding to "and cleanse me from my sin," he says, "and my sin is ever before me." We have already discussed in the past that the Holy One, Blessed be He, remembers the forgotten: if you committed sins and forgot them, Hashem will remember them for you; if you committed sins and remember them, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will forget them for you. Hashem remembers the forgotten and, as it were, forgets the remembered. If you remember, Hashem will forget them; if you forget, Hashem will remember them. And so it is with mitzvot: if you perform mitzvot and remember them all the time - "I founded this, I did that, I built this here" - Hashem will forget them. But if you performed them and said, yes, I did it, it is done, and you do not constantly seek to take credit and reap the accolades, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will remember them for you.
Therefore David says: I remember my sins, "my sin is ever before me," I have repented for it, and therefore it is proper that You forgive me, Master of the Universe, and repentance is sufficient. For had this been a sin between man and his fellow, repentance alone would not have availed, but here the sin is strictly between man and God (bein adam laMakom), and therefore repentance is effective. And why is there no element here of an offense between man and his fellow? This is the continuation of the verses - "Against You alone have I sinned," which we will see further on.
The Radak explains that herev is an expression of increase (harbeh), similar to harpeh mimeni and heref mimeni (the written text is harbeh and the read text is herev). The meaning of the request is: Master of the Universe, wash me repeatedly from my iniquity, for iniquity in the soul is like a stain on a garment. Another possibility: herev does not refer to the washing, but rather to Hashem's mercy - "Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the abundance of Your compassions blot out my transgressions, increase (herev)," multiply mercy upon me, and then "wash me thoroughly from my iniquity." The Radak further cites from the Midrash: Herev - You have done many kindnesses with me; do so now as well and blot out my transgressions. That is to say, until now You have acted with great kindness toward me, so just as You have bestowed many kindnesses upon me, perform this kindness for me as well: "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."
In Masechet Semachot (chapter 8, halachah 11), Rabbi Akiva says: A king had four sons - one is stricken and remains silent, one is stricken and kicks, one is stricken and pleads, and one is stricken and says to his father, strike me. This is compared to a king who had four sons, all of whom required lashing, and he lashed all of them, yet each one's disposition was different. One is lashed and stays silent. The second is lashed and kicks, reviling and blaspheming. The third is lashed and pleads that the lashes be removed from him. And the fourth is stricken and asks for more lashes.
To what do these correspond? Avraham is stricken and remains silent, as it is stated: "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Yitzchak, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as an elevation-offering." He could have said: Yesterday You told me, "For through Yitzchak shall offspring be named for you," so how will that be fulfilled if I bind him and slaughter him? Yet despite all this, he remained silent, as it is said: "And Avraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took his two young men with him and Yitzchak his son." Iyov is stricken and kicks, as it is stated: "I will say to God: Do not condemn me; let me know why You contend with me," for he voiced complaints against the Holy One, Blessed be He. Chizkiyahu is stricken and pleads, as it is stated: "And he prayed to Hashem," when he was told, "Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live." And some say that Chizkiyahu is also considered among those who kick, as it is stated: "and I have done that which is good in Your eyes" - meaning, Master of the Universe, is this what I deserve? After all, I have done what is good in Your eyes, so how can You do such a thing to me? And that is a form of kicking.
And who is the fourth, the perfect son? David, who said to his father, strike me, as it is stated: "Wash me thoroughly (herev kabseini) from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin." Laundering is not a gentle process - boiling water, high agitation - yet he requests "wash me thoroughly." Thus David asks that the Holy One, Blessed be He, intensify his washing, that is, multiply his chastisements, so that through this his purification may be complete.
The author of Me'am Lo'ez explains that avon is greater than chet, because avon is intentional and constitutes a distortion of the intellect. We have explained it in this way: when a person sins (chet), he says, "Oops, I stumbled." But when he becomes accustomed to the sin, it turns into an avon - he builds an ideology around the sin. It is no longer "I stumbled," but rather "this is how it ought to be." Family? No, that is archaic; in the past people needed family, but today the lifestyle is different and there are many legitimate forms of partnership. He has already constructed an ideology, and woe to anyone who says it is improper. It has become an ideal (lechatchilah) for him. Therefore, avon is far graver than chet: with a sin, one can still say, "I made a mistake," and repent, but for someone who has built an ideology around his actions, how can "I made a mistake" even apply to him? This is why David said first, "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity (avon)" - when it comes to iniquity, I need intensive laundering; whereas sin (chet) is lighter, being an inadvertent stumble, and therefore "and cleanse me from my sin" - with a slight purification, through immersion, I am already purified.
Rabbeinu Yonah writes in Sha'arei Teshuvah on these verses that David likened forgiveness to laundering: just as a heavily soiled garment requires extensive laundering, so too, according to the magnitude of the sin, one must increase the laundering, and the soul will become whitened according to the amount of washing. This is something we must understand. On the one hand, we see that the paths of teshuvah are long and grueling, involving fasts, self-mortifications, and hardships. On the other hand, [the Gemara teaches that if someone says to a woman,] "Behold, you are betrothed to me on condition that I am a completely righteous man" - she is betrothed, lest he had thoughts of teshuvah in his heart. And it is written, "What does Hashem your God ask of you," and "In your mouth and in your heart to do it" - this refers to teshuvah: confession with the mouth, remorse in the heart, and resolution for the future, and it is done! This implies that it is exceedingly short and simple. If so, does teshuvah require tikkunim and mortifications, or is it very simple?
Teshuvah depends on what you want to achieve through it. If a person seeks teshuvah in the sense of returning to Hashem - "I went astray and now I am returning to Hashem" - it is brief, light, and simple. But if a person seeks purification for their deeds, to become as though they had never sinned at all, that depends on the severity of the sin and the duration of the laundering. There are different cycles in a washing machine: each type of dirt requires a different cycle, and each type of fabric requires its own program. There are long and intense cycles; sometimes one must add stain removers in advance, and sometimes even that is not enough, requiring vigorous scrubbing to remove the grime. So it is with sin: the greater the sin, the more cleansing is required to achieve thorough purification, and the higher the level of cleanliness, the greater the refinement.
And what about an elderly person who repented a moment before dying - is that not teshuvah? Certainly it is teshuvah. And what did it accomplish? Think of a mechanic's garment dipped into water and taken right out. Is it cleaner? Of course. How can that be proven? Look at the water - it is dirty. That means the garment is cleaner. Is it clean? No, but it is cleaner. That is the laundering. Rabbeinu Yonah explains: every act of teshuvah accomplishes something. How much? According to the laundering. Had you scrubbed the garment a little, the water would be blacker - a sign that the garment is cleaner still. And had you added detergent to the water and soaked it longer, the water would be even filthier, indicating that the clothing is even cleaner. The more laundering, the cleaner it becomes. Yet one cannot say that teshuvah at any stage accomplishes nothing - even someone who repents a moment before dying achieves something, though only something. Do not think this is comparable to a twenty-year-old at the height of his burning passions who repents. Moreover, the young man will yet have time to fulfill many mitzvos, whereas one on the verge of death, what mitzvos can he still perform? But even setting aside the question of mitzvos and speaking only of "turn from evil," of cleansing and purification - Rabbeinu Yonah states that for every teshuvah some forgiveness is granted; every teshuvah brings pardon, and the only question is how much, depending on the level of teshuvah and the extent of the laundering. Therefore, the parable of laundering corresponds precisely to the purification from sin, and this is "Thoroughly wash me" (Herev kabbseini) - a magnificent metaphor employed by David HaMelech to illustrate the process of cleansing.
The holy Alshich explains "Thoroughly wash me from my iniquity" (Herev kabbseini me'avoni) in another way, which can be illustrated with a parable: A king had a son who angered him greatly and repeatedly, until at a certain point the king lost his patience. The king had a large boulder, a decorative centerpiece in the corner of the palace, and he said to his son, "The next time your foot steps in here, I will hurl it at your head!" - and he swore to it. Naturally, the son took no more chances, and the king saw him no longer. After some time, however, the king's compassion was stirred and he yearned for his son. He asked his wise counselor, "What can I do? How can I circumvent the oath?" The counselor told him, "Take the boulder, crush it into powder, and when he arrives, throw gravel at him instead of a boulder. In this way, you will fulfill your vow without harming him."
So too, we ask the Holy One, blessed be He, to discipline us, but not with severe suffering and malignant illnesses. There are illnesses we might define as less severe - not to call them good - and there are terrible afflictions: a person bedridden, incapacitated, in agonizing pain and torment. Yet there is suffering that is not severe, as the Gemara asks: To what extent does suffering extend? If a person reaches into his pocket to pull out five coins and brings up one or ten, so that he must reach into his pocket again - even that is considered suffering. Thus we pray: Master of the Universe, grant me many minor hardships rather than one crushing blow that will ruin and break me.
This is what David HaMelech asks here, according to the holy Alshich: "Thoroughly wash me from my iniquity" (Herev kabbseini me'avoni) - divide it for me into small portions, many small washings rather than one massive scouring. Through small washings I can survive, but if it is one harsh, overwhelming wash, what will remain of me? Therefore, discipline me little by little through numerous washings; this applies to avon, intentional sin, which requires extensive washing. But regarding "and cleanse me from my sin" (u-meichattasi tahareini) - from chet, unintentional sin, he asks to be purified in an instant, for chet is lighter and less severe, an inadvertent error, where a single purification, a single immersion, suffices.
Chapter 51 is David's psalm following the rebuke of Nasan the prophet regarding the incident of Batsheva and Uriah. David does not lament, but sings a twofold song: over the very sending of the prophet, which saved him from self-justification and spiritual numbness, and over the fact that the rebuke was delivered to him privately, "to him," and not in public. He appeals for pardon from three perspectives - undeserved kindness (chesed), mercy (rachamim) upon his broken spirit, and justice and equity - and distinguishes between avon, a distortion of the intellect that forms a deep stain on the soul requiring extensive laundering, and chet, which is like ritual contact-defilement requiring purification. David is the fourth son in Rabbi Akiva's parable, who says to his father, "Strike me," asking for multiplied laundering so that his purification may be complete - or, in the words of the Alshich, many small washings rather than one catastrophic blow. And we have learned from Rabbeinu Yonah that every teshuvah brings some measure of forgiveness, yet the degree of refinement corresponds directly to the extent of the laundering.