מִזְמוֹר לְאָסָף: אֵל אֱלֹהִים יְהֹוָה דִּבֶּר וַיִּקְרָא־אָרֶץ, מִמִּזְרַח־שֶׁמֶשׁ עַד־מְבֹאוֹ׃ - A psalm of Asaph: The Mighty One, God, Hashem, has spoken and summoned the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting.
The Malbim explains that this psalm is a rebuke directed against flatterers and hypocrites. They committed grievous abominations, yet outwardly presented themselves as righteous, bringing sacrifices to the Beis HaMikdash to appear meticulous and close to God. Furthermore, they slandered their fellow men concerning the very sins that they themselves were guilty of, casting blame upon others for their own flaws. The psalm comes to announce that the Holy One, blessed be He, will judge these wicked people for their evil deeds. Regarding this it is said, "The Mighty One, God, Hashem, has spoken and summoned the earth" - Hashem, as it were, summons the entire earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting, to stand in judgment.
מִצִּיּוֹן מִכְלַל־יֹפִי, אֱלֹהִים הוֹפִיעַ׃ - Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth.
"Perfection" (michlal) - Metzudas Tzion explains that this derives from the root kol (all), meaning Zion encompasses all beauty; all the beauty in the world is contained within it. "God has shone forth" - Hashem illuminated and shone forth. The Malbim explains that this means the Shechinah will shine forth from Zion, and from there Hashem will come to judge the hypocrites and expose their wickedness.
יָבֹא אֱלֹהֵינוּ וְאַל־יֶחֱרַשׁ, אֵשׁ־לְפָנָיו תֹּאכֵל וּסְבִיבָיו נִשְׂעֲרָה מְאֹד׃ - Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; a fire consumes before Him, and around Him it storms exceedingly.
"Our God shall come" - in His own glory. The Divine Name mentioned here is Elohim, signifying the attribute of judgment, since the topic here is judgment and justice. "And shall not keep silent" - unlike what has transpired until now: until now He held His peace, but from now on He will no longer remain silent. Instead, what will happen? "A fire consumes before Him, and around Him it storms exceedingly" - before Him is a consuming fire, and around Him is a fierce storm. This combination, a fire and a raging tempest that fans it, creates an endless inferno, an immense blaze.
Rashi explains "and shall not keep silent" as referring to the spilled blood of His servants. Thus, while according to the Malbim the psalm centers on a rebuke to flatterers and hypocrites, according to Rashi, Hashem is coming to exact retribution from those who murdered His righteous, His pious ones, and His servants - the Jewish people.
יִקְרָא אֶל־הַשָּׁמַיִם מֵעָל וְאֶל־הָאָרֶץ, לָדִין עַמּוֹ׃ - He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, to judge His people.
Rashi explains: Since the Holy One, blessed be He, is going to judge the nations that oppressed Israel for the spilled blood of His servants, and whenever He judges the nations He first judges their heavenly prince - therefore, "He calls to the heavens above" to punish the heavenly prince on high first. Afterwards, "and to the earth" - Rashi mentions the kings of Egypt, but this evidently alludes to all the rulers who oppressed and harmed us throughout the generations. "To judge His people" - to judge them for what they did to His people, as the verse says, "For Hashem will judge His people" and then "and avenge the blood of His servants."
Radak explains that "He summons the heavens above" refers to the angels, who are the ones that will exact punishment from the nations. The Holy One, blessed be He, calls upon His mighty ones and His angels to come and take vengeance upon them, as stated in the prophecy of Yoel: "Bring down Your mighty ones, Hashem," and as it is written: "And an angel of Hashem went out and struck the camp of Assyria." And "and to the earth" refers to the inhabitants of the earth, who will strike one another down. As stated in Yechezkel 38:21: "Every man's sword shall be against his brother," and as stated in Zechariah 14:13: "There shall be a great confusion of Hashem among them; each shall grasp the hand of his fellow, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his fellow." Thus, not only will the angels strike them from heaven, but on earth they will also strike one another.
The Malbim, however, explains differently: "He summons the heavens above, and the earth" - all join together to observe this judgment. Not that they are the avengers, but that the Holy One, blessed be He, summons everyone to the courtroom: I want all of you to assemble and witness the judgment being executed here. For according to the Malbim, the subject here is the hypocrites and the wicked who present themselves as righteous, and Hashem wants everyone to see the punishment that is fitting and appropriate for them.
From this verse, the Gemara in Sanhedrin 91a derives the concept of judgment in the World to Come. Antoninus said to Rebbe: Body and soul can exempt themselves from judgment. How so? The body says: The soul sinned, for since the day it departed from me, I lie silent like a stone in the grave - what do you want from me? Look how righteous I am, I cause no trouble at all! And the soul says the opposite: The body sinned, for since the day I departed from it, I fly through the air like a bird - I commit no transgressions, and the sins came from the body. It turns out that each has a claim to be exempt.
Rebbe replied to him: I will tell you a parable to what this may be compared. To a king of flesh and blood who had a fine orchard with choice first-ripe figs - trees that ripened early with beautiful first fruits. The king was concerned: If I station able-bodied guards, they will eat the fruits. What did he do? He stationed two guards, one lame and one blind. The lame man can see the fruits and see who enters, and can cry out and sound the alarm, but he has no access to the fruits - how could he climb the tree being lame? And the blind man can walk, but he cannot see the fruits, so even if he wanted to pick them, he could not see. And if someone entered the orchard, the lame man would shout and direct the blind man where to go to apprehend him. So the king thought, but the outcome proved otherwise.
The lame man said to the blind man: I see beautiful first-ripe fruits in the orchard. You cannot see a thing, but I tell you that there are very special fruits here. The blind man said to him: Come, mount upon me, and we will bring them and eat them - teamwork! The lame man rode upon the back of the blind man, and they brought them and ate them. Sometime later, the owner of the orchard came and said to them: Where are the fine first-ripe fruits? The lame man said: Do I have legs to walk with? Why do you suspect me, do I have legs to climb the tree? The blind man said: Do I have eyes to see? What did the king do, realizing their scheme? He placed the lame man upon the blind man and judged them as one - just as you sinned together, so shall you be punished together.
And the lesson: So too does the Holy One, blessed be He, bring the soul, cast it into the body, and judge them as one, as it says: "He summons the heavens above" - this is the soul, "and to the earth to judge His people [ammo]" - this is the body here on earth. And one can homiletically interpret "ammo" (עַמּוֹ) as "immo" (עִמּוֹ, with it): the earth, meaning the body, and the soul from the heavens - He joins them both together and judges them. And this is what is stated regarding the resurrection of the dead: "These to eternal life, and these to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence" - thus there is a renewed union of soul and body, and Hashem judges both together. In the meantime, the Holy One, blessed be He, judges them, but not as one: there is judgment for the body, which is shaken out, which is the matter of Chibut HaKever (the tribulations of the grave), and there is judgment for the soul, which is the judgment in Gehinnom.
And the Malbim cites a wonderful allusion here: "HaShamayim" (the heavens) shares the numerical value (gematria) of "ha-neshamah" (the soul), and "ladin" (to judge) shares the gematria of "ha-guf" (the body). Thus, the body and soul, heaven and earth, are hinted at directly here, both being brought to judgment as one.
אִסְפוּ־לִי חֲסִידָי, כֹּרְתֵי בְרִיתִי עֲלֵי־זָבַח׃ - "Gather to Me My pious ones, who have sealed My covenant by sacrifice."
Rashi explains: After the Holy One, blessed be He, executes judgment upon those who killed His pious ones and tormented His servants, He will call upon heaven and earth to gather the exiles - "Awake, north wind, and come, south wind" - awaken and bring the pious ones, My servants, to the Holy Land. And who are "those who sealed My covenant by sacrifice"? According to the plain meaning (peshat), these are those who received the Torah through a covenant and a sacrifice, for before the Giving of the Torah, Moshe built an altar, offered sacrifices, and sprinkled the blood upon the people, declaring: "Behold the blood of the covenant that Hashem has made with you."
Radak explains that this is an address to the nations of the world: The Jewish people are dispersed in exile among them, and the Holy One, blessed be He, instructs them to bring the Jewish people to Jerusalem. As it says in Yeshayahu: "At that time a tribute shall be brought to Hashem of Hosts, a people dragged and plucked," and as it says there in chapter 66: "And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to Hashem" - the gentiles will bring the people of Israel as an offering and gift to Hashem, blessed be He. So too in the prophecy of Tzephaniah: "From beyond the rivers of Cush, My supplicants, the daughter of My dispersed, shall bring My offering" - those of Israel who were scattered there will be the offering and will be brought here. Regarding this, He asks: "Gather to Me My pious ones" - bring all of Israel to the Holy Land. And according to Radak's first interpretation: "those who sealed My covenant by sacrifice" refers to those who entered into a covenant at Mount Sinai, where they offered sacrifices, took from the blood of the covenant, and sprinkled it upon the people.
The Radak also brings a midrashic interpretation that this verse refers to brit milah. Chazal say: On the day Israel performs a brit milah, they make "over sacrifice" - they hold a feast and rejoice. "Those who seal My covenant" - they perform a brit milah; "over sacrifice" - they slaughter cattle. From here we learn that there is great significance in serving meat specifically at the brit milah meal, and indeed we find in several places that there is special value in having meat at the celebratory meal.
The Abudraham cites that "those who seal My covenant over sacrifice" refers to the milah meal, noting a wonderful allusion in the text: "Zavach" (זָבַח) can be read as "Zav Chet" (זב ח') - the blood of circumcision flows on the eighth day. They seal a covenant, and blood flows on the eighth day - "zav chet", the letters of "zavach".
The Malbim explains according to his approach: "Gather to Me My pious ones" - you, My pious ones, gather to Me those who are "those who seal My covenant over sacrifice", those who think that one can, as it were, buy off the Holy One, blessed be He, with sacrifices; that a person can commit every transgression in the world and then bring an offering, or present himself before the masses as righteous through a few sacrifices he offers. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: Gather to Me those who believe that through sacrifices they seal a covenant with Me, for I wish to hold them to account - those who think that their sins will be atoned for in this way, even while they intend to continue sinning and continue bringing offerings.
וַיַּגִּידוּ שָׁמַיִם צִדְקוֹ, כִּי־אֱלֹהִים שֹׁפֵט הוּא סֶלָה׃ - And the heavens declare His righteousness, for God is judge, Selah.
Even the heavens declare His righteousness. For here on earth, people are still mistaken in thinking that the Holy One, blessed be He, desires sacrifices and thousands of rams, as we will see further on that this is the central theme of the chapter; but in heaven, where they know that eating and drinking do not apply to the Holy One, blessed be He, they declare Hashem's righteousness - that those who think Hashem needs sacrifices and meat are utterly mistaken. For "for God is judge" - Hashem will judge the sinners, and the heavens, as it were, clarify His justice. And "Selah," according to the Malbim, means that the matter has concluded. This was the first part, and from here begins the second part - the rebuke.
שִׁמְעָה עַמִּי וַאֲדַבֵּרָה, יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָעִידָה בָּךְ, אֱלֹהִים אֱלֹהֶיךָ אָנֹכִי׃ - Hear, My people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God.
Ibn Ezra explains that this is the continuation of "those who seal My covenant over sacrifice": Over what did we forge a covenant? That I will be your God and that you will serve Me. Therefore, "Hear, My people, and I will speak... I am God, your God."
The Radak explains that after the Holy One, blessed be He, executes judgment upon the nations, in the second stage He will purge the wicked from among Israel and leave only the good and the righteous. As it is written in Zephaniah (3:11-13): "For then I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and you will no longer be haughty on My holy mount. And I will leave in your midst a poor and humble people, and they will take refuge in the Name of Hashem. The remnant of Israel will do no iniquity and speak no lies." And likewise in Zechariah (13:8-9): "Two parts in it shall be cut off and perish, and the third shall be left in it" - two-thirds will perish, and one-third will remain; and even they - "And I will bring the third through the fire, and refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested" - even the remaining third will undergo refining and testing: "They will call upon My Name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,' and they will say, 'Hashem is my God.'" And so too in Isaiah (4:3): "And it shall come to pass, that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem shall be called holy, everyone written for life in Jerusalem." From all these verses we see that not everyone will remain; rather, large portions will be removed - "I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones," all those who possess arrogance and pride, "and you will no longer be haughty" - and only the righteous and servants of Hashem will remain.
And He rebukes them regarding the burnt offerings they were sacrificing, as mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. Radak explains: there is great sin and heresy in this - to bring a sacrifice and not repent from sin. For the purpose of bringing a sacrifice is to gain favor before Hashem, and if one brings an offering without repenting from his sin, what is he essentially saying? "I will bribe the Holy One, blessed be He; I took care of food for Him." Anyone who harbors such a thought and believes that the Holy One, blessed be He, needs the food he brings Him - this is heresy. For it is as if he is offering a bribe: Master of the Universe, I have provided You with food, now let me continue committing sins.
The prophets repeatedly rebuke them over this, showing how widespread this misconception was. In Yeshayahu 1:11: "Why do I need the multitude of your sacrifices?... Who sought this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile meal offerings" - the Holy One, blessed be He, says: it is a futile offering; I have no need for these sacrifices. Yirmiyahu says: "Add your burnt offerings to your peace offerings and eat meat" - your entire interest in sacrifices is merely to eat meat. And in Malachi: "If only there were one among you who would close the doors." All of these bear witness to this flawed mindset, where a person brings an offering, considers his account settled, and continues in his sins.
And this is just like the Christians: a person goes to confession before a priest, leaves a sum of money, and the matter is settled. Once someone came and asked: "What is the rate?" The priest told him: "One hundred shekels." He said: "I have a two-hundred bill, do you have change?" The priest answered: "No." The man said: "Fine, then let it cover next week's sins as well" - he already secured a green light in advance. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: Do I need your sacrifices? Do I need your money? My desire is that you do not commit sins, that you do not bring sacrifices, and that we have no need for any of this.
"Ve'a'idah bach (And I will testify against you)" - the covenant I forged with you has witnesses between Me and you, as it is stated, "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today." These witnesses endure; Rashi quotes Chazal there that they were chosen specifically because they exist forever. You accepted Hashem as God - how is it then that you corrupted your ways and strayed from the path? "Elohim Elohecha anochi (I am God, your God)", similar to "I am Hashem your God" - you accepted Me as God to do what I command you, yet you failed to do so, and for this I come to rebuke you.
The Malbim explains: "Shim'ah ammi va'adabberah (Hear, My people, and I will speak)" - I will clarify these matters to you through reason and logic, for He is as if entering into judgment with them. "Ve'a'idah bach (And I will testify against you)" - the declarations of punishment; I will warn you of the punishment you will receive for your deeds. Corresponding to "and I will speak", He says "Elohim" - that I do not desire sacrifices, because this contradicts the true Divine conception, as we will see further on. And corresponding to "and I will testify against you", He says "Elohecha anochi (I am your God)" - Elohim denotes a judge, just as stated earlier, "for God is the Judge, Selah": bear in mind that you will face judgment for the wicked deeds you committed.
לֹא עַל־זְבָחֶיךָ אוֹכִיחֶךָ, וְעוֹלֹתֶיךָ לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד׃ - Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you, and your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
Radak explains: In the Ten Commandments, when I spoke to you, I did not speak to you about burnt offerings and sacrifices - there is no mention of an offering there. And as Shemuel said: "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, to heed than the fat of rams." The sacrifice is not an end in itself, nor is it an independent goal; the goal is "to obey" - that I speak and you fulfill My will. If you bring a sacrifice but lack obedience, you have missed the entire point. Therefore, do not think that if you failed to offer sacrifices I have a great rebuke against you; Hashem says to them: No, I will rebuke you for good and evil deeds - that you failed to do good deeds and that you committed evil deeds. But for not offering a sacrifice I do not rebuke, because the sacrifice is not the ultimate purpose.
And this preference is as Chazal expounded on the verse in Mishlei: "Make your foot scarce in the house of your neighbor, lest he become sated with you and hate you." And who is "your neighbor and your father's neighbor"? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: It is I. Do not say, "I will visit the Beit HaMikdash every day - today a sin offering, today a burnt offering, today a guilt offering", a new sacrifice every single day. This is like the man who met Olmert at the airport and began hugging and kissing him. Olmert asked him: "What happened?" He replied: "You are holy like a Torah scroll." He asked: "What is the connection?" He replied: "Just like a Torah scroll - every week there is a new scandal (*parashah*)." So too in our context: the Holy One, blessed be He, says that the sacrifice is not the goal; rather, the point is that you do not commit sins. "Make your foot scarce in the house of your neighbor" - do not come to the Beit HaMikdash to bring sacrifices, "lest he become sated with you and hate you" - that He grow weary of your offerings and despise you; for it is far better that you do not sin and do not bring a sacrifice, than to commit sin after sin and bring sacrifice after sacrifice. I want you to serve Me and fulfill My commandments, not just offer Me sacrifices.
Radak explains that "and your burnt offerings are continually before Me" is connected back to "not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you." This is a grammatical principle known as moshech acheret imo (carrying over another word with it): the initial negative "not" applies to the continuation as well, as if it were written "nor are your burnt offerings continually before Me." We say something similar every day in prayer: "*shelo sam chelkenu kahem vegoralenu kechol hamonam*" - meaning "nor our lot like all their multitude," where the initial "not" carries over. Some emended the text to make it clearer and read "*velo goralenu*", as is the text in the Yemenite nusach and among the students of Rav Mazuz, but in the standard Sephardic nusach it appears without the "vav". Here too: I am not coming to rebuke you for having sacrificed or not sacrificed, whether you brought an *olah* or did not bring one - that is not the point, for My requirement of you is to obey the voice of Hashem, not to offer a sacrifice.
The Malbim, on the other hand, explains that the "not" applies only to "your sacrifices": the rebuke is not about your sacrifices, that you fail to bring sacrifices before Me as though you consider this to be a grave sin - for "your burnt offerings are continually before Me"; you offer burnt offerings consistently. That is to say, according to the Malbim, the second part of the verse is not stated as a negation, but in the affirmative: true, you might not offer peace offerings, but burnt offerings, which are entirely consumed on the Altar, you bring continually. The continuation then asks: why do you think I am in need of burnt offerings or sacrifices?
In Chumash Vayikra, the Malbim offers a wonderful explanation of this verse. For what does an olah (burnt offering) come? "And that which rises in your mind shall not be at all" (Yechezkel 20:32), and Chazal expounded that the olah atones for "that which rises (ha'oleh) in your heart" - the olah atones for improper thoughts of the heart. If so, a person comes and brings an olah for the thoughts of his heart; says the Holy One, Blessed is He: I would have preferred that you not harbor such thoughts and not bring an olah. I have no desire for an olah that comes in the wake of sin. And this is the meaning of "and your burnt offerings are before Me continually" (ve'olotecha lenegdi tamid) - in the sense of opposing Me (menugad li): the burnt offerings you bring run contrary to My will, they do not please Me, they are the opposite of what I desire, for I would prefer that you not stumble into sin and not need a sacrifice at all.
לֹא־אֶקַּח מִבֵּיתְךָ פָר, מִמִּכְלְאֹתֶיךָ עַתּוּדִים׃ - I will take no bull from your house, nor he-goats from your folds.
The Radak explains: Even if I needed burnt offerings, I would not take them from you, for everything is already in My possession. The verse specifically mentions a "bull" (par) because it is the largest of all sacrifices, and "he-goats" (atudim) are the large goats. "From your folds" (mimmikhle'otecha) - from the term mikhla tzon, sheep pens or enclosures; the letters hei and alef are interchangeable, for elsewhere it is written mikhleh with a hei and here mikhla with an alef. They are called this because the flock is enclosed (kalui) inside them.
And the Malbim explains: Do I specifically need the bull from your house and the he-goats from your pens? Even if I were in need of food and drink, "for Mine is every beast of the forest."
כִּי־לִי כָל־חַיְתוֹ־יָעַר, בְּהֵמוֹת בְּהַרְרֵי־אָלֶף׃ - For Mine is every beast of the forest, the cattle upon a thousand hills.
The Holy One, Blessed is He, says: My beasts of the forest are far superior to the bull in your house and the he-goats in your pens. And should you say that I specifically desire the meat of domesticated cattle (behemah), whereas beasts of the forest are wild game (chayah) - that too I have in abundance: "the cattle upon a thousand hills."
Rashi cites the homiletic teaching of Chazal regarding "the cattle upon a thousand hills" (behemot beharrei alef): this refers to the wild ox prepared for the banquet of the Future to Come. Some texts omit the phrase "prepared for the banquet of the Future," but that is the reading found in several versions of Rashi, and so it is implied by the language of the Midrash. This refers to the legendary wild ox (shor habar), celebrated alongside the Leviathan, from which the Holy One, Blessed is He, will prepare a feast for the righteous. It is called beharrei alef ("upon a thousand hills") because it grazes across a thousand mountains in a single day - a colossal beast that consumes the yield of a thousand mountains in one day, and every single day they grow back anew; the vegetation will replenish itself so rapidly that it will graze on a thousand hills in one day and they will have time to sprout again. There are several other explanations for what "thousand" (alef) means here: a thousand mountains, a thousand parasangs (parsaot), or a thousand bulls. Others say it is related to the phrase "the offspring of your cattle" (shegar alafecha), where cattle are called alafecha, meaning mountains teeming with cattle. And this corresponds precisely to what He said: "I will take no bull from your house" - I already have mountains full of thousands of bulls.
יָדַעְתִּי כָּל־עוֹף הָרִים, וְזִיז שָׂדַי עִמָּדִי׃ - I know all the fowl of the mountains, and that which moves in the field is with Me.
And if you should say that I desire birds - birds too I have; and if "that which moves in the field" (ziz sadai), which refers to smaller creatures - they too are all with Me, all under My watchful providence. If so, why do you think that I need your sacrifices and require anything from you?
Ibn Ezra notes the precision of the word "I know" (yada'ti): man has no ability to know them all, for they are so numerous; but before the Holy One, Blessed is He, nothing is hidden. "I know all the fowl of the mountains" - every bird in the mountains and everything that exists in the world is known before Him. And the Radak adds: even those you do not recognize. You are familiar only with the birds in inhabited settlements, but Hashem says: I know even those in the remote mountains.
"V'ziz sadai" - Rashi explains: the creeping creatures of the field. "Sadai" derives from the word for field (sadeh), and they are called "ziz" because they move (zazim) from place to place. The Radak explains that this refers to wild beasts in general, as it is written, "and the beasts of the field feed on it" (v'ziz sadai yir'ennah).
And in Vayikra Rabbah, Chazal said: Rabbi Yehudah bar Rabbi Simon said, this Ziz is a giant bird - a specific bird called the Ziz. When it spreads its wings, it darkens the orb of the sun and casts a vast shadow, due to its immense size while in flight. This is what is written: "Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, spreading its wings toward the south?" And why is it called Ziz? Because it contains all kinds of tastes, from this and from that (mi-zeh u-mi-zeh) - ziz being related to having a taste of this and of that, possessing many diverse flavors.