The continuation of the chapter addresses a painful turning point: until now, David spoke of his disappointment in his son Avshalom - "I did not expect to receive such a slap from my beloved son Avshalom." From here on, as the Malbim explains, David turns to Achitophel - the counselor, the friend, his trusted confidant - who became the leader of the rebellion against him. And here, the grievance is sevenfold greater.
וְאַתָּה אֱנוֹשׁ כְּעֶרְכִּי אַלּוּפִי וּמְיֻדָּעִי׃ אֲשֶׁר יַחְדָּו נַמְתִּיק סוֹד בְּבֵית אֱלֹהִים נְהַלֵּךְ בְּרָגֶשׁ׃ - But it was you, a man my equal, my guide and my familiar friend. We who together sweetened counsel, in the house of God we walked with the throng.
The Malbim, in his characteristic way, reveals an inner layer here that is not explicitly stated but is derived from the text itself. What is "we who together sweetened counsel"? The two of us would sit and discuss this very possibility: what would happen if a rebellion arose against the king, and how we would act. And you, Achitophel, told me then that there was nothing at all to fear from any rebellion - for if a rebellion should break out, "in the house of God we will walk": we will go together to pray in the House of God, and thereby quell the rebellion. There is no need for war at all; going to the House of God is enough to extinguish the uprising.
And what is "beragesh" (with a throng)? Here is a fine example of a biblical expression that we use today in a sense different from its literal meaning. In modern Hebrew, "beragesh" means with emotion and feeling, but most commentators do not explain it this way. Rashi explains: "In the house of God we would walk beragesh" - with a great multitude of people, as in "Why do the nations assemble tumultuously (rageshu)?" which means they all gathered and assembled together. Ibn Ezra likewise explains "beragesh" - in one group, a gathering of many people together. According to this, the Malbim says: you always used to tell me that if there should be a situation of "regesh," a gathering and rallying of rebellion against me - we will go to the House of God and the Holy One, blessed be He, will save me from any rebellion. And yet now, after all that "together we sweetened counsel," reality has been overturned: you are the very one who rose up and rebelled against me, you are the one who came out against me.
The Malbim adds an interpretation "by way of metaphor" - not the literal meaning of the text - connecting this verse to what follows: "May death seize upon them" (yashi mavet aleimo). Achitophel, as is known, when he saw that his advice was not accepted, understood that the rebellion had failed, set his affairs in order, and committed suicide. And he was correct in his assessment: Achitophel's counsel was sound - wicked, but sound - and his final advice was sound as well; had Avshalom acted upon it, David truly would have fallen. However, David prayed that Hashem thwart Achitophel's counsel, and the counsel of Chushai the Archite was accepted instead. The popular idiom "Achitophel's counsel," used in modern parlance to mean poor advice, does him an injustice - not that wronging him is such a tragedy, but it is simply untrue.
Thus, in committing suicide, Achitophel essentially performed the function of the Angel of Death. What does the Angel of Death do? He takes a person's soul. Achitophel said to him: you do not need to exert yourself; I am doing it myself, taking my own soul. Therefore, the verse here is, as it were, the Angel of Death speaking to Achitophel: "Are you not a man of my own measure?" - you are an angel of death just like me; I take souls, and you took your own soul. "My guide and my familiar friend" - and what is more, you delivered many into my hands for death, since war erupted in the wake of the rebellion and many died. And when death came to collect its debt from him - "yashi" being related to nosheh, a creditor collecting a debt - it turned out that the man had already taken his own soul.
Furthermore, the Angel of Death says to him: "We who together sweetened counsel, in the house of God we walked with the throng." The meaning is: during Avshalom's rebellion, Achitophel advised that if David were to flee to the House of God - for it was accepted that one who grasps the horns of the altar is not harmed (although strictly speaking, halachically this applied only to a Kohen who went up upon the altar, as explained regarding Yoav and Benayahu ben Yehoyada) - they should kill him even there. You granted permission for death to kill even in the House of God, something that never occurred to me. We are friends, then; we work hand in hand. You invented methods of killing that I had never thought of.
And this is similar to what is explained by way of wit concerning Lavan. Yaakov arrives, and Lavan says: "Just because you are my brother, should you serve me for nothing?" People wonder: since when does Lavan the Aramean, the deceiver, have such fine sentiments to offer wages? After all, he would have no objection to everyone working for him for free! Rather, he heard from Yaakov the reasons for his flight: that he had taken the birthright from Esav, and went in to Yitzchak saying, "I am Esav, your firstborn." Lavan said to him: Ah, how marvelous! You know how to work the angles; you know the tricks. "Are you my brother?" - we are family, you are a schemer and I am a schemer! And precisely for that reason: "Should you serve me for nothing?" - schemers make me nervous; your "free" labor will end up costing me dearly! Let us draw up a contract that locks you in, so you cannot make any future claims. (And never mind that even after the contract, he still cheated him.) So too here, the Angel of Death says to Achitophel: you are my own flesh and blood, we walk together into the House of God to take David's life from there as well - there is a friendship between us, we are kindred spirits.
Rashi explains "in the house of God we walked beragesh" - we would walk together to the study halls, and "beragesh" means amid a great multitude. Ibn Ezra explains "we sweetened counsel" - we would discuss our secrets and it was sweet to us. And Radak adds: you and I sweetened counsel together; I would consult with you on my most secret matters, and a confidential matter of mine was never sweet and properly validated in my eyes until I deliberated over it with you. Whenever a plan or an idea arose in my heart that no one else knew about, it was not sweet to me until I consulted with you and saw that my reasoning was sound. And when we went to pray in the House of God, we walked in one company. I was so bound to you - and you betrayed me. For that reason, the grievance here is far greater and the pain far more acute.
יַשִּׁי מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ יֵרְדוּ שְׁאוֹל חַיִּים כִּי רָעוֹת בִּמְגוּרָם בְּקִרְבָּם׃ - May death incite against them; let them descend alive into Sheol, for evils are in their dwelling, within them.
Rashi explains: "Yashi" - the Holy One, blessed be He, will incite and stir up the Angel of Death against them, from the root seen in "The serpent deceived me (hishi'ani) and I ate," and some say it denotes enticement, as though bringing it upon them. The Metzudot cites Menachem, who explains "yashi" as related to "yesh" (existence or substance), as in "if you indeed act" (im yeshchem osim) and "who is present here" (asher yeshno poh) - meaning that the reality of death should come upon them. The Radak explains that it is written without an alef but read as though an alef were present: "yashi mavet aleihem" - the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring death upon them; and "yashi" is also a term of debt and obligation, from the root *nosheh* (creditor), as in "do not be to him like a creditor (kenosheh)," where the creditor seizes the debtor. The Malbim explains similarly: Death will demand its debt from them.
"Let them descend alive into Sheol" - the Radak explains that their death will be sudden. A person who falls ill and whose condition steadily deteriorates prepares himself gradually for death; but with these men - one moment alive, and the very next moment in Sheol. As it is said, "Let us swallow them alive like Sheol" (Mishlei 1:12) - they will be swallowed into Sheol in an instant while still alive. And why? "For evils are in their dwelling, within them" - the evils they contrive in their hearts, they utter in their place of residence and assembly, in Jerusalem, where they gather to take counsel and plot against David.
The Malbim explains that the verse describes what actually occurred: Achitophel took his own life. The Angel of Death will demand his debt from them, because they descended into Sheol not by the hand of death, but while still alive. For the entire world is the client of the Angel of Death - ultimately, it is he who claims a person's life; except for someone who commits suicide, who carried out the act himself and dismissed the Angel of Death from his role. Such people resemble the Angel of Death and perform his function: he takes a soul, and Achitophel took his own soul. Therefore it says, "Let them descend alive into Sheol" - alive, because he was still destined to live, yet he cut short his own days with his own hands. And since he usurped the role of the Angel of Death, Death will come and demand its debt from them. This will be their punishment - "for evils are in their dwelling, within them," for in their dwelling place they constantly plotted evil against me; therefore, Death will exact retribution from them as they deserve.
אֲנִי אֶל אֱלֹהִים אֶקְרָא וַיהֹוָה יוֹשִׁיעֵנִי׃ - As for me, I will call out to God, and Hashem will save me.
How does this verse connect to the preceding one? Ibn Ezra explains: Until "let them descend alive into Sheol" is fulfilled in them, I call out to God and anticipate it - praying constantly until the Holy One, blessed be He, brings His judgment upon them. The Radak explains differently: Here David contrasts himself with his enemies. They come in great numbers, with force, weapons, and an army, and many people rally behind them; but I have nothing - "As for me, I will call out to God," only the Holy One, blessed be He, will save me from their hand. This "only" is immense, but David's point is: I am not like them, relying on the power of flesh and blood; rather, I have God to deliver me.
עֶרֶב וָבֹקֶר וְצׇהֳרַיִם אָשִׂיחָה וְאֶהֱמֶה וַיִּשְׁמַע קוֹלִי׃ - Evening, morning, and noon I supplicate and moan, and He heard my voice.
The Malbim explains that after Achitophel died, David said: Now the Holy One, blessed be He, will surely hear my prayer to rescue me from the war with Avshalom. For as long as Achitophel was alive, David was under severe pressure and deeply troubled; but once Achitophel died, David was confident: The prayers I offer evening, morning, and noon with constant devotion will certainly be accepted.
Rashi explains "Evening, morning, and noon" - these refer to the three daily prayers: Arvit, Shacharit, and Minchah. Why were they divided in this manner? The Radak explains based on Chazal: The close of the preceding day and the beginning of the night - that is evening; the start of the day - morning; and the time when the day is split in two - noon. These are the times for prayer, corresponding to the transitions of the day: from day to night - a time of prayer; from night to day - a time of prayer; from before midday to after midday - a time of prayer. (The common practice to daven Minchah half an hour after midday is a Rabbinic safeguard, because it is difficult to determine the precise moment of midday - one would need to observe the sun at the exact midpoint of the sky, and one could easily err by a few minutes in either direction; therefore, the Sages ruled that one may pray only after half an hour has elapsed, which is Minchah Gedolah.) At all these times of prayer, David says, "I supplicate and moan" before the Holy One, blessed be He. Note that the text reads *vayishma koli* ("and He heard my voice") with a *patach*, whereas one might have expected *veyishma* ("and He will hear") in the future tense; however, these words are spoken through prophecy and ruach hakodesh - I am confident that Hashem will hear my voice, even though this refers to the future.
פָּדָה בְשָׁלוֹם נַפְשִׁי מִקְּרׇב לִי כִּי בְרַבִּים הָיוּ עִמָּדִי׃ - He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle against me, for many were with me.
When an individual is scrutinized on his own, it is like etrogim: when you see them laid out on the merchant's table, they all look beautiful, all bright. But when you pick them up one by one and begin to examine them closely, flaws immediately appear: this one has a spot here, that one a leaf mark there, another has a different blemish. In a broad view, the whole lot looks wonderful, but when examining the details, reality turns out to be less than perfect. This is what David means when he says, "He has redeemed my soul in peace" - why? "For many were with me": I never separated myself from the community; I always joined with the congregation. Therefore, Hashem redeems my soul in peace - for as part of the collective, I am completely fine. But one who removes himself from the community places himself in grave danger.
It is told that Rav Yeruchem of Mir said this to his students - and I believe Rav Chatzkel Levenstein as well - during the time the yeshivah was in Shanghai. There were students who learned in various different places, and he told them to gather specifically in the main beit midrash of the yeshivah and not to study elsewhere. Why? Because we are in a state of danger - after all, the terrors of World War II and the terrible Holocaust were raging, and their survival there was a tremendous miracle and a story in its own right. He said to them: concentrate in one place, and through this we are protected. But when a person separates himself from the community, the Heavenly court comes to examine him: who is he, why does he think he is different from the others, and what are his merits?
This is also the reason a person should not pray alone, for the prayer of an individual brings his sins to remembrance. Why does this person think he does not need the community to pray, and that his prayer will be answered on its own? He is immediately scrutinized. Therefore, one who is forced by circumstance to pray alone must make an immense effort to have proper kavanah - far more than in any ordinary prayer, even if it takes him much longer. Why? Because now the prayer is being examined. It is not like communal prayer, where even if one lacked concentration he has fulfilled his obligation and the prayer of the public is accepted; when you are alone, every prayer is inspected under a magnifying glass. Therefore, one should avoid praying alone unless it is an unavoidable circumstance.
יִשְׁמַע אֵל וְיַעֲנֵם וְיֹשֵׁב קֶדֶם סֶלָה אֲשֶׁר אֵין חֲלִיפוֹת לָמוֹ וְלֹא יָרְאוּ אֱלֹהִים׃ - God shall hear and afflict them - He Who abides from of old, Selah - those who experience no changes and do not fear God.
Rashi explains "God will hear and answer them" - that the Holy One, blessed be He, will hear the prayer of those "many" mentioned in "for many were with me," answer them, and accept their prayer. And what does "who have no changes" mean? Aside from the explanation that they have no share in the World to Come, having no world in exchange (chelef) for this world, Rashi explains: they do not remember that a day will come when they will exchange their life here for another life - Gan Eden or Gehinnom or whatever awaits them. They imagine they will remain here forever and their status will never change. And where does such an attitude come from? "And do not fear God." One who fears God remembers the day of death and knows that he will not remain here forever, and that a stage will arrive when he exchanges one existence for another.
Ibn Ezra explains ve-ya'anem as related to poverty (oni) and impoverishment, with the entire verse referring back to the enemies, those of whom it was said, "for evil is in their dwelling": God will hear what I pray against them and afflict them - He will impoverish them and diminish their standing. "Who have no changes" means that Hashem will reverse their fortune from good to bad, meaning changes in this world, that their condition will be overturned. "And do not fear God" - as Ibn Ezra writes, they do not fear the God Who has the power to overturn their state. A person imagines he will forever remain the wise man, the insightful one, the knowledgeable leader - and then in a brief moment he is gone: in an instant Achitophel is no more, and in an instant Avshalom is gone.
Radak explains ve-ya'anem neither as answering prayer like Rashi nor as literal poverty, but as an expression of subjugation, as in "How long will you refuse to humble yourself (le'anot) before Me?" - which is essentially close to Ibn Ezra's view, since this too derives from the root of ani (poor), as the poor man is humble and subdued. And who will humble and subdue them? "He Who abides from of old" - the Holy One, blessed be He, Who preceded all creation, in Whose hands it is to lower and to raise. And "who have no changes" - according to Radak, this does not refer to the enemies at all, but to the Holy One, blessed be He: the God Who abides from of old, Who has the power to change their situation, is Himself the One in Whom there are no changes; He exists eternally without any change, and lamo ("to them") here means lo ("to Him").
Radak further adds that "no changes" also means that with the Holy One, blessed be He, there is no change of will. A change of will in human beings stems from having had one piece of information at a certain point, and now learning something new, leading to a different decision. But with the Holy One, blessed be He, this is entirely inapplicable - one cannot say that Hashem initially willed one thing and now wills another, for what could have changed? Even though there are verses that state "I have relented" and the like, this is only from the perspective of the human observer, not within the Holy One, blessed be He. With Him there is no change, as there is no scenario of ignorance being replaced by knowledge; He, His knowledge, His will, and His thought are all one. Just as He is immutable, so too His knowledge, thought, and will are unchanging. From here stems David's plea: The Holy One, blessed be He, designated me as king and declared from the outset that I and my descendants after me would reign forever; yet now they come to nullify this and pursue me. And You, Master of the Universe, undergo no changes - what You willed then, You will today. It is therefore fitting that You exact retribution from them and preserve me in my kingdom, for Your original decree has not changed.
Rav Ohayon, cited in Me'am Lo'ez, interprets "who have no changes" as referring to the enemies, like most commentators, but with a specific meaning: there is no hope that they will change from evil to good. As long as there is hope that a person will change, the Holy One, blessed be He, preserves him in this world, and one should wait and hope that things may turn around. But with them, "there are no changes for them" - there is no chance that any of them will change. Therefore, Master of the Universe, subdue them and crush them, so that they have no continuation.
The author of Binah Le'ittim, also cited in Me'am Lo'ez, explains that one of man's advantages over animals is that man continually changes and grows - "and I will give you walking places," man is defined as a "walker" (holech). An animal, by contrast, is static and undergoes no inner change: "a day-old ox is called an ox" - from the moment it is born, no fundamental change occurs. Man is the only creature that takes a long time to mature in intellect and become complete; up to age twenty he is still developing (and some have not matured even after twenty). He is born a helpless infant lying in a cradle like an inanimate stone; if he is not cared for and nursed, he cannot survive, and he possesses no intellect at all. A cat, on the other hand, opens its eyes and begins walking within the first day or two after birth, and the intellect it has at birth is the intellect it will have at death. Man is born lacking understanding, and gradually acquires wisdom and speech and progresses. This is how the verse is explained: "The superiority (motar) of man over the beast is nothingness (ayin)" - the very fact that man is born in a state of nothingness (ayin) is his advantage: the animal is born complete and dies in that same completeness, whereas man begins from nothing, continually climbing and advancing, reaching immense and elevated heights. This is what David is saying: Master of the Universe, these wicked people "experience no changes" - they do not change from one state to another; they remain like beasts in a fixed state. And what causes a person not to change, to remain all his days in the same condition without progress? A lack of the fear of God. One who possesses fear of God is constantly growing and adding; but with them, "they do not fear God," and therefore they undergo no transformation and make no progress, remaining forever fixed in their level and their wickedness.
The Maharit Dushinsky explains "who have no substitutes" (chalifot) as a plea: that the Holy One, blessed be He, should not remove the decree from David's enemies - Achitophel, Doeg, and all those who rose against him - nor commute evil into good. Chazal expounded on the verse in Yeshayahu (43:4), "Therefore I will give people (adam) in your place" - do not read adam (man), but Edom. There was an incident where a snake was about to bite a person; the Jew was spared, and the snake bit an Edomite gentile who was there. The Sage applied this verse to him: the Holy One, blessed be He, saved the Jew and handed over a gentile in his place. David pleads: Master of the Universe, these wicked men - do not give anyone else in their stead; do not let some Edomite die in their place. They are not worthy of this, they have not repented, and the fear of Hashem is not before their eyes. A situation where one is exchanged for another is called chalifin; therefore, "they have no substitutes" - let them bear their punishment themselves.
As is known, Sefer Chasidim mentions that if someone is ill, Heaven forbid, there is an approach to sell the illness to a non-Jew: to go to a non-Jew, inform him that there is a sick person, and buy the illness from him for payment. It is written that there is benefit in this, although it is unclear how much this helps in recent generations, and some do this without it necessarily helping. In Mishnat HaChalomot, an incident is recounted where it did help: a person fell ill with the dreaded disease, and a very severe tumor was discovered. He went to the Baba Sali, and the Baba Sali made Havdalah in the middle of the week - an entire story - and instructed to sell the illness to a non-Jew. Afterward, the doctors examined him and said there was nothing there, and the tumor had completely disappeared. But there it was the Baba Sali; the one who sealed the deal in Heaven had tremendous influence on High, and one cannot infer from this that it works in every case.
In any case, we see that there is a concept of chalifot, where someone comes in place of another. For example, at the time of the Splitting of the Red Sea, the Satan prosecuted, and what did the Holy One, blessed be He, do to quiet him? He handed Iyov over to him, and the Satan occupied himself with Iyov and left us alone. In Mishnat HaGilgulim, the deeper connection is explained: what was Iyov's fault if the Satan was idle, that he should be tossed a bone so as not to bother us? According to the esoteric concept of reincarnation (gilgul), the matter is well understood, though this is not the place to elaborate. At all events, this was David's plea: Master of the Universe, let there be no substitutes for them - let no one take their punishment in their stead, but let them bear their own retribution.
In this section, David turns from Avshalom to Achitophel - "But it was you, a man my equal, my guide and my familiar friend" - the companion with whom he took sweet counsel and walked to the house of God, who then rose against him. The Malbim reveals that in that very "counsel" they had discussed what to do in a time of rebellion; and homiletically, he presents the verses as the words of the Angel of Death to Achitophel, who took his own life and descended alive into Sheol, with death demanding its due from him. Facing the wickedness within their midst, David stands armed with the power of prayer alone: "As for me, I will call upon God," evening, morning, and noon with perseverance, and through the power of the community - "for with many were they with me," since one who separates himself from the congregation is scrutinized under a magnifying glass. Finally, "Who have no changes and do not fear God": there are those whose status never changes and who have no hope of transforming, because they lack the fear of God - whereas the Holy One, blessed be He, Who sits enthroned of old, is the One with Whom there is no change, and His will and thought endure forever.