Chapter 56 was composed during one of the most difficult periods in David's life: his flight from Shaul beyond the borders of the Land of Israel, to Achish king of Gath. David finds himself among his enemies, far from home, with nothing to cling to except trust in the Holy One, blessed be He. Out of this distress was born a psalm that is entirely a declaration: even on the very day of fear - "I will trust in You."
לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל יוֹנַת אֵלֶם רְחֹקִים לְדָוִד מִכְתָּם בֶּאֱחֹז אוֹתוֹ פְלִשְׁתִּים בְּגַת - For the Conductor, on Yonat Elem Rechokim, of David, a Michtam, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
Rashi explains that David spoke these words about himself: he was far from the Land of Israel, staying with Achish king of Gath, and Goliath's brothers asked Achish for permission to kill him, as it says, "Is this not David, king of the land?" Amid all of this, David was like a silent dove. This is "on Yonat Elem Rechokim" - David, who was like a silent dove in distant places.
It is worth recalling the event itself, as related in I Samuel chapter 21: "And David arose and fled on that day from Shaul, and came to Achish king of Gath." This occurred when Shaul was pursuing him, forcing him to flee outside the Land. "And the servants of Achish said to him: Is this not David, king of the land? Is it not for this one that they sang in dances, saying, 'Shaul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?" That is to say: Did he come here for a diplomatic visit? This is David, one of Shaul's greatest warriors, and he surely came to spy! "And David took these words to heart and feared Achish king of Gath greatly" - he realized that he was already in their power, and they could harm him.
What did David do? "And he disguised his sanity in their eyes, and feigned madness in their hands, scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva run down onto his beard." He acted like a madman, drooling from his mouth down his beard, and scribbling on the gate doors. And so Achish said to his servants: "Behold, you see a madman, why would you bring him to me? Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this one to rave before me? Shall this one come into my house?" From this David was saved; they sent him on his way, realizing there was nothing to fear from him. It is also related that Achish's own wife and daughter were insane, which is why he said, "Do I lack madmen?" - I have enough of them at home, I do not need a personal import of more madmen from the outside.
Regarding this, David offers praise and says "Yonat Elem" - that he was among them like a silent dove, and he was in a distant place, "Rechokim." The Radak likewise explains that this psalm was composed concerning that episode, when David fled from Shaul to Achish king of Gath, which is "when the Philistines seized him in Gath" - that the Philistines intended to seize him and put him to death. And he called himself "Yonat Elem" because he was like a mute among them, since he could not speak normally but only like a madman, and the babble of an insane person is akin to muteness. The Radak offers another possibility: he called himself a silent dove because he made himself appear senseless, like a dove, as written in Hoshea: "Like a silly dove without understanding" - a dove is easily enticed without sense, knowingly walking right into the snare, which is why it is called "silly" (potah), from the root of simplicity and naivety.
What is a "Michtam"? The Ibn Ezra, and likewise the Metzudat David based on his words, explains that this psalm was as precious to him as ketem paz - fine, exceedingly valuable gold. Others say it is the name of a musical instrument. The Malbim explains that "Yonat Elem" is a musical instrument; as we have seen in many psalms - "Gittith" and the like - these are musical instruments upon which they were accustomed to play the psalm, and the psalm was named after them, signifying that this psalm was played on that instrument.
The Gemara in Sotah (10b) expounds this verse in reference to the story of Tamar. It is written there, "She was brought forth (hi mutzet)," and the Gemara asks: It should have said mitotzet (being taken out to be burned), so why does it say mutzet (which also connotes being found)? Rabbi Elazar said: After her tokens were found, Samael came and cast them far away, and Gabriel came and brought them near. That is to say, the tokens had already been found, but when she wanted to say, "Recognize, please," they suddenly vanished. She searched everywhere and could not find them, because Samael had distanced them. And why? Because he knew that if he distanced them and Yehudah burned Tamar, then Peretz and Zerach would be burned with her, and the Davidic dynasty would be destroyed: there would be no King Mashiach, no "And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esav," and no "He will destroy death forever." The Satan fought with all his might against the Kingdom of the House of David and King Mashiach. Then the Holy One, blessed be He, sent Gabriel, who brought the tokens near, and she said to him, "Recognize, please."
Concerning this, the Gemara states that our verse says, "For the conductor, upon Yonat Elem Rechokim, of David, a Michtam." Rabbi Yochanan said: At the moment her signs were distanced, she became like a mute dove - until that moment she had an argument, "Please recognize," and suddenly she lost the ability to speak.
"Of David, a Michtam" - that from her descended David, who was modest and wholehearted (mach and tam) to all. And what does mach and tam mean? Rashi explains: humble and meek, and wholesome in his ways. Furthermore, the Gemara expounds: Michtam - that his incision was complete, meaning he was born circumcised. Another explanation: Michtam is an expression of self-diminution - just as in his youth he humbled himself before those greater than him to learn Torah, so too in his greatness; just as he was before he became king, so was he after he reigned. And as Rashi phrases it: Michtam - that his humility remained intact from his beginning to his end; his humility was neither diminished nor changed. That is to say, he was always wholehearted, his very essence was wholesome, and he was always humble.
חׇנֵּנִי אֱלֹהִים כִּי שְׁאָפַנִי אֱנוֹשׁ כׇּל הַיּוֹם לֹחֵם יִלְחָצֵנִי - Be gracious to me, O God, for man pants after me; all day long an attacker oppresses me.
The Radak explains: "For man pants after me" - this refers to Achish and his servants, who gaze at me with hostility, scrutinizing my steps and assuming my intentions are wicked, believing I am a spy who must be imprisoned. "All day long an attacker oppresses me" - this refers to Saul, who wages war against me all day long until he forced me to leave the land; "oppresses me" refers to the pressure that brought him to the point where he was forced to flee to Achish, king of Gath.
The Malbim, on the other hand, applies both parts of the verse to Saul. "For man pants after me" - Saul desires all day to swallow me up; "and all day long an attacker oppresses me" - he brings his warriors to pursue me, forcing me to flee. And as for the term "sha'afani": one who inhales gasps for air; likewise, someone who seeks to swallow his fellow is described as "sha'afani" - he pants to consume me.
שָׁאֲפוּ שׁוֹרְרַי כׇּל הַיּוֹם כִּי רַבִּים לֹחֲמִים לִי מָרוֹם - My watchful foes pant all day long, for many fight against me, O Exalted One.
What is the meaning of "shorerai"? It is related to vision, as in "I see it, but not now; I behold it (ashurenu), but not near," and as in "daughters tread upon the wall (shur)." A wall is called a shur because from the ramparts they would stand and look out into the distance. Thus, "shorerai" are people who look at me with hostility, gazing upon me with malice. And this is the meaning of "My watchful foes pant all day long": those who gaze upon me with malice pant to swallow me up all day - both from Israel, meaning Saul and his men, and from the nations of the world, as he is currently in the presence of Achish, king of Gath.
"For many fight against me, O Exalted One" - "Marom" (Exalted One) refers to the Holy One, blessed be He. The Radak explains: You on high see how many are fighting against me and have driven me out of the Land of Israel. As it were, David says: My watchful foes pant all day, for many fight against me; Master of the Universe - look and see how many fight against me and seek to take my life.
The Malbim offers a remarkable and original explanation here. "My watchful foes pant all day long" - they pant and eagerly wait to pursue me, and they are the ones who say, "Many fight against me from on high": many are waging battle against David from Heaven above. In other words, they claim that the very fact that he is pursued is a clear sign that he has been rejected by Heaven, and that it is from on high that they fight against him.
This was the consistent habit of David's enemies, as we have already explained: they always sought to fabricate accusations against him, thereby easing their own conscience. After all, it is far easier to hate a wicked person, a sinner, someone whom the Holy One, Blessed be He, detests - this aligns neatly with one's agenda and quietens the conscience - than to hate a person whom the Holy One, Blessed be He, loves. Therefore, they constantly sought to find wickedness in him and concoct slanders against him. When the episode of Batsheva occurred - as we discussed - they viewed it as a gift from Heaven: here were facts on the ground; this was precisely what we have been saying all along, that David is wicked! Consequently, they felt legitimized in persecuting and killing him, for Heaven itself was persecuting him, so to speak.
Yet this was a lie, and David demonstrates this from his own words: "Man pants after me" - mortal man! Not the Master of the Universe, and not from On High. Those pursuing me are mere human beings, and it does not stem from Him, blessed be He.
In connection with this, it is worth examining the question of whether an agent of free will has the power to harm a person if it was not decreed upon him. This subject is the focus of a major dispute. Many maintain that he does - a person endowed with free will can indeed cause harm even to someone for whom it was not decreed, and this is the view of the Radak, the holy Or HaChaim, and others. On the other hand, the prevailing tradition taught among us is otherwise, as expressed by Rabbi Yisrael Salanter - and some say this originates with the Vilna Gaon - that an agent of free will can never harm someone unless it was decreed upon him: no person can touch what is designated for his fellow even by a hairsbreadth, notwithstanding his free choice. Free choice pertains to the realm between man and God; but between man and his fellow, if one chooses to harm someone and it was not decreed from Above, he will be unable to inflict that harm.
Indeed, a person's free choice is limited in many respects. Can one simply choose to be rich? Many have chosen to be, yet it did not turn out as planned. You think you are choosing, but that is not always the case. Not everything is subject to your choice: you did not choose your parents, nor your intellect, and so forth. And according to what King David says here - that they claim he is being pursued from On High, when in reality this is not so and it stems solely from them - the words align more closely with the opinion that an agent of free will does possess the power to harm someone even if it was not decreed upon him.
יוֹם אִירָא אֲנִי אֵלֶיךָ אֶבְטָח - On the day I fear, I trust in You.
"On the day I fear" - on the day I am anxious and afraid, "I trust in You." Radak explains: In You I trust, similar to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart," where "el" carries the meaning of "al" (in/upon). Malbim explains: I am confident and know that help will be sent to me from On High, and I have no doubt that the Holy One, Blessed be He, will save me. This trust rests upon two premises, which we will see in the next verse.
It is worth mentioning the wonderful explanation of the Ya'avetz: Many unlearned people feign piety, declaring that their trust is in God - using poetic phrasing - meaning they present themselves as righteous and boast that they trust in Hashem and that the Holy One, Blessed be He, will help them; "yet on the day of their distress, they strive to save themselves through natural means." The moment they encounter a problem, they immediately start making phone calls: to this one and that one, wondering if there is a cousin, or a third cousin married to someone's sister, hoping that salvation might come from there. If you ask them, "Is there not Someone running the world?" they will answer that one must make an effort (hishtadlut). And where did all the trust go? It all evaporated the moment it collided with reality. David says: With me, that is not the case. "On the day I fear" - precisely on the day when I am engulfed in fear, "I trust in You."
Similarly, the Chazon Ish remarks on the person who constantly extols the praises of trust in God - why? Because his livelihood is thriving and everything is running smoothly. But as soon as a competitor opens across the street, you immediately see him making every effort to ruin him, boycott him, oppose him, and badmouth him to people. Where is the trust you spoke of? When things are good, it takes no special wisdom to trust; when faced with trials and adversity, that is when you must prove your trust. This is the meaning of "On the day I fear, I trust in You," and this represents true, complete trust.
בֵּאלֹהִים אֲהַלֵּל דְּבָרוֹ בֵּאלֹהִים בָּטַחְתִּי לֹא אִירָא מַה יַּעֲשֶׂה בָשָׂר לִי - In God I will praise His word; in God I have trusted, I will not fear: what can flesh do to me?
Rashi explains: Even when He deals with me through the Attribute of Justice, I will praise the word of the Holy One, Blessed be He - meaning, I will trust in Him. Radak explains first that the letter beit of "b'Elohim" relates back to "I will trust" in the previous verse, and the Malbim agrees - the two verses should be connected: "On the day I fear, I will trust in You, in God"; I will trust in God, Whose word I praise.
And what is "His word" that David praises? Radak explains, and the Malbim follows him: I possess the word of Hashem spoken to me through Shmuel, for Shmuel informed me that I would be king. Therefore, I trust in that statement: I am confident that Hashem will fulfill what He promised me then. Even though I am currently in exile and pursued, I nevertheless trust in Him and do not fear what flesh and blood can do to me, for I hold a promise from Hashem that I will reign as king.
The Malbim adds that there are two reasons why David is not afraid. The first - the promise of kingship given to him through Shmuel. And the second - "in God have I trusted, I will not fear": by the very virtue of my trusting in Hashem, it is entirely fitting that He save me, for Hashem saves all who take refuge in Him. Even without having a personal promise that I, David, would be king - I still hold a general promise inherent in the reality that Hashem saves all who take refuge in Him. Therefore, "I will not fear what flesh can do to me" - I do not fear what flesh and blood could do against the will of Hashem: first, I have a promise; and second, I take refuge in Hashem.
We have previously cited the Vilna Gaon's commentary on the verse, "It is better to take refuge in Hashem than to trust in man." What is the difference between "one who trusts" and "one who takes refuge"? The Vilna Gaon explains: Bote'ach (trusting) stems from the concept of havtachah (a promise) - I trust someone because he gave me a promise. "Taking refuge," on the other hand - note how this is used even in spoken Hebrew: during a missile attack, one runs to take shelter in the shadow of a building; did the building promise anything? "Taking refuge" means sheltering under something, as in "in the shadow of Your wings I take refuge" - no promise was made to me, yet I place myself under His protection.
According to this: the Holy One, Blessed be He, saves all who take refuge in Him, and even had I received no promise, the very fact that I cast my burden upon Hashem and say, "Master of the Universe, You will save me" - that in itself is already salvation. And this is greater than the promise of flesh and blood: it is better to take refuge in Hashem without any explicit promise than to trust in benefactors - where the wealthy benefactor assures you that there is nothing to worry about and that he will cover the costs. With the Holy One, Blessed be He, even without a specific promise, it is better to take refuge in Him than to rely on the promises of princes. Thus David says, "I will not fear what flesh can do to me" - what can flesh and blood do to me when I hold these two distinct advantages: both the word of God that I will be king, and the fact that I trust in Him and take refuge in Him?
The psalm was composed concerning David's flight to Achish, king of Gat, when he was far from his homeland and mute as a dove, feigning madness to save his life. Chazal also expounded "Yonat elem" as an allusion to Tamar, who became like a silent dove when her signs were taken far away; yet from her descended David, "mach va'tam" - humble, meek, and pure in his ways, whose humility remained unchanged from his beginning to his end. In the body of the psalm, David portrays his pursuers who pant to swallow him up, and in the Malbim's novel reading - they even claim that Heaven is fighting against him, yet David replies that the pursuers are merely mortal man (enosh), not from on High. Standing opposite all this is the great proclamation: "On the day I fear, I will trust in You" - not trust felt during times of ease, but trust precisely in the moment of fear; resting on two pillars: the word of Hashem promising him kingship through Shmuel, and taking shelter in the shadow of Hashem Who saves all who take refuge in Him - "I will not fear what flesh can do to me."