In this part of the psalm, King David describes his dominion over the surrounding enemies of Israel - Moab, Edom, and Philistia - and from this arrives at the realization that everything is solely through the salvation of Hashem. The psalm concludes with a plea for the future: that Hashem help us in every trouble, for "vain is human help," and only "through God shall we do valiantly."
מוֹאָב סִיר רַחְצִי עַל־אֱדוֹם אַשְׁלִיךְ נַעֲלִי עָלַי פְּלֶשֶׁת הִתְרוֹעָעִי׃ - "Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I will cast my shoe; over me, Philistia, shout aloud."
Rashi explains: "Moab is my washbasin" - I will use Moab like a copper basin in which one washes. "Upon Edom I will cast my shoe [na'ali]" - na'ali is related to man'ulai (locks), meaning that Edom will be locked and subjugated under my hand. The Radak interprets "shoe" differently: they will be trodden under my feet, as it is written, "And he smote Moab... and Moab became servants to David," and regarding Edom it is written, "and all the Edomites became David's servants." The Radak adds that Aram is also included in this, even though it is not explicitly mentioned here, since the war was also against Aram.
The Radak explains the imagery of the pot: Moab will be a vessel for my personal use; I will do with them as I wish. Why specifically a "washbasin" and not just an ordinary pot? Because there is a pot used for cooking food, and that is not what David is speaking of. A "washpot" is a vessel filled with water to wash dishes, and this wastewater is degraded - one pours into it the dirty water of human use. This is the metaphor: a base vessel used according to its owner's will.
Rashi explains "over me, Philistia, shout aloud [hitro'a'i]" - join yourself under my dominion, so that all become subjugated to me. For Gath was part of the land of the Philistines, and King David conquered them. Hitro'a'i stems from the root of re'im (friends or companions); to associate or join together, as in "beloved companions" (re'im ahuvim).
Here it is worth noting an idea often explained: the expressions ra (bad or broken) and rea (friend) seem to be utter opposites. Ra is negative and bad, whereas lehitro'a'e and rea mean a friend or companion. How can the same root letters carry such contradictory meanings? The answer is that these are not two disparate meanings, but a single concept that fits both. In Tanach, ra usually does not mean "evil" in the contemporary sense, but rather stems from ra'u'a, meaning shaky, fragile, or broken down. As Chazal say regarding the month of Av, "rei'a mazlei" - its fortune is not strong; it is shaky, the opposite of sound. Similarly, the Gemara refers to a pit covering that was "ra," meaning unstable or decayed. This is also the deeper meaning of friendship: to truly have a rea (a close friend), you must loosen and weaken (lero'e'a) your other casual ties, and only then can you forge a genuine companion.
If someone says: "My best friend is Reuven, and also Shimon, and Levi, and Yehudah" - none of them is truly your friend. If you want a real friend, you must loosen the bonds with all the others, and only then will you cultivate true companionship with one. Heaven forbid, this does not mean treating others badly, but rather loosening in the sense of deprioritizing and weakening peripheral ties. This is what we recite under the chuppah: "Gladden the beloved companions." When a couple marries, this is their task - to loosen external ties, and thereby tighten the bond between husband and wife. Otherwise, if the wife constantly goes out here and there with friends, the husband feels: "Whom did I marry?" Or conversely, if the husband constantly runs around with friends, why did he get married? One must loosen other ties in order to have a true rea - to have a soulmate in one's own home.
Concerning this, the Sages noted the contrast between matza ("found") and motze ("finds"). "He who has found [matza] a wife has found good," versus "And I find [umotze] more bitter than death the woman." Why is the ongoing present tense motze "more bitter than death"? Because he keeps having to "find" her anew: now she is returning from the mall, now from somewhere else - every day he has to locate her again. But matza reflects a past and settled state - he found her once, his wife is rooted in his home, the house runs smoothly, and everything is wonderful.
Metzudat David interprets hitro'a'i from the root of teru'ah (a royal blast or cheer): for my sake the Philistines will sound a royal blast, and this will be on my behalf - as if they will cheer when I reign, like an evil angel who is forced to answer "Amen" against his will.
The Radak adds two additional interpretations, "by way of hyperbole or by way of mockery." Although he does not explicitly define the word, it is clear from his remarks that he interprets hitro'a'i from the root of re'ua (breaking or shattering) - that Philistia came to break me. At first glance this seems difficult, for David is coming here to say the exact opposite: how he dominates them, not how they dominate him. Therefore, he explains: by way of hyperbole, meaning an exaggeration or daring taunt, like "Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart" - do whatever you want, and see what happens in the end. So too here: "Against me, Philistia, break yourself" - come if you wish, come and fight me, and see what your end will be. He does not genuinely mean for them to come; rather, it is a taunt showing what will happen to whoever does come.
The second possibility is by way of mockery. Since David subjugated them, as it is written, "David struck the Philistines and subdued them," he reminds them: Do you remember how you rose up against me to break me? Look where you are today, subjugated beneath me. This is precisely what David says in Psalm 108, which is something of a duplicate of our psalm, as the Malbim notes, containing identical matters and the same progression. There it says, "Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I will cast my shoe; over Philistia I will shout in triumph." The Radak explains: she sought to break [me] at first - initially Philistia sought to break David, and now I will break over her, meaning I will shatter her and make her broken and ruined.
The Malbim interprets "Moab is my washbasin" like the Radak - that they will be servants to me and I will use them like a washing vessel - but he clarifies why this specific imagery was chosen. The Gemara asks by what action a slave is established as a slave, meaning, how is it demonstrated that someone who bought a slave has indeed acquired him: by removing his master's shoes and carrying his items to the bathhouse. Through these two acts, he proves that he is subjugated to his master. Therefore, halachah states that one should not initially tell a fellow Jew to perform these tasks for him, as by doing so he treats him like a slave. And this is our point: Moab will serve for washing, and "upon Edom I will cast my shoe" - a sign that he will be a servant to me, as if saying to him: Remove my shoe. Both expressions convey that they will be subjugated servants under his hand.
By contrast, the Malbim interprets "over me, Philistia, shout in acclaim" from the language of connection and friendship (re'ut). Why did he use a different expression for Philistia than for Edom? Because David did not subjugate Philistia to become his servants, but merely ensured that they would not fight him; therefore, regarding them, an expression of companionship or allied shouting is more fitting. But Edom he completely subjugated into servitude, which is why he used images of a slave's duties - "my washbasin" and "I will cast my shoe."
מִי יֹבִלֵנִי עִיר מָצוֹר מִי נָחַנִי עַד־אֱדוֹם׃ - Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who has guided me to Edom?
Rashi explains "fortified city" (ir matzor) as a stronghold city, referring to the conquest of Bozrah, which is among the mountains of Edom that we mentioned. If You, Master of the Universe, do not help me, who will bring me to them, who will guide me there, and who will assist me in conquering them?
The Malbim explains that David brings proof here that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not abandon them even at the very beginning. For at the beginning of the psalm, his complaint was: "O God, You have forsaken us, You have breached us, You were angry; restore us!" And now he says: What you saw, that the enemy conquered Shechem and the Valley of Succoth, was actually for our benefit, for through this, Edom, Philistia, and Moab all fell into our hands as well. It turns out that Hashem's allowing them to conquer initially was for our good. To us it appeared as though Hashem had forsaken us, but in truth, the Holy One, blessed be He, orchestrated a reality through which we gained far more.
This is comparable to Sennacherib. When he came to lay siege to Jerusalem, he first went to fight against Egypt, even though he was told there were issues with Jerusalem, because he had a more pressing war there. But in truth, the Holy One, blessed be He, sent him there: he conquered Egypt and took vast amounts of silver and gold from there, and arrived to besiege Jerusalem confident that he would take it with ease. As he mocked through Rabshakeh and his associates: Even if I gave you horses, you do not have riders to put on them - look how dire your situation is. And then an angel of Hashem went out and smote Sennacherib and his entire army that night, and nothing remained of them except Sennacherib and his sons. Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, performed a kindness for Israel by sending him first to Egypt, for when they all fell as dead corpses at the entrance of Jerusalem, they fell with all the spoils they had brought from Egypt.
So too here: outwardly it appeared that the onslaught of enemies against us was a tragedy, but it came only so that afterward we would conquer Moab, Edom, and Philistia. For David says: How could I have reached the fortified city? How did I conquer Bozrah, an enclosed city surrounded by walls? "Who has guided me to Edom?" - through natural means I could never have reached there; all of this was solely through Hashem's salvation.
The Malbim notes the distinction between yovileni ("will bring me") and nachani ("guided me"). Nachani refers to guidance for someone walking on his own feet, like a guide dog guiding a blind person where to go - it guides him, yet he walks on his own. But le'hovil ("to transport" or "to carry") means to carry upon oneself, like a truck carrying gravel or transporting another vehicle: the vehicle rests upon it, and the truck travels while the vehicle arrives by virtue of it. The Malbim adds that the term hovalah is usually used for inanimate objects rather than people and living creatures, as in "Kings will bring (yovilu) presents to You" - they carry and bring gifts.
Accordingly: "Who has guided me to Edom" - to Edom they marched on foot, and Hashem guided them along the way. But "Who will bring me to the fortified city" - to the fortress city, to Bozrah, there Hashem, as it were, carried us on His shoulders. For the more impossible a conquest is by natural means, the clearer it becomes that Hashem was the One carrying me. Naturally I could not have done it, and Hashem did it. In the conquest of Edom we were still walking on our own and needed help and guidance, but in the fortified city I needed someone to lift me up - and Hashem elevated me, lifted me, and brought me to the fortified city.
הֲלֹא־אַתָּה אֱלֹהִים זְנַחְתָּנוּ וְלֹא־תֵצֵא אֱלֹהִים בְּצִבְאוֹתֵינוּ׃ - Is it not You, O God, Who has forsaken us, and do not go forth, O God, with our armies?
At first glance, this verse appears to contradict the preceding ones: just now you said, "Who will lead me to the fortified city? Who will guide me to Edom?", and prior to that you praised, "Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I will cast my shoe" - all through the kindness of Hashem upon you, so how can you now say, "Is it not You, O God, Who has forsaken us?" The Radak explains that these words refer back to what occurred earlier: it is You Who previously abandoned us, when the enemies initially prevailed over us and You did not go forth with our armies - but now that You have favored us, You have delivered them all into our hands. For from where did we have the strength to conquer the enemies if not that You delivered them into our hands? We are few and they are many, and without Your help, we would not have been able to prevail.
הָבָה־לָּנוּ עֶזְרָת מִצָּר וְשָׁוְא תְּשׁוּעַת אָדָם׃ - Grant us help from the adversary, for the deliverance of man is futile.
Just as You have helped us until now, so may You help us in the future from every trouble that might arise and befall us. There is no salvation other than the salvation of Hashem alone, for upon whom can you rely - upon flesh and blood to deliver you? "For the deliverance of man is futile" - human salvation is vanity; it has no substance and no true benefit.
The Radak asks: it should have said "Havah lanu ezrah mitzar"; why does it say "ezrat"? He answers that one should not be surprised, for "ezrat" here is like "ezrah" with a hei, and sometimes the letter tav appears even where there is no construct state. For example, "Ozi vezimrat Yah", which is not in a construct state - what is "zimrat Yah"? And so with many examples. At the beginning of the next chapter, Radak cites additional examples: "makat bilti sarah" - where it should have said makkah; "chochmat vada'at" - meaning chochmah vada'at; "rabbat taasherennah" - meaning rabbah taasherennah. And so many others. Here too, "ezrat mitzar" is as though it were written "ezrah mitzar".
בֵּאלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה־חָיִל וְהוּא יָבוּס צָרֵינוּ׃ - Through God we shall do valiantly, and He will trample down our adversaries.
"Through God we shall do valiantly" - not by having a large army, but through God. "And He will trample down our adversaries" - do not think that you accomplished anything; rather, the One Who tramples our foes is the Holy One, blessed be He. "Yavus" is an expression of trampling, like one who wades through mud, treading it down, and so He will tread down and trample our foes - He and not us, and everything is solely through His power, blessed be He.
The Ibn Ezra explains that this is a supplication for the future, and David prophesies through Ruach HaKodesh that in the end he will triumph: "Through God we shall do valiantly, and He will trample down our adversaries" - that the Holy One, blessed be He, will assist us so that the kingdom remains firmly in our hands and we prevail over all our enemies.
The Midrash states regarding this verse: When the Jewish people do the will of the Omnipresent, they add strength to the Heavenly power - "Through God we shall perform valiantly"; and when Israel does not do the will of the Omnipresent, they, as it were, weaken the great Heavenly power - "You neglected [weakened] the Rock that begot you." This Midrash could not be understood were it not for the teachings of the Kabbalists, for it seemingly says the exact opposite of what we understood on a simple level. We understood: when we perform valiantly, it is through God, from the power of Hashem.
However, the Midrash bases its statement on a difficulty in the verse. It should have said, "From God we shall perform valiantly" - that from Him we achieve valor. Yet "Through God [literally: in God] we shall perform valiantly" implies that we effect valor in God, as if we give Him strength. But does Hashem need strength from you? Therefore, the Midrash explains: literally - the Jewish people, when they fulfill the will of the Omnipresent, add strength to the Heavenly power, as it were adding strength to Hashem.
The Nefesh HaChaim elaborates on this at length, as discussed in lessons on the Nefesh HaChaim. There is an aspect of "Ascribe strength to God": through our deeds, we impart strength to the Divine Might, strength to the Shechinah, strength to Hashem, blessed be He. Yet heaven forbid that one mistakenly think Hashem needs strength from us, for that would imply His Godliness is flawed or lacking. Such an idea is also completely illogical: it is impossible that someone could create something possessing more power than himself to the point that he would require its assistance. Could one possibly create something that does not exist within oneself? Could the Holy One, blessed be He, create creatures and then depend on them? The very thought of such a thing is flawed and distorted.
Rather, this is the reality: the Holy One, blessed be He, created Sefirot, and into them He channeled His light - the Four-Letter Name (Havayah), which bestows and illuminates all the Sefirot. Divine abundance descends to the world through the Sefirot, through the four worlds of ABYA: Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, and through the Sefirot: Keter, Chochmah, Binah, Chessed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut. The light of these Sefirot is affected by our actions: when we fulfill mitzvot, this is an aspect of raising Mayin Nukvin (feminine waters) - which can simply be defined as bestowing abundance into the Sefirot through our mitzvot and good deeds. When the light of the Sefirot shines forth, higher unifications occur, and through this, Mayin Dechurin (masculine waters) descend, which is the abundance flowing down to our world.
When the Jewish people commit sins, they cause a disruption throughout the entire system. Just as when a person eats something harmful and suffers from an upset stomach, so too, by distinction: instead of funneling holiness into the Sefirot, the opposite occurs. Holes are formed in the channels of divine flow, and the abundance does not descend here; rather, "a maidservant dispossesses her mistress" - the abundance falls into the kelipot, the forces of impurity. Thus, man can impart strength "in God" - not in His Divine Essence (Atzmut), for His Essence is entirely beyond the Sefirot and cannot be designated by any name, and everything we speak of applies only after the Tzimtzum (contraction) - but within the Sefirot.
And measure for measure in reverse: "You weakened the Rock that begot you" - you made the Rock that birthed you weary; you weakened His power. How so? Through the sins you committed, you created a disruption in the upper Sefirot, and thereby, as it were, His power to bestow abundance downward was weakened. This is what Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin explains regarding the Mishnah, "Know what is above you": know that everything that happens above is from you - you determine it. You decide whether abundance will descend or not, whether there will be good or not; it is all from you.
Thus, "Through God [in Elohim] we shall perform valiantly": when you fulfill mitzvot and do the will of Hashem, you, as it were, add power to the Heavenly realm - "Ascribe strength to God" - "and He will tread down our adversaries." Notice that it does not say, "Through Hashem [in Havayah] we shall perform valiantly," for regarding His Divine Essence, one cannot speak of performing valiantly; is He lacking in any way? But Elohim denotes powers. What do we intend when we say Elohim? "The Mighty, Possessor of ability and Master of all powers." Indeed, the name Elohim is wondrous: there is no multiplicity in Godliness, so why use Elohim in a plural form rather than El? Heaven forbid that this implies multiplicity - "Hashem our God, Hashem is One" - rather, it means the Master of all powers, for all powers without exception stem from Him. Therefore, "In Elohim we shall perform valiantly" means: in those powers, which are the Sefirot, in them we perform valiantly - we infuse them with strength and power to bestow goodness upon the world through the good deeds we perform.
The Tehillot Maharith points out a difficulty: at first David says, "Grant us help from the adversary (mitzar)" in the singular, and then, "and He will tread down our adversaries (tzareinu)" in the plural. Make up your mind - do you have one adversary or many adversaries? If there are many, it should have said, "Grant us help from our adversaries."
His answer is sweeter than honey. A person's reality is not determined by external physics, but by spirituality; it is the spiritual that influences reality. Do you want to know what kills? It is not the wild beast that kills, but sin that kills. Do you want to know what brings success and what brings failure? What creates change in the world are spiritual factors alone, while material factors have no ultimate significance. One might say, "He died in a car accident." Did he truly die from a car accident? His fate was already sealed on Rosh Hashanah, when it was decreed for him - whether because he committed certain sins and death was decreed upon him, or because he had completed his spiritual rectification. Everything occurs in the spiritual realms, and what we perceive as physical events is merely the outcome of what was decreed in the upper worlds.
If so, when troubles come, where do they originate? From the tormenting adversary (tzar), which is the evil inclination (yetzer hara). Troubles arise because a person commits sins, and unless one overcomes the evil inclination, troubles remain tethered to it: everything begins with it, and everything ends with it. And how does one conquer the evil inclination? "Were it not that the Holy One, blessed be He, helps him, he could not overcome it" - without Hashem's assistance, there is no chance of subduing it. Thus, whenever trouble befalls a person, what should he pray for? "Master of the Universe, help me conquer the yetzer hara, and then all external troubles will collapse on their own."
This is what David means when he says: "Grant us help from the adversary" - who is the adversary? The tormenting foe, the evil inclination, which is at the center and from which everything begins. "For human deliverance is futile" - man cannot fight against it on his own, as stated, "Were it not that the Holy One, blessed be He, helps him, he could not overcome it," and only You, Hashem, can help us. Through this, "Through God we shall perform valiantly" - we will be able to fulfill Hashem's commandments, and consequently, "and He will tread down our adversaries": all external foes and troubles will be trampled and fall away on their own, for everything depends on that primary adversary, the evil inclination. If You help us against it, the battle is already won, and no weapon forged against us will ever prevail, Amen and Amen.
In this section, David describes the subjugation of Moav, Edom, and Philistia under his hand - Moav as a washbasin, Edom as a servant removing shoes, and Philistia allying or submitting - and immediately declares that all of this is solely through Hashem's salvation: "Who will bring me to the fortified city?", where Hashem carried us on His shoulders, and "Who has led me to Edom?", where He guided us on our way. From this, David learned that even what initially appeared as abandonment and a breach was for our good, just as Hashem redirected Sancheriv to Egypt so that he would fall with all his spoils. From this stems the prayer for the future: "Grant us help against the foe, for human salvation is futile" - salvation is only from Hashem; "Through God we will do valiantly" - that through our good deeds we add strength to the Heavenly retinue, while through sins we, as it were, weaken the power of divine influence from flowing; and according to the Maharitz, the true adversary is the yetzer hara, and once Hashem helps us defeat it, then automatically "and He will tread down our foes."