לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל־נְגִינַת לְדָוִד׃ - For the conductor, on a stringed instrument, of David.
Radak comments on the wording "neginat": even though the word is vocalized with a patach, this is not a construct form, and it is as if it were written "al neginah leDavid" (on a musical instrument, by David). He cites additional examples of this phenomenon in Biblical Hebrew: "makat bilti sarah" (an unrelenting blow), "chochmat vada'at" (wisdom and knowledge, where grammar might suggest "chochmah vada'at"), "rabbat sav'ah lah nafshenu" (our soul is sated to the full), and similar verses. And what is "neginat"? Metzudat Tziyon explains: the name of a musical instrument.
When was this psalm recited? Radak offers two possibilities: either David recited it when he was in exile and fleeing from Shaul, or he composed it regarding the exile in general. Midrash Shocher Tov explains similarly, that the psalm was said concerning the Congregation of Israel in her exile.
The Malbim explains that in this psalm, King David's heart overflowed with a good matter: to pray concerning both situations he experienced. The first situation was the days of his poverty and affliction, when he was hunted among the rocks of the wild goats fleeing from Shaul. The second situation was the days of his success, when he sat upon the royal throne. In both situations alike, his aspiration and request remained one: to dwell continually in the House of Hashem and serve Him, as he stated in Psalm 27: "One thing have I asked of Hashem... that I may dwell in the house of Hashem all the days of my life." Therefore, in the first part of the psalm, David describes his state during the days of his affliction and persecution, and in the second part, the days when the sun of success shone upon him.
שִׁמְעָה אֱלֹהִים רִנָּתִי הַקְשִׁיבָה תְּפִלָּתִי׃ - Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer.
Ibn Ezra explains: "Rinnati" (my cry/song) refers to what a person expresses openly aloud; "Tefillati" (my prayer) refers to the silent prayer in the heart, like Chana: "only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard."
The Alshich HaKadosh notes that from the Midrash, it appears these verses speak of this current exile. It may express the words of the Congregation of Israel before the Holy One, Blessed be He: the Jewish people, plunged in the sorrow of their exile, say - Master of the Universe, now while we are still in the Holy Land, we ask of You, "Hear my cry, O God." This corresponds to what is written: "And it shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear."
The Alshich finds here two major concepts regarding the acceptance of prayer, offering an original explanation of the verse. The Gemara in Bava Metzia (85b) relates an incident involving Rebbe, who asked Eliyahu HaNavi: Is there anyone like the holy Patriarchs here on earth? He replied to him: Rabbi Chiyya and his sons. Rebbe thought: If so, when we need rain, we have an unbeatable recourse. He brought them down before the ark to lead the prayers. When they said "Mashiv haruach" (He causes the wind to blow), the wind blew; when they said "Morid hagashem" (He causes the rain to fall), rain fell. And when there was concern that they would say "Mechayeh hameitim" (He revives the dead) and the dead would rise from their graves before the appointed time for redemption and the resurrection of the dead had arrived, a great tempest was brought that dispersed them.
From here, the Alshich explains the verse: in prayer there is a specific place designated for requesting rain - "Barech Aleinu... and grant dew and rain for a blessing." By contrast, "He causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall" (Mashiv haruach umorid hagashem) is not a request at all, but rather praise. This is the meaning of "Before they call" - even before they reached the blessing of "Barech Aleinu" to pray for rain, "I will answer" - the Holy One, blessed be He, says: Mentioning the praise of the Omnipresent is sufficient for Me, and I already answer. And indeed, so it was: while still in the first three blessings, which are the section of praise, they said "He causes the wind to blow" and the wind blew, "He causes the rain to fall" and the rain fell.
And what is the meaning of the continuation of the verse, "While they are still speaking, I will hear"? For Rabbi Chiya and his sons continued to pray in order; no one imagined that once the rain fell, they would immediately say "Oseh Shalom" and conclude! Rather, they continued with "Atah Chonen" and so on, until they reached "Barech Aleinu." Yet seemingly, this request was now superfluous, since the rain had already fallen and they had already been answered before they called! One might have thought that to this request - "and grant dew and rain for a blessing" - the Holy One, blessed be He, would no longer incline His ear, since they had already received it at the outset. Therefore, the verse states: "While they are still speaking, I will hear" - their words are so beloved before Him, their prayer is so sweet to Him, that even though this is now an addition, the Holy One, blessed be He, still listens and hears their petition, so that He may be praised through it.
The Malbim explains the verse according to these two states: "Hear my cry, O God" (Shem'ah Elokim rinati) - this refers to the lamentation and wailing that I cried out in difficult times, in the early part of David's life and rise to prominence, when he was pursued by Shaul. "Attend to my prayer" (Hakshivah tefillati) - this refers to the second part, that which I pray now in the days of my monarchy.
And why did Scripture vary the phrasing? The Malbim explains: the cry and lamentation are primary for him, and therefore he uses the term of shemi'ah (hearing). It is a general rule that wherever hearing and listening (shemi'ah and ha'azanah or hakshavah) are mentioned together, hearing is the primary aspect and listening is secondary - the opposite of modern Hebrew usage, where listening is perceived as deep attentiveness and hearing as casual perception. In Lashon Hakodesh, the reverse is true: lishmo'a implies a hearing accompanied by contemplation, as in the phrase "Your servant hears" (shome'a avdecha), where hearing implies understanding; whereas ha'azanah is lighter. Therefore, the primary matter receives the expression of hearing, while the secondary matter receives the expression of listening.
Thus David says: The crying and lamentation - the prayer in the time of my affliction - that is primary to me, and therefore he says "Shem'ah" (Hear). But what I prayed in the time of my monarchy is a less crucial prayer, and concerning it the term hakshavah (attending/listening) is used. (Incidentally, an error crept into the wording of the printed Malbim, which wrote "shem'ah ha'azinah", whereas it should read "shem'ah hakshivah", since the second word in the verse is hakshivah.)
There is a story of a man who once related to a great Torah figure that he and his wife had gone through a long period, perhaps ten years, without having children. The great man asked him: "So, what happened?" He replied: "Baruch Hashem, today we have been married for fifteen years and have several children." The gadol asked him: "Tell me, is your prayer today like your prayer back then?" The man answered: "Not even close! I miss the prayers I used to pour out back then." This is human nature: when a person faces hardship, prayer flows from the depths of the heart; when life is comfortable, one merely recites texts. David therefore says: What is precious and beloved to me? "Hear my cry" - that prayer I prayed when I was being pursued, what closeness to God was present there! Whereas "my prayer," that of the days of my reign, is described with the term of listening (hakshavah), which is lesser than hearing (shemi'ah).
מִקְצֵה הָאָרֶץ אֵלֶיךָ אֶקְרָא בַּעֲטֹף לִבִּי בְּצוּר־יָרוּם מִמֶּנִּי תַנְחֵנִי׃ - From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; lead me to a rock that is higher than I.
Rashi explains: Even though I am far from my men whom I send out to the battlefield, it is concerning them that I call to You when my heart is faint, that You guide me to a rock. A "tzur" (rock) is a mighty boulder, and it is always a metaphor for leaning upon something stable - I rely upon You, Master of the Universe, for You are compared to a rock. And not merely an ordinary rock, but a "tzur yarum" - a towering, lofty rock, higher and stronger than I. That is: You will guide me to that which is stronger and greater than I, upon which I may lean, namely, upon You.
Ibn Ezra explains: "From the end of the earth" - even though I am at the edge of the land, in a low and humble place, "upon a rock higher than I" - I rely upon You to elevate me to a high rock, to raise up my situation.
Radak explains according to the two approaches mentioned earlier: If the psalm speaks of David, this was when he was in the land of the Philistines, as he fled and was on the run. Regarding this he said, "From the end of the earth I call to You" - just as he said elsewhere, "For they have driven me out this day from being joined to the inheritance of Hashem, saying: Go, serve other gods" (I Shmuel 26:19), for he had been banished from the Land and dwelt among the Philistines. And if it refers to the exile of Israel, as in Midrash Shocher Tov, then this is the prayer that every single Jew prays to Hashem, blessed be He: from Iraq, from Yemen, from Morocco, from Algeria, from Poland, from Persia, from Germany - no matter where; each person, wherever he may be, cries out: "From the end of the earth I call to You."
What is the meaning of "when my heart is faint" (ba'atof libi)? Radak explains that abundant prayer in a time of trouble is called atifah (enwrapping or fainting). When a person multiplies his prayers while in distress, this is atifah, as in the verse, "A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint (ki ya'atof)" - meaning that he prays abundantly when the distress is great. Thus: "I call to You when my heart is faint" - when I am plunged into great distress, I call out to You and plead.
"Lead me to a rock that is higher than I" - to a rock that is loftier than I am, which I cannot scale by my own strength, You, Hashem, lead me. The meaning is: any place that seems impassable to me, with the Holy One, blessed be He, everything can be overcome. It does not necessarily mean a literal rock that one must climb, nor is one asking here for Hashem to provide an elevator; rather, regarding matters that are beyond me, things that are too difficult for me to accomplish and seem insurmountable to me - You, Master of the Universe, lead me and help me overcome them.
And what is the "lofty rock" in the plain sense of the psalm? Radak explains: "Lead me" to Eretz Yisrael. If this refers to David, he was then among the Philistines; and if it refers to Klal Yisrael in their exile, they plead: Master of the Universe, lead me to the high place, to the lofty rock, which is Eretz Yisrael. For one always "ascends" to Eretz Yisrael, because it is higher than all other lands.
This does not refer to topography, for one might ask: Mount Everest is higher than it. Rather, we have explained that there are two dimensions to this. One dimension is spiritual: Eretz Yisrael is higher than all lands; other lands represent descent and decline, while Eretz Yisrael is an ascent. On the other hand, this can also be explained from a physical perspective: today's standard of "high" and "low" is measured relative to sea level, but who says this is the definitive measure? It is an arbitrary measure, not an absolute one. Another standard can be proposed: when evaluating whether something is high or low, it is measured relative to what is external to it. The Earth is a sphere; let us examine what is external to it, and whatever is closest to it is the highest, while what is far from it is the lowest, and certainly whatever is on the opposite side of the globe is lowest. And what is situated directly above Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim? The Heavenly Yerushalayim (Yerushalayim shel Ma'alah). It turns out, then, that Eretz Yisrael is always the highest place, since the transcendent spiritual reality does not envelop all lands equally, but stands directly corresponding to the earthly Yerushalayim. If we view the Heavenly Yerushalayim as a ceiling and measure high and low relative to it, the earthly Yerushalayim is the highest point, being the closest to that ceiling. Thus, even from a physical perspective, Eretz Yisrael can be seen as higher than all lands.
The Malbim explains according to his approach that the first part of the psalm deals with the period when David fled from Shaul: "From the end of the earth" - when I sat and hid at the end of the earth, from there I called to You. "When my heart is faint" - out of the abundance of troubles I called to You there; the term atifah indicates an abundance of distress, as in the verses "When my soul fainted within me" (behit'atef alai nafshi) and "A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint" (ki ya'atof), similar to what we saw in Radak. "Lead me to a rock that is higher than I" - during those periods I had to climb the rocks of the wild goats as I fled from Shaul, and You were the One Who guided me there. You helped me escape to those high mountains, to places that were a rock loftier than I, to take refuge in them and be saved from Shaul.
כִּי־הָיִיתָ מַחְסֶה לִי מִגְדַּל־עֹז מִפְּנֵי אוֹיֵב׃ - For You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy.
And this is the continuation according to the Malbim: You guided me to those high places because You were a refuge for me and a tower of strength against the enemy, saving me from him so that he would not capture me.
Radak explains in a broader sense: "You have been a refuge for me" - in the past, You have been a refuge for me many times; many times I sought refuge in You and You saved me. And machseh ("refuge") means something that protects a person, whose shade one takes shelter in. This applies both to King David and to the Jewish people: David saw many times how Hashem saved him, and so too the Jewish people - how many times Hashem has saved them throughout their exile! "You have been a refuge for me" constantly.
The Yaavetz explains: Prayer grants a person two tremendous benefits. Through this, he resolves a difficulty that many raise: What is the need for prayer? Are you informing the Holy One, blessed be He, of your troubles? Surely He knows them far better than you do! And as the saying goes: Do not tell the Holy One, blessed be He, how great your troubles are; rather, tell your troubles how great the Holy One, blessed be He, is - that is far more beneficial.
The first benefit: Being saved from one's enemies, "all who devour him shall be held guilty." Dedicate yourself to holiness - go early and stay late over them in the Beit Midrash, and they will perish on their own. This is "a tower of strength against the enemy": prayer possesses the power of salvation - you cry out to Hashem, and Hashem saves you and fulfills your wish.
The second benefit: The purification of one's soul and its closeness to God. This is a topic we have already elaborated upon: prayer comes in place of the sacrifices. What does a sacrifice (korban) accomplish? It creates closeness (kirvah) between you and the Omnipresent, which is why it is called a korban. When we have no sacrifices to create this closeness, we generate it through prayer. Furthermore, the word tefillah is related to petilah (a woven cord), as in the phrase, "With divine wrestlings (naphtulei) I have wrestled... and prevailed" - where one takes three cords and braids them together until they become one. Through prayer, we unite with the Holy One, blessed be He.
How does a person attain his request through the power of prayer? Would he not receive whatever he deserves in any case? The answer is that sometimes, at his current spiritual level, he does not deserve it; but when he prays, he elevates his stature, and on this new level he is indeed worthy of receiving it. Thus, the prayer elevated him, purified him, and made him more fitting and worthy, and now it is proper that his request be answered.
According to this, what Chazal taught is beautifully resolved: "One who prays for his fellow is answered first." For in praying for one's fellow, only the first advantage applies - that you ask Hashem and He fulfills the request. However, the second advantage, wherein a person is elevated and thereby becomes fitting and worthy to receive, was not performed upon your fellow; your fellow remained as he was and did not become more deserving. And who was elevated? You were. Therefore, if you need that very same thing and prayed for your fellow, the prayer elevated you; and the moment you were elevated, you became a different person, and as a different person you are now worthy to receive - and therefore you are answered first.
And regarding this aspect, the purification of the soul, David says: "For You have been a refuge for me" - You, Master of the Universe, served as a shield for me in the sense that I myself became sanctified, my soul was purified, and through this I am worthy that You fulfill my requests.
Psalm 61 is David's prayer concerning the two states of his life - the days of persecution and poverty fleeing from Shaul, and the days of kingship and prosperity - and in both, one single aspiration: to dwell in the House of Hashem. Scripture opens with "Hear my cry" referring to prayer during days of distress, which is primary, and "attend to my prayer" referring to prayer during days of ease, for prayer emerging from distress surpasses that spoken from serenity. "From the end of the earth I call to You" - whether from the border of the land in Philistine territory, or from all the dispersions of exile, when the heart is faint and in great distress. "Lead me to a rock that is higher than I" - whatever is high and impassable for me, lead me through it; and regarding the collective: lead me to the Land of Israel, which is higher than all lands. And "For You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy" - in the two benefits of prayer: salvation from the enemy, and the purification of the soul and its closeness to God, by virtue of which the person himself becomes worthy of being answered.