Psalm 67 is a very familiar and concise psalm. The Malbim explains that it was established in response to the three years of famine during the reign of King David. David inquired of Hashem why the famine had struck, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, answered him: "It is for Shaul and for his blood-stained house" - first, for Shaul, who was not eulogized properly, and second, for the "blood-stained house," regarding his role in the death of the Gibeonites. After rectification was made, Scripture states, "And Hashem was entreated for the land after that," and the rain fell.
Our Sages taught that in the wake of this event, many converts came and joined the Jewish people. Why? Because they saw how much respect the people of Israel accorded to opportunistic converts - for the Gibeonites were regarded as converts of convenience (geirim gerurim) - and Hashem demanded justice for their honor, even to the point that sons of the royal family were handed over to death on their account. Through this, the Name of Heaven was sanctified, inspiring Gentiles to come and convert, to study Hashem's Torah, and to become part of the Jewish people. This psalm describes those converts who embraced Judaism following the kindness Hashem performed, and the justice He executed against those who mistreated the Gibeonites.
Speaking of converts, a certain Rebbe once observed: if a non-Jew only knew the immense joy a Jew feels when someone knocks on the bimah and announces, "No Tachanun today!", he would convert immediately. Such joy is simply too great to miss!
The holy Alshich explains that the psalm speaks of the Messianic era, when we will merit abundant goodness, the Name of Heaven will be sanctified, and in the End of Days all nations will walk in the Name of Hashem and give Him glory. From this very idea there is an awakening for the Jewish people, in the spirit of the verse, "Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house?" If the nations will come, why should you be the last? Bring the King back to His house right now, and strengthen your attachment to Hashem today. Just as the preceding psalm addressed the exile, here we find a prayer to hasten the redemption and a plea for spiritual and physical salvation - this is the theme of the psalm and its connection to the one before it.
The work Zeh HaSha'ar cites an allusion based on the Nachal Kedumim: The primordial decree of servitude in Egypt was for 430 years, as it says, "And the dwelling of the children of Israel in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years." Why specifically 430? The Kabbalists explain that this corresponds to five times the numerical value of the Name Elokim: Elokim equals 86 in gematria; ten times Elokim is 860, half of which is 430 - precisely five times the Name Elokim.
In practice, however, Israel was enslaved in Egypt for only 86 years - corresponding to one Name of Elokim, not five. The Egyptian exile as a whole lasted 210 years, but the harsh servitude endured for 86 years. Consequently, four Names of Elokim remained for the subsequent exiles, to exact four measures of judgment from us for what was lacking from the 430 years. Indeed, holy books write in many places that the other exiles serve to complete what was not fulfilled during the Egyptian exile: Babylonia, Media, Greece, and the final and harshest exile - the exile of Edom. Four exiles corresponding to the four Names of Elokim that remained from the decree of Egypt.
And why did we not pay the full price while still in Egypt? Because "they could not tarry." Had we remained there for 430 years, there would have been no one left to redeem. Therefore, Hashem took us out before the time was up, saying, as it were: you will pay in installments; you will fulfill what remains of the Egyptian exile later.
According to this, since the psalm speaks of the ingathering of the exiles - when "Hashem will be one and His Name one" and Hashem will be King over all the earth - the Name Elokim is mentioned in it five times, totaling 430. This teaches that when we are gathered from the exile of Edom and the War of Gog and Magog takes place, we will have completed the five measures of Elokim, and through this we become worthy of the ultimate redemption.
אֱלֹהִים יְחׇנֵּנוּ וִיבָרְכֵנוּ יָאֵר פָּנָיו אִתָּנוּ סֶלָה׃ - May God be gracious to us and bless us; may He cause His face to shine upon us, Selah.
"May He be gracious to us" - He will grant us pardon and grace. "May He cause His face to shine" - He will show us a welcoming, smiling countenance. "And bless us" - the Malbim explains that this blessing refers to rain, consistent with his approach that this entire matter revolves around the three years of drought. The blessing that followed the rectification was that rain fell upon the earth and life returned.
"May He cause His face to shine upon us, Selah" - to make known to us through the Urim VeTumim. For when David had to hand over members of Shaul's family, how did he know whom to hand over to death? He had them pass before the Urim VeTumim, and whomever the Ark held fast, they knew was destined for death, and whomever it did not, was spared. It is likewise stated, "And David sought the face of Hashem," to discover why the decree had been enacted. Thus, "may He cause His face to shine" means that Hashem would shine His light through the Urim VeTumim, revealing against whom the decree was directed.
לָדַעַת בָּאָרֶץ דַּרְכֶּךָ בְּכׇל גּוֹיִם יְשׁוּעָתֶךָ׃ - To know Your way upon the earth, Your salvation among all nations.
Rashi explains: to make known that it is Your way to bestow goodness upon Your people, and over this the nations too will give thanks, rejoice, and sing praise, seeing that Hashem is faithful to reward those who believe in Him and cleave to Him.
The Malbim explains: after Hashem answered David that the fault that brought on the famine years was the sin against the Gibeonites, through this came the realization of "to know Your way upon the earth" - they would know Hashem's way, that His way is to execute justice even on behalf of converts, and that the Holy One, Blessed be He, demands the honor of converts as well.
This is especially striking because the Divine response addressed both the fact that Shaul was not properly eulogized, and that he killed the Gibeonites. On the surface, there is a duality here: on the one hand, You demand Shaul's honor because he was not properly eulogized, yet on the other hand, You say that Shaul was culpable and must pay for the sin against the Gibeonites and the slaughter of Nov, the city of Kohanim. So is this in favor of Shaul or against Shaul? The answer is: in human terms this seems contradictory, but with the Holy One, Blessed be He, "where His judgment is, there is His deed" - in the very place where Hashem executes judgment, right there He acts with goodness toward that same person.
With us, when someone does something we dislike, we write them off - they are completely erased in our eyes. Even if they performed many good deeds, we find reasons to diminish the good and amplify the offense that hurt us. With the Holy One, Blessed be He, it is not so: if a person acted against Hashem, he receives his punishment in exact measure; and if he acted for Hashem, he receives his reward in exact measure. There is no situation where good deeds are forgotten because of judgment, or where wrongdoings are dismissed because of favor. This is "to know Your way upon the earth": through this judgment, Hashem's way became known, that for every single deed He settles accounts justly and fittingly, giving full weight both to merit and to liability.
The Malbim further explains: "the earth" stands in contrast to heaven - even on earth, people will understand Your hidden ways. Until now, these ways were concealed with the Creator, but now, on earth as well, they will grasp His providence. "Your salvation among all nations" - they will see that for anyone who takes refuge in Hashem, Blessed be He, Hashem is their salvation and their shield.
The Malbim, consistent with his approach across several passages, differentiates between these terms: goyim refers to basic population groups - the mere gathering of people; even a group of indigenous people living in an untouched rainforest in Africa is called a goy, because it is a collective, though they lack a king and a legal code of their own. Amim are more established societies that possess a king and organized governance. Le'umim are nations that possess a distinct faith and specific laws - a higher echelon, a more structured and developed nation. Therefore it is written, "Let the nations (le'umim) be glad and sing for joy" - they will sing with greater joy, whereas regarding the goyim it is said only that they will know Your salvation.
יוֹדוּךָ עַמִּים אֱלֹהִים יוֹדוּךָ עַמִּים כֻּלָּם׃ - The peoples will praise You, O God; the peoples will praise You, all of them.
All the nations will see and praise You, because they will see how You do not withhold the reward of those who believe in You. When it comes to the Redemption - they will see that everything the Jewish people endured and suffered throughout the years was not in vain, for now the Holy One, blessed be He, redeems us and bestows goodness upon us in accordance with all the promises in the books of the Prophets.
According to the Malbim, "the peoples will praise You, all of them" - not only some of them will praise You, but all of them, both the peoples (amim) and the nations (le'umim). After all, the nations have their own religions and their own rituals, so they are less inclined to accept another faith or believe in another Supreme Power. Yet here, when they see Your conduct - how You demanded justice for the honor of those downtrodden converts - even the nations will praise You. Even an evil angel answers "amen" against his will, and they will publicly recount the praise of the Creator.
יִשְׂמְחוּ וִירַנְּנוּ לְאֻמִּים כִּי תִשְׁפֹּט עַמִּים מִישֹׁר וּלְאֻמִּים בָּאָרֶץ תַּנְחֵם סֶלָה׃ - Nations will be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples with equity, and guide the nations on earth, Selah.
"For You judge the peoples with equity" - Rashi explains that this denotes merit. "And guide the nations on earth" - You will lead them, guiding them on a straight path, and through this everyone will praise You. The Metzudat David explains that they will rejoice when they see that You judge with equity, meaning in accordance with proper law and retribution. This aligns closely with the words of the Malbim: You judge with equity and execute justice even for those about whom one might say, "Who are they? Just converts, nobody of importance; there is no need to be concerned for their dignity." Not so - the Holy One, blessed be He, cares for them as well, and demanded their honor, commanding that royal sons be put to death on behalf of those considered the lowliest among the Jewish people. When they see how You judge with equity according to proper law and deserved retribution, they will rejoice and give thanks to Hashem.
The Malbim adds an explanation: "You judge the peoples with equity," and the nations will rejoice and sing joyfully "for You guide them on earth" - they will see that even though they are on earth, You guide them on the upright path and exercise Divine Providence on earth, "Selah," the definitive conclusion of the matter. For in the mindset of the nations, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not supervise what occurs down here. They relegated the Holy One, blessed be He, to the heavens: sit there and do not bother us. It is convenient for them to distance Him - He is exalted, high and lofty, just so long as He does not look at me and I can do as I please. But here, when they see that You judge the peoples with equity and guide them on earth, it is an utter surprise to them, completely contrary to their worldview. Then they will rejoice and sing for joy to see that the Holy One, blessed be He, watches over things down here as well, and that His eyes gaze upon the deeds of men, and that He is not like one who created the world and does not intervene in it.
יוֹדוּךָ עַמִּים אֱלֹהִים יוֹדוּךָ עַמִּים כֻּלָּם׃ - The peoples will praise You, O God; the peoples will praise You, all of them.
For this matter as well they will praise You: the Metzudat David explains that when they see You repay each person according to his deeds, they will rejoice and praise You. And the Malbim explains in connection with the story of the Gibeonites: now, after the three years of famine and after King David took the necessary steps, David says: Master of the Universe, bring down the rain. Through this, it will become known that Hashem judges with equity and fairness, for once the wrong was rectified, Hashem brought down the rain. Therefore, "the peoples will praise You, O God; the peoples will praise You, all of them" - because once the grievance was set right, the Holy One, blessed be He, bestowed upon them the bountiful blessing they deserved.
אֶרֶץ נָתְנָה יְבוּלָהּ יְבָרְכֵנוּ אֱלֹהִים אֱלֹהֵינוּ׃ - The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, will bless us.
Hashem will also influence the earth to yield its produce, and through the earth yielding its produce, "May God, our God, bless us." The Malbim consistently explains that the name Elokim indicates His rule and sovereignty over the world: omnipotent, Master of all abilities and all powers, whose eyes watch over the entire world. By contrast, "our God" is a distinct expression signifying that He is our God: His personal and direct providence (hashgachah pratit) over the Jewish people. Therefore: the earth has yielded its produce, and then God will bless us - He who is the God of the entire world - also by virtue of being our God, exercising individual providence over us.
יְבָרְכֵנוּ אֱלֹהִים וְיִירְאוּ אוֹתוֹ כׇּל אַפְסֵי אָרֶץ׃ - May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear Him.
David concludes the psalm: "May God bless us," and "they will fear Him" - all the ends of the earth will stand in awe of Him. And why will they fear? Rashi explains that since this refers to the future redemption, the nations will say: See those who feared Hashem, how He blessed them and exalted them!
It is worth understanding what difficulty prompted Rashi's explanation. After all, "Let the nations praise You, O God," "The earth has yielded its produce," "May God, our God, bless us" - all of these lead to thanks and praise, not to fear. Does the fact that Hashem bestows goodness cause one to fear Him? Furthermore, had it said "May He bless them" - that the blessing is given directly to the nations - it would be understandable that they would fear Him, lest He withdraw that blessing from them. But the verse says, "May He bless us" - the blessing is bestowed upon Israel, so why should the nations of the world fear? Therefore, Rashi explains that they will say: Look at those who feared Hashem, how He blessed and exalted them; if so, it is worthwhile for us as well to revere Hashem so that He will exalt us, too. When they realize that we merited this by virtue of our reverence for Him, they too will want to fear Hashem so that they may also merit it.
The Malbim offers a magnificent explanation: through God blessing us, all the ends of the earth will fear Him, for justice was meted out to those who mistreated the unattached converts (geirim gerurim), and afterwards comes the verse, "For with You is forgiveness, that You may be feared." When people realize that forgiveness comes from Hashem, this itself inspires awe of Him; for if one does not seek forgiveness and persists in improper conduct, he will be punished or deprived of abundance. Here, too, they witnessed that as soon as Israel repented, the rain fell: forgiveness is with You, Hashem pardoned and bestowed abundance upon them. This very realization inspired reverent awe - "that You may be feared" - and through this, all the ends of the earth will fear Him.
In the sefer Zeh HaSha'ar, an allusion is cited: the words "Elokim Elokeinu" form an acronym of the verse, "And Moses said to them, this is the bread which Hashem has given you to eat" (Shemot 16:15). And what is the connection between the bread Hashem gave to eat and "May God, our God, bless us"?
He cites in the name of the Tosafot Yom Tov: in the zimmun for Birkat HaMazon, we say, "Blessed is our God, of Whose bounty we have eaten and through Whose goodness we live," whereas in the blessing over the Torah we say, "Bless Hashem Who is blessed... Who chose us from all the nations and gave us His Torah, blessed are You, Hashem." Why is the name Elokim mentioned in Birkat HaMazon, while the Tetragrammaton (the name Havayah) is used in the blessings over the Torah?
The answer is that Hashem was under no obligation to give us the Torah. The Torah was His hidden mystery, stored away in His treasury, and the ministering angels could hardly comprehend it: why would You bring the Torah down to earth? That cherished treasure that was Yours - what did You do with it? Hashem was not obligated to give us the Torah; rather, in His abundant mercy and lovingkindness, He bestowed kindness upon us and gave us the Torah. But sustenance - yes; if you take a nation out into the desert, you must sustain them. If you bring a person into the world, you must provide for their sustenance, and if you cannot provide for them, do not bring them. Since the Holy One, blessed be He, brought us into the world, as it were, strict justice dictates that He provide for us. To be sure, "providing" does not mean all the abundance we enjoy, for one can survive on coarse bread alone, and Hashem in His abundant kindness does far beyond what is strictly required; yet the fundamental provision of our sustenance is dictated by justice.
Therefore, in Birkat HaMazon we bless, "our God, of Whose bounty we have eaten" - invoking the name Elokim, the attribute of strict justice, for that is what justice demands: to sustain the ones You created. By contrast, for the study of Torah, which was not an obligation toward us, we give thanks using the name Havayah, which expresses lovingkindness (chesed). This is the allusion in the verse: "The earth has yielded its produce" refers to sustenance, and therefore "May God, our God, bless us" invokes the name Elokim, from the perspective of justice, for the Holy One, blessed be He, created His creatures and is consequently bound, as it were, to sustain them.
In addition: this psalm is customarily recited during the period of the counting of the Omer, after concluding the Sefirat HaOmer count. In Kabbalah, it is taught that the psalm is arranged in the form of the Menorah, and it is well known that there is a special segulah to recite this "Lamnatzei'ach" from parchment drawn in the shape of a Menorah, and there is great significance in this.
This is how it is structured: three consecutive verses on one side and three on the other side - three branches on this side and three on that side - with one long verse in the center which forms the shaft of the Menorah descending to the base. The first verse, "Lamnatzei'ach binginot mizmor shir," represents the lamps at the top. "Elohim yechonenu vivarechenu ya'er panav itanu selah" - seven words, the outermost branch on the left. "Lada'at ba'aretz darkecha bechol goyim yeshu'atecha" - six words. "Yoducha amim Elohim yoducha amim kulam" - six words. The central branch, "Yismechu viranenu le'umim ki tishpot amim mishor ule'umim ba'aretz tanchem selah" - eleven words, which forms the central shaft. And on the other side: "Eretz natnah yevulah yevarechenu Elohim Eloheinu" - six words; "Yevarechenu Elohim veyir'u oto kol afsei aretz" - seven words. Thus, the two outermost branches have seven words each, the inner ones have six each, and the central one has eleven. In total, the count reaches forty-nine words, corresponding to the forty-nine days of the Omer count, which is why it is recited during Sefirat HaOmer after counting. When counting, one notes that each and every day of the Omer corresponds to one word of this "Lamnatzei'ach."
And why are there seven words at the outer edges? To hint that there is a mitzvah to count weeks - a single unit of seven; and the seventh word hints that at the end of the first week one must state "one week of the Omer," for even though there is not yet a count of multiple weeks but only a single week, nevertheless one must mention it and state it.
An additional allusion: the forty-nine words correspond to the forty-nine gates of understanding (Binah), and this psalm is Psalm 67, which in gematria equals "Binah" (67). Some say that this psalm was engraved and drawn in the shape of a Magen David, hinting that there was protection and salvation for King David - which is the blessing contained in the psalm - as it was inscribed upon his shield, and by its power he was delivered from his enemies.