In this part of Psalm 69, we reach the conclusion of the chapter, the verses where King David transitions from plea and outcry to praise and thanksgiving, and to the vision of redemption: praise that pleases Hashem more than a sacrifice, the joy of the humble and those who seek God, Hashem's providence over His destitute and His prisoners, and finally the promise of the rebuilding of Zion and the cities of Judah, and the eternal inheritance of the Land. We will proceed through the verses following Rashi, Radak, and the Malbim.
אֲהַלְלָה שֵׁם־אֱלֹהִים בְּשִׁיר וַאֲגַדְּלֶנּוּ בְתוֹדָה׃ וְתִיטַב לַה' מִשּׁוֹר פָּר מַקְרִן מַפְרִיס׃ - I will praise the name of God with song, and magnify Him with thanksgiving. And it shall please Hashem better than an ox-bull with horns and hooves.
Rashi explains that the words "and it shall please Hashem" refer back to the beginning of the previous verse: my praising the name of God with song - this will be more pleasing before Hashem than an "ox-bull with horns and hooves." And what is this "ox-bull"? This is the ox that Adam HaRishon offered. Our Sages say that a one-day-old ox is already called an ox, as it says, "When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born" - from the moment it is born, it is called an ox. And that ox of Adam HaRishon, on the day of its creation, was already like a three-year-old bull; therefore it is called an "ox-bull."
There is a profound principle here. Man is the only creature that must reach perfection gradually: when he is born, he is still lacking understanding, "A baby does not gain understanding until he tastes the flavor of grain," and afterward there are stages - thirteen for mitzvos, forty for insight - man progresses continually in acquiring understanding. But an animal reaches its perfection at a very young age; what a one-day-old ox possesses, it still possesses at age eight. Perhaps it gains a bit of additional worldly instinct, knowing what to avoid, but it adds no intellect and adds no intelligence. An ox - from the moment it is created, it is called an ox, and is already complete.
This aligns with the words of our Sages that creation was formed in its full stature and maturity. When Adam HaRishon was created on the sixth day and entered the world - what did he see? Did he see an ox as a drop conceived in the womb of a cow? Did he see a chicken as an egg? Did he see a tree as a seed? Certainly not. He saw a fully grown chicken, a fully grown ox, a tree that, had Adam HaRishon been asked how old it was, he would have estimated from its tree rings to be fifty or seventy years old. Had he observed everything in creation, he would have been certain that the world had existed since time immemorial. The Holy One, blessed be He, did not create the universe as something that was only now beginning, but as an already existing, fully formed reality.
In this lies an answer to the question many ask, that according to science the world seemingly appears to be millions of years old. One example is the recession of galaxies: the universe is expanding, and based on the rate of expansion, scientists calculate how long one galaxy has been moving away from another. Yet all of this holds true only if one assumes that the Holy One, blessed be He, created everything at a beginning point from which the process began. But if one understands that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world already "in the middle of the story," then what we see now is the middle of the story - they were created in that state, not from their absolute beginning.
The same applies to every phenomenon: a person says, "Light from a distant star reaches me, and given the speed of light it required hundreds of thousands of years to arrive - meaning the universe has existed for all those years." But this stems from the same misconception. If you believe that the Holy One, blessed be He, "switched on" the star some five thousand years ago at the creation of Adam HaRishon, and only then did the light set out on its journey - you would be correct. But if you understand that the Holy One, blessed be He, created Adam HaRishon in a reality where he was already observing the stars and their light, then the light was created as though it had departed hundreds of thousands of years earlier. After all, Adam HaRishon himself was created as a twenty-year-old, as our Sages teach. If he had examined himself and asked, "What did I do for the past twenty years? Was I created with amnesia?" Of course not; that was simply how he was created - as a twenty-year-old - and the starlight was created as though it had traveled for hundreds of thousands of years.
According to Rashi, "an ox-bull" means that from the moment it was created as an ox, it was already fully formed like a three-year-old bull. And what is meant by "with horns and hooves" (makrin mafris)? Presumably, it should have said "with hooves and horns" (mafris makrin), for hooves grow first and only later do horns develop. However, that ox emerged from the earth headfirst, in the manner of newborns that emerge headfirst - the earth brought forth the head and horns first, and only afterward were the hooves formed. Thus, it was first "with horns" and only then "with hooves."
Radak explains mishor par as meaning "more than an ox and [more than] a bull," where the letter mem of mishor serves for two words. This is a grammatical principle we have mentioned several times, known as loke'ach acheret imo ("carrying another along with it"). It is like the phrase in Aleinu, "who did not make our portion like theirs, nor our lot like that of all their multitude," where the word "not" (shelo) applies to the second clause as well - that He did not make our portion, and He did not make our lot. So too here: "more than an ox" - and also more than a bull. In his view, a shor is a mature bovine and a par is younger than it, in contrast to Rashi, who explained that a par is three years old and a shor is one day old.
And what is makrin mafris according to Radak? It refers to the bull, which possesses strong horns and hooves. This is a very straightforward, literal interpretation: before its horns sprout, its hooves are soft, and when the horns sprout, the hooves also harden and strengthen. Therefore it says first makrin (developing horns) and then mafris (developing hardened hooves) - meaning an animal with powerful hooves, which it did not possess previously.
Our Sages expounded mishor par as referring to the ox that Adam HaRishon sacrificed, whose horns preceded its hooves, as it says, makrin mafris, in accordance with Rashi's commentary. They further stated that it had a single horn on its forehead, since makrin is spelled without a yud (mikran) - denoting not horns in the plural, but a single horn. Note that this concept is also widespread among the nations: in Greek and Roman pantheons and elsewhere, they depict a one-horned ox and a one-horned goat. Now it is clear where the nations got this from - from the ox of Adam HaRishon.
The same is true regarding the Flood (Mabul), which is accepted across all cultures: all over the world, cultures recount a story of a great deluge. Needless to say, today this is also proven, as fossils of fish are found on mountaintops. A fossil means that while the fish was still alive, it rested on a bed of limestone sediment, the rock hardened around it, and an impression was formed - an imprint of the fish on the stone. The fish itself is long gone, but the imprint remains. And marine fossils and sea creatures are found atop mountains, in places nowhere near any sea. How did they get there? There was a time when the waters covered the entire earth, even the highest places, and when the waters receded, they remained behind and formed these fossils.
Something preserved across many cultures and passed down from father to son is a clear sign that these events truly took place. It is no coincidence that everywhere in the world stories are told of a flood that washed over the earth - this was a history passed down from Noach to all mankind. And the world is not so old, a mere 5,700-plus years, so such memories naturally carry over from generation to generation.
On the other hand, we must recognize the degree to which the narratives of the nations do not reflect reality. In ancient times, nations never recorded their own defeats and failures. We have records from other nations about a war and a crushing defeat suffered by a certain empire, yet when we look in that empire's own history chronicles, there is no mention of it whatsoever. Whatever is inconvenient simply does not exist. Even today, one does not have to look far: it suffices to observe the media. During the recent war, someone noted that Hamas is still living in a fantasy of victory, and one can understand why - their own communication channels were destroyed and they consume our media, and anyone listening to our media would think we are in dire straits. Our own story is portrayed as failure, creating a false symmetry of "terrorists on both sides." A person sees what is in his heart and sees what he wants to see, even when the facts are right before his eyes: people going out and murdering in the streets and burning houses.
How is it possible that in the eyes of parts of the world, the Holocaust never happened? Consider that Abu Mazen wrote his doctoral dissertation on Holocaust denial, claiming there was no such thing and that the Jews invented a story to dispossess the Arabs of their land. Yet for this there is film footage, the testimonies of living survivors who endured it, and even the testimonies of the murderers themselves recounting what they did! But the attitude is: "Don't confuse me with facts" - let me cling to my narrative.
From this, there is no question why the nations did not record the Giving of the Torah, the Splitting of the Red Sea, or that Hashem is God - for all these truths completely contradict their way of life. If all idols were shattered and the Holy One, blessed be He, subdued them all, how could they continue clinging to their false gods? While we do not need external validation for the Torah's accounts, "truth springs up from the earth" - today there is an abundance of archaeological evidence showing that everything written in the Torah is accurate down to the finest detail. Things people once assumed might not have happened that way are suddenly corroborated with exact names and dates, matching the Torah's narrative point by point.
Radak presents two interpretations of "and it shall please Hashem": The first is like Rashi - the praise with which I praise Him in song will be more pleasing before Him than an ox or a bull. The second is that this refers to the thanksgiving offering (korban todah): the verbal thanks with which I thank Him with my mouth will be more pleasing to Hashem than the sacrifice itself. The Malbim explains similarly: even if I bring Him a thanksgiving offering, there is something superior to the physical sacrifice itself - when I magnify His Name and praise Him, that is more pleasing in His eyes than the ox with horns and hooves.
This is what we see countless times in the Prophets: "Does Hashem desire burnt offerings and sacrifices?" (I Shmuel 15:22), "Why do I need the multitude of your sacrifices? says Hashem" (Yeshayahu 1:11). The sacrifice itself is not the point; rather, "Behold, to obey is better than a sacrifice, to listen than the fat of rams." When a person performs Hashem's will and subordinates his own desires for the honor of the Blessed Creator, this is far better than a sacrifice, for the entire purpose of a sacrifice is the nullification of the self. If one brings a sacrifice without nullifying the ego, what has he accomplished? After all, the entire world belongs to the Holy One, Blessed be He; what have you given Him - an ox? The ox is already His! Rather, by fulfilling Hashem's command and subordinating one's own will for the honor of the Creator, one accomplishes what is truly required. Therefore, the thanksgiving with which I acknowledge, praise, and magnify His Name is better to Hashem than a horned and hoofed ox-bull, because through it, I have nullified my self for the glory of the Blessed Creator.
רָאוּ עֲנָוִים יִשְׂמָחוּ דֹּרְשֵׁי אֱלֹהִים וִיחִי לְבַבְכֶם׃ - The humble shall see and rejoice; you who seek God, may your hearts revive.
Radak explains that the humble are the ones who will witness the salvation that Hashem brings, and they will rejoice. Why specifically them? Because those who do not repent at the time of the redemption will perish and be lost. Who will remain to see the salvation? Those who serve Hashem. As the verse states: "And I will bring the third part through the fire, and refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested" (Zechariah 13:9) - refining after refining and purging after purging, a great sorting process, and only those who cling to Hashem will remain.
It is written that prior to the arrival of Mashiach, there will be trials as difficult to endure as climbing a smooth wall. One of the early Chassidic masters remarked that the ultimate test of the final generation will be like the trial of Eliyahu HaNavi on Mount Carmel, except that in this final trial, the fire will appear to descend upon the prophets of Baal - and then we will see who holds fast to faith. In other words, it will seem on the surface as though those who observe the mitzvos are the ones who suffer. During COVID, the Chareidi community was hit exceptionally hard; the Meron tragedy struck entirely among observant Jews; in Karlin, Chassidim who came to pray were hurt; in Lod, five synagogues were set ablaze. Witnessing such events raises difficult questions: these are the very servants of God who cling to Him! Of course, one must never say, "We are blameless" - on the contrary, it compels us to look inward, to rectify ourselves, and to ask what Hashem, your God, asks of you. Nevertheless, the trial is intensely difficult; on the surface it looks as if the fire descends upon the prophets of Baal, creating a severe test of faith and devotion. Those who ultimately endure are the humble, the modest, and the servants of Hashem, for those who do not turn back to Hashem at the time of redemption will perish. As Tzefanyah said: "The remnant of Israel will do no iniquity and speak no lies" (Tzefanyah 3:13) - these are the ones who will remain.
One might argue: but wasn't Meron simply a safety failure? Understand that one of the great wonders is that it only happened now. If you look at reports written over a decade earlier, the mountain was never structurally equipped to hold such a massive number of people in such density; from a safety perspective, there was no realistic way for the site to contain such crowds. This means that until that day, it was sustained by open miracles. Heaven forbid that one should minimize the obligation to take safety measures - only a fool would drive a car without brakes and claim, "I trust in Hashem"; such a person is considered suicidal. Yet when we see that miracles occurred for so long and then suddenly ceased, it demands that we ask: why now? Bleachers and railings have been erected there for fifty years, ever since Rebbes and their Chassidim began gathering in such numbers, and a physical flaw can always be identified. But we all believe that every physical breakdown stems from Divine Providence - from Someone signaling to us and awakening us - and we must understand why it happened here.
Indeed, why look only at the bleachers? Is not our very existence as a people an ongoing wonder? The Yaavetz wrote concerning this: by my life, the fact that this nation has survived for three thousand three hundred years is greater in my eyes than all the miracles of the Exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the Red Sea, the manna falling from the heavens, and all other miracles combined. Had the entire world loved us, that would be one thing; but the historical reality is well known - wherever Jews lived, nations made it their pastime to destroy us, beat us, levy crushing taxes upon us, and afflict us, yet the Jewish people still endures. Does anyone have a natural explanation for this? The entire existence of the Jewish people is miraculous and defies the laws of nature, proving that Someone is orchestrating reality, a Higher Power Who guides the world.
Radak makes a grammatical observation here: "The humble shall see and rejoice; you who seek God, may your hearts revive [ve-yechi levavchem]" - this seems inconsistent. If the verse is speaking in the third person, it should have said "and may their hearts revive" [ve-yechi levavam]; and if addressing them directly in the second person, it should have said "see, O humble, and rejoice... and may your hearts revive." Radak explains that it is the style of Scripture to shift between the second person and third person within a single verse, as he notes in numerous places. For example: "For they shall be ashamed of the terebinths that you have desired," and "and you shall be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen" (Yeshayahu 1:29) - where "they shall be ashamed" is in the third person, while "you have desired" shifts to the second person.
The phrase "and may your hearts revive" denotes joy, for when a person is sad, his heart feels dead within him; one who is anxious and in pain feels as though his heart has died inside him. So it is with Israel in exile, Radak explains: because they lack joy, their heart is like dead within them. And when Yaakov Avinu heard that Yosef was still alive, the verse states, "And the spirit of Yaakov their father revived" (Bereishis 45:27). Thus, "may your hearts revive" means there will be great joy when, at the time of redemption, we see the Holy One, Blessed be He, reigning and ruling over His world: "Let every made thing know that You made it, let every formed creature understand that You formed it, and let everything that has breath in its nostrils declare: Hashem, the God of Israel, is King, and His kingship rules over all." That is the supreme joy of "may your hearts revive."
The Malbim explains why the verse specifically says "The humble will see": the humble accept with love everything that happens to them, because everything Hashem does is for the best. When a person considers himself important, he immediately has reservations, comments, and questions: Why is Hashem doing this? He acts as if he were an authority entitled to raise objections against the Master of the Universe. But if a person is humble, he says: Hashem understands better than I do, and if the Holy One, blessed be He, did this - this is His blessed will.
Once they asked Rabbi Raphael of Bershad: "To what do you attribute your long life?" He told them: "I never raised questions about the Master of the Universe. Everything the Holy One, blessed be He, does is completely good. Many people raised questions, so they summoned them up to Heaven to give them answers; but as for me, since I did not ask questions, they left me here - one who has no questions is not summoned."
Similarly, a story is told of a rabbi who walked past a tennis court and called to the people there to come and complete a minyan. One of them began to joke: "Tell me, Rabbi, is there a tennis court up in Heaven? Can one have a good time up there?" The rabbi said: "I will check and answer you tomorrow." The next day he walked by again and called them to complete a minyan, and that same person asked: "Well, what about the tennis court?" The rabbi said: "I checked for you, and I have two pieces of news - one pleasant, and one less pleasant. The pleasant one: there is a tennis court up there. The less pleasant one: tomorrow you have a court reserved for a game." In any event, regarding our topic: a humble person accepts what Hashem does with modesty and humility, knowing that this is the blessed will of Hashem, and therefore he has hope - for everything leads to good.
This is why the verse continues, "those who seek God" - these are those who investigate the Divine and delve deeply into understanding Him. Until now they had a difficulty: they saw the wicked living at ease while the righteous suffered, and they struggled to understand how Hashem conducts His world in such a way. But when they see the end of the picture, how the Holy One, blessed be He, grants a good reward to the righteous and ultimately exacts retribution from the wicked - then "your heart shall revive," and those who investigate Hashem's providence deeply will receive their answers.
כִּי־שֹׁמֵעַ אֶל־אֶבְיוֹנִים ה' וְאֶת־אֲסִירָיו לֹא בָזָה׃ - For Hashem listens to the needy, and His prisoners He does not despise.
According to the Radak, this entire psalm speaks of the exile, and therefore "the needy" refers to the children of the exile. And what is meant by "His prisoners"? Why does he call them prisoners of the Holy One, blessed be He? Because even though they are prisoners of the nations, had Hashem not willed it, they would not be held captive by them. Do not think, "I am suffering because of the gentile" - if the nation rules over me, it is not because it decided to do so, but because Hashem delivered me into its hand. For "If you follow My statutes... no sword will pass through your land," not even a sword of peace, passing from one country to another. To what can this be compared? If they wished to pass through our borders to wage war against one another, we would say: "Sir, go through Jordan, do not enter my territory" - and so it is when we do the will of the Omnipresent. And if we have been delivered into their hands, it is not that they overpowered us, but rather: "Were it not that their Rock sold them, and Hashem delivered them up."
Thus, if we are prisoners in the hands of the nations, our issue is not with the nations; our issue is with Hashem. And if we resolve the issue with the Master of the Universe, everything else will resolve on its own. This is what we have been doing for seventy years: seeking techniques to deal with missiles, with tunnels, with Hamas, and with Hezbollah - yet we have never touched the root: why is all of this coming upon us? This is like a doctor who sees a patient with sores and pus and spends all his time applying bandages, compresses, and ointments. Why not diagnose him? Why not check what is happening inside and give him one medicine to heal the internal problem, so you do not have to endlessly change his bandages? The intention is not that we should not defend ourselves or strike them - of course we must defend ourselves and of course we need Iron Dome - but that is not the solution to the problem. Apply the ointment, and then move on to treat the root. Had we maintained closeness to God, we would not be in trouble and we would not be in exile; we would be redeemed and in a completely different reality.
Regarding this it is said, "and His prisoners He does not despise": even though He handed us over to them, He did not despise us. And this is the kindness of Hashem, that a nation like the Jewish people survives among seventy wolves, which is the greatest wonder of all wonders: "Yet even then, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them nor abhor them to destroy them, to break My covenant with them." No nation has ever succeeded in surviving in exile as a distinct nation. The nations that preserved their national identity are those that remained in their homeland, like China and Japan; but nations that were exiled, conquered, and broken apart - nothing remains of them. Are today's Egyptians the ancient Egyptians? Certainly not; the ancient Egyptians were dark-skinned, as seen in carvings, and we know that Mitzrayim is from the descendants of Cham. Any nation that was exiled from its land disappeared, assimilated, and left no trace or memory, leaving behind at most nomadic tribes.
Yet the Jewish people exists, alive and breathing for thousands of years, returning to its land as a nation, and preserving all its mitzvot. There is no change whatsoever in the holy Torah: Jews returned here after two thousand years with Torah scrolls from Iraq, Yemen, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Poland, and Russia - and there is not a single word's difference from one Torah scroll to another. And this is a book written three thousand three hundred years ago. Consider that the New Testament already has twenty-four thousand variants, and it is a mere infant, less than two thousand years old. Among us, there are at most minor differences of a single letter here or there, but a change of an entire word - none. Meanwhile, among the dissidents, the Sadducees and the Karaites, there are different Torah scrolls where textual variations can be found.
And it is very fascinating: regarding the tests conducted on equidistant letter sequences (Torah codes), when tested on a Samaritan Torah scroll, all the findings disappear completely; there is nothing. Yet in our Torah, one finds wondrous phenomena, layers upon layers. Professor Eliyahu Rips, a world-renowned mathematician, originally set out to disprove the equidistant letter sequence method and show that it was nonsense that could be found in any book. He began researching, and together with Doron Witztum authored the book "The Additional Dimension" - and as a result, he became observant. He stated that this phenomenon is unprecedented in any book in the world, and that statistically - which was his area of expertise - these findings had a one-in-a-million probability of occurring by chance, and that changing a single letter alters the entire fabric, causing all the patterns to vanish. Thus, there is far more here than merely a culture passed down from generation to generation: there is the eternal existence of the Jewish people, of whom Hashem said, "I will not reject them nor abhor them to destroy them" - "and His prisoners He does not despise." They are among the nations, persecuted, yet Hashem protects them, and they continue to endure and ultimately return to their land.
The prophecies have already promised: "And you, mountains of Israel, shall yield your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel, for they are about to come," and Chazal said: When you see the Land yielding its fruit, there is no clearer sign of the end of days than this. For two thousand years, the Torah's curse remained in force: "and your enemies who dwell therein shall be astonished at it." There are descriptions from travelers centuries ago; the Ramban was here, Mark Twain was here, and writers arrived and described a land under a curse - no trees, no fields, utter desolation. Which nation succeeded in settling the place? Not a single nation settled here, only wandering tribes. And today, suddenly everyone wants it. Hashem said: "and your enemies who dwell therein shall be astonished at it" - the enemies will not be able to dwell here, the land will remain desolate; yet when we arrive, everything changes. Does this happen on its own?
יְהַלְלוּהוּ שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ יַמִּים וְכָל־רֹמֵשׂ בָּם׃ כִּי אֱלֹהִים יוֹשִׁיעַ צִיּוֹן וְיִבְנֶה עָרֵי יְהוּדָה וְיָשְׁבוּ שָׁם וִירֵשׁוּהָ׃ - Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them. For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah, and they shall dwell there and possess it.
As long as we are under the dominion of the nations, we are like exiles and prisoners in their hands; and when Hashem takes us out of their hands and redeems us - this is "God will save Zion," He will save Zion and take them out from the dominion of the nations. And why does he specifically mention Zion and the cities of Judah? Because they are the primary focus: Zion is the resting place of the Shechinah, and Judah because the king is from the tribe of Judah, for King David is from the tribe of Judah. "And they shall dwell there and possess it" - and who are they? Those same prisoners mentioned in the previous verse, "and does not despise His prisoners"; it is they who will dwell in the cities of Judah that will be built, and it is they who will inherit Zion. And the Malbim explains: Zion is the royal city, and He will build the cities of Judah so that they are more developed than the rest of the cities of Israel, and then they will both dwell and possess it.
וְזֶרַע עֲבָדָיו יִנְחָלוּהָ וְאֹהֲבֵי שְׁמוֹ יִשְׁכְּנוּ־בָהּ׃ - And the seed of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His name shall dwell in it.
With this, David concludes Psalm 69. The Radak explains: they and their children shall inherit it. And the Malbim explains that this is an addition to what was stated earlier, "and possess it," and the distinction is as follows: an inheritance (yerushah) is when a legator passes property to an heir, whereas an ancestral estate (nachalah) is an eternal heritage. A father giving to a son is an inheritance; but when it remains in his lineage forever, it is a nachalah. This is the meaning of "And the seed of His servants shall inherit it": it will not merely be an inheritance, but Hashem promises it will be an eternal heritage for their children after them forever, a heritage from which they will never again be exiled. "And those who love His name shall dwell in it" - and then it will be in peace and tranquility.
Some find in these verses an allusion to the unfolding redemption of Israel. Some ask why the Holy One, blessed be He, arranged for the beginning to come specifically through those who had cast off the yoke of Torah. To be sure, one who asks this overlooks the disciples of the Baal Shem Tov and the disciples of the Vilna Gaon, who also made aliyah and began settling and establishing communities here; but setting that aside, and speaking of the last hundred years: the Zionist movement began with people who had cast off the yoke, while observant Jews arrived only in the subsequent waves of immigration.
And they explain that this is reflected here: "For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah" - they will begin to build Zion and the cities of Judah; "and they shall dwell there and possess it" - they will settle and begin to dispossess the nations and claim the land. And who will initiate this process? "The seed of His servants." "His servants" is always the lower, more humble level - as in "whether as sons, whether as servants" - where the servant represents the lower level, whereas the son represents the elevated level. First, "the seed of His servants shall inherit it," and it is they who will take possession of the Land from the nations, and only afterward, "and those who love His name shall dwell in it" - in the next stage, those who love His name will come and dwell in the Land.