We continue in Psalm 75, a psalm of Asaph, in which a great foundational principle is expounded: elevation and humiliation do not lie in man's hands, but are decreed by the Creator, may He be blessed. In this section, we will examine the verses from "For neither from the east nor from the west" through the end of the psalm. We will see the explanations of Radak, Rashi, the Kli Yakar, and especially the approach of the Malbim, who explains that the entire psalm proceeds from the mouth of "uprightness" - the power of integrity and justice that the Holy One, blessed be He, planted within the human heart.
כִּי לֹא מִמּוֹצָא וּמִמַּעֲרָב וְלֹא מִמִּדְבַּר הָרִים׃ - For elevation comes neither from the east nor from the west, nor from the wilderness.
Radak quotes a wonderful explanation in the name of his father, of blessed memory. "Ma'arav" refers to merchandise, as we find in Yechezkel 27: "And the barterers of your merchandise (orevei ma'araveich)" - your merchants. "Motza" refers to royal revenues and expenditures, meaning royal taxation. And "midbar" is related to speech (dibur), as in "and your speech is lovely (u-midbareich naveh)."
Radak's father explains: a person rises to prominence through one of these three. The first is being appointed over royal revenues, over tax collection. Here it is worth mentioning the verse in Ezra 4:13: "tribute, custom, and toll (minda, velo, va-halach)" - three types of taxes customary then (today, many more have been invented). Incidentally, this is the origin of the stamp that the elders among us remember on products in Israel, "The blo has been paid" - blo being tax, from this verse. The second path is that of the merchant, "the dealers of your merchandise." And the third is eloquence of speech, "midbar"; a person blessed with rhetorical skill would rise in favor before kings. Regarding all three, Scripture says: know that greatness does not depend on them. Not from revenues, not from commerce, and not from eloquence, but rather, "God is the judge: He brings down one, and raises up another."
The Malbim explains in his characteristic manner that here too, the speaker is "uprightness," who says: I told the wicked not to lift up their horn. You seek to elevate yourselves through pride, but realize that this is not within human control. Hashem brings low and Hashem raises up, according to His will. No person can forcefully raise his horn if the Holy One, blessed be He, humbles him. And if Hashem wills to raise his horn, a person can become a prime minister, only to spend years in prison afterward; the One who decided to elevate you at one stage decided to bring you down at another. If, during the period of elevation, you fail to remember that everything comes from Hashem and say, "I am, and there is none beside me," you are liable to experience humiliation. Thus does uprightness address the heart of the wicked person and rebuke him: the conscience planted in man's heart admonishes him and says, do not lift your horn against Hashem.
The Malbim notes that the word "harim" (mountains / lifting) at the end of the verse also applies retroactively to its beginning, as though it were written: not from east and west are mountains, and not from the wilderness are mountains. For across the globe, there are mountainous regions and places of valleys and depressions, and the ancients debated where the tallest mountains are situated. This was unlike today, when the entire world is topographically mapped and interconnected; in their time, a person traveled by cart from place to place, with limited capacity to comprehend the globe. Some maintained that most mountains lie at the poles, the northern and southern axes, and this is what was meant by "nor from the wilderness are mountains" - that the lack of human settlement is the cause of mountains. Later thinkers, along with Copernicus and others, maintained that most mountains lie in the east and west, along the equator, where the sun rises and sets.
כִּי־אֱלֹהִים שֹׁפֵט זֶה יַשְׁפִּיל וְזֶה יָרִים׃ - For God is the judge: He brings down one, and raises up another.
Regarding this, Scripture comes and states: the truth is that neither the east nor the west is the cause of mountains, nor is the wilderness their cause; rather, God is the judge. He decreed that one place would have mountains and another would not. He humbles one and raises up another - "raises up" in the literal sense of making it mountainous. This serves as a parable and metaphor from which to draw moral instruction: just as the lowering and elevation of the earth's surface occur according to the Creator's will, so too must you understand regarding human nature. Hashem decreed that this person will be elevated and that one brought low, in stature, circumstance, and standing - everything is by decree from Above.
The Kli Yakar in Parashat Mishpatim explains that "harim" (mountains) is related to elevation (*hitromemut*), as we saw in the Midrash, and comes to teach that a person has nothing about which to elevate himself or become haughty. Not from his origin (*motza'o*) - for where did he come from? From a putrid drop, and there is no elevation in that, only degradation. Nor from his setting (*ma'aravo*) - the place where his sun sets, for where does his sun go down? To a place of dust, worms, and maggots. And if you should say: True, the body itself is nothing, neither in its beginning nor in its end, but I will take pride in the merit of the Torah I have learned - to this the verse states, "nor from the desert," for the wilderness alludes to the Torah, which was given in the desert. On the contrary, the desert is an emblem of humility: a place trodden upon by all, a place where a person does not live in wealth and luxury, but with the bare minimum. If so, even from the Torah one must not arrive at pride. Therefore it is said, "Do not lift up your horn on high" - always conduct yourself with humility, for God is judge; this one He lowers, and this one He lifts up.
כִּי כוֹס בְּיַד־יְהֹוָה וְיַיִן חָמַר מָלֵא מֶסֶךְ וַיַּגֵּר מִזֶּה אַךְ־שְׁמָרֶיהָ יִמְצוּ יִשְׁתּוּ כֹּל רִשְׁעֵי־אָרֶץ׃ - "For there is a cup in the hand of Hashem, with foaming wine fully mixed, and He pours out from it; but its dregs all the wicked of the earth shall drain and drink."
Rashi explains that the cup here is the cup of venom in His hand, and "foaming wine" (*yayin chamar*) means strong wine. "Fully mixed" (*mele mesekh*) means the cup is full of a blend, *mesekh* being related to "she has mixed her wine" (*masekhah yeinah*). That blend is destined to be given to the nations to drink, for the Holy One, blessed be He, will ultimately take vengeance upon them for all the distress they caused us. "And He pours out from it" (*vayager mizzeh*) - meaning He disperses and pours it out like running water; from that cup full of venom He will make the nations drink in retribution for what they did to us.
Radak also follows this approach: there is a cup in Hashem's hand to give the nations to drink, since according to his view the psalm speaks of the ingathering of the exiles. At that time, Hashem will humble the nations and raise up the horn of Israel, for everything is in His hand. This cup, Radak notes, the Jewish people have already drunk from - as Isaiah 51 says: "You have drunk the dregs of the cup of venom, you have drained it." We drank it to the very end, to the dregs. And at the ingathering of the exiles, the turn of the wicked arrives to drink from it.
"Chamar," Radak explains, refers to red, for the excellence of wine lies in its redness, as it says, "Do not look at wine when it is red" (*ki yit'adam*), and *chamar* is like *hit'adem* (it became red) in the past tense. A proof of this: in Arabic, red is *ahmar*, and red earth is called *chamrah*. Thus, *yayin chamar* is red wine that has turned fully red, which is wine of the finest quality. And the cup is "fully mixed" - from the language of blending. "And He pours out from it" - the cup will be so full that it will overflow and spill out on every side.
Radak notes an anomaly here: the cup (*kos*) is referred to in the masculine - *male* rather than *mele'ah*, *vayager* rather than *vatager* - while later in the verse it says *shemareha* ("its dregs") in the feminine. However, there are words that can be treated in both genders, such as *machaneh* (camp) - *hamachaneh ha'echad* or *hamachaneh ha'achat* - and likewise "the sun set" (*hashemesh ba* or *hashemesh ba'ah*). We previously mentioned the words of Ibn Ezra, that whatever lacks the breath of life can be treated as either masculine or feminine. That is, only with living creatures is gender fixed (an ox and a cow, a man and a woman), but inanimate objects may be spoken of in either gender. To be sure, this view is not accepted by the grammarians; rather, the accepted rule is that even inanimate objects have fixed grammatical gender: one says *delet gedolah* (a large door) and not *delet gadol*. Yet there are exceptions, such as "a strong wind shattering mountains" (*ru'ach chazak*, masculine) on the one hand, and "the wind blew" (*haru'ach nashvah*, feminine) on the other.
The Malbim explains that here too, "equity" (*meisharim*) continues to speak, saying: Contemplate how the Holy One, blessed be He, constantly bestows goodness, blessing, and boundless lovingkindness. And as for what you see, that sometimes a person receives evil - know that this does not originate from Hashem, for the Holy One, blessed be He, emanates only good. Rather, that person does not wish to receive the good; he prefers the evil, and therefore he receives the dregs of the wine - the dregs being the lowest, foul part at the bottom, what remains from the skins and the seeds.
Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, holds in His hand the cup of divine bounty, and it is full of red wine, the choicest wine, fully mixed. "And He pours out from it" - Hashem continuously pours and pours from it, bestowing without pause, and yet the mixture remains full, "let mixed wine not be lacking." No matter how much Hashem bestows, the source is never diminished; it is always full of boundless goodness and blessing. And if you see people who receive dregs, waste, and evil, that is the meaning of "but its dregs all the wicked of the earth shall drain and drink" - the wicked do not want the good wine; they want the dregs.
And this is a major principle: when a person acts well, he draws good upon himself; when he acts poorly, he draws evil upon himself. Consequently, the complaint is not against Hashem, but against oneself. When you hide your face from Hashem, it causes hester panim (the concealment of His countenance) - it is a reaction. "Hashem is your shadow upon your right hand." Then a person says: Look, Hashem hid His face! The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: You started it. You hid your face, and in response, His face was concealed. And when the light of His countenance is absent - "for in the light of Your countenance You gave us Torah and life, love and kindness, righteousness and mercy, blessing and peace" - there is a void. And this void, this absence, is an aspect of Gehinnom, an aspect of troubles. The Holy One, blessed be He, does not need to bring troubles; they come on their own. The moment the light of Hashem's countenance is missing, all harm and hardship stem from that absence. And this absence is registered in your name; you brought it upon yourself. Do not complain that Hashem brought it, for "from the mouth of the Most High evil and good do not emanate," as Hashem bestows only good. If you did not want the divine bounty and chose to walk a treacherous path, your complaint lies solely with yourself.
This is comparable to a father who tells his son: This is the good path, and this is the bad path. The son took the bad path, stumbled, was bruised, fell, and cried out: Father, what kind of path did you give me?! It is just as the Haftarah read on Tishah B'Av states: "This is the way, walk in it" - "and you said: We will not walk in it." If you refuse, what complaint do you have against Me? Hashem is like a cup that pours out boundless bounty; if you prefer the dregs, that is what you will receive, but do not complain against Hashem.
Midrash Tehillim expounds on the verse "For a cup is in Hashem's hand": Rabbi Yudan, Rav Chama, and Rabbi Yitzchak said in the name of Rabbi Chiyya: In the future to come, the Holy One, blessed be He, will say to Pharaoh, "Drink your cup." Pharaoh will reply, "Master of the Universe, I already drank my cup in this world! You gave me ten draughts, and with the last one You drowned us all in the Yam Suf - is that not enough?" The Holy One, blessed be He, will say to him, "What you drank was merely a single pour, as it says, 'and He pours from it' - just a fraction of what you deserve. And now, 'all the wicked of the earth shall drain and drink its dregs' - you drank, but you did not drain it; you did not exhaust the drink. Now you will receive the full drink of the cup of venom that is due to you according to your deeds, 'drunk, but not with wine.'"
וַאֲנִי אַגִּיד לְעֹלָם אֲזַמְּרָה לֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב׃ - But as for me, I will declare forever; I will sing praises to the God of Yaakov.
Asaf says: I will declare forever, from now on, the vengeance and might of Hashem, blessed be He. This returns to what was said earlier, that Hashem takes vengeance on the wicked and they will drain and drink the cup of poison. "I will declare forever" - know that whoever violates the covenant of Hashem and rebels against His word, Hashem's retribution will reach him; and through this, "I will sing praises to the God of Yaakov," singing and praising Hashem. The Radak follows a similar line, though he explains "and I will declare forever" as meaning: I will tell the people of Israel about the retribution upon their enemies that I will witness, and I will sing praises for this to the God of Yaakov, Who did not abandon us in exile. Even though throughout two thousand years of exile we find ourselves amid challenges and questions to which we have no answers, I will sing praises to the God of Yaakov that He has not forsaken us, and behold, He is redeeming us with an eternal redemption.
The Malbim continues with his approach, that the speaker is Uprightness and Equity: "I, Equity, will declare forever." The metaphor is based on the customary practice of singing songs and praises over a cup of wine. In ancient times, it was standard practice to drink wine and break into song - "I will lift up the cup of salvations and call upon the Name of Hashem," and "song is recited only over wine." For this reason, regarding the Sages' decree after the destruction of the Temple that "they shall not drink wine with song," some explain that the primary prohibition is singing and playing musical instruments during a drinking feast - referring to a secular gathering, for at a feast of a mitzvah, such as a wedding, it is indeed a mitzvah. Many authorities maintain that listening to musical instruments is prohibited under any circumstances, even without wine; according to the Sephardic authorities this is stricter, whereas the Rama rules leniently on this matter.
Thus, the verse depicts the Holy One, blessed be He, holding the cup of blessing in His hand, and who is the singer and the one reciting the blessing over the cup? To this, Equity says: "A cup is in Hashem's hand," and I, Equity, will declare forever - I am the singer over this cup, I declare Hashem's mighty deeds to the world and sing praises to the God of Yaakov. Uprightness and Equity are what make known to mankind His mighty deeds and the glorious majesty of His kingdom; through uprightness, the way of the Creator, blessed be He, is revealed.
In summarizing his words, the Malbim notes that the commentators struggled and could not uncover the secret of the psalm - who is the speaker, and who is the "I" that accompanies the entire song? He expresses wonder: after all, it is stated explicitly in verse 3, "I, Equity, will judge" - Equity is the speaker! If so, why did everyone lean toward homiletical interpretations rather than explaining it according to its plain sense, that Equity is the speaker throughout the entire psalm, and uprightness is the voice uttering everything we have read?
וְכׇל־קַרְנֵי רְשָׁעִים אֲגַדֵּעַ תְּרוֹמַמְנָה קַרְנוֹת צַדִּיק׃ - "And all the horns of the wicked I will cut off; the horns of the righteous shall be exalted."
Rashi explains that the "horns of the wicked" refer to Amalek, whose memory the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to obliterate, for as long as his seed remains in the world, neither the Name nor the Throne is complete. As stated in Yechezkel 25: "I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel" - Israel will cut off the horn of Amalek. Then "the horns of the righteous shall be exalted" - the Righteous One of the world, and the people of Israel, who are the praise of the Creator, and their horn will be raised high.
Radak explains: when the horns of the righteous are exalted, meaning when Hashem brings us out of exile, then I will cut off all the horns of the wicked, and no sovereignty will remain aside from Israel's. From here we see that there is no reason to be alarmed by what the European Union says, or by an America that has suddenly turned adversarial. Ultimately, "all the horns of the wicked I will cut off," and the only sovereignty left will be that of Israel alone. This is what was foretold in Nevuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2: "a kingdom that will never be destroyed" - a kingdom that will never fall or be ruined, possessing eternal endurance; and likewise, "it will crush and bring an end to all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever" - it will crush and trample all the kingdoms, and it will endure forever. I will cut them all down, as Israel will vanquish them in the War of Gog and Magog.
The Malbim explains in his characteristic approach that this, too, is spoken by uprightness and equity: Uprightness says, "I will cut off the horns of the wicked, and through this, the horns of the righteous are exalted." For through the uprightness planted within the human heart - the inner conscience - man recognizes the honor and greatness of Hashem. Through that inner conviction, mankind will learn to practice righteousness and equity, cutting down the horn of the wicked - those wicked who raise a defiant horn against uprightness and justice and gore them. Under the sway of this uprightness, even the wicked will feel humbled and will come to revere the path of the righteous. All this stems from the innate uprightness planted in human hearts and in the nature of souls; through its power, all inhabitants of the world will learn to cast away injustice and act with justice and integrity, and through this, the honor and stature of the righteous will be magnified.
Having concluded the psalm, it is worth noting a remarkable allusion shared some twenty years ago in a yeshivah for ba'alei teshuvah, when a student pointed out the connection to the Versailles wedding hall disaster. The tragedy occurred on May 24, 2001, at the Versailles banquet hall in Jerusalem's Talpiot neighborhood, in the middle of the wedding of a young couple named Keren and Asaf Dror. Around 10:43 p.m., while guests were dancing in the center of the dance floor, the structure - built with the flimsy, temporary methods known all too well in our country - collapsed. The floor gave way, and the dancers plunged to the level below. By Hashem's mercy, no wedding was being held on the lower level at that hour; on another occasion, it was related that a wedding had indeed been scheduled to take place there, but was canceled at the last minute because of a dream: the bride dreamed she was told not to marry in that hall (not that she should not marry, but that she should not marry in that place). Terrified, she consulted a rabbanit, who told her that according to all indications, she had good reason to heed the warning. Twenty-three people lost their lives in the disaster, and roughly 380 other guests were injured. What would have been the fate of those who were supposed to have been on the lower level - numbering in the hundreds, not the dozens - had the entire ceiling collapsed on top of them? One need only recall what took place not long ago in Miami to understand what happens when a ceiling collapses: there are no survivors.
This event is hinted at in our psalm: "Lamnatzei'ach al tashchet mizmor le-Asaf shir" - Asaf was the groom's name. "Ki ekkach mo'ed, ani meisharim eshpot" - a mo'ed is an appointed celebration, as the guests were invited to an event, a wedding. "Nemogim eretz ve-chol yoshveha, Anochi tikanti ammudeha, selah" - namog means melted; the ground on which they stood melted and dissolved beneath their feet, while the building itself remained standing: "Tikanti ammudeha" - its pillars remained firmly in place and did not fall, yet the floor and all who were upon it collapsed beneath them.
"Amarti la-holelim al tahollu, ve-larsha'im al tarimu karen" - tragically, it was a wedding without a mechitzah, a celebration of revelry; and "al tarimu karen" - Keren was the bride's name. "Al tarimu la-marom karnchem, tedaberu ve-tzavar atak." "Ki lo mi-motza u-mi-ma'arav" - those people were trapped inside and could find no exit (motza); "ve-lo mi-midbar harim" - for them there was no lifting up (harama), only a terrible fall. "Ki Elokim shofet, zeh yashpil ve-zeh yarim" - Hashem is the One Who decides who will live and who will die, who will be brought low as the ground gives way beneath him, and who will be spared. Whoever wishes may see here the groom's name, the bride's name, and even the wedding feast itself - "kos yayin chamar malei mesech" (a cup of foaming wine, fully mixed).
Heaven forbid that we should describe those victims as wicked, or suggest that the verse is speaking of their personal wickedness. Certainly what took place there was improper, but they were presumably tinokot she-nishbu (captives of circumstance, raised without Torah awareness), and nothing more. Yet whoever wishes can see in this an illustration of the ancient dictum: "There is nothing that is not alluded to in the Torah."
The psalm teaches us one overarching principle: true greatness depends neither on taxation and proximity to royal power, nor on commerce, nor on polished rhetoric, and no man can raise his own horn through brute force - "for God is judge; He brings down one and exalts another," just as He decreed where mountains would rise and where valleys would sink. Man has nothing to take pride in: not his origin, not his end, and not even his Torah learning. The Holy One, blessed be He, pours out boundless bounty and blessing from His cup, and the source is never lacking; whoever chooses the dregs has only himself to blame, not Heaven. In the future to come, He will make the wicked drain the cup of poison to the dregs, cut down the horns of the wicked, and exalt the horn of Israel, leaving no sovereignty on earth except the one eternal kingdom that will never fall. And all of this, the Malbim explains, is proclaimed by equity itself - the uprightness planted within the human heart, which declares the Creator's glory to the world and teaches all the inhabitants of the earth to shun wrongdoing and pursue justice.