In this section of the psalm, after Asaph described the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and the enemy's blasphemies, he turns to enumerate the deeds of the Holy One, Blessed be He, in Creation: the splitting of the Yam Suf, the bursting forth of springs, the drying up of mighty rivers, and from there to the cycles of day and night, the celestial luminaries, and the seasons. All these descriptions are not merely praise for its own sake, but rather the foundation for an argument: the One Who created nature is also the One Who can alter it. Out of this emerge five pleas presented by the Community of Israel before her Creator, arguing that she is worthy of redemption.
לְךָ יוֹם אַף לְךָ לָיְלָה אַתָּה הֲכִינוֹתָ מָאוֹר וָשָׁמֶשׁ׃ - "Yours is the day, Yours too is the night; You established the luminary and the sun."
Rashi explains: "Yours is the day" - this refers to the redemption of Israel; "Yours too is the night" - for even during the troubles of the night You were with them. Exile is compared to night and redemption to day. It has already been explained that the difference between golah (exile) and ge'ulah (redemption) is just a single letter - the Alef, which represents the Holy One, Blessed be He, the Alufo shel Olam (Master of the Universe). If the Alef is present, if Hashem is there, there is redemption; and if there is no Alef, a person remains in exile. "You established the luminary and the sun" - Rashi explains that this refers to the light of the Torah. It is the light of the Torah that sustains the Jewish people even at night, even in the state of exile; the Torah is the shining sun.
The Radak explains that since the psalmist previously mentioned opposites through which Hashem brought salvation - turning the wet into dry and the dry into wet - he continues to enumerate all the opposing forces that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created in the world, one nature against another, just as He did at the time of Creation. Every single day, the Holy One, Blessed be He, alternates these natural states as He wills for the sake of His servants, demonstrating that everything is in His hands. In ancient times, people believed in multiple domains and multiple deities: there was a god of death and a god of life, a god who casts down to the netherworld and a god who raises up. Scripture comes to declare: no. Everything is in His hands; all opposites stem from Him. And each of these opposites is essential for His creatures.
The Radak further notes: the night is a time of rest for human beings, and it is also the time when wild beasts hunt, as it says, "You bring darkness and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest creep forth" - there are animals that go out to prey specifically at night. Therefore it is said, "Yours is the day, Yours too is the night": even the night, which appears to be an inactive period devoid of productivity, contains immense benefit; and "Yours" means from You - You established it for the benefit of the creations. Indeed, who could imagine a full twenty-four-hour cycle of wakefulness? A person would collapse from exhaustion and never find peace and rest, for there is always something left to do. It is well known that in places where the cycles of day and night are irregular, mental health issues proliferate. A person must have nighttime, quiet, and the ability to sleep; whoever lacks this suffers distress. The Holy One, Blessed be He, embedded a mechanism within man whereby he requires waking hours and sleeping hours, and those hours of sleep are when one recharges his batteries and gains strength for a new day.
The Malbim explains: after demonstrating that Hashem creates things and their opposites, Scripture reveals the source of this power - because the entire natural order was established by You, and if so, what prevents You from changing it? One of the philosophers' arguments that Hashem does not intervene in the world is based on the eternity of the universe (kadmut ha-olam), and the two ideas are linked: if the world is eternal, Hashem did not create it, and whoever did not create the world cannot intervene within it either. According to their view, He merely oversees the world but cannot alter nature, and therefore in their minds there is no such thing as a miracle, since a miracle is an intervention in nature. But we maintain: Hashem created His world in six days, and since He formed the world, the keys are in His hands, and whenever He wills, He alters it according to His desire. Since the entire natural order was established by You and traces back to You, You have the power to change it as You please.
Likewise, the courses of the celestial bodies were established by You. This was part of the systematic lessons Pharaoh underwent in Egypt: when Hashem brought the plague of darkness, it was to show that the celestial luminaries derive from Him, blessed be He. The Malbim explains that this refers to the daily cycle, the rotation of the sphere each day in sunrise and sunset - this is "Yours is the day, Yours too is the night." And what is meant by "You established the luminary and the sun"? Even the nocturnal light, the light of the moon, receives its illumination from the sun. The moon is called a ma'or - as it were, receiving its light from another light; it functions like a mirror that receives the sun's light and reflects it, in contrast to the sun itself.
אַתָּה הִצַּבְתָּ כׇּל גְּבוּלוֹת אָרֶץ קַיִץ וָחֹרֶף אַתָּה יְצַרְתָּם׃ - "You set all the borders of the earth; summer and winter, You formed them."
Here we are speaking not only of the daily course of sunrise and sunset, but also of the annual movement of the sun, traveling north to south and south to north. In the winter the sun inclines more to the south, and in the summer it inclines more to the north, closer, and therefore it is warmer. And everything is from You, because "You established all the boundaries of the earth" - You determined the boundaries of the earth and its habitation in the south and in the north, and according to this You determined how the sun would move south and north. And because "summer and winter You fashioned them" - You also fashioned summer and winter, with the sun shifting from the equator to the north and south, all for the purpose of the world's habitation.
For had it not been so, reality would have remained as it was before the Flood: the sun was always over the equator, and there was no reality of summer and winter, autumn and spring. As Chazal said, their entire lives were like the days between Pesach and Atzeres. Air conditioning and heating technicians would have resigned, for there was no need for them - the sun was set in a fixed course.
It is well known that the Flood was brought about when the Holy One, blessed be He, took two stars from the constellation of Kimah (the Pleiades) and through them brought the Flood. Scientists speak of two meteorites that struck the earth, explaining that they caused two things: first, that the earth became elliptical, and second, that they tilted its axis relative to the equator, which is what creates the reality of summer and winter today. While Chazal do not speak of meteorites, they do state that the Flood was brought about through two stars that Hashem took from Kimah. This also provides another explanation: scientists say that when the celestial bodies struck the earth, they ruptured its crust, and the core - with its immense boiling heat - erupted outward. This matches what Chazal say: that boiling water surged up from within the earth, while cold water descended from above, which was the rain.
Chazal also state that the heavenly luminaries did not function for an entire year. According to science, such a colossal explosion in the earth's core created soot that enveloped and blanketed the entire globe. This is also what happens in a volcanic eruption: first a cloud covers the entire region, followed by the settling of a very thick layer of soot from all that massive combustion, covering the entire area, with warnings issued to people not to go outside, to wear masks, and not to breathe the air, because it is dangerous and toxic. It turns out that everything scientists describe was already delineated by Chazal in their account of the Flood.
To our point: the existence of summer and winter was made for the benefit of mankind. In the summer certain tasks are performed, such as sowing grain and the like, while in the winter other trees yield their fruit, and so on. Everything is from Him, blessed be He, as part of the principle that the Holy One, blessed be He, operates opposites, all for the purpose of the earth's habitation - "You made them all with wisdom."
The holy Alshich explains the entire flow of these recent verses: we are, as it were, asking of Hashem two contradictory things. What do you want - justice or mercy? Both: justice upon the nations and mercy upon us. Thus you are asking Hashem to perform two opposing actions, and surely that is a difficult request! To this Asaph answers: I am not asking something difficult, for this has been Your nature and Your attribute from time immemorial, that You constantly work through two opposites. Behold, "You split open spring and brook" - You drew water forth from them, yet on the other hand, "You dried up mighty rivers" - a place that had water, You dried up, which is the exact opposite action. Likewise, "Yours is the day" - the attribute of day, the attribute of mercy; "also Yours is the night" - the time when judgments hold sway. "You prepared the luminary" - this is the moon, governing the night, "and the sun" - governing the day.
There is another hint here: Chazal say, how did Avraham recognize his Creator? He saw the sun and said, "This is the master of the world." In this, most of the ancient nations errantly stumbled, as the majority of them were sun-worshipers. Many drawings can be found in ancient temples from the Phoenician era and other periods depicting the sun with swirling rays surrounding it, thick rays tapering outward - drawn in this way to sacrifice to it and worship it. And it is written of those who departed from the Beis HaMikdash, "with their backs to the Temple of Hashem and their faces toward the east" - turning one's back to the Sanctuary of Hashem at sunrise and heading toward the Mount of Olives to bow down to the sun as it rises. This was the greatest idolatry of all, for when searching for the most visible power in all of creation - what is more powerful than the sun?
Yet when Avraham Avinu saw the sun setting, he said: "This is not god. What happened to god - did he go to sleep? Did he go on vacation?" He saw the moon and said: "Presumably this is god." Then he saw the sun rise again and the moon disappear. He said: "Undoubtedly there is a Master over these, and He is the One to seek - the One who arranged them, so that the sun rises at a set time and the moon at another time." From seeing "You prepared the luminary and the sun," each in its own time, it is proven that there is one G-d who brings them forth and leads them in. Were the day under one domain and the night under another domain, the order between them would not be as it is. From the fact that there is a time for day and a time for night, and neither has ever altered its role, I understand that Someone arranged them and ensured that each performs its duty properly, both being under a single authority. For if you were to say they are two separate powers, how is it that they do not battle one another, with one prevailing at times and the other at other times? A struggle has never occurred between them, and they always coordinate with one another. Even two human authorities alternating power cannot avoid clashing with one another, so how could you say that the sun and the moon coordinate so wonderfully on their own? They do not manage it themselves - there is One who guides and governs them.
And so too: "You established all the boundaries of the earth" - there is a territory whose place and nature is hot, like Africa, and there is one whose nature is cold, like Antarctica, yet one G-d created them both. The proof of this is: "summer and winter You fashioned them" - He who fashioned summer hot and winter cold; the proof is that they too have a boundary. Why doesn't winter spill into summer and become a continuous twelve-month winter? Although one sometimes sees flash floods in summer, summer never lasts the entire year, nor does full winter last all year. You see that there are cycles, that the sun shifts its position, and from this you understand that Someone prepared them: "You prepared the luminary and the sun." Since You prepared the luminary and the sun, through whose revolution summer and winter are drawn forth, and from which stem the earth's varied boundaries, this one hot and that one cold, we see from this that there is a supreme Divine Power directing them all.
זְכׇר זֹאת אוֹיֵב חֵרֵף ה' וְעַם נָבָל נִאֲצוּ שְׁמֶךָ׃ - Remember this: the enemy has reviled Hashem, and a base people has blasphemed Your Name.
The Radak explains: "Remember this" - You Who have done all this, remember that the enemy denies You, does not acknowledge You, and blasphemes Your Name. And since Divine revelation is so evident and yet he blasphemes nevertheless, his punishment is vastly greater. Therefore, remember it against him, humble him, deliver us from his hand, and do not abandon us into his power. The Ibn Ezra explains differently: "Remember this" is not addressed to Hashem, but rather to the enemy - remember this, O enemy! The meaning is not "Remember this, Master of the Universe, that an enemy has blasphemed," but rather "Remember this, you enemy who blasphemes Hashem." And "a base people has blasphemed Your Name" - and behold, Master of the Universe, see that instead of remembering, they blaspheme Your Name even more.
The Malbim explains: Although the order of day and night and the laws of nature are from You, come and see that it is precisely because of this that "the enemy has reviled Hashem." For what leads to heresy? The world follows its customary pattern. The fact that miracles are not openly seen, that people see the world functioning in a routine and constant manner, leaves room for the thought that everything is nature: Has there ever been a day without a sunrise? Has there ever been a day without a sunset? If so, they claim, it is mere nature. Regarding this, the psalmist pleads: Master of the Universe, remember this - see that this very order is the reason the enemy reviles You, claiming "the world follows its routine course, there is no justice and no Judge." "And a base people has blasphemed Your Name" - Your renowned Name, showing that You are the Creator of all, yet they claim everything is nature. Therefore, it is fitting that You show them that this is not nature, just like the miracles You performed in days of old, as it says, "Yet God is my King of old, working salvations in the midst of the earth." Just as You were my King of old and wrought salvations in the midst of the earth, it is fitting that You do so now as well, so they will no longer say, "The world follows its routine course" and "There is no justice and no Judge."
אַל תִּתֵּן לְחַיַּת נֶפֶשׁ תּוֹרֶךָ חַיַּת עֲנִיֶּיךָ אַל תִּשְׁכַּח לָנֶצַח׃ - Do not deliver the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast; do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
This verse is difficult, and as is often the case when a verse is obscure, interpretations abound. The Radak explains that the construct noun's pair is elided here, in an elliptical reading: "Do not deliver to the beast of [the enemies] the soul of Israel, who are Your turtledove," where the word "enemies" is omitted. The word chayat is in the construct state - chayah is absolute, and chayat is construct, as in "beast of the earth" (chayat ha'aretz) and "beast of the field" (chayat hasadeh). And who is "Your turtledove" (torecha)? The Jewish people, who are compared to a dove and a turtledove, as it is written, "My dove in the clefts of the rock" - they are feeble, preyed upon and never preying on others. And the Gemara says that Israel is like a dove, whose strength is in its mouth, and which protects itself solely by the power of its wings without attacking. Rashi cites further from Chazal: Once a turtledove's mate dies, it never mates with another - so too, Israel has not exchanged You for another god, even though You have distanced Yourself from them and they remain like a widow.
And what is the meaning of chayat? The Radak explains that it denotes a company or congregation, as in "the troop [chayat] of the Philistines," meaning the congregation of the Philistines, and "rebuke the wild beast of the reeds [chayat kaneh]." Thus, "chayat anecha" means the congregation of Your afflicted, and "chayat oyvecha" the congregation of Your enemies. Alternatively, chayat can be understood in the sense of soul or life, as in "and their life [vechayatam] among the holy ones" and "his life [chayato] craves bread," in which case "chayat anecha" means the soul of Your afflicted, parallel to "the soul of Your turtledove." Yet another interpretation: "Do not give over to chayat" is related to "and the destruction of the beasts which crushes them [yechitan]," from the root meaning to shatter (as in "do not be dismayed [al techat] - do not be broken," and "made without fear [chat] - without being broken"). According to this, it means: Do not allow the soul of Your turtledove - the soul of Israel, who are Your turtledove and dove - to be crushed, and "chayat anecha" means the crushing of Your afflicted. Targum Yonatan interprets: Do not deliver to the idolaters, who are likened to the beasts of the field, the soul of Your turtledove - the soul of those who study Your Torah; according to this, torecha is related to Torah.
The Malbim explains that this is a second argument. The first argument was that it is fitting for You to reveal Yourself in order to take vengeance upon the enemies for reviling, blaspheming, and refusing to see Divine revelation. Here comes an additional argument: it is fitting that You bring salvation for our sake as well - not merely because they are wicked and deserve a blow, but because we are worthy and deserving of deliverance. The Jewish people are likened to a turtledove and a fledgeling, and therefore "chayat anecha" refers to the living soul within them, the Divine soul - do not forget it forever.
The Malbim explains: It is understood from the inner workings of reality that natural forms are subjugated one beneath the other - weaker creatures naturally submit to stronger creatures; a lamb submits before a lion. The Jewish people are likened to a turtledove, which is among the weakest creatures in nature, for how much strength does a dove have? Not only that, but they are also constantly wandering, as the turtledove, as the Malbim explained in Iyov and as we have learned, is among the migratory creatures - what are known today as migratory birds. Israel, who are likened to them, likewise wander and do not rest upon their nest, and most of the Jewish people today are in exile - wandering, displaced, and weak. Therefore, the prayer is that You not abandon them to predatory beasts by virtue of their "living soul" (chayatah), their spiritual stature. For if one were to argue that we are physically weak compared to the nations - that is true; but spiritually, we are the strongest of all. Israel possesses a portion of God from Above, whereas the nations have a coarse and low reality of an animalistic soul, the soul of a base person; they do not possess a spiritual reality of ru'ach and certainly not a neshamah from beneath the Throne of Glory, but rather from the kelipot. If so, Master of the Universe, it is fitting that You save those who possess true strength - not physical, but spiritual. It is fitting that You deliver us on account of our spiritual stature.
The Tehillot Maharitz explains that this alludes to the tzaddikim. The righteous yearn for closeness to God, but what can they do when even the greatest tzaddikim possess a body, physical needs, a wife, and children, and are compelled to engage in worldly affairs? It was for this reason that Rabbi Yochanan was a shoemaker (Sandlar), Rabbi Yitzchak was a blacksmith (Nappacha), and Hillel the Elder would gather wood to earn a single tarpe’ik to sustain his household. Yet this reality is like a millstone around one's neck, an immense distraction for one who desires to immerse himself in Torah, and an enormous hindrance to him. Therefore, the righteous come and plead: Master of the Universe, "do not deliver to the beast the soul of Your turtledove" - the righteous who subjugate themselves to Your Torah, do not subject them to the burden of bodily sustenance (chayat nefesh); let them not be consumed with earning a living, but rather provide for their livelihood, for this anxiety distances them from Torah study. "Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever" - the livelihood of Your afflicted, those who are in a dire economic state solely because they are engaged in Torah, do not forget them forever; give them the ability to dedicate their souls to You by providing their sustenance in a fitting manner.
הַבֵּט לַבְּרִית כִּי מָלְאוּ מַחֲשַׁכֵּי אֶרֶץ נְאוֹת חָמָס׃ - Look to the covenant, for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of violence.
"Look to the covenant" - the covenant You made with our forefathers. The Radak explains why it says "labrit" with a patach: this is the lamed of definition, for when there is a patach under the lamed, it functions like the definite article heh. To what can this be compared? If someone says simply, "Take the book to a library," it refers to any library; but when one says, "to the library," it means the specific, familiar library known to you. Here too, "Look to the covenant" refers to that renowned covenant You made with our forefathers. "For the dark places of the earth are full of habitations of violence" - "the dark places of the earth" are the lands of exile, where the Jewish people endure darkness and gloom, and these are dwellings of violence, places where the nations of the world plunder and afflict Israel. "Ne'ot" (habitations) derives from "naveh" (dwelling) - dwellings of violence, places where they inflict suffering upon us.
The Malbim explains that this presents a third argument for redemption. At the conclusion of the Tochacha (the admonitions), it is written: "Then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham I will remember, and I will remember the land," and it is written, "The land shall also be forsaken of them," and "I will remember for them the covenant of their ancestors." That is to say, after many troubles overtake them and the land is forsaken of them, Hashem will then remember for them the covenant of the Patriarchs. The covenant He forged with us is concerning the Land, that the Land was given to us. Therefore, the psalmist says: now that "the dark places of the earth are full of habitations of violence," after the land has become desolate and dark and full of dwellings of violence - we have reached the lowest depths. At that very point You promised to remember the covenant, so that there will be no total annihilation and we will not be cast off forever. If so, it is fitting that now, at this time, "look to the covenant" - remember the covenant and redeem us.
אַל יָשֹׁב דַּךְ נִכְלָם עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן יְהַלְלוּ שְׁמֶךָ׃ - Let not the crushed turn back humiliated; let the poor and needy praise Your name.
Rashi explains: let not the crushed one turn away from before You humiliated in his prayer. The crushed person prays and yearns for salvation, and if You do not grant him salvation, he will turn back humiliated. "Let the poor and needy praise Your name" - the Radak explains: see that even in exile, no matter how poor, destitute, and suffering they are, they still praise Your name.
The Malbim explains that here Knesset Yisrael presents a fourth argument as to why they are worthy of redemption: it is fitting that You save those who look to You, and the people of Israel indeed praise Your name. And in order that the poor and needy may praise Your name - showing that You save those who take refuge in You and hear the destitute - it is fitting that You ensure the crushed one does not turn away humiliated. For the reality is that when people turn to and rely upon Hashem alone, the Holy One, blessed be He, saves them; but when a person relies on other powers - "Where are their gods, the rock in whom they trusted?" - the Holy One, blessed be He, leaves him in the hands of what he relied upon: "Let them rise up and help you, let them be your protection!" Conversely, when a person trusts in Hashem, it is proper that the Holy One, blessed be He, save the one taking shelter under His shadow. Therefore, this is an additional reason: let not the crushed turn back humiliated, for when we stand, pray, and plead, and You do not save, we return crushed and humiliated, as though we trusted in Hashem and were not delivered. But when You save us - "the poor and needy will praise Your name."
קוּמָה אֱלֹהִים רִיבָה רִיבֶךָ זְכֹר חֶרְפָּתְךָ מִנִּי נָבָל כׇּל הַיּוֹם׃ - Arise, O God, plead Your cause; remember Your reproach from the ignoble all the day.
The Radak states: if You will not act for our sake, act for Your own sake. "Plead Your cause" - because our cause is Your cause, and when Israel is brought low, it brings a desecration of Hashem's name and sorrow to the Shechinah. Even if it is not fitting to fight our fight, plead Your own cause, for when the enemy degrades Your people, he blasphemes You, claiming: their God lacks the power to save them; and if He can, why does He not rescue them from my hand? This was precisely the argument of Nebuchadnezzar and the argument of Sennacherib: "Who among all the gods of the lands has delivered their land out of my hand?" - none of the gods of the nations saved their people from me, so see that your God too is powerless, for I have already exiled the Ten Tribes; why then, Hezekiah, do you think you can withstand me? Thus, whenever the enemy prevails over Israel, it inevitably leads to blasphemy against the Holy One, blessed be He, alleging that Hashem cannot save them. Therefore, "plead Your cause," and "remember Your reproach from the ignoble" - remember that the ignoble enemy reviles You all day long by claiming that You lack the power to deliver. The Malbim explains that this is the fifth argument, aligning with the words of the Radak - concerning the desecration of Hashem's honor.
אַל תִּשְׁכַּח קוֹל צֹרְרֶיךָ שְׁאוֹן קָמֶיךָ עֹלֶה תָמִיד׃ - Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries; the tumult of those who rise against You ascends continually.
The Radak explains: do not forget the voice of Your adversaries who blaspheme You; and "the tumult of those who rise against You" - the uproar, commotion, and great noise of those who rise up against You continually ascends before You; do not forget this, and exact retribution from them. The Malbim explains: "the voice of Your adversaries" is the voice with which they revile You, and "the tumult of those who rise against You" is the uproar and noise they made at the time of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, as it says at the beginning of the psalm, "Your adversaries roared in the midst of Your meeting place" - do not forget this roar and tumult. And the Tehilot Maharitz explains: "Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries" - the voice of those who disrupt us from Torah study; "the tumult of those who rise against You" - the tumult of those who disrupt us from prayer; therefore, Master of the Universe, do not forget this, and punish them.
In this section of the psalm, Asaf recounts the Creator's handiwork within the order of creation - day and night, the luminary and the sun, the borders of the earth, summer and winter - and demonstrates from them that everything stems from Him, blessed be He, that He is the One who brings about opposites, and that the One who established nature possesses the power to alter it. From this foundation arise five pleas before Him: that the enemy blasphemes, claiming that 'the world follows its natural course,' making it fitting for You to reveal Yourself to take vengeance upon him; that Israel, though fragile as a wandering turtledove, are immense in their spiritual caliber and worthy of rescue; that the dark places of the earth are already filled with habitations of violence, making it fitting to look to the covenant of the Patriarchs; that the crushed should not turn back humiliated, for the poor and destitute praise Your Name even in exile; and that Hashem's own honor is desecrated through the debasement of His people. Woven throughout all of this is a profound comfort: 'The night is also Yours' - even in the darkness of exile You are with us, and the light of the Torah is what sustains us until the day dawns.