Until now, Asaph described the lovingkindness of Hashem in Egypt, at the Sea, in the wilderness, and during the entry into the Land. From this point forward, the psalm turns to a new era: the period of the Judges. This is how all the commentators explain it, and so states Ibn Ezra - that from here on, Scripture relates how the children of Ephraim rebelled, and how as a result, the Tabernacle of Shiloh was destroyed. The Malbim adds the tone that accompanies this entire section: after all the miracles, after the Holy One, blessed be He, fulfilled His promises and brought them into the Land, after seven years of conquest and seven years of division - one would have expected them to ascend continually from one level of spirituality to the next, since they were now in the Holy Land under the resting of the Shechinah. Yet the reality was the exact opposite.
וַיְנַסּוּ וַיַּמְרוּ אֶת־אֱלֹהִים עֶלְיוֹן וְעֵדוֹתָיו לֹא שָׁמָרוּ׃ - Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God, and did not keep His testimonies.
After the death of Joshua and the elders, Israel returned to testing Hashem. And what was the nature of this test? The Malbim notes the precise phrasing, "the Most High God" (Elokim Elyon): once again they doubted whether Hashem is the supreme God, or perhaps merely a god like all other gods. As we explained earlier, in those days people believed in a "God of gods" - a supreme God who does not concern Himself with what happens down here below but is exalted above all, while the world is managed by forces of nature, deities that received their power from the supreme God. The People of Israel, who had absorbed this worldview back in Egypt, were constantly checking: Who leads us? The Most High God, or one of the forces of nature? For if it is the Most High God, no one can withstand Him; but if it is one of the forces of nature, another, stronger power might arise and reverse His deeds.
This was also Pharaoh's doubt: Who is addressing me now - the Most High God as Moses claims, or one of the intermediate deities that has temporarily gained the upper hand, so that one need only wait until our god rallies and overpowers Him? This is what is written here: "They rebelled against the Most High God" - once again they doubted whether Hashem is supreme, and if He is not supreme, then one can turn and serve another deity, perhaps gaining power through it. "And did not keep His testimonies" - they did not observe what He testified to them through the prophets; or, in the words of the Malbim, His "testimonies" refers to the Torah, what He testified to them in the Torah and cautioned them to keep His commandments - yet they did not keep them.
וַיִּסֹּגוּ וַיִּבְגְּדוּ כַּאֲבוֹתָם נֶהְפְּכוּ כְּקֶשֶׁת רְמִיָּה׃ - But turned back and acted faithlessly like their fathers; they turned aside like a deceitful bow.
"They turned back" - the Radak explains: they retreated backward. During the era of the Judges, in the intervals between one judge and the next, they continually regressed. "Like their fathers" - the later generations were just like the earlier ones: just as their fathers at the Exodus from Egypt rebelled against the word of Hashem, as described throughout the psalm, so too did they act treacherously.
"A deceitful bow" (keshet remiyah) - remiyah denotes deceit. The Radak explains: a deceitful and cunning archer, so that people will not suspect he is about to shoot at them, shoots arrows in another direction, as though he were merely practicing. Then suddenly, in an instant, he spins around and fires an arrow at the person he intends to kill. He lulls his target into a false sense of security and then strikes. Israel acted similarly: they would serve Hashem during the lifetime of the judge, but the moment the judge died, they would revert to their corrupt ways as before. "And the land was tranquil for forty years" - there was calm, but once the judge died, they returned to their corruption. This is a deceitful bow.
Rashi interprets differently: a deceitful bow is an inaccurate bow, where a person aims in one direction and the arrow flies in another - it does not carry the arrow to the target the archer desires.
The holy Alshich offers a fascinating explanation: it is the custom of archers, so that passersby will not become alarmed and flee, to unstring the bow and hold it upside down, not in the position used for shooting. The passerby sees a bow without a string, held backward, feels secure, and approaches. In his words: "And as he passes before them, they turn their bow back to its proper position from the other side, set the string in its place, and aim their arrow on the string, to shoot from the shadows at the innocent without cause, to plunder spoil and seize booty." This is a deceitful bow - the entire impression given is that it will not strike, and in a single moment, it flips.
The Malbim offers a third explanation: a deceitful bow (*keshet remiyah*) is a bow that shoots the arrow back at its owner. He shoots, and the arrow strikes him instead of hitting the enemy. In this way, the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted Israel to be like arrows in the hand of a warrior - they were meant to eradicate idolatry, to increase faith in the world; but suddenly they turned like an arrow against the Holy One, blessed be He. Hashem says: I wanted you to be arrows in My hand and spread faith throughout the world, yet you are spreading idolatry.
וַיַּכְעִיסוּהוּ בְּבָמוֹתָם וּבִפְסִילֵיהֶם יַקְנִיאוּהוּ׃ - For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their graven images.
They provoked Him to anger with the high places (*bamot*) they made for idolatry, and moved Him to jealousy with idols - until Shemuel came and restored them to the proper path, after which they relapsed again. The Malbim cites the verse regarding this: "They have roused Me to jealousy with a no-god; they have provoked Me to anger with their vanities." The Holy One, blessed be He, is angered by these vanities and by the high places built for them, and is moved to jealousy because they exchanged the service of Hashem for a "no-god" and graven images.
שָׁמַע אֱלֹהִים וַיִּתְעַבָּר וַיִּמְאַס מְאֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל׃ וַיִּטֹּשׁ מִשְׁכַּן שִׁלוֹ אֹהֶל שִׁכֵּן בָּאָדָם׃ - God heard and was filled with wrath, and greatly rejected Israel. And He abandoned the Tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent where He dwelt among men.
"God heard" - He heard their provoking words, as the Radak explains, for when they worshiped other gods, they provoked Hashem to anger. "And greatly rejected" - how was this rejection manifested? In that He exiled the Ark from them.
What is the meaning of *vayit'aber* ("and was filled with wrath")? We have previously explained several times the distinction the Malbim draws between anger (*ka'as*) and fury or wrath (*evrah*): anger is calibrated and measured, whereas *evrah* occurs when anger rages and exceeds its proper bounds, like a destroying angel that does not distinguish between the righteous and the wicked. This is the quality of *evrah* - anger that extends even toward that which did not deserve it. Therefore, since He rejected Israel who sinned against Him, He "was filled with wrath" (*vayit'aber*) and abandoned the Tabernacle of Shiloh as well. Now seemingly, Shiloh was a holy place, so what did it do wrong? He should have abandoned the ones who provoked Him! But that is precisely the nature of *evrah*, which overflows beyond all bounds.
Another explanation: "The tent where He dwelt among men" (*ohel shiken ba'adam*) - the primary dwelling place of the Holy One, blessed be He, is within man. As it says, "And they shall make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them" - specifically *within them*; the true Mishkan resides inside the person, provided the person is worthy. If the people are unworthy, why should Hashem dwell in our midst? Therefore, He removes His Shechinah and abandons the Tabernacle of Shiloh: the physical structure is not what matters, nor is the sanctuary building itself the essence, but rather the person who must prepare himself. And when man is neither upright nor worthy, "He abandoned the Tabernacle of Shiloh."
וַיִּתֵּן לַשְּׁבִי עֻזּוֹ וְתִפְאַרְתּוֹ בְיַד־צָר׃ - And He delivered His strength into captivity, and His glory into the adversary's hand.
Rashi explains: He delivered the Ark and the Tablets into the hands of the Philistines. We have already mentioned that "His strength and His glory" refers to the Ark, as it is written, "You and the Ark of Your strength," wherein God's strength and glory were revealed, and through this strength He would make the path straight before them. The Malbim explains that here Scripture details how the Tabernacle was abandoned and in what manner: He took the Ark and gave it into captivity into the hands of the Philistines. The Ark is called "His strength" by virtue of the Torah contained within it, and it is called "His glory" because through it the Holy One, blessed be He, performed signs and wonders.
"And His glory into the hand of the foe" - the nations succeeded and boasted. Instead of the Ark being our glory, the gentiles captured it and boasted: we could overcome them, we could overcome their Torah, we could overcome their God! True, it is cited that Shaul ran from the battle line and snatched the Luchot, saving them, which means that the Ark was taken without the Luchot; nonetheless, the Ark was captured. "His glory" refers to the Torah - and incidentally, the Torah is known in the Sefirot as the aspect of Tiferet, which fits the matter very well; and in a simpler sense, signs and wonders accompanied the Ark, and now the adversary boasted of it. The Malbim adds that "tiferet" (glory) always adds to "oz" (strength): strength is still within the bounds of nature, while glory is beyond nature.
The Alshich HaKadosh offers a wonderful and novel explanation here. He asks: How could Hashem not spare the honor of the Ark and deliver it into the hand of the foe? He answers: Precisely because "His glory was in the hand of the foe" - the foe, the Philistines, were the ones who glorified and revered the Ark! They declared, "These are the mighty gods who smote the Egyptians with every plague"; as a result of taking the Ark, Dagon fell with his hands and feet severed; they were struck with hemorrhoids and tumors in a severe plague; and ultimately they sent it back with great honor. Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I see that the Ark does not receive glory among you, so where will its glory be? In the hand of the foe. When the Ark was with you, you did not honor it properly and followed idols, whereas among the nations it reached - look how they honored it! This is the meaning of "and His glory into the hand of the foe."
וַיַּסְגֵּר לַחֶרֶב עַמּוֹ וּבְנַחֲלָתוֹ הִתְעַבָּר׃ - "He delivered His people over to the sword, and was wrathful against His heritage."
"He delivered His people over to the sword" - many died in that battle, as Radak notes, and the Malbim tallies thirty thousand. "And was wrathful against His heritage" - this speaks not only of the people who died, but also of the destruction of the Mishkan in Shiloh. The Malbim explains in several places that "heritage" (nachalah) always denotes holiness, and therefore "was wrathful against His heritage" means that even in the holy place, which is the Mishkan, there was an overflow of wrath that crossed all boundaries.
בַּחוּרָיו אָכְלָה־אֵשׁ וּבְתוּלֹתָיו לֹא הוּלָּלוּ׃ - "Fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not praised."
Rashi explains "fire" as the fire of His wrath, the same wrath we spoke of; "were not praised" - they did not enter the chuppah. Rashi cites a midrash of Chazal that applies the verse to Nadav and Avihu, who came to offer strange fire and were consumed by fire, and consequently never married. Yet Rashi notes that this is not the peshat of the verse: while the drashah is true, the text is already dealing with Mishkan Shiloh, so how could it historically focus on Shiloh and suddenly jump back to Nadav and Avihu? Chazal often interpret verses outside their chronological context, but one who seeks to explain the flow of a chapter built in chronological order cannot interpret it that way.
Radak explains "fire" metaphorically - warfare is called fire. In modern times this is intuitive, as in a "ceasefire," since firearms literally shoot fire; but in ancient times, how do we know war is called fire? From the verse: "For fire went forth from Cheshbon, a flame from the city of Sichon" - meaning they waged war. "Fire consumed their young men" refers to the young men who went out to battle; "and their maidens were not praised" - since the young men they were meant to marry died, the maidens never reached the chuppah.
And how do we know that "praised" (hulalu) refers to a wedding? Both Rashi and Radak note that the Gemara calls the wedding hall a "bei hilula" (house of praise). And why is it called that? Radak explains: because they praise the bride and groom with songs. The Malbim likewise notes that they would praise, "A graceful and beautiful bride," which is why it is called a hilula.
The Malbim himself explains: in an obligatory war (milchemet mitzvah), it is written that even "a groom goes out from his chamber, and a bride from her canopy," and therefore both young men and maidens perished there. Accordingly, "and their maidens were not praised" because they, too, died. And when it says "a bride from her canopy," it does not mean that she went out bearing arms, for a woman is forbidden to take up weapons and go out to war, as it says, "A man's item shall not be on a woman"; rather, they served in combat support roles, preparing the needs of the fighters.
כֹּהֲנָיו בַּחֶרֶב נָפָלוּ וְאַלְמְנֹתָיו לֹא תִבְכֶּינָה׃ - His priests fell by the sword, and his widows did not weep.
In that same battle in which the Ark was captured, Chofni and Pinchas died - they are "His priests fell by the sword." "And his widows did not weep" - even his widow could not mourn him, for she too died at that very moment, as it is written: "she knelt and gave birth, for her labor pains came upon her" (I Shmuel 4:19), dying in childbirth on the day she learned of the capture of the Ark and the death of her husband.
The Ibn Ezra notes a difficulty: this describes a single woman, so why is it phrased in the plural ("widows")? He answers that just as it happened to the wife of Pinchas, so it happened to the widows of other fallen soldiers, and she is merely an example; they too did not weep, for they died of grief and anguish.
The Metzudat David offers an intriguing explanation: from the verses, it appears that the grief over the capture of the Ark was greater than the grief over the deaths of people. We see this with Eli - it was not when he heard that his two sons had died that he fell backward and broke his neck, but rather at the words, "and the Ark of God was taken." The capture of the Ark was the most terrible of all. Accordingly, "His priests fell by the sword, and his widows did not weep" - they did not weep for their husbands because their weeping for the Ark was so much greater, as though they had no presence of mind to mourn them; the grief over the capture of the Ark eclipsed the death of their husbands, rendering their personal sorrow negligible by comparison.
וַיִּקַץ כְּיָשֵׁן אֲדֹנָי כְּגִבּוֹר מִתְרוֹנֵן מִיָּיִן׃ - Then the Lord awoke as one asleep, like a warrior shouting from wine.
The Radak explains: like a person who fell asleep from drinking too much wine, and now awakes from his wine, shouting and crying out. Why "like a warrior"? Because the only reason his strength was diminished, as it were, was due to the wine, and once he awakes from his wine, his strength returns to him. The analogy: the Holy One, Blessed be He, saw the sins of Israel and was like someone asleep and dormant, taking no action to rescue them. And the metaphor of wine is particularly fitting, since wine is red - "Though your sins be like scarlet" - thus He was, as it were, dormant on account of their sins which are red like wine, and consequently did not save them from the hand of their enemies.
One can add a kabbalistic insight here. It is written regarding the miracle of Purim, as explained by the holy Ari, that there was an aspect of dormita - a kabbalistic term signifying that Ze'eir Anpin was in a state of slumber, as it were. This is what Haman meant by "There is (yeshno) a certain people" - reading it homiletically as yashnu, they were asleep to the mitzvot, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, was seemingly asleep; when the miracle occurred, there was an awakening of Ze'eir Anpin. According to this, "Then the Lord awoke as one asleep" may also refer to that same state of dormita, where an aspect of slumber applies, as it were, within the realm of Ze'eir Anpin. This, of course, is according to the mystical dimension (Sod).
וַיַּךְ־צָרָיו אָחוֹר חֶרְפַּת עוֹלָם נָתַן לָמוֹ׃ - And He struck His foes backward, putting them to everlasting reproach.
According to the Radak, after their sins multiplied and they provoked Him with their evil deeds, "the Lord awoke as one asleep, and He struck His foes backward" - and this refers to Israel themselves: the Holy One, Blessed be He, was like one awakening and striking them. What is a "blow to the rear" (makat achor)? They were driven back before their enemies. For in war, to retreat before an enemy means to flee and turn one's back to him. Furthermore, when a person flees from an enemy, the enemy strikes him from behind - therefore it says, "He struck His foes backward," striking the fleeing troops in their rear. All this was punishment for their sins, for provoking Him through idolatry. "Putting them to everlasting reproach" - this refers to the exile of the Ark, which was an enduring disgrace for Israel.
The Malbim interprets this in the opposite manner: Hashem awoke, as it were, to take vengeance on the nations who had captured the Ark, like a sleeping man zealous for the honor of the Ark. "And He struck His foes backward" - this refers to the hemorrhoids and tumors (apolim and techorim), a literal affliction of the hindquarters, where their entrails protruded as they relieved themselves. Therefore it is an "everlasting reproach," for it is a profound humiliation for a person whose bowels spill out as he relieves himself.
וַיִּמְאַס בְּאֹהֶל יוֹסֵף וּבְשֵׁבֶט אֶפְרַיִם לֹא בָחָר׃ - He rejected the tent of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
"He rejected the tent of Joseph" - referring to the destruction of the Mishkan in Shiloh. Radak notes that even though the Ark was returned from the Philistines, it never returned to Shiloh. That site, situated in the portion of Ephraim, no longer served as the resting place for the Shechinah; rather, the Ark moved from place to place until King David brought it to Jerusalem. Likewise, He rejected the tribe of Ephraim by not choosing it for kingship.
וַיִּבְחַר אֶת־שֵׁבֶט יְהוּדָה אֶת־הַר צִיּוֹן אֲשֶׁר אָהֵב׃ - But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.
Corresponding to "and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim" stands "He chose the tribe of Judah", which replaced it for royalty. And corresponding to "He rejected the tent of Joseph", which was the Mishkan in Shiloh, stands "Mount Zion, which He loved", for He now chose Jerusalem. What is meant by "which He loved"? Metzudat David explains that He had loved this place from ancient times, for it was there that Isaac was bound upon the altar.
וַיִּבֶן כְּמוֹ־רָמִים מִקְדָּשׁוֹ כְּאֶרֶץ יְסָדָהּ לְעוֹלָם׃ - And He built His Sanctuary like the heights, like the earth He founded forever.
Rashi explains this in two ways. First: just as heaven and earth were created with both hands, as it says, "Indeed, My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens" (Isaiah 48:13), so too the Beit HaMikdash was built with both hands, as it says, "The Sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands established" (Exodus 15:17). Second: just as heaven and earth have no substitute, so too the Beit HaMikdash has no substitute as a dwelling place for the Shechinah; there is no other place in lieu of the heavens, no other place in lieu of the earth, and likewise no other place in lieu of the Beit HaMikdash.
Radak explains according to the plain meaning of the text: "Like the heights" (kemo ramim) means like lofty palaces, for kings would build tall, majestic palaces, and so Hashem built His Sanctuary. The text uses an abbreviated phrase, similar to "like a flock of sheared sheep" (ke'eder haketzuvot), which means a flock of sheared goats or sheep. "Like the earth He founded forever" - unlike Gilgal, Shiloh, Nov, and Givon, which were all temporary stations, He built His Sanctuary forever. This does not mean that the physical building itself would stand forever, for it was destroyed twice, but that the site itself remains forever. Even the Third Temple, which will descend built in fire, will be on this exact site. This location on Mount Moriah is eternal, as it is written in I Kings (8:13), "A place for You to dwell forever" - the Shechinah will never depart from this site.
The Malbim explains "like the heights" on a deeper level: the Beit HaMikdash functions like a ladder set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven. The heavenly Jerusalem corresponds directly to the earthly Jerusalem, and how does one reach the heavenly Jerusalem? From the Beit HaMikdash, from the resting place of the Shechinah. Its foundation is like the earth, while its top is like the lofty heights - it serves as the connector between the upper and lower realms.
It has been noted from Rav Nissim Perez zt"l in the name of the Ramchal that we declare in our intent before prayer: "Behold, I stand to pray toward Jerusalem the holy city, the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy of Holies, where the gate of heaven and the Shechinah reside, toward the space between the two Keruvim." And what is there between the two Keruvim? It is explained at the beginning of Otzrot Chaim and elsewhere that when the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, He contracted His infinite light, withdrawing His overt presence and light to create a circular void empty of His direct light - for otherwise, anything created within the Creator's undifferentiated light would simply revert to being absorbed into the Almighty. Afterwards, He extended a slender ray (kav) of light from His Essence into the reality of the tzimtzum, and upon that ray the Sefirot were arrayed - the Sefirot of Circles (Igulim) and the Sefirot of Straightness (Yosher). Whether the tzimtzum is literal or not is a major dispute among the kabbalists, as discussed at length in the shiurim on Michtav Me-Eliyahu. In any case, the inner essence of everything is His light, and the Ramchal explains that this slender ray of divine light extends directly to between the two Keruvim. This aligns beautifully with the words of the Malbim, who was a great kabbalist and studied Kabbalah for many years: the Beit HaMikdash is the bridge and connection between the lower world and the upper world.
וַיִּבְחַר בְּדָוִד עַבְדּוֹ וַיִּקָּחֵהוּ מִמִּכְלְאֹת צֹאן׃ - He chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.
Just as He chose the site of the Temple forever, so too did He choose David His servant forever. The Radak explains: There will never be another king over Jerusalem other than David and his descendants forever. "And took him from the sheepfolds" - from the pens of the flock, from the place where the sheep are penned, He took him to be king over Israel.
מֵאַחַר עָלוֹת הֱבִיאוֹ לִרְעוֹת בְּיַעֲקֹב עַמּוֹ וּבְיִשְׂרָאֵל נַחֲלָתוֹ׃ - From following the nursing ewes He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people and Israel His inheritance.
Olot are the nursing female sheep. Why are they called this? The Radak explains: Because they raise their young, and the offspring are called olim, meaning young ones, like olelim (infants); as in the verses, "He gently leads the nursing ones," "and the flocks and the herds nursing are upon me," "and if they overdrive them for one day."
Rashi cites the homiletic teaching of Chazal: David would tend the nursing sheep for his father because he was compassionate. He would first lead out the young kids and feed them the soft tips of the grass, then lead out the mature bucks to eat the middle of the grass, and finally lead out the older sheep to eat the roots. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: This one is worthy of shepherding My people. For had he led out the healthy and strong first, they would have consumed everything and left nothing appropriate for the weak. We learn that King David possessed immense sensitivity, even regarding sheep. And the Holy One, blessed be He, tested Moshe Rabbeinu with sheep and tested King David with sheep - it is with sheep that He tests leaders, to see if they are worthy of leadership.
The Malbim notes a precision in the continuation of the verse: He brought him to shepherd with two types of leadership - political leadership and moral leadership. Political leadership entails waging their wars and providing for the nation's livelihood; moral leadership entails guiding them spiritually. Where is this alluded to? "To shepherd Jacob His people and Israel His inheritance": "Jacob" always expresses Israel in their lowly state, from the root akev (heel); "Israel" expresses them in their exalted spiritual state, a term of mastery and nobility, "as princes and honored rulers." Thus, political leadership corresponds to "shepherding Jacob His people," while moral-spiritual leadership corresponds to "and Israel His inheritance" - and it uses the term "His inheritance," for as the Malbim previously mentioned, inheritance always denotes holiness, as this refers to spiritual leadership, the leadership of Torah.
The Malbim adds a fundamental principle: The Beit HaMikdash and the Davidic monarchy - both require the perfection of the community in order to endure. If the community lacks wholeness, the Beit HaMikdash is destroyed; if the community lacks wholeness, the Davidic dynasty ceases and is dispersed. The two are interdependent, as explained at length in chapter 132. When are we worthy of the Beit HaMikdash and the Davidic monarchy? When the community is whole and upright.
וַיִּרְעֵם כְּתֹם לְבָבוֹ וּבִתְבוּנוֹת כַּפָּיו יַנְחֵם׃ - So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
"So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart" - with the uprightness and pure sincerity that were in his heart, says the Radak, so he shepherded them; with integrity and straightness of heart he shepherded Israel just as he had shepherded the sheep. "And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands" - the Radak notes: Insight and understanding are attributed here to the hands, whereas understanding seemingly belongs to the intellect and the head. However, the shepherd guides the sheep with the staff in his hands, which makes this phrasing fitting: even though the primary impulse stems from the heart, the hands perform the actual work - guiding the sheep from this side, nudging them from that side, and leading them on the straight path with the staff in hand. And according to the Malbim, "according to the integrity of his heart" refers to spiritual leadership, while "and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands" refers to political leadership.
The final portion of the psalm leads us from the era of the Judges up to the Davidic monarchy: Israel repeatedly doubted whether Hashem is "the Most High God," drawing back like a deceitful bow - a bow whose aim is deceptive, or an arrow that recoils upon its archer. Consequently, Hashem abandoned the Tabernacle of Shiloh, for the essence of the Tent resides within man, and if man is unworthy, the Shechinah does not dwell there. The Ark was surrendered to captivity, the young men, maidens, and Kohanim fell, and grief over the capture of the Ark dwarfed all other sorrow. Then "the Lord awoke as from sleep" - He became zealous for the honor of His Ark and struck down His foes from behind, putting them to everlasting reproach. From here began the permanent choice: He rejected the tent of Joseph and chose Mount Zion which He loved from the time of the Akeidah, and built His Sanctuary like high heavens and like the earth - forever. And He chose David, who was tested through his compassion toward the sheep, to shepherd His people with both forms of leadership - political and spiritual. The Beit HaMikdash and the Davidic dynasty depend upon the wholeness of the community, and with this we conclude Chapter 78. May Hashem restore the Davidic kingdom to us speedily, Amen and Amen.