לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל־הַגִּתִּית לְאָסָף׃ - For the conductor, upon the Gittith, by Asaph.
The subject of the Gittith was already addressed in Chapter 8, where several explanations were cited. Here too, Rashi explains that the Gittith is a musical instrument that originated from Gath, where craftsmen specialized in its crafting, and the instrument was named after that place. Ibn Ezra mentions that some say the psalm was handed over to the family of Oved-Edom the Gittite, and was therefore called al ha-Gittith; alternatively, the opening of the musical composition was called ha-Gittith, denoting a specific style of melody. Still others suggested - though Ibn Ezra dismisses them as speaking vanity - that this was the melody sung by grape-treaders in the winepress (gat). In those days, laborers would sing as they worked, since rhythm assisted their labor, and they maintained that grape-treaders sang this tune; Ibn Ezra rejects this as baseless.
Radak teaches that this psalm was composed concerning the Exodus from Egypt, mentioning the cessation of forced labor - that hard labor ceased for our forefathers on Rosh Hashanah, as is said later: "I removed his shoulder from the burden." For half a year, there was no slave labor in Egypt. Although another Midrash states that they did not work during the entire year of the plagues, as discussed in the Daf Yomi, this must be understood in stages: once the plagues began, the labor was diminished, and six months prior to the Exodus - from Rosh Hashanah until Nisan - it ceased entirely. For this reason, this psalm was recited in the Beit HaMikdash on Rosh Hashanah, and it also mentions the blowing of the shofar, which is associated with Rosh Hashanah.
The Malbim adds that beyond the psalm being established for Rosh Hashanah, there was apparently a period of drought at that time, and on Rosh Hashanah they prayed for rain and were answered - as will become clear later in the chapter.
הַרְנִינוּ לֵאלֹהִים עוּזֵּנוּ הָרִיעוּ לֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב׃ - Sing joyfully to God, our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob.
Radak explains: It is fitting for you, the people of Hashem, to sing joyfully to God, our strength, to thank and praise Him for the goodness He bestowed upon you on this day. Even though the actual redemption did not take place on this day - occurring only six months later, on the fifteenth of Nisan - nevertheless, the first buds of redemption already sprouted on Rosh Hashanah with the cessation of forced labor. It is therefore already proper to sing praise to Him, because through Hashem's strength, we ceased to be enslaved to Egypt.
And why is He called "our strength"? Because when Hashem removes the burden from our shoulder, He displays His might and strength. For we were delivered into the hands of harsh masters, and to extract us from their grasp required the strength of Hashem. And why "the God of Jacob"? Because it was the tribes of Jacob who were the slaves. Jacob was the one who descended to Egypt, and this refers to the enslaved generation - the children of Jacob. It was from then that the count of the years of bondage began, from redu - 210 years. Therefore, Scripture mentions the God of Jacob, rather than the God of Abraham or the God of Isaac, for neither Abraham nor Isaac went down to settle in Egypt.
The Malbim highlights a fascinating point: Rosh Hashanah is distinguished from all other festivals in that the shofar is sounded on it, yet the shofar is ordinarily an omen of trembling and dread. The practice was to sound the shofar on fast days and during times of distress: "You shall blow short blasts on the trumpets when confronting the enemy who oppresses you," and according to the Rambam, it is a Torah commandment to sound the trumpets for any calamity that may arise. Thus, the shofar is sounded in times of trouble. Yet on Rosh Hashanah, the Levi'im sing in the Beit HaMikdash and sound the shofar as well, and this shofar blast does not engender fear. After all, Scripture instructs: "Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, for today is sacred to our Lord; do not be sad, for the joy of Hashem is your strength" - Rosh Hashanah is a day of joy! This is precisely what the verse comes to convey: while the shofar is normally sounded in times of distress and fasts, on Rosh Hashanah it comes in a time of joyful song. "Sing joyfully to God, our strength" - sing praise to Him because He is our strength, and also "shout aloud" with the shofar because He is the God of Jacob, who commanded us to sound the shofar on this day.
שְׂאוּ־זִמְרָה וּתְנוּ־תֹף כִּנּוֹר נָעִים עִם־נָבֶל׃ - Raise a song and sound the drum, the sweet harp with the lute.
"Raise a song" - raise up song. "And sound the drum" - produce the sound of the drum, meaning play the drum, or place your hands upon the drum. Regarding "the sweet harp with the lute," Rashi cites: Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba says that the lute (*nevel*) and the harp (*kinnor*) are the exact same instrument. Rabbi Shimon says there are additional strings differentiating between them; that is, the *nevel* has more strings (*nimin*, from the word for a strand or hair) than the *kinnor*. And why is it called *nevel*? Because it puts all other musical instruments to shame (*menabel*), eclipsing them: it was considered so magnificent that all other instruments sounded inferior and degraded beside it.
The book *Tehillot Maharitza* brings a beautiful allusion. This psalm is founded upon Rosh Hashanah, when "a king by justice establishes the land," and it is known that the days of divine favor continue until Hoshana Rabbah, when judgment is finally concluded and sealed, as the Zohar states. From Rosh Hashanah until Hoshana Rabbah there are twenty days, which equal 480 hours, and throughout all those hours the awe of judgment hangs over the world. When one emerges from them in peace, one must offer thanks and rejoice. This is the meaning of "Raise a song and sound the drum (*tof*)" - here *tof* (תֹף) is written without a *vav*, and *tav-feh* (ת"ף) has the numerical value of 480: for these 480 hours that passed well, through judgment tempered with kindness and mercy, one must give thanks and sing to Hashem. Therefore, "the sweet harp with the lute" - one must thank Hashem, may He be blessed, with harp and lute.
תִּקְעוּ בַחֹדֶשׁ שׁוֹפָר בַּכֵּסֶה לְיוֹם חַגֵּנוּ׃ - Blow the shofar at the new moon, at the appointed time for our festival day.
"At the *chodesh*" - at the renewal of the moon. "At the *keseh*" - an appointed time, as in "he will return home on the appointed day (*yom hakeseh*)" (Mishlei 7:20), a set date. The Radak explains that the first day of the month is called *chodesh*, as in "tomorrow is the new moon (*machar chodesh*)" - meaning tomorrow is Rosh Chodesh, because the moon renews on that day. The moon is completely obscured toward the end of the month, and as the month begins, it reappears; witnesses would then come and testify that they had seen the moon in its renewal, and the court would sanctify the month. From this one understands that the entire month is called *chodesh* after its beginning, when the moon is renewed (*chidush*). Thus, the verse is saying: blow the shofar on the day that is Rosh Chodesh. And on which Rosh Chodesh do we blow the shofar? On Rosh Hashanah, as it is written, "On the first day of the seventh month... a memorial of blowing the horn" (Vayikra 23:24).
Now, if one opens a Chumash, nowhere in the Torah will he find it explicitly stated that on Rosh Hashanah we blow a shofar. The text says "a day of sounding (*teruah*)," "a memorial of sounding" - but what instrument produces the *teruah*? We find, "and you shall sound (*vaharei'otem*) with trumpets." Who revealed to us that it refers to a shofar? Anyone studying Daf Yomi knows: the Gemara derives this from our very verse, "Blow the shofar at the new moon, at the appointed time for our festival day." On the one hand, one could derive it from Yom Kippur of the Jubilee year, occurring once every fifty years, where the Torah explicitly says, "and you shall sound a shofar of *teruah*"; on the other hand, one could derive it from the encampments in the desert, where there was also a *teruah* - but with trumpets. From which do we learn? Our verse teaches "at the new moon, a shofar," so we derive it from Yom Kippur, and from there we learn that the sounding on Rosh Hashanah is with a shofar. Thus, our verse reveals what the Torah meant. Even in the Beit HaMikdash there were trumpets and shofars, and were it not for this verse, who would have known that Rosh Hashanah requires a shofar?
The Radak cites here - as Tosafot also note in Masechet Rosh Hashanah - that on this day, the slave labor ceased from our forefathers. Six months before Israel left Egypt, the slave labor was abolished, and this took place on Rosh Hashanah. True, there is an opinion in the Midrash that throughout the entire period of the plagues there was no labor, and the plagues lasted twelve months; however, this is resolved: from the time the plagues began, in Nisan of the previous year, the burden of labor was lightened and the taskmasters no longer dealt harshly with them, and when Tishrei arrived, six months before the Exodus, the work ceased entirely.
What is the connection between the cessation of labor and blowing the shofar? The Radak explains: the signal for releasing slaves was always the shofar. On Yom Kippur of the Jubilee year, once every fifty years, it is written: "and you shall sound a shofar of *teruah* throughout all your land," "and proclaim liberty throughout the land," and the slaves went free. Corresponding to this, Hashem commanded us to blow the shofar on every Rosh Hashanah, to remember that on this day the slave labor ceased and our freedom began. This is a profound insight. If one were to ask why we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, the Gemara already asks and answers, "The Merciful One said to blow" - the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded us to blow, and so we blow. We also know the reason: "Recite before Me *Malchiyot* so that you crown Me as king, *Zichronot* so that your remembrance rises favorably before Me - and with what? With a shofar," to bring us to favorable remembrance before the Holy One, blessed be He. Yet here we see an entirely different reason: that on every Rosh Hashanah we remember that on this day the labor ceased from our forefathers and their freedom commenced. Although the actual departure into freedom occurred only in Nisan, this day marked "the beginning of our freedom," in the words of the Radak. Perhaps we can also suggest an allusion to teshuvah: until now, a person may have been a subjugated slave to the evil inclination - let him remember that the beginning of freedom occurs on Rosh Hashanah, and he can now repent and go free from the bondage of the *yetzer hara*. This is the shofar's message to every person each and every year.
"At the *keseh*" - an appointed time and season; "for our festival day (*le'yom chagenu*)" - showing that it is one of the festivals. Rosh Hashanah is called a *chag* even though no *chagigah* offering is brought on it, yet we see it is termed a festival. By contrast, Chanukah, for instance, is never called a *chag* anywhere in traditional sources - only preschool teachers sing that "Chanukah is a good holiday." People often ask: what does "a good holiday" mean - is there such a thing as a bad holiday? The response is: if they say so, they must know.
The Malbim explains: "Raise a song and strike the timbrel" - to sing in song, and "sound the shofar at the new moon", meaning that the song and the sounding of the shofar come together. On this day, we have three distinct aspects. The first is bachodesh ("at the new moon"), the day on which the moon is renewed. The second is bakeseh ("at the appointed time"), the set time, as in "for the appointed day" (leyom hakeseh), the day prepared and designated for judgment. And the third is leyom chagenu ("for our festival day"), established as a day of festival and celebration. For indeed, there is a mitzvah that on Rosh Hashanah a person should bathe, cut his hair, and dress in white, not like the way of the nations, as the Tur writes, who sink into depression and gloom when facing judgment. The Torah does not demand this of man; on the contrary, one is commanded to rejoice, and this is what the verse tells us here.
כִּי חֹק לְיִשְׂרָאֵל הוּא מִשְׁפָּט לֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב׃ - For it is a statute for Israel, a judgment of the God of Jacob.
The Tehillot Maharith raises a great question here: not only does the Torah not specify what instrument to blow on Rosh Hashanah, but it also does not state at all what Rosh Hashanah is about. We saw one reason - that labor ceased from our forefathers - but that, too, is not explicitly stated in the Torah. Yet for the other festivals, everything is explicitly stated: Pesach commemorates the Exodus from Egypt; Shavuot is the time of the first fruits and the Giving of the Torah; Sukkot is called in the Torah Chag HaAsif (the Festival of Ingathering), set for the time when you gather in the harvest from the field. But regarding Rosh Hashanah, the Torah does not state what occurred on that day or why we celebrate it. What about the creation of the world? First, it is a dispute whether the world was created in Tishrei or in Nisan. Furthermore, is that a reason to celebrate, a birthday for the world? The Torah mentions Pharaoh's birthday, not the world's birthday! The Exodus from Egypt marked our beginning as a nation, and there is reason to rejoice that we merited to become a people and that Hashem chose us and brought us out of Egypt; but regarding the creation of the world, on the contrary: "It would have been better for man not to have been created than to have been created, and now that he has been created, let him examine his deeds and engage in Torah." We have no inherent reason to celebrate the creation of the world.
He explains this based on what is cited from the holy Ari: one who is moved to tears during the Yamim Noraim should know that at that very moment, he is being judged in the Heavenly Court. And this refers to being moved spontaneously, not merely carried away by the cantor's melody. If one is not moved to tears on his own, it is a sign that his soul is not purified, Heaven forbid. Not that we actively seek signs, but for someone who needs this awareness, here is an indicator. According to this, he explains, one can understand why the Torah does not need to spell out the essence of Rosh Hashanah: because it is felt instinctively. All inhabitants of the world pass before Him like sheep, and a person senses this within himself and is moved to tears on his own. This is what the verse conveys: "Sound the shofar at the new moon" - the Torah commands us to blow on this day without revealing why; "at the appointed time, for our festival day" - this day is hidden and wondrous, its full significance undisclosed. And what is the reason? "For it is a statute for Israel, a judgment of the God of Jacob" - since on this day there is a statute and judgment before the God of Jacob, every Jew ought to perceive the judgment naturally and be stirred spontaneously; therefore, the Torah saw no need to elaborate. What must be noted, however, is that due to the decline of the generations - which had already begun in King David's time - David begins to spell it out: "It is a statute for Israel, a judgment of the God of Jacob"; a king establishes the land through justice, and all pass before Him like a flock of sheep. As the generations decline, greater explanation becomes necessary.
There is a magnificent explanation here by the author of the Panim Yafot, of which it could truly be said that it was uttered with Divine inspiration. Our Sages expound that bachodesh ("at the new moon") refers to Rosh Chodesh, and bakeseh ("at the appointed time / hidden moon") also indicates Rosh Chodesh, for that is when the moon is concealed. The Gemara deduces that this cannot refer to any other festival except Rosh Hashanah, because only Rosh Hashanah falls when the moon is hidden: on the fifteenth of Nisan and the fifteenth of Tishrei, the moon shines in its full strength; on the fifth, sixth, or seventh of Sivan, the days on which Shavuot can fall, the moon is already shining brightly. Only on Rosh Hashanah is the moon concealed.
If so, a question arises: why did the verse not group the time designations together and mention the shofar separately, saying: "Blow a shofar at the new moon, at the appointed time for our festival day," or "Blow the shofar at the new moon, at the appointed time"? After all, both bachodesh and bakeseh refer to Rosh Hashanah, so why is the word shofar inserted between them? Rather, consider this: take the letters that immediately precede the letters of chodesh (ח-ד-ש) - before chet is zayin, before dalet is gimmel, before shin is resh - you get gezer (decree). Take the word keseh (כ-ס-ה) - before chaf is yud, before samech is nun, before heh is dalet - you get din (judgment). Thus, bachodesh bakeseh yields gezer din (a decree of judgment). And what cuts through the decree of judgment in the middle? The word shofar, which stands between them! And if we apply the same method to it: before shin is resh, before peh is ayin, before resh is kuf - we get kera (tear). Thus we find: "Tear the decree of judgment" (kera gezer din). The shofar enters the middle and tears up the harsh decree! And even though shofar is written here with a vav, in the Torah it appears without a vav, so the vav here does not alter the allusion.
The Gemara states: "Any year for which they do not sound the blast at its beginning, they will sound evil blasts for it at its end." Many of the Rishonim explain that this applies when they intentionally failed to blow the shofar. The Aruch LaNer testifies that he examined Jewish history and found that the years of severe hardship for the Jewish people were years in which they did not sound the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. Some say that even nowadays one is commanded to blow the shofar in a place where there is a Beit Din, but the halachah does not follow this view.