We continue with Psalm 86, "A prayer of David." In this psalm, King David lays out the foundations of trust in Hashem: why salvation ought to come, what the essence of prayer is, and why specifically the Holy One, blessed be He - and no other force in creation - is the One who holds the power to save. In this lesson, we will examine the verses from "For You, my Lord, are good and forgiving" through "You alone are God."
כִּי אַתָּה אֲדֹנָי טוֹב וְסַלָּח וְרַב חֶסֶד לְכׇל קֹרְאֶיךָ׃ - For You, my Lord, are good and forgiving, and abundant in kindness to all who call upon You.
Ibn Ezra explains: "Good" - to the good, and "forgiving" - to sinners. "And abundant in kindness to all who call upon You" corresponds to what he said earlier, "for to You I call all day" - and if You are abundant in kindness to all who call upon You, it is fitting that You save me as well.
Radak disagrees and explains: "Good" - to all creatures, and not only to the good. He derives this precisely from what is stated in Psalm 145: "Hashem is good to all" - proving that the goodness of the Holy One, blessed be He, extends over everyone.
And the Midrash says: Rabbi Pinchas said, why is He good? Because He is forgiving. And why is He forgiving? Because He is good. That is, Hashem does good to you because He forgives you, and why does He forgive you? Because Hashem is inherently good. Since the desire of the Holy One, blessed be He, is to bestow good, He does not maintain His anger forever, but rather pardons and forgives - certainly to one who repents.
"And abundant in kindness to all who call upon You" - to all those who call out to You in a time of distress, Radak notes, even if they have acted wickedly, for when they call upon You they are repenting. There is a keen nuance here: ostensibly, it should have said "answers all who call upon You"; why does it say "abundant in kindness"? After all, if someone turns to Hashem and asks for salvation, he might be expected to be answered from Heaven, whereas chesed refers specifically to that which is granted to someone who does not deserve it. Rather, "to all who call upon You" comes to include even those who acted wickedly, who truly do not deserve by strict justice to be answered, yet nevertheless the Holy One, blessed be He, answers them out of lovingkindness, since they are returning in teshuvah.
The Malbim explains that in this verse David is speaking about Hashem's salvation, and salvation can be withheld from a person for three reasons. The first is on the part of the giver: a person might expect salvation from someone whose nature is not to do good, making his expectation futile. With the Holy One, blessed be He, this is inapplicable, for "You, my Lord, are good"; therefore, on the part of the Giver, there is certainly a will to save.
The second obstacle is on the part of the recipient, who is unworthy of receiving goodness due to his sins. This, too, presents no barrier, for You are "good and forgiving" - You forgive sins, and I repent for them.
The third is on the part of the giver's customary practice: perhaps he gives only in precise measure according to a person's deeds - whatever you deserve you receive, and nothing more. And perhaps I am not in a position where my deeds merit it? Regarding this, David says: "and abundant in kindness to all who call upon You" - You do not give strictly according to the letter of the law, but with kindness, and chesed means bestowing abundance beyond what is deserved. Thus, even if by strict justice I am unworthy, through the abundant kindness and goodness of the Creator, blessed be He, it is fitting that I receive. These three factors explain why Hashem bestows good even when external circumstances would seemingly prevent that flow.
הַאֲזִינָה ה' תְּפִלָּתִי וְהַקְשִׁיבָה בְּקוֹל תַּחֲנוּנוֹתָי׃ - "Give ear, Hashem, to my prayer, and attend to the voice of my supplications."
The Malbim explains: Tefillah is the outpouring of the soul and its cleaving to its Source. "Tefillah" is related to the word *petilah* (wick or cord) - in prayer, one cleaves to the Holy One, blessed be He, and binds oneself to Him. Similarly, we find that the prayers correspond to the offerings (*korbanot*), and *korban* comes from the root of *kerov* (drawing near), whose purpose is to come close to the Holy One, blessed be He. *Petilah* signifies attachment, twisting and binding things together; *korban* signifies closeness.
In this, tefillah differs from other terms, such as *techinah* (supplication) and similar expressions that denote requesting one's needs - where one pleads in order to receive something. Tefillah is the exact opposite: the elevation of the soul above all material concerns, where there is no desire for anything physical, but only for the spiritual.
We should know that the Kabbalists direct their intentions during prayer entirely toward matters of spiritual connection, and do not deal with physical matters at all. Therefore, they do not introduce material requests into the tefillah, nor do they add personal petitions within it; if one wishes to make personal requests, he should say them at the end. As Rav Chaim of Volozhin writes (as explained in the lessons on *Nefesh HaChaim*): prayer is a need on High (*tzorech ma'alah*). It is not, as people often think, merely a need of this lower world - that you lack something, so you stand and pray and the Holy One, blessed be He, will send it to you. That is a simplistic and material understanding; in a higher spiritual understanding, prayer is a need on High - the elevation of the soul above all physical concerns.
However, when a person prays and his soul rises above all material concerns and connects with Hashem, it is the way of the Holy One, blessed be He, to listen to supplications as well - that is, to what the body requests for its physical needs. This is the meaning of "Give ear, Hashem, to my prayer" - and by virtue of Your listening to my prayer, "and attend to the voice of my supplications," which are the physical requests. Through my connecting to spirituality, I ask that You also listen to my supplications regarding earthly matters.
בְּיוֹם צָרָתִי אֶקְרָאֶךָּ כִּי תַעֲנֵנִי׃ - "In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me."
Therefore, I call upon You in the day of my trouble, for I know that You will answer me, since whoever calls upon You with a whole heart is answered. This is unlike other gods, where the nations cry out to their god and there is neither voice nor answer. As Eliyahu said to them on Mount Carmel: Call with a loud voice, perhaps he is on a journey - perhaps he is traveling and delayed, or perhaps he is asleep taking an afternoon rest - call out loudly, perhaps you will awaken him! He mocked them and made a laughingstock of them. That is the way of the nations. But as for me, I know: "I will call upon You, for You will answer me" - with You, it is not like the nations, as he will also mention this contrast in the next verse.
The Malbim explains the sequence of ideas: Master of the Universe, "Gladden the soul of Your servant, for to You, my Lord, I lift up my soul," and You give ear to my prayer and attend to the voice of my supplications - especially when I call in a day of trouble. For it is Hashem's way to bring salvation in times of trouble, and the Holy One, blessed be He, is close to those who are in distress and cry out to Him. Therefore, "In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me."
אֵין כָּמוֹךָ בָאֱלֹהִים אֲדֹנָי וְאֵין כְּמַעֲשֶׂיךָ׃ - "There is none like You among the gods, my Lord, and there is nothing like Your works."
Under the word kamocha, beneath the letter mem, there is a tircha cantillation mark - a half-moon pointing to the right. Ordinarily, a tircha is a disjunctive accent (ta'am mafsik), and if so, one would have read "ein kamocha", followed by a pause, and then "ba'Elohim". But that raises a question: why is "va'Elohim" written without a dagesh in the beit? After all, the dagesh drops from the beged-kefet letters only when preceded by one of the letters of ahvi (alef, hei, vav, yud) at the end of the previous word. In the word kamocha, there is no ahvi letter at the end - except, as we have already explained, a final chaf is treated as though it has a silent hei after it, "kamocha-h", a letter that is unwritten yet virtually heard. This indicates that the two words are read together: "Ein kamocha va'Elohim."
The resolution is what we noted earlier: the cantillation system of sifrei EMET - Iyov, Mishlei, and Tehillim - differs from the rest of Tanach. In the EMET system, the tircha is a conjunctive accent (ta'am mesharet) and does not pause, unlike in the other twenty-one books. From this emerges a wonderful understanding: there is no pause under kamocha; rather, the phrase is read continuously - "Ein kamocha va'Elohim."
The Radak explains this along the lines of Moshe Rabbeinu's declaration: "For what great nation is there that has a god so close to it as Hashem our God is whenever we call to Him?" Yet one must ask: what does it mean that "there is none like You among the elohim" - does this imply, Heaven forbid, an acknowledgment that other deities exist?
The Radak explains that this refers to the sun, moon, and stars. Why are they called elohim? Because El denotes power, as in the phrase "yesh le-el yadi" - it is within the power of my hand. This is also why idols are called "elohim acheirim" (other gods), since their worshippers believe they possess the power to rescue them. There were sun-worshippers, people who prostrated themselves before the sun because of its immense power. Indeed, the celestial bodies possess a certain dominion over the terrestrial realm, and in that sense it is fitting to describe them as powers - after all, the sun rules over the lower world and gives light to the earth and its inhabitants. Even so, "there is none like You" among them, for they are merely Your emissaries; You dispatch them, and they are entirely powerless to act against the Supreme Will.
In other words: there is no power in creation other than Hashem, "there is none else besides Him," and all the forces in creation are His instruments. This also explains the divine name Elokim, which might otherwise seem puzzling: the foundation of our faith is "Hear, O Israel, Hashem is our God, Hashem is One" - His absolute unity, with none beside Him - so why is this name formulated in the plural? The answer is that it signifies "Master of all powers." Far from implying multiplicity, it teaches that no power possesses independent force; rather, all derive their strength from Him, from the Infinite One, blessed be He. Thus, "there is none like You among the powers" means there is none like You across all the forces of reality, for they all receive and draw their vitality from You: sun, moon, stars, wind, and fire. There were idolaters who worshipped fire, and others who worshipped animals - to this day in India, a cow crossing the road brings traffic to a standstill. Regarding all of these, Scripture declares: know that they are merely agents, powerless to accomplish or undo anything against the Creator's will. "Nor are there any works like Yours" - You created all beings, and You have the power both to perform their functions and to undo them, whereas they can neither duplicate Your works nor undo them. Thus, there are truly no works like those of the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself.
The Malbim explains that "There is none like You among the powers, Hashem" comes to refute two philosophies that prevailed among the nations. One faction denied divine providence. They maintained that although the Holy One, blessed be He, alone created the universe, He handed its governance over to other forces - asserting that the constellations, stars, and celestial spheres direct the world. We saw this at length when studying Sefer Iyov: the distorted perception held by the nations of that era, and how Iyov debated this very issue with his companions throughout the book. Their claim was that while God created the universe, He consigned it to a corrupt, unjust intermediary. As it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, no longer concerns Himself with earthly affairs; there are natural functionaries, and these functionaries are corrupt. That was Iyov's argument: I have no direct complaint against Hashem; my grievance is over why You handed the world over to such corrupt deputies; it is not Hashem who harms me, but them.
A second faction claimed that there were multiple agents involved in creation itself, arguing that existence came about through chains of causes and effects rather than directly from Hashem - that numerous forces were active until creation reached reality.
כׇּל גּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ יָבוֹאוּ וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְפָנֶיךָ אֲדֹנָי וִיכַבְּדוּ לִשְׁמֶךָ׃ - All nations whom You have made shall come and bow down before You, my Lord, and shall give honor to Your Name.
Those who denied divine providence still accorded honor to the Holy One, blessed be He, as the First Cause - they conceded that He created the world - but they refused to bow before Him, since according to their flawed view He does not govern it today and is uninvolved in terrestrial events, rendering prostration pointless. To this the verse responds: "They shall come and bow down before You" - those who until now merely showed honor without prostrating will recognize that the Holy One, blessed be He, is the active Ruler whose influence is continuous, that all bounty flows solely from Him, and therefore prostrating before Him is deeply meaningful.
And addressing the second faction: "There is none like You among the powers" - there is no other power like You in divine governance, and therefore all will bow down before You; "nor are there any works like Yours" - and therefore they "shall give honor to Your Name." For those who believed that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not create the world alone saw no reason to honor Him exclusively, believing there were many partners. But when the sovereignty of the Creator, blessed be He, is revealed, even those who withheld honor will glorify His Name, recognizing that all honor belongs solely to Hashem, Who created the universe alone.
Here it is important to emphasize the principle we explained: these forces have no power of their own to direct or govern; rather, the divine bounty descends and cascades through them. This is the concept known as mazalot - the bounty flows (nozel) through them. Through one mazal a certain influence descends, and through another mazal a different influence descends; that is true. But to say that the mazal itself is the influencer? Not at all - the mazal is merely a conduit. "Water shall drip from his buckets" - the abundance descends and flows from above to below. You are the One Who directs them all.
And when will this be fulfilled? Radak explains: in the days of King Mashiach, as written in the words of the prophets, "And Hashem shall be King over all the earth; on that day Hashem shall be One and His Name One" - then all the nations will truly recognize His kingdom, blessed be He.
כִּי גָדוֹל אַתָּה וְעֹשֵׂה נִפְלָאוֹת אַתָּה אֱלֹהִים לְבַדֶּךָ׃ - For You are great and do wondrous things; You are God alone.
Rashi explains: "Alone" - back when You were alone, before the angels were created, heaven and earth were already created; even then You performed wonders alone, before any other force existed in creation. As Chazal famously said, the Holy One, blessed be He, created the angels on the second day so people would not say that Gavriel was stretching from here and Michael was stretching from there, and that the angels assisted in creation, as if the Holy One, blessed be He, were not alone in His world, but rather had help in creating the universe. Therefore, at the very beginning He did not create them, but rather, "You are God alone."
Radak explains: then everyone will recognize that You are greater than all gods and that You are the One Who works wonders. When they witness the wonders You will perform in taking the Jewish people out from among the nations - "As in the days of your coming out of the land of Egypt I will show him wondrous things" - they will recognize that You are God alone. It will not be like in ancient times, when people believed there was a God Who created the world alongside other deities; then they will declare to Him: You alone are God.
The Malbim explains that when applied to the Holy One, blessed be He, the term gadol ("great") indicates that He is the Prime Cause and the end of all causes, extending through to the very last of the effects. We have explained several times the difference between gadol ("great") and ram ("exalted"): it is said, "In Israel His Name is great (gadol)," whereas "Hashem is exalted (ram) above all nations" - among the nations He is categorized merely as ram. What is the difference? One might say: this tree is gadol (tall from the ground up); by contrast, this hot-air balloon is ram (high up in the sky), an airplane is ram. Gadol always extends continuously from bottom to top, whereas ram means detached and elevated far above. The nations, in order to rid themselves of the Master of the World, "kicked" Him upward: You are exalted, You do not concern Yourself with what happens down here, You do not know exactly what I am doing, and You do not really care. On the contrary, it even gives them a pious feeling that they are "honoring" Him - would you really want Him to occupy Himself with your little itch? The Holy One, blessed be He, does not deal in petty things.
We say: that is not so. Gadol means from bottom to top. He knows what is happening and is actively involved in all of creation, from the lowest and most mundane level to the very highest. And this is the Malbim's definition: the Prime Cause through to the ultimate effects. For the chain of descent from above to below operates through cause and effect - this cause brought about that, and that brought about the next, until the final outcome manifests down here in the lower world. And the Holy One, blessed be He, is not present at merely one point along the chain; rather, He is gadol - encompassing everything from top to bottom, and all of it comes from Him, blessed be He.
And since "You are great alone," there are no independent powers here; there is no autonomous system to which Hashem delegates power and leaves to run itself, but rather everything is from Him from top to bottom. Therefore, "there is nothing like Your works" - You have no partner in the creation of the world, and You have no partner in its governance. And since You work wonders, alter the laws of nature, and direct all natural forces - for "You are great" from top to bottom - the power is in Your hands to perform miracles and overturn nature's order. "There is none like You among the gods, Hashem" - since You are Creator and Overseer, You have the power to dismantle the natural order, and therefore You also have the power to save me. This is the plea: "In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me" - Master of the World, answer me, meaning save me from my troubles, for I have no doubt that You are great and do wondrous things; You are God alone.
We have mentioned several times that those who believed that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not create the world, but rather that the universe is primordial, inevitably concluded that He cannot change anything within it: if You did not create the world, You cannot alter it either. But because we believe that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, we have no doubt that the world is in His hand, and it is within His power to change it at any given moment. This is the meaning of "You are great and do wondrous things" - even when You were alone, when You formed and created the world, and consequently it is in Your power to work wonders.
In the sefer Tehillot Maharit, he cites the statement of Chazal: "The beneficiary of a miracle does not recognize his miracle." Even though the one for whom the miracle occurs witnesses the event, he cannot fully comprehend its true magnitude. He illustrates this with the splitting of the Red Sea. The sea split - we witnessed a miracle. But what did we actually see? Only a small fraction of the broader picture: we saw the sea split in that specific location. However, that at that very moment all the waters throughout the world split - that we did not see. Furthermore, that every miraculous parting of waters throughout history - Yehoshua splitting the Jordan, the Ginnai River parting before Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair, and similar events - was latently embedded right here in the splitting of the Red Sea, where the seeds for all those future wonders were planted; that too we did not see and could not know at that stage.
And this is the meaning of the verse, "and performing wonders, You, God, alone": You perform the wonders, and You alone know and comprehend their true scope. We perceive only the localized, specific wonder, but to recognize the full scope of the miracle - how truly immense the wonder is, and how vast the salvation - only Hashem alone knows.
David HaMelech bases his petition on three foundations: "good" - that on the part of the Giver there is a desire to bestow good; "and forgiving" - that sin does not obstruct; and "abundant in lovingkindness" - that even one who is undeserving by strict justice is answered out of pure grace. From there he ascends to the essence of prayer, which is the outpouring of the soul and its cleaving to its Source, an elevation above physical matters through which supplications for earthly needs are likewise heard. Finally, he establishes the cornerstone of faith: "There is none like You among the gods" - all forces in creation are merely emissaries and conduits drawing their existence from Him, blessed be He, with no partner in either creation or providence. And because He is "great" - spanning from the First Cause to the ultimate consequence - He holds the power to overturn the natural order and bring salvation; indeed, all nations are destined to come, bow down, and glorify His Name in the Messianic era. And through all this, the full magnitude of the wonders He performs with us - "You, God, alone" - only He alone knows.