Introduction: The Psalm of Yearning for the House of Hashem
Chapter 84 of Tehillim is the psalm that opens the Minchah prayer (at least according to the Sephardic custom): "To the conductor, upon the Gittit, a psalm of the sons of Korach." In this psalm we will learn two things at once: first, how to read it correctly from a grammatical standpoint - as it contains quite a few common mispronunciations, especially among those who recite it by heart; and second, and most importantly, we will merit to understand its inner meaning in depth.
לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל הַגִּתִּית לִבְנֵי קֹרַח מִזְמוֹר׃ - For the conductor, upon the Gittit, a psalm by the sons of Korach.
The Radak presents two possibilities. The first is that the psalm was said regarding David when he was fleeing in exile in the land of the Pelishtim, longing for the place of the Ark and the Altar, expressing here his yearning - when will I merit to reach the Sanctuary of Hashem? The second possibility, which the Radak prefers, is that the psalm was said regarding all the people of the exile, whose souls yearn and pine for the courtyards of Hashem, and not specifically about David.
"HaGittit" is a musical instrument that came from Gat, upon which they would play the song. Every psalm had a specific melody and a particular instrument upon which it was played. "For the sons of Korach" - they were the ones who would sing it, as from the descendants of Korach were the Levite singers in the Beit HaMikdash.
The Malbim explains: The psalm is the song of a Levite in the Babylonian exile, a prisoner of hope, whose soul longed to return to his sacred service and sing the song of Hashem in His Sanctuary. The Levites had two roles: singers and gatekeepers, and this Levite was from the sons of Korach who were singers - those who would burst into song during the pouring of the wine libation upon the sacrifice. He yearns: when will I merit to return to the platform, to ascend the steps and sing there before Hashem? The psalm praises those who await salvation and the rebuilding of the Temple, and prays that the horn of David flourish and that we merit to witness the return of Israel to Jerusalem.
The psalm is divided into three parts. As is known, the Malbim's approach is that wherever "Selah" appears, it indicates that one topic has concluded and a new topic begins.
"How Beloved Are Your Dwellings" - Lovesick
מַה יְּדִידוֹת מִשְׁכְּנוֹתֶיךָ יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת׃ נִכְסְפָה וְגַם כָּלְתָה נַפְשִׁי לְחַצְרוֹת יְהֹוָה לִבִּי וּבְשָׂרִי יְרַנְּנוּ אֶל אֵל חָי׃ - How beloved are Your dwelling places, Hashem of Hosts! My soul yearned and even pined for the courtyards of Hashem; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Several common reading errors occur here. "Mah yedidot" - and not "yedidut." "Ve-gam kaltah" - and not "kaltah" with a patach. "Le-chatzrot" - and not "la-chatzrot": beneath the chet is a patach, which is a short vowel, and the sheva that follows is a sheva nach. One must also distinguish between the two words spelled "alef-lamed": the first, "el" with a segol, means "to" or "toward"; while the second, "Eil" with a tzeirei, is a Holy Name of God. The rule is as follows: when referring to the Divine Name, it has a tzeirei, and when it is the preposition "to" ("he went to Moshe," "to Aharon"), it has a segol.
"How beloved are Your dwellings" - how beloved are Your sanctuaries; I love and long to be in Your dwellings, as the Radak explains. The Malbim explains that the first part of the psalm depicts how beloved Your dwellings are: my soul is lovesick with Your love; my soul yearned and pined to arrive at the courtyards of Hashem. Notice that not only did the spiritual soul yearn, but also "my heart and my flesh" - the physical aspect of my being. The soul, being spiritual, naturally longs for spirituality; the novel insight is that the heart and the flesh also yearn for the time when they will sing for joy to the living God, returning to the Beit HaMikdash to sing the song of Hashem over the sacrifices. For during the sacrifices, both joined together: the singing welled up from within the heart, from its passion and desire, and was expressed through the flesh - through the mouth and lips, which are physical flesh. There is the stirring of the heart and there is also the physical flesh, and therefore "my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God."
And why does it say "to the living God (El chai)" rather than "to God (El Elokim)"? The Malbim explains: "El chai" means that He is the source of my life. The spiritual soul yearns for Hashem, Who is the source of its life.
And what is the meaning of "longed and even yearned" (niksefah vegam kaltah)? The Malbim explains that kaltah denotes something greater than niksefah. Niksefah means longing for something (and this is the origin of the word for silver, kesef, because everyone yearns for it). Kaltah means longing to the point of exhaustion of the soul, where one's soul departs and expires with longing. Rashi explains that niksefah is an expression of desire, that one's soul covets and craves, as in "and King David yearned (vatachal) to go out to Avshalom" - meaning that his soul expired with longing to go out to him.
What is "for the courtyards of Hashem"? The Radak explains that this was the station of the Jewish people in the Beit HaMikdash - in the courtyards, not in the Sanctuary (Heichal). According to the Radak, the speaker here is the people of the exile who long to return to the Beit HaMikdash; and where will they be permitted to enter? Not into the Sanctuary, but into the courtyards - therefore, "my soul longed and even yearned for the courtyards of Hashem."
The Radak adds that "my heart and my flesh sing" can be understood allegorically, like "all my bones shall say" - where the bones do not literally speak, but it is an allegorical expression. So too here: as it were, all my limbs yearn for the living God. And Rav Mazuz cites a teaching he heard: the initials of Libi Uvesari Yeranenu form the acronym Levi - which fits beautifully with the opening of the psalm, "A psalm by the sons of Korach," who were from the tribe of Levi.
"Even a bird found a home" - and I find none
גַּם צִפּוֹר מָצְאָה בַיִת וּדְרוֹר קֵן לָהּ אֲשֶׁר שָׁתָה אֶפְרֹחֶיהָ אֶת מִזְבְּחוֹתֶיךָ יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת מַלְכִּי וֵאלֹהָי׃ - Even a bird has found a home, and a swallow a nest for herself, where she may place her fledglings - at Your altars, Hashem of Hosts, my King and my God.
Here, too, there are several common reading mistakes. Matz'ah - the cantillation accent is beneath the mem, so it is stressed on the penultimate syllable (mile'el), and not on the last syllable (milra). Matz'ah vayit and not bayit with a dagesh - because the preceding word ends in one of the letters of Ahvi (open vowel sounds), causing the dagesh in the beit to drop. Ken lah has a mappik heh, and not a silent heh. In asher shatah, the accent is under the shin, so this too is stressed on the penultimate syllable. And malki ve-Elohai, with a tzeirei under the vav, not ve-Elohai with a sheva.
The helpful grammatical rule to remember is: "Moshe brings it out, and kelev absorbs it" (Moshe motzi ve-chelev machnis). When the letters of Moshe (mem, shin, heh) precede a word starting with an aleph that has a chataf vowel, the aleph is pronounced: me-Adoni, she-Adoni, ha-Adoni. But when the letters of ve-chelev (vav, chaf, lamed, beit) precede it, the aleph is elided and quiescent: va-doni is read as though there were no aleph, la-doneinu rather than la'adoneinu, and "swearing ba-doni" - as if there were no aleph at all. Therefore here too, where there is a vav, one reads malki ve-Elohai. Similarly, vi-heyitem kedoshim le-Eloheichem, not le'Eloheichem. It is worth paying attention to this, since many recite this psalm by heart, and one must accustom oneself to read it accurately. And do not be surprised - there are many who do not know the rules of nikkud at all; one often sees young men who just completed high school entering yeshivos for baalei teshuvah who, when asked what vowel is under a letter, cannot distinguish between a kamatz, a segol, or a patach.
Rashi explains that the verse refers back to the Beit HaMikdash: when it was destroyed, birds nested in it - there a bird found a home. And a Midrash Aggadah cited by Rashi interprets it regarding its era of construction: the "bird" is the Congregation of Israel (Kenesset Yisrael), who is likened to a dove and a bird whose strength lies in its wings, and she found her home - the Beit HaMikdash, the place she longed to reach.
Another example of this motif is found in the Selichot prayers: "If the rova haken is gone, if the tent where He dwelt is emptied, let us not perish, for after all, we have an elderly father." In its simple meaning: we no longer have sacrifices to offer - rova haken refers to the nest of birds brought as an offering by a woman after childbirth and a metzora - because the tent where Hashem caused His Shechinah to dwell has been emptied, meaning the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed. But there is another explanation: rova haken is the place where the Shechinah rests, from the term roveitzet (resting or brooding), likened to a nest. Thus, the Shechinah is also compared to a dove, and the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Congregation of Israel are one; therefore, Israel is likewise compared to a dove - and "even a bird found a home" means that the Congregation of Israel found the Beit HaMikdash.
The Radak explains that if the psalm is spoken regarding David in his exile: at the time David was in the land of the Philistines, the private altars (bamot) were permitted, and one could offer vow-offerings and voluntary offerings on an altar anywhere, so there were altars everywhere. Birds would nest on those altars, whereas in the Beit HaMikdash birds did not nest - for there was the kalah oreiv (Middot 4:6), spikes atop the roof designed to prevent ravens and other birds from perching there, lest they foul the walls of the Sanctuary and the Temple floor with their droppings. Even today, a similar device can be seen at the Kotel: above the Torah arks, protruding spikes are placed so that pigeons do not perch there and soil the parochet (curtain). David therefore laments: I am not even equal to these birds - they nest at Your altars on the bamot, while I am exiled and pursued by Shaul, unable to be even there.
And why did he mention both a "bird" (tzippor) and a "swallow" (deror)? The Radak explains that both of these typically nest in inhabited areas. Some birds live in deserts and others in forests, but the tzippor and the deror nest among human habitation. The tzippor is a small bird, and the deror is a well-known bird that tends to nest inside houses, called deror (freedom) because it moves about freely among people; as our Sages remarked, it dwells in the house just as it does in the field.
And if the psalm is spoken regarding the exile, the Radak notes, the people of the exile plead: The birds have found a place and a nest at the site of Your altars - nesting there now that the Temple is destroyed; whereas we have not found a home, and cannot come to the site of the Mikdash to pray and make the pilgrimage. Amidst the ruins, the birds have found a home, yet we have not. This is the lament of the children of exile.
The Radak also cites a Midrash explaining that these words were spoken allegorically, with the bird and the swallow serving as a parable for Knesset Yisrael: they come to celebrate the three pilgrimage festivals in the Beit HaMikdash and offer their sacrifices. And now, the people in exile say: our souls yearn and pine to return to this, just as we used to ascend to the Beit HaMikdash on the three pilgrimage festivals. And what is meant by "my King and my God"? Knesset Yisrael says: Even though I am in exile, I have not forgotten that You are my King and my God; I still remember this.
"Where she placed her chicks" - the plain meaning of the text is that "shatah" denotes placing, that she placed her fledglings there, at Your altars. Homiletically, when referring to the people of Israel yearning for the rebuilding of the Temple: we remember days of old when "her chicks" were there - these are the young kohanim (pirchei kehunah), called so because their beards were just beginning to sprout (hafri'ach), young kohanim who were just blossoming, who would train in the Temple service beside the altars.
The Malbim explains that the psalmist envisions in his mind's eye the bird and the swallow, how sweetly they sing and chirp, and imagines himself as a Levite standing on the platform (duchan) singing like them - just as the birds sing and chant, so I, the Levite in the Beit HaMikdash, would sing and chant sweet melodies before Hashem. And what are the chicks? These are the young birds offered upon the altar, the chicks of that singing bird, who was privileged to have her offspring accepted favorably upon Hashem's altar - and for this she sings. The psalmist comes and says: How fortunate is the bird that merited having her offspring offered upon the altar of Hashem, whereas I have not merited this. The bird found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, and there she sings the song of Hashem over the sacrifices; while I am like a bird wandering from its nest, banished from the house of Hashem, relegated to exile like a solitary bird on a roof, unable to offer my songs.
From here arises an a fortiori argument (kal vachomer): If the bird and the swallow, which are on a lower level - living creatures devoid of speech - found a home and merited having their offspring ascend Hashem's altar, how much more so human beings, who desire to dwell not merely in an ordinary nest or house, but in Your house, the House of Hashem; and who wish not merely to chirp like a bird that lacks the power of speech, but rather "they will yet praise You" - to articulate Your praises.
"Praiseworthy are those who dwell in Your house" - The Virtues of Dwelling in the House of Hashem
אַשְׁרֵי יוֹשְׁבֵי בֵיתֶךָ עוֹד יְהַלְלוּךָ סֶּלָה׃ - Praiseworthy are those who dwell in Your house; they will yet praise You, Selah.
Here, too, are two grammatical nuances: "Yoshevei" is read with a sheva na (vocal sheva), not "yoshvei" with a sheva nach - because it is preceded by a cholam, which is a long vowel (tenu'ah gedolah), and a long vowel makes the subsequent sheva vocal. Second, "veitecha" is pronounced with a soft beit (veit) and not a dageshed beit ("beitecha"), because the word "yoshevei" ends with a yud, which is one of the letters of Ehevi (a vowel letter).
Rashi explains: Praiseworthy is one who attains dwelling in Your house and will further praise You within Your house. And the Radak explains that this refers to the kohanim, who dwelt in Your house when the Beit HaMikdash stood - praiseworthy are they; and not only them, but also the sages and the pious who would seclude themselves there in devotion. An example of this: when David fled from Saul and came to Achimelech son of Achituv in Nov, the city of kohanim, where he received the sword of Goliath - who was there? Doeg the Edomite. Not that Doeg was righteous, for in the end he went and informed, bringing about the massacre of Nov, the city of kohanim; but from here we see that whoever wished to conduct himself in the ways of piety would go and sequester himself in the Sanctuary of Hashem, just as we find with Shmuel, who was sequestered in the Sanctuary of Hashem. Therefore, "Praiseworthy are those who dwell in Your house" - praiseworthy are those who devote themselves in solitude in the House of Hashem.
Another explanation in the Radak: "Praiseworthy are those who dwell in Your house" - praiseworthy are those who will merit seeing the rebuilding of the Temple and will become dwellers in Your house. For he is describing here a future event, a yearning to dwell in the House of Hashem: Praiseworthy is he who will dwell in Your house, and "they will yet praise You, Selah" - that they will praise You forever, all the days of their lives, as "od" can mean forever, as in "So long as all the days of the earth endure."
Dwellers in Your House, Not Dwellers of the Land
It is cited in the name of the Meshech Chochmah: Regarding the descendants of Seir the Horite, the Torah says "the inhabitants of the land" (yoshev ha'aretz), whereas regarding Israel, it says "those who dwell in Your house" (yoshevei veitecha). What is the difference? For the descendants of Seir the Horite, their primary dwelling and preoccupation was in the earth, in earthliness and material existence. From this comes the term for a person called an "am ha'aretz": his primary pursuit is earthliness, while spirituality, prayer, and holiness do not speak to him; speak to him of physical matters, and that resonates with him. But the people of Israel are "those who dwell in Your house," connected to the spiritual reality within the world, to the House of Hashem.
And the Meshech Chochmah adds an insightful observation: Of Avraham Avinu it was said that he observed even eruv tavshilin - yet it is not said that he observed eruv techumin (the boundary limit). What is the inner meaning behind this? It teaches that Avraham Avinu set no boundaries and erected no fences; on the contrary, Avraham burst outward: planting an eshel (orchard/inn), going out to bring the nations close and convert them, drawing everyone near to the service of Hashem. In contrast, Yaakov Avinu represents a different level: his bed was complete (all his children remained faithful), he and his sons could bring down the Shechinah on their own, and there was no need to break outward - rather, "as for me and my household," we will serve Hashem and thereby bring the Shechinah down to earth. Therefore, Yaakov established boundaries (techumin): with Esau I will not travel - "Until I come to my lord, to Seir"; and for his livestock he made booths (sukkot), and the sukkah is an expression of an enclosed, bounded space from which one does not depart.
And thus our Sages said: Avraham called it a mountain - "On the mountain of Hashem it will be seen" - a mountain open to all; he built a home open to all four directions, welcoming everyone, even nomadic wanderers with dust on their feet, and was therefore called "the father of a multitude of nations." Yitzchak called it a field. And Yaakov called it a house - and a house is already delineated, an enclosed space that is not open to the outside world. Yaakov separated the House of Yaakov from the rest of the world and set them apart from the nations. This is the expression of the Jewish people taking form and acquiring an identity as an entity distinct from the other nations, as it is stated, "When He separated the children of man, He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the Children of Israel" - the Holy One, blessed be He, set boundaries, giving each nation its territory, while Israel forms a boundary unto themselves, set apart from the nations, having no portion with the nations but rather being the portion of Hashem. And this is "Happy are those who dwell in Your house": the Jewish people are already in the aspect of a "house"; they dwell in the house of Hashem, set apart from all the nations, and they "will ever praise You, Selah."
In summary: Psalm 84 is a song of longing for the House of Hashem - whether voiced by David exiled in the land of the Pelishtim, by the Levi in the Babylonian exile longing to return to the platform, or by the Jewish people throughout the exile. "How lovely are Your dwelling places": not only did the spiritual soul yearn and pine, but even the heart and flesh yearn to sing joyously to the living God, the source of life. "Even a bird found a home": even the bird found a nest at Your altars and merited that its young find favor, whereas the psalmist is banished from the House of Hashem and cannot offer his songs - and how much more so do human beings, who possess the power of speech, yearn to sit in the House of Hashem and praise Him. And from this comes "Happy are those who dwell in Your house": fortunate are the Kohanim and the pious who dwell in Your house, fortunate is whoever merits to witness the rebuilding of the Temple, and fortunate is the Jewish people, who are called "those who dwell in Your house" - connected to spirituality rather than worldliness, in the aspect of "house" as Yaakov called it, set apart from the nations and praising His Name forever.