Psalm 91 is known as the "Song of Plagues" (Shir Shel Pega'im) - a psalm entirely devoted to the promise of protection and deliverance for the devout person who takes refuge in the shadow of the Almighty. In this part, we examine the final verses of the psalm, from "No evil shall befall you" through "With long life I will satisfy him," which elucidate the fundamental distinction between angelic protection and the direct guardianship of the Holy One, Blessed be He.
לֹא־תְאֻנֶּה אֵלֶיךָ רָעָה וְנֶגַע לֹא־יִקְרַב בְּאׇהֳלֶךָ׃ (י) - No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your tent. (10)
"Te'unah" (תאונה) denotes happenstance or occurrence, as in "and God caused it to happen to his hand" (veha-Elokim innah leyado) - meaning evil will not come your way. Incidentally, the Hebrew word "tizdamen" ("be available" or "present itself") is actually Aramaic in origin; the root z-m-n does not appear in Tanach in the sense of availability. In the Targum, "ready" is translated as "zamin": "Be ready in the morning" is rendered "hevei zamin letzifra." Today it is a common word, since a substantial portion of spoken Hebrew originates from Aramaic, though many people are unaware of this. Where does the Hebrew word chiyuch ("smile") come from? Not from "ki tzachakt" ("for you laughed"), but from the Targum: "chayeikht." Where does dochek ("duress/strain") come from? From the Aramaic: "Rabbi Shimon is worthy to rely upon b'sha'at ha-dechak (in a time of pressing need)." Many words people use in everyday speech are not biblical Hebrew at all.
The Malbim explains: "No evil shall befall you" - even if there is an intent to bring evil upon you, the evil itself will refuse to be directed toward you. The same applies to natural afflictions that do not come through human hands: "nor shall any plague come near your tent" - even if a plague is right next to your tent, it will not come near you. It is as if the misfortune and the plague themselves do not want to harm you.
The author of Ketav LeChaim interprets this verse based on the statement of Chazal that three types of people do not see the face of Gehinnom, one of whom is someone who has a difficult wife. Why? Because he has already endured his Gehinnom here in this world, and a person is not judged in Gehinnom twice; one who has experienced it below does not receive it again above. (Those who have studied Daf Yomi in Masechet Yevamot have seen numerous statements of Chazal regarding a bad wife, and there it was also explained why the Sages specifically speak of a bad wife rather than a bad husband.) Chazal further said: a bad wife is like tzara'at to her husband; what is his remedy? He should divorce her and be healed from his tzara'at. She is compared to tzara'at because it is something difficult to separate from; yet while one cannot separate from tzara'at at all, here divorce remains a possibility - not that this is recommended, but it remains an available option.
Chazal also taught regarding the verse "and even the wicked for the day of evil" - evil refers exclusively to Gehinnom. According to this, "No evil shall befall you" means: you will not experience Gehinnom. One might then ask: we have already seen a simple "recipe" - marry a bad wife, and you will never see Gehinnom. To this, the second half of the verse responds: "nor shall any plague come near your tent" - "your tent" refers to your wife, as in "return to your tents," which Chazal interpret as referring to their wives, and "plague" (nega) refers to the affliction of tzara'at. That is to say: the promise that you will be spared from Gehinnom is not achieved through having a wife who is like a plague of tzara'at. (Incidentally, the numerical value of "nega tzara'at" equals "Shulamit Aloni" exactly.) Rather, "He who finds a wife finds good," and nevertheless, "no evil shall befall you."
Therefore, Scripture is precise: "No evil shall befall you" - for your sake, in your own merit you will be saved from Gehinnom, and not through some incidental cause. This brings to mind what was once said to Rav Elyashiv when he served as sandek at the brit of his great-grandson: they remarked that whoever merits to bring a great-great-grandson into the covenant will never see Gehinnom. He replied: All my life I have been working to enter Gan Eden through the main entrance, not through back alleys. What are you offering me, a bypass road? Sit and learn Torah, grow in fear of Heaven, and merit entering Gan Eden via the main highway rather than through side doors.
כִּי מַלְאָכָיו יְצַוֶּה־לָּךְ לִשְׁמׇרְךָ בְּכׇל־דְּרָכֶיךָ׃ (יא) - For He will command His angels for you, to guard you in all your ways. (11)
The Radak explains that "He will command His angels for you (lach)" means on your behalf, just as "say of me (li), 'He is my brother'" means on my behalf. The Holy One, Blessed be He, commands the angels to guard you in all your ways, as it says, "Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way."
Here is a wonderful insight that was cited in the past in discussions on Parashat Vayeitzei. Rav Chaim of Volozhin asks: "And Yaakov went out from Be'er Sheva and went to Charan" - why was it not written more concisely, "And Yaakov went out from Be'er Sheva to Charan"? He explains that regarding the blessings with which Yitzchak blessed Yaakov when sending him to Lavan, it is said that whatever he blessed him with below, the Holy One, blessed be He, blessed him from Above, and Rivkah also blessed him corresponding to them. With what did she bless him? With our verse: "For He will command His angels for you, to guard you in all your ways." Why did she choose specifically this verse, and not "Then you will walk safely on your way" or other verses of security and trust? Because in this verse lies a wonderful allusion.
It is written in the holy books, and cited by the Kabbalists, that there is a holy Name that accompanies a person on the road, whose letters are Yud-Vav-Heh-Chaf (matching the initial letters of Yom HaKippurim, but with a final chaf). This is a holy Name, and it is sometimes found inscribed in the Menorah of "La-Menatzei'ach". And behold, it is hinted directly in our verse: Ki ends in yud, malachav in vav, yetzaveh in heh, lach in chaf. The final letters of "Ki malachav yetzaveh lach" are Yud-Vav-Heh-Chaf - so that this angel will accompany you on the way, and therefore Rivkah chose specifically this verse.
This is also related concerning the Vilna Gaon, that whenever he would part from someone setting out on a journey, he would take leave of him through a matter of Halachah, following the sages' dictum that one should part from his fellow only through a matter of Halachah. It has been noted in jest in the name of Rav Sofer, may Hashem lengthen his days: sometimes a person sits learning and someone comes along and disturbs him - "Did you hear? The government is about to collapse" - and you do not know how to part from him. Say to him: "It is good that you are here; let me share with you a wonderful halachah I just saw in the Gemara..." Immediately he will remember that he is in a hurry. One who wishes to take leave of his fellow should say a matter of Halachah! Provided, however, that it is a definitive ruling (halachah pesukah) rather than analytical pilpul. And what definitive halachah would the Vilna Gaon customarily say? "Yachid ve-rabbim halachah ke-rabbim" - "When an individual and a majority disagree, the law follows the majority." And why specifically this halachah, rather than "Mayim acharonim chovah" ("Final waters are obligatory"), which is also an established halachah? Because its initial letters form Yud-Vav-Heh-Chaf - the holy Name that accompanies a person on the journey.
With this, Rav Chaim of Volozhin says, the phrasing of the verse "And Yaakov went out from Be'er Sheva and went to Charan (vayeilech charanah)" is beautifully resolved. Had it simply said "to Charan" (le-Charan), we would have forgone the letters vav, yud, and chaf of "vayeilech" (since a lamed would have sufficed), and the heh at the end of "Charanah". Thus, the Torah deliberately added four letters here - Yud-Vav-Heh-Chaf - specifically to teach you that this is the Name that guarded him on his way.
It is further written in the holy books that when a person sets out on a journey, two angels accompany him, which is why it says "His angels" (malachav) in the plural. One is the Name Yud-Vav-Heh-Chaf, and the second is the Name Chaf-Lamed-Chaf. Where is this hinted? In the Gemara: "Kelech to this path" - showing that the companion on the way is Chaf-Lamed-Chaf. And in our verse, it is hinted in the final letters of "to guard you in all your ways": lishmorcha bechol derachecha. Likewise in the opening: "Ki malachav yetzaveh lach" - the initial letters spell K-L-Ch, alongside Yud-Vav-Heh-Chaf in the final letters. Both Names are hinted together.
According to this, the unusual phrasing "And Yaakov lifted his feet and went to the land of the people of the East" is also resolved - why did it not simply say "and he went"? The sefer Chakal Tapuchin explains that the final letters of "raglav vayelech artzah bnei" form Yud-Vav-Heh-Chaf, alluding to the angel who accompanied him. And so it is cited in the name of the Arizal in Sha'ar HaKavanot, that one who sets out on a journey should recite "Yoshev BeSeter" and focus on the Name Yud-Vav-Heh-Chaf that emerges from the verse "Ki malachav yetzaveh lach", as well as the Name Chaf-Lamed-Chaf that emerges from those very same words, for these are the Names that accompany him on the road.
Likewise, the sefer Kedushat Naftali derives this from the verse, "May Your lovingkindness, Hashem, be upon us, as we have hoped in You": in the final letters of yehi chasdecha Hashem aleinu, the letters yud, chaf, heh, and vav appear - which are the letters of that Name, though not in order. And also: "Ka'asher yichalnu lach" - chaf at the start, lamed in the middle, and chaf at the end, spelling Chaf-Lamed-Chaf. Thus both angels are hinted here together. And yet another allusion: "Vayeitzei Yaakov" has the initial letters vav and yud, while "vayelech Charanah" has the final letters chaf and heh - forming Yud-Vav-Heh-Chaf.
The Ben Ish Chai adds that these two Names - Yud-Vav-Heh-Chaf and Chaf-Lamed-Chaf - together have the numerical value of 111, which equals the spelling of the word Elef (Alef-Lamed-Peh = 111). This is what is meant in Shir HaShirim: "Your neck is like the tower of David, built for turrets, on which hang a thousand shields (elef ha-magen)" - David specifically required this protection of elef, meaning the two accompanying angels, because he was constantly engaged in battle.
עַל־כַּפַּיִם יִשָּׂאוּנְךָ פֶּן־תִּגֹּף בָּאֶבֶן רַגְלֶךָ׃ (יב) - On hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. (12)
The Malbim explains: those angels whom the Holy One, blessed be He, charges to guard you in all your ways, do not allow you to encounter any mishap or stumbling block at all - they bear you up on hands and lift you above the obstacle. "Tigof" has the sense of being struck, like nokeif - receiving a blow. This is what Chazal meant when they said, "A person does not stub his finger below unless it is decreed from Above" - not in the colloquial sense used today of "not lifting a finger" or making no effort, but rather that a person does not receive a blow to his finger unless it was proclaimed from Above. So too here: "Lest you strike your foot against a stone" - that you should not receive a blow to your foot, and therefore the angels bear you up on hands so that you do not come anywhere near anything harmful.
עַל־שַׁחַל וָפֶתֶן תִּדְרֹךְ תִּרְמֹס כְּפִיר וְתַנִּין׃ (יג) כִּי בִי חָשַׁק וַאֲפַלְּטֵהוּ אֲשַׂגְּבֵהוּ כִּי־יָדַע שְׁמִי׃ (יד) - Upon the lion and the asp you shall tread; you shall trample the young lion and the serpent. (13) Because he has set his passion upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows My name. (14)
Up to this point, the verses described the protection of angels, where an angel guards you lest your foot strike a stone. But the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I do not leave your protection solely in the hands of angels. Angelic protection operates close to the realm of nature, whereas I will protect you with a protection that transcends nature. How so? You will not need to be carried on hands to keep you far away from dangers; rather, you will walk upon the earth, directly over the dangerous creatures, and remain entirely unharmed by them. For an angel to save you, he must lift you above them; I, however, grant you supernatural protection: "Upon the lion and the asp you shall tread" and they will not harm you, and moreover, "you shall trample the young lion and the serpent" - you will overcome and vanquish them.
In analyzing the wording, the Malbim notes subtle distinctions: What is the difference between "tread" (tidroch) and "trample" (tirmos), and between "lion and asp" (shachal vafeten) and "young lion and serpent" (kefir vetannin)? One who merely treads (dorech) steps normally as he walks along his path, while one who tramples (romes) actively crushes and destroys the thing underfoot. The kefir is younger than the shachal, for the shachal is a fully grown, powerful lion; and the tannin is smaller than the pethen, both being types of serpents, with the pethen being the large one and the tannin the smaller one. Therefore, upon the great lion and the large asp you will merely "tread" with your feet, passing over them safely, whereas upon the smaller lion and serpent you will actively "trample." Corresponding to "you shall tread," the verse says "I will deliver him" (va'afalteihu) - rescuing him from them; and corresponding to "you shall trample," it says "I will set him on high" (asagveihu), which is a level higher than mere rescue: granting the strength to overpower and crush them, resulting in an even greater salvation.
Two qualities are mentioned here: "Because he has set his passion upon Me" (ki vi chashak) and "because he knows My name" (ki yada shemi). The Malbim explains: Cheishek (passion/yearning) applies to someone who has not yet fully arrived - he merely longs for the goal. Yediah (knowledge), on the other hand, represents a complete, bonded connection, as in "And Adam knew his wife Eve" or "For I know him, that he will command his children." To "know" something means to be truly joined with it. Therefore, for one who merely yearns - "Because he has set his passion upon Me - I will deliver him"; whereas "I will set him on high," which is a far higher level, is granted "because he knows My name," for he has already bound himself tangibly to the Name of Hashem.
And what does it mean to "know His Name"? The Radak explains that knowing His Name means knowing His divine attributes, for the ineffable Four-Letter Name represents the love of Hashem, may He be blessed, and is the highest perception a person can achieve while still in a physical body. While we do not possess such lofty comprehension today, we see that there is an extraordinary virtue in knowing the Creator's Name. This is also the origin of knowing the Forty-Two-Letter Name and the other sacred Names of the Creator, which were transmitted from master to disciple - where they derive from and the mysteries hinted within them. These matters were exceedingly exalted, reflecting immense closeness and profound perception in the service of Hashem. Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, says: This person is worthy of all these salvations, because he longs for Me and has reached the level of knowing God.
יִקְרָאֵנִי וְאֶעֱנֵהוּ עִמּוֹ־אָנֹכִי בְצָרָה אֲחַלְּצֵהוּ וַאֲכַבְּדֵהוּ׃ (טו) - He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him, and bring him honor. (15)
The Radak explains: Whenever he calls upon Me, I will answer him. And if he finds himself in a place of distress, he should not fear, for I am with him. "I will rescue him" - so that no harm will befall him; "and bring him honor" - granting him grace and esteem in the eyes of his fellow men.
The Midrash relates: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said in the name of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair, why are there people who pray in this world and are not answered? One Midrash explains that one person prays with deep concentration while another prays without it, and the one whose prayer lacked focus did not offer a complete, heartfelt prayer. But here the Midrash offers another reason: because they do not know the Ineffable Name. In the Future to Come, however, God will make it known to them, as it is written, "Therefore My people shall know My name" - and at that time, they will pray and be answered immediately. Today, we do not know the Ineffable Name, and even regarding the Four-Letter Name mentioned by the Radak, we do not know its exact pronunciation; therefore, we do not pronounce it as it is written, but rather read it using the title of Adnut. It is written that in this world, "Not as I am written am I read, but in the World to Come, as I am written so shall I be read." This was the reality in the Beit HaMikdash, where the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur would utter the Name as written and bless the people with it; the congregation would hear the Great Name emanate from his mouth in melodious awe, fall on their faces, and proclaim: "Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever." Knowing and uttering His holy Name held immense power, and had we possessed such knowledge today, we would pray and be answered at once.
Here the Malbim explains the deeper meaning of the matter: ostensibly, we would prefer never to reach a place of danger at all - that the Holy One, blessed be He, would carry us through the air above all serpents, scorpions, and beasts, rather than having us tread upon them and trample them. If angelic protection means being lifted above the trouble, why is there a need for protection within the trouble? To this the verse responds: "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him." Had we been guided solely through the agency of angels who lift us above troubles, we would never even realize that danger existed, nor would we know that we were saved - everything would appear completely ordinary.
This sheds light on the famous question regarding the verse, "Praise Hashem, all you nations... for His loving-kindness was great toward us" - why should the non-Jewish nations praise God because His loving-kindness was great toward us? The answer is that you often have no idea how many troubles were directed toward you, what plots and schemes were in the pipeline - from Hezbollah, Hamas, or Iran - which the Holy One, blessed be He, foiled before you ever heard of them, before the Shin Bet uncovered them and before the Mossad knew about them. He arranged that a terrorist mishandled an explosive in a "work accident," taking him out in a single moment. And who realizes this? Only the enemy nation, who knows how meticulously they planned and how everything unraveled for them at the very last second. Therefore, "Praise Hashem, all you nations, laud Him, all you peoples" - for you truly know the extent to which His loving-kindness has overwhelmed us.
The Holy One, blessed be He, says: If all protection were to occur in that hidden manner, we would never learn to thank and praise Him, and we would not attain closeness to God. Therefore, "Upon the lion and the asp you shall tread" - and through that experience, "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him." Out of the imminent danger, he pours out his heart in prayer before Me, and I answer him, "I am with him in trouble" - I am guarding you. Through this, he genuinely feels Hashem's providence and experiences divine intimacy. When a person is unaware of the trouble that passed and what he was spared from, sleeping soundly in bed while life seems routine, he feels no urgent need to thank Hashem, may He be blessed. And if he never encountered danger at all, he would not call out to Me - yet the Holy One, blessed be He, deeply desires that relationship.
To what may this be compared? To a king's daughter who asked: Where is the king? What did the king do? He brought an enemy upon her. Immediately she began to cry out: Father, father! The king, the king! Suddenly you know where he is, and suddenly you call out to him. So it was when Israel left Egypt and had not yet fully recognized His Divinity, blessed be He. The Egyptians came and pursued them - and immediately they cried out to the Holy One, blessed be He. "Let Me hear your voice" - the Holy One, blessed be He, desires to hear our voice. He has no wish to bring troubles upon us, but rather to preserve the connection with us. When a person enters a place of danger, he tangibly perceives that Hashem is with him. Without this, he would attribute everything to nature: "Sure, there was a work accident, such things happen." But when you see how the Holy One, blessed be He, delivers you in a supernatural way, as you tread upon the lion and the viper and trample the young lion and the serpent - first, you forge a bond with Hashem, turning to Him and pleading; and second, you merit salvation, through which you recognize Hashem's kindness toward you and attain closeness to God.
Through this comes "I will deliver him and honor him" - that he will also achieve honor. When Hashem protects us from every harm without it being conspicuous, we gain no honor among the nations from it. But when they see how we enter directly into perils and emerge unscathed, it becomes evident, and then even the nations acknowledge it. Take Covid as an example: how many nations around the world spoke of wanting to replicate the "Israeli model"? Not that the government achieved anything on its own - everything is from Him, blessed be He - but when you undergo what the entire world is undergoing, and suddenly they see how specifically this tiny nation manages, through Hashem's kindness, to emerge from what is raging elsewhere, suddenly they view us as a model to emulate. This is a state in which we attain honor. And this is what is meant by "I will deliver him" - not that there was no trouble here; there was, but you were delivered from it - and through this, "and I will honor him," as all witness how the Holy One, blessed be He, accompanies them.
When did Merodach-baladan, son of Baladan, come to visit Chizkiyahu? When the Holy One, blessed be He, moved the sun ten degrees backward for his sake. People asked: Who is this man for whom the sun is moved back and forth? They answered them: There is one whose name is Chizkiyahu - and they came to meet him. It was not that Sancheriv's army never came; it came, and was struck down at the gates of Jerusalem, and the Holy One, blessed be He, took them all in an instant, and moved the sun to show Chizkiyahu that he would recover. Through this came "and I will honor him," as the nations came to see who this was and for whom the Holy One, blessed be He, performs such supernatural miracles. But had no trouble come upon us in the first place, it would not be noticeable. And when it is not noticeable - first, we do not recognize Hashem's kindnesses or thank Him; second, we forfeit closeness to God, for we do not cry out to Him when everything runs smoothly; and third, there is no "and I will honor him" - we gain no honor among the nations who would otherwise see how close the Holy One, blessed be He, is to His people.
אֹרֶךְ יָמִים אַשְׂבִּיעֵהוּ וְאַרְאֵהוּ בִּישׁוּעָתִי׃ (טז) - "With length of days I will satisfy him, and I will show him My salvation." (16)
Because the Holy One, blessed be He, brings trouble upon us through Divine providence and afterward rescues us from it through "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him" - we call out to Him and He responds to us - we merit: "With length of days I will satisfy him, and I will show him My salvation." The Malbim explains: "Length of days" is as we find with Iyov, who merited longevity specifically through his sufferings. And "I will show him My salvation" means that he will witness salvation through Divine providence - My salvation, and not the salvation of angels. It is not that an angel lifts you above the lion and the viper, but that you arrive at the very place of the lion and the viper, treading upon them and trampling them, yet despite all this, you are saved and prevail.
The Radak explains this in several ways: It is possible that "length of days" refers to this world, while "I will show him My salvation" refers to the World to Come, where his soul will find salvation before Hashem, blessed be He. Alternatively, both matters may refer to the World to Come - length of days and salvation in the future to come. Another possibility is that the salvation refers to the Messianic era, when the Holy One, blessed be He, will redeem Israel from exile and bring them to life in the Resurrection of the Dead; and this is the salvation merited by one who makes the Most High his dwelling place, who places his trust in Hashem, blessed be He, and lives with the Holy One, blessed be He, rather than living solely for this world.
The Radak concludes: See and understand that this entire psalm is a promise to the pious, and it is entirely about the deliverance of those who are endangered - the entire psalm speaks of deliverance from harm. That is why our Sages in Masechet Shevuot (page 15) called it a "Song of Plagues," and this is a great secret for those who understand: through this psalm, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High," one is saved from all harmful forces and from all evil plagues.
The conclusion of Chapter 91 teaches us two levels of protection: the protection of angels, who carry a person upon their hands and keep him away from the obstacle - a protection close to nature; and the protection of the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself, which brings a person into the very midst of danger, allowing him to tread upon the lion and the viper and trample the young lion and serpent and emerge in peace. Why is this so? Because specifically in this manner, "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him" - a person calls out, prays, feels "I am with him in distress," recognizes Hashem's kindness, merits closeness to God, and even gains honor in the eyes of the nations who witness how the Holy One, blessed be He, accompanies His people. And one who yearns for Hashem and attains knowledge of His Name merits: "With length of days I will satisfy him, and I will show him My salvation" - His very own salvation, blessed be He, and not the salvation of angels. With this, we have concluded Chapter 91 of Tehillim.