Psalm 95 opens the series of six psalms, extending through Psalm 99, which are recited during Kabbalat Shabbat corresponding to the six weekdays. They were instituted by the Ramak (Rabbi Moshe Cordovero), the brother-in-law of Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, author of "Lecha Dodi" - so our Kabbalat Shabbat is composed of the Ramak's six psalms alongside his brother-in-law's "Lecha Dodi." And what is the significance of these particular psalms for Kabbalat Shabbat? Because on Shabbat there is joy in the kingship of Hashem, as expressed in the prayers: "Those who observe Shabbat and call it a delight shall rejoice in Your kingship." Therefore, we recite these psalms, which all revolve around Hashem's kingship, which we anticipate will be revealed before the eyes of all in the Messianic era.
לְכוּ נְרַנְּנָה לַיהֹוָה נָרִיעָה לְצוּר יִשְׁעֵנוּ׃ - Come, let us sing to Hashem; let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
The Radak and other commentators explain that this psalm speaks of the Jewish people in the Messianic era, when they will say to one another: Come, let us sing to Hashem, let us give thanks to the Rock of our salvation Who saved us and redeemed us. And what is meant by "Lechu" ("come" or "go")? Ibn Ezra explains: "come to me" - meaning, come to me and let us sing to Hashem. The Radak, by contrast, explains that there is no physical walking here at all, but rather an expression of urging action, as in "Come now, I will test you with mirth" (Kohelet 2:1), "Come, let us give our father wine to drink" (Bereishit 19:32), or "Come, and let us devise plots against Yirmiyahu" (Yirmiyahu 18:18) - in all of which the intention is not to walk to a specific location, but to ready oneself for an action and urge oneself toward it. "Lechu neranena L'Hashem": let us urge ourselves to sing joyfully to Hashem and shout praise to the Rock of our salvation.
The Malbim prefaces that all these psalms, through Psalm 100, address a single theme: the two modes of providence through which the Holy One, blessed be He, directs His world. One is natural providence, and the other is miraculous, supernatural providence. As seen in earlier psalms, the Malbim frequently interprets verses in light of these two modes. Here, he demonstrates the distinction between the Jewish people and the nations of the world: Israel is guided through miraculous, supernatural providence, whereas the nations are governed through natural providence. In Psalms 96 and 97, the text discusses natural order, where Hashem does indeed perform miracles, but they are hidden and cloaked within nature - "Your miracles that are with us daily," which we do not outwardly see, yet they exist. In Psalms 98 and 99, the focus turns to the second mode, open miracles: the Splitting of the Red Sea, the sun standing still in Giv'on, and similar events.
The Malbim explains that the first two verses of the psalm serve as an introduction and key to the entire topic. "Come, let us sing to Hashem" relates to Hashem as the Creator of the world and the Source of all existence. Whenever the four-letter Name of Hashem is used, it refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, as the Creator of the universe; whereas when speaking of individual providence over us, the term "our God" (Elokeinu) is used, signifying the specific manner in which He watches over us individually. By contrast, "let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation" - "our salvation" belongs specifically to us; this refers to the realm of personal providence. And why specifically a trumpet blast or joyful shout (teruah)? Because a shout of acclaim is sounded when the king is present among the people, as it is written, "What does this great sound of shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" and they learned that the Ark of Hashem had come into the camp (I Shmuel 4:6), and similarly, "They shouted and said, 'Long live the king!'" (I Shmuel 10:24). The joyful blast corresponds to Hashem being the Rock Who saves us individually, with the King being present in our midst.
Recognition of Hashem and His providence can be achieved in two ways. The first is by contemplating general phenomena throughout creation: mountains and hills, seas and rivers, celestial bodies - everything originates from Him, blessed be He. From this overarching recognition, we proceed to examine the specific details: how Hashem structured each creation, in what form, and how He brought it into reality. We then reach the realization that all of this is sustained through constant providence - it is not as though Hashem created the world and then rested, leaving it alone; rather, everything continues to exist through His constant providence at every moment. This first form of recognition, the Malbim notes, is accessible even to the nations of the world: seas, rivers, and celestial bodies - a gentile can recognize these as well; however, individual providence over the Jewish people is something a gentile cannot comprehend. Therefore, the Psalmist here calls out to the nations of the world as well: Come, let us sing to Hashem, Who directs the world in a general sense, and through this, "let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation," recognizing that the King is with us, delivering us through daily, individual providence.
In the sefer Tehillot Maharitz, the Maharitz Dushinsky explains that the verses here are a direct continuation of the previous chapter, which concluded: "And Hashem has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. He repaid them for their iniquity, and will cut them off in their wickedness; Hashem our God will cut them off." The previous chapter closed with the retribution the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring upon the wicked. This connects to what we learned in Chapter 1 of Tehillim: "For Hashem knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." What is the connection? As we explained there, as long as the wicked exist in the world, the power of spiritual impurity (tumah) intensifies. It is not merely that a wicked person adds impurity to himself - that would be one thing; if you wish to ruin yourself, ruin yourself - but rather that he adds impurity to the world at large and harms the righteous person as well, who must contend with all his wickedness. This has a practical aspect: when wicked people and wickedness roam the streets, one cannot walk outside, and the eyes and heart of the righteous person are compromised as a result. It also has a spiritual aspect: the wicked person has drawn down a force of spiritual impurity into the world, and the righteous person is forced to battle these forces as well. His struggles become far more difficult, obstructing the realm of holiness and making it hard for the righteous to attain perfection in their holy service. Consequently, if we see a righteous person who falters slightly in his divine service, there is an avenue of defense for him: the wicked prevented him from serving properly.
According to this, we can understand the verse: "Therefore the wicked shall not stand in judgment" - in the future judgment, the wicked will have no standing. For the wicked person might have claimed: "Why are You prosecuting me? Did the righteous not sin as well? After all, they stumbled too!" But the answer is that with this claim, he merely opens another dossier against himself: Why did the righteous stumble? Were it not for you and your stumbling blocks, were it not for the impurity you brought down into the world, the righteous person would never have stumbled. And this is the meaning of "Hashem knows the way of the righteous" - it is revealed and known before Him who caused the righteous to veer from their path and who brought about whatever downfall they experienced. If "sinners cease from the earth and the wicked are no more," the righteous would reach vastly higher levels. Do not say, "Behold, even the righteous person stumbled"; if he stumbled, it was because of you that he stumbled, and for his failure you too must give an accounting. It certainly provides no justification or defense for your own failure.
This is also true in our chapter: when the Holy One, blessed be He, takes vengeance upon the wicked - "He repaid them for their iniquity, and will cut them off in their wickedness" - the righteous will be able to strengthen themselves in the service of Hashem and in His fear. Then they will say to one another, "Come, let us sing to Hashem, let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation." The earth will be filled with knowledge and they will grasp the Holy One, blessed be He, with clear perception, as the psalm continues: "For Hashem is a great God, and a great King above all gods." The righteous will go forth and sing to Hashem without hindrance, for there will no longer be wicked people holding them back from serving God.
We must clarify: this is not an excuse, but a defense (limud zechut). On his own, a person has trials that he is obligated to confront; but beyond that, there is an escalation of trials brought about by the wicked, and for this intensification the Holy One, blessed be He, will exact retribution from the wicked. This is a point of defense on behalf of the righteous who exerted great effort and faltered here or there. However, a wicked person cannot argue, "I turned out wicked because of the wicked people before me who had already brought impurity into the world." Whoever chose the path of wickedness will be held accountable for that choice.
נְקַדְּמָה פָנָיו בְּתוֹדָה בִּזְמִרוֹת נָרִיעַ לוֹ׃ - Let us greet His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with songs of praise.
The word nekadmah ("let us greet" or "precede") implies preparation and invitation: let us step forward and present ourselves before Him with thanksgiving. And what thanksgiving? The Radak explains: the thanksgiving of the lips, giving thanks to Hashem. Todah is derived from hoda'ah (acknowledgment and gratitude) - let us thank Hashem, may He be blessed, for all the goodness He has bestowed upon us.
The Malbim explains that here comes the second level of recognition, learned from God's distinct deeds, which is unique to the Jewish people: that the individual divine providence (hashgachah pratit) of the Holy One, blessed be He, is attached to us more than to any other nation. We observe divine providence throughout the generations; the Holy One, blessed be He, performed miracles and wonders for us that He did not perform for any other nation, and the likes of which have never been seen. No other nation can recount miracles such as the Exodus from Egypt, the Splitting of the Red Sea, the Giving of the Torah, and the miraculous entry into the Land of Israel. Nor is there any nation that continues to survive in such a wondrous, supernatural manner as the Jewish people, even today when we live under the regime of natural order. The Ya'avetz (Rav Yaakov Emden) already remarked on this: By my life, greater in my eyes than all the miracles of the Exodus from Egypt is the very survival of the Jewish people - how it endures! This is an immense advantage we possess over the other nations: a direct divine providence bound to us, through which the Holy One, blessed be He, preserves the people of Israel and ensures that they reach the complete redemption and are never destroyed, Heaven forbid.
From this emerges a profound principle: whoever has the power to alter nature is necessarily the One who created it. For those who claim that the world is eternal (kadmon) - according to their view, miracles are entirely impossible, for no one holds the keys: if you did not create nature, how could you alter it? A miracle is an alteration of nature, and into a system that you did not create, you cannot intrude, nor do you know how to operate within it. If the Holy One, blessed be He, had not created His world, how could He perform miracles within it? The very fact that we witness miracles pulls the rug out from under the claim of the world's eternity, proving that the world was brought into being anew, created at a specific point in time by the Holy One, blessed be He.
Incidentally, the world is gradually coming closer to the true knowledge of the Creator's existence. Heretical views that were once widespread are now voiced by no reasonable person. Today, no sensible person - and this is not limited to scientists - would say that the universe is eternal and has always existed. Everyone recognizes that the world came into being at a specific point in time; call it a big bang, call it creation, there is boundless evidence that the universe had a beginning. The debate remains only regarding the timeline: we say roughly five thousand years, while they speak of five billion or fifteen billion years, and so on. But when you see them gradually arriving at the correct conclusions, at what we have been affirming for thousands of years, there is no need to push - give them time and they will arrive at that as well. Initially, thinkers believed the universe emerged gradually, but later they began speaking of the "Big Bang," meaning the universe came into existence in a single moment, in a single second. And this aligns with what Chazal say: He spoke, and it was - "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." And not merely over the course of seven days, but already on the first day, as the Ramban explains, the initial primordial matter (chomer hayyuli) was brought forth; all the components of creation were created in an instant, and thereafter God arranged them - yet their fundamental creation occurred right at the beginning.
Based on this, we can understand what was discussed when studying the Kuzari: Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, open at Mount Sinai with "Who took you out of the land of Egypt" rather than "Who created you," which would seemingly be far stronger - "I created you and the entire world, and not merely released you from prison"? The answer is that the creation of the world took place thousands of years earlier and no one remembers it, whereas the Exodus from Egypt occurred just yesterday, and was witnessed with our own eyes. The Malbim explains that this is by no means a weaker proof, for the One Who performs miracles is the One Who created the world; it is impossible for anyone to perform miracles within a nature that he did not create. Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, brings proof from what a person actually saw and knows, and through the Exodus from Egypt we know that the Creator is Hashem, may He be blessed.
Therefore, the Malbim explains here: "Let us greet His presence with thanksgiving" - for the individual Divine providence (hashgachah pratit) and the specific benefactions Hashem bestows upon us; "with songs let us shout joyfully to Him" - regarding the recounting of universal praises, the very creation of the world, which are general works that even the nations perceive. But for us, as children of Hashem, may He be blessed, there is a special need to give thanks for what He bestows upon us individually, and concerning this, "let us greet His presence with thanksgiving."
There is a halachah regarding someone whose fields surround his neighbor's field on three sides and who wished to fence his fields, resulting in his neighbor benefiting from three fences on three sides. The first said to him: "Share the cost with me." The neighbor replied: "I do not need fences; build them for yourself." But if in the end the neighbor looked and said, "How wonderful, I already have three fences, I will add a fourth fence" - the law is that he must pay and share in the entire cost, not only for the fourth fence but for the other fences as well. Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world by His own will, but this existence is one that we desire as well, and therefore we must thank Him for it. After all, a person wants to be here, he is invested in living, he himself adds that additional fence. And what is the proof? When a person's time comes to leave this world, he does not want to leave; when told his time has arrived, he tries to argue with the Angel of Death. Even Moshe Rabbeinu argued with the Angel of Death. If you do not want to leave this world, you must thank Hashem for it.
One who leaves the world by his own hands commits the greatest injustice; there is no sin more severe than suicide. Someone once came to a rabbi and said that he had transgressed the entire Torah except for taking his own life. The rabbi replied: "Why? If you had taken your life, you would have actually performed a mitzvah, for it is written: 'And you shall purge the evil from your midst'"... This is, of course, a sharp witticism, but nonetheless we must realize that suicide is the gravest transgression. And why? Because the person spurns the greatest gift that could ever be given. What is the greatest gift? Life itself. There is nothing more precious than life. A person received life, yet he takes this gift and throws it back into Hashem's face, failing to recognize its value. And if one claims that things are hard and he faces struggles - the Holy One, blessed be He, provided solutions and pathways for dealing with difficulties; but to cast the gift back into the Giver's face is the lowest depravity. Moreover, it is written: "Against your will you are formed, against your will you are born, against your will you live, and against your will you die" - these matters are not determined by your wish, or as the poet put it: "I came into the world, and my consent was not asked."
The book HaMa'ayan HaNitzchi cites the words of Chazal in the Midrash: Rabbi Pinchas, Rabbi Levi, and Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Menachem of Gallia: In the future to come, all offerings will be abolished, but the thanksgiving offering (korban todah) will never be abolished; all prayers of thanksgiving will be abolished, but the thanksgiving prayer will never be abolished. This is the meaning of the verse: "The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say: 'Give thanks to the Lord of Hosts, for the Lord is good, for His kindness endures forever,' bringing thanksgiving into the House of the Lord" - "for He is good" refers to the praises of thanksgiving, while "bringing thanksgiving into the House of the Lord" refers to the thanksgiving offering.
By the way, someone once wrote that part of the rectification of the world in the future to come will be to show mercy to animals and not slaughter them, and that is why sacrifices will be abolished. This is deeply astonishing, for Chazal state that the thanksgiving offering will never be abolished - does one suddenly not have mercy on the animal brought for the todah? Rather, the very slaughtering of the animal is the mercy shown to it: through this, it fulfills its purpose, is refined, and becomes a vessel for the service of Hashem, when a worthy and upright person eats of it and serves his Creator through its energy. This is the aspiration of all creatures: "Everyone who is called by My Name, and whom I have created for My glory, I have formed him, yes, I have made him." Thus, the slaughtering of the animals is the very rectification itself, and it requires no correction. Furthermore, the holy Ari states that when Mashiach arrives, we will offer all the sacrifices that we missed throughout history. If someone desecrated Shabbat unintentionally - what did Rabbi Yishmael do when he read by the lamp and tilted it? He wrote in his notebook: "When the Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt, I will bring a fat sin-offering (chatat)." We might require an entire library rather than a notebook, but at any rate, when Mashiach comes we will need these sacrifices. The claim that this involves cruelty is incomprehensible - this is the will of the Creator, may He be blessed.
And when it is said that all sacrifices will be abolished, commentators explain that this does not include the regular, daily offerings. How could the daily offering (korban tamid) ever be abolished? It is, after all, a continual offering, and not a single letter of the Torah will be nullified, nor will the Torah ever be exchanged. When Mashiach comes, will there not be a daily offering? Will the Kohen Gadol serve in the Beit HaMikdash and not offer the daily sacrifices? Rather, regarding offerings brought for sin, there is room for explanation, and this is indeed stated: the sin-offering (chatat) and guilt-offering (asham) will be abolished, for the evil inclination will no longer exist and there will be no sins. But that does not mean there will be no Yom Kippur; Yom Kippur will still be a day of fasting. Someone once asked, likely Rav Mutzafi: "Will I still have to fast in the future to come?" He replied that there will indeed be a fast, but it will not be difficult or fraught with suffering. In the final analysis, the Torah will never be exchanged, and if it is written, "On the tenth day of the seventh month you shall afflict your souls" - this does not change with the arrival of Mashiach.
However, the thanksgiving offering is not an offering brought for sin, but an expression of gratitude to Hashem for the good He has bestowed upon me, and this will be required in the future to come all the more. Bounty will increase, as Chazal state that ready-baked cakes will grow on trees - and some explain that this is not necessarily literal, but an expression of the tremendous abundance that will exist - meaning that one will need to give thanks even more, and there will be a far greater necessity for gratitude. This is how the Maharzav explains the Midrash, and this is why the thanksgiving offering will never be abolished.
The Admor of Ozhrov in his sefer Be'er Moshe explains why the Thanksgiving offering will not be nullified in the Future to Come: because even when one gives thanks, he must still give thanks for the thanksgiving itself. I thank the Holy One, Blessed is He, and for the very fact that He gave me the strength, the opportunity, and the ability to thank Him - for that, too, I must give thanks. Not every person is privileged to recognize goodness, and not every person is privileged to thank Hashem, may He be blessed. We say this every day, though some do not notice: "We give thanks to You" - and how do we conclude? "For we give thanks to You, blessed is the God of thanksgivings." I thank You for the fact that I give thanks to You. Consequently, there is no end to the matter, and therefore thanksgiving is never nullified: whenever you give thanks, you must also give thanks for the very opportunity and awareness granted to you to give thanks. This is thanksgiving for thanksgiving - thanksgiving to Hashem for opening the eyes of our intellect to see the goodness He bestows upon us and to be grateful to Him. As Rashi cites in Masechet Sotah 40a: "For You placed in our hearts to cling to You and give thanks to You" - for that itself, we give thanks. Some people do not recognize goodness and do not thank Hashem; therefore, I thank You for placing within me the recognition to thank You, and for that itself, thanksgiving is required.