Psalm 109 is a psalm of curses - but according to the Malbim's approach, there is a major novel insight here. While other commentators explain that King David is the one cursing his enemies (and Rashi interprets these words as referring to Esav and Edom), the Malbim explains that a large portion of the curses in this chapter are not David's curses at all; rather, David is recounting what his enemies are cursing him with. Only later in the chapter does David begin to return their curses into their own bosom. Let us follow the order of the verses and examine both approaches.
יִהְיוּ בָנָיו יְתוֹמִים וְאִשְׁתּוֹ אַלְמָנָה׃ - May his children be orphans, and his wife a widow.
At first glance, this verse presents a difficulty: it was already stated earlier, "May his days be few; may another take his position" - meaning that he will die. And if a person dies, naturally his wife becomes a widow and his children become orphans. What does this verse add? The Ibn Ezra resolves this: "May his children be orphans" - young orphans; "and his wife a widow" - in her youth. That is, it refers to a severe shortening of his days. A person could die when his children are already seventeen - to this he says: no, let them be three-year-old orphans. His widow could be seventy - to this he says: no, let her be a widow at forty. The novelty is that this will happen early in life.
The Malbim resolves the difficulty differently: "May his children be orphans" - they shall remain in their state of being orphans. There are indeed many people who take pity on orphans and take them into their homes to be a father to them, so he says: let them remain in the state of orphanhood, such that no one will pity them or take them in. Likewise, "and his wife a widow" - that she should remain so. There is a widow who remarries after a year; here they wish that she remain in the state of widowhood. And all this, according to the Malbim, is what David's enemies wish upon him: this is what my enemies say about me.
וְנוֹעַ יָנוּעוּ בָנָיו וְשִׁאֵלוּ וְדָרְשׁוּ מֵחׇרְבוֹתֵיהֶם׃ - May his children continually wander and beg, and search for bread from their ruins.
Rashi explains according to the approach that David is cursing his enemies: "And beg and search from their ruins" - everyone will inquire and talk about them, saying, "Look at what happened to so-and-so," because of all the ruin that befell them. That is, everyone will ask and speak about the devastation and tragedy that struck these people.
The Malbim explains: "May his children continually wander" - initially, they will be ashamed to beg for bread in their own city, and so they will wander and roam to beg for bread where no one recognizes them. Afterward, they will shed the mask of shame and beg in that very place - "and search from their ruins," going forth from their own ruined homes to beg for bread in their own city. And this too, according to his approach, is the enemies' prayer against David.
The Radak explains: they will seek sustenance out of their ruins. Their homes will be ruined, and out of his ruined house he will emerge to ask passersby to give him food. The Radak reads the word as vedorashu, but the more accepted reading is vedarshu, and he himself cites such variant readings.
יְנַקֵּשׁ נוֹשֶׁה לְכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ וְיָבֹזּוּ זָרִים יְגִיעוֹ׃ - "May the creditor seize all that is his, and may strangers plunder the fruit of his labor."
Rashi explains that menakesh here is not from the root of mokesh (a snare or trap) as one might think. Rather, when a person exerts himself, actively pursuing and driven to do something, the term mitnakesh applies to him. That is, agitated and unsettled, as in the phrase "v'arkuvateih da l'da nakshan" (his knees knocked one against the other, an expression of terror), and also "pen tinakesh achareihem" ("lest you be lured after them"). This describes a person under intense pressure to accomplish something, frantic and driven. Incidentally, the Hebrew word metoraf (frantic or agitated) itself denotes something that does not rest in its place, like a ship tossed about (metorefet) at sea, or a beaten egg (beitzah terufah), which is scrambled and agitated.
According to this, Rashi explains: The creditor will relentlessly press Esau for his servitude, driving him incessantly and subjecting him to hard labor, as it says, "and the elder shall serve the younger." This refers to Jacob, who claims Esau's servitude like a relentless creditor. Here again we see that according to Rashi, this entire passage speaks about Esau.
Rashi offers an alternative explanation: that the creditor will reach and lay hands on everything he owns. Usually, a creditor does not have total access to all of the debtor's property; he may take one item or another. Here, however, the verse describes a situation where the creditor seizes absolutely everything he has. This mirrors the familiar reality today when banks foreclose and place a lien on everything a debtor owns.
The Radak explains that yenakesh is indeed from the root of mokesh (a snare) - he will lay a snare for everything belonging to him; and nokesh, nakash, and yuvkash all share the same meaning, denoting a stumbling block or trap. The Malbim explains that the children will not benefit even from their father's inheritance, because the creditor will set snares to seize everything he possesses, until "strangers plunder the fruit of his labor." In other words, even what was supposed to come to them from their father, the inheritance itself, will be of no help, leaving him nothing to bequeath to his sons. This, too, was among the curses King David's enemies wished upon him.
אַל־יְהִי־לוֹ מֹשֵׁךְ חָסֶד וְאַל־יְהִי חוֹנֵן לִיתוֹמָיו׃ - "Let there be none to extend kindness to him, and let there be none to show favor to his orphans."
The Radak explains: Having said that his children will wander to beg for bread, the verse adds that no one will be found to perform kindness for his children and genuinely care for them. Consequently, there will also be no one to show favor to his orphans - no one who will grant them compassion or pity.
The Malbim explains that here as well, they were praying against David: "Let there be none to extend kindness to him" - meaning that they should find no aid by virtue of the kindness their father performed for others. It is the way of the world that people say to orphans: "We remember the kindness of your father, and therefore we will treat you with kindness." This is the meaning of moshech chesed, one who is drawn to extend kindness in return for David's great kindness. Against this, they pray: let no one remember the kindness your father performed. Nor should aid come from the other side - out of pure, gratuitous mercy. For the term chonen denotes a completely unearned gift (matnat chinam), as in "and I will be gracious (v'chanoti) to whom I will be gracious," given even to one who is undeserving. Even this will not be found: "and let there be none to show favor to his orphans."
יְהִי־אַחֲרִיתוֹ לְהַכְרִית בְּדוֹר אַחֵר יִמַּח שְׁמָם׃ - "May his posterity be cut off; in the following generation may their name be blotted out."
The Radak explains: "May his posterity be cut off" - his son will be killed and no trace of him will remain; and this is "in the following generation may their name be blotted out," meaning in the third generation. He derives this from the plural wording "their name" (shemam) - for initially the verse spoke in the singular, "may his posterity (acharito) be cut off," referring to the son, and then in the third generation it says "may their name be blotted out," leaving no remnant of either the father or the son.
יִזָּכֵר עֲוֺן אֲבֹתָיו אֶל־יְהֹוָה וְחַטַּאת אִמּוֹ אַל־תִּמָּח׃ - May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before Hashem, and may the sin of his mother not be erased.
Rashi, consistent with his view that this refers to Esav, explains: "May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered" - the iniquity that he generated and brought upon his fathers. To Avraham - for he caused five years to be deducted from his life, as the Holy One, blessed be He, shortened his grandfather's days so that he would not see his grandson stray into evil ways. And to his father Yitzchak - for he caused him dimness of vision, through Esav's wives who burned incense to idolatry. That is to say: remember against him what he damaged and ruined for his fathers.
And what is "the sin of his mother"? Rashi explains: that he destroyed her womb. So states the Midrash, that when Esav was born, he tore his mother's womb and ruined it so that she would not give birth again. Furthermore, he caused the day of her burial to be hidden from people, so that they would not curse her for having borne Esav. For it is not written in the Torah when Rivkah died, and why? Because her burial was carried out covertly and in secret, at night, without anyone knowing, so that people would not say: "Cursed be the womb that brought forth Esav." And where is this alluded to? In the verse, "And Devorah, Rivkah's nurse, died," and the name of the place was called "Alon Bachut." Rashi cites that "alon" in Greek means "another," and thus "Alon Bachut" means another weeping, another mourning - the Torah hinted to us that at that same time and in that same place Rivkah passed away as well, and her death was concealed.
Accordingly, one can explain that "the sin (chatat) of his mother" is not an expression of guilt at all - for his mother did not sin - but rather an expression of deprivation or loss (chisaron): the loss of his mother from the world, or the destruction of her womb. For lehachti'a means to miss or lack - missing the mark means falling short of it, and similarly, "and I and my son Shlomo shall be lacking (chata'im)" (I Melachim 1:21), meaning deprived.
The Malbim explains that this, too, is among the petitions of the enemies against David: that the iniquity of his ancestors be remembered before Hashem, and on that account the Holy One, blessed be He, should cut off the entire family - for if it is the iniquity of the fathers, it is fitting to cut off all the offspring. And if you ask: what iniquity of his ancestors could they possibly mention, given that Yishai was completely righteous? One can say, first, his intention regarding the maidservant. And second, "his fathers" can also refer to earlier generations: to Lot, who was with his daughters, and to Yehudah, who approached the woman he believed to be a harlot. Therefore, "may the iniquity of his fathers be remembered," and through this, visit these sins upon him and cut him off.
Here the Malbim notes: until this point, David related the curse with which his enemies cursed him, and now he begins to return their curse into their own bosom. From this point onward, the Malbim aligns with the other commentators - what in their view began earlier, according to his approach begins only now.
יִהְיוּ נֶגֶד־יְהֹוָה תָּמִיד וְיַכְרֵת מֵאֶרֶץ זִכְרָם׃ - May they be before Hashem constantly, and may He cut off their memory from the earth.
Rashi explains: these iniquities of theirs - may they always be before Hashem. And the difference is profound: when a person commits a sin and that sin does not stand directly before Him, blessed be He, it does not prosecute continually. But when the sin persists and stands constantly before Hashem, it cries out all the time, prosecutes continually, and demands that judgment be executed against the person who created that destructive force. Just as Chazal said that robbery prosecutes at the head - jumping forward first before the Heavenly Court to demand judgment. And this is what is requested: that these iniquities be before Hashem constantly, "and may He cut off their memory from the earth" - Esav and his chieftains, in accordance with Rashi's consistent approach throughout the psalm.
יַעַן אֲשֶׁר לֹא זָכַר עֲשׂוֹת חָסֶד וַיִּרְדֹּף אִישׁ־עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן וְנִכְאֵה לֵבָב לְמוֹתֵת׃ - Because he did not remember to do kindness, but pursued a poor, needy, and brokenhearted man to put him to death.
Rashi continues to explain regarding Esau: "Because he did not remember to show kindness" - to attend to his father's mourning. When Avraham Avinu passed away, Yitzchak was immersed in mourning, but his father's grief did not interest Esau at all. What occupied his mind was: "Please pour some of that red, red stuff down my throat" - he saw the stew, and his eyes were set on it. Yaakov had prepared a lentil stew to feed the mourners, yet culinary matters were far more interesting to Esau than his father sitting in mourning. And "a poor and needy person, broken of heart, to slay him" - this refers to the Jewish people, whom Edom and the nations persecute.
Radak explains: "Because he did not remember" - his entire life was spent in sin, and not even once did he remember to perform kindness. And "brokenhearted, to slay him" - a person whose heart is broken and aching, whose heart is crushed and sorrowful from manifold troubles, yet this wicked man persecutes him to kill him. And David refers to himself: I am poor and needy and brokenhearted, and their constant goal is to slay me.
The sefer Tehilot Maharitz closely examines the phrase "he did not remember to show kindness": sometimes a person might humiliate his fellow, yet his intention is actually for the fellow's good. A story is told of a wealthy man who pursued charity and kindness and honored Torah scholars. Once, he insulted a Torah scholar of the town. That scholar summoned him to a din Torah, and ultimately the wealthy man was ordered to pay him a substantial sum from his finest funds for the humiliation caused. People asked him: "This does not fit your character at all; you honor Torah scholars, so what happened?" He replied: "I always strive to benefit Torah scholars. I tried to help this particular scholar, but he refused to accept any money from me. So I thought I would do it indirectly - I insulted him, he summoned me to a din Torah, and now I was able to give him the money."
To be sure, this was not the recommended approach. It is written of Job that he would seize a field from the poor, improve it, and return it to them, yet Chazal say it is improper to do so - a person should not have robbery in his hands, even when his ultimate intention is good. Nevertheless, we see that there can be a situation where a person does something that appears evil, yet his objective is kindness. Regarding this, the verse comes to say: Esau, who persecuted Israel, had no good intention whatsoever, not even a shred of an intention to which one could attribute his actions. It was all purely out of hatred, fury, and cruelty. "Because he did not remember to show kindness" - not even the slightest thought of kindness toward Yaakov ever entered his mind. All his thoughts and objectives were to slay, to put Yaakov to death and nothing more.
He further explains that the verse teaches us that if a person neglects a particular mitzvah, he should not assume it stops there. One mitzvah leads to another mitzvah, and one transgression leads to another transgression. The reality is that one starts with a minor sin, and then the downward spiral progresses until it becomes very difficult for him to return to his former level. This is the progression of the verse: at first, "Because he did not remember to show kindness" - there are no active sins here yet, he simply does not perform kindness and does not actively cause harm. In the next stage, "and he pursued a poor and needy man" - not only did you not perform kindness, but you do not even leave him in peace. And in the final stage, "and brokenhearted, to slay him" - a person whose heart is already broken, and he comes to slay him. Here is the descent: if a person does not stop himself in time, he reaches rock bottom.
וַיֶּאֱהַב קְלָלָה וַתְּבוֹאֵהוּ וְלֹא־חָפֵץ בִּבְרָכָה וַתִּרְחַק מִמֶּנּוּ׃ - "He loved a curse, and it came upon him; he did not desire blessing, and it moved far from him."
What curse is being referred to that the wicked person loves? Rashi explains: the curse of the Holy One, Blessed be He. Since he denied the Holy One, Blessed be He, this inevitably brings about a curse. This can be compared to someone who enters a place knowing full well how one exits it, and the consequences are clear to him - there is no doubt that if he went in, he entered because he desired those results. If you choose to act cunningly against the Holy One, Blessed be He, it is a sign that you love His curse - that He should bring a curse upon you.
Radak explains that this refers to David: he loved David's curse, meaning he was not at all afraid of David's curses - "Curse away, David; go ahead and say whatever you like." Yet he does not know that "it came upon him," that in the end the curse will indeed strike him. "He did not desire blessing" - had he treated me well, he would have received a blessing, but instead he said, "I do not need any favors from you, nor do I need your blessings." Therefore, "it moved far from him."
Metzudat David explains: he loved doing things upon which a curse is destined to come - similar to Rashi's explanation. When you do something whose outcome you already know, it indicates that you love the outcome. And the blessing is far from you, for you know that if you had acted in the opposite way you would have merited blessing, yet you do not do the opposite, but instead deliberately do things that bring about a curse - evidently you love curses and hate blessings.
The Malbim explains: "He loved cursing" - the curse with which I cursed him in the Name of Hashem, that is what he loved, and therefore it shall come upon him, even though I will receive a blessing instead of his curse. And if you should ask: Was it not through him that blessing came to me, since in place of his curse I received a blessing, and perhaps he deserves credit for this? To this he says, "and he did not desire blessing" - he has no desire for it at all; he has no interest in blessing me, only in cursing, and it is only the Holy One, blessed be He, Who turns the curse into a blessing for me. In such a situation, he deserves no reward for the blessing, since that was not his intention. An example of this: Bil'am blessed us - and what reward did he receive for it? We find that Balak received a reward for the sacrifices, but we do not find that Bil'am received a reward for the blessings, because he did not want to bless, but to curse, and it was the Holy One, blessed be He, Who turned the curse into a blessing. Therefore, "and it remained far from him."
In the sefer Hakatuv LeChaim, this is explained according to the words of Chazal: In truth, they said a son may recite a blessing for his father and a wife for her husband - a son can fulfill his father's obligation, and a wife can recite Birkat HaMazon and fulfill her husband's obligation. But the Sages said: May a curse befall a man whose wife and children recite blessings for him. Why? Did you not learn how to recite a blessing? Learn to read so that you know how to bless, at least Birkat HaMazon; do you need your child and your wife to bless on your behalf? This is what the verse means: "He loved cursing, and it came upon him" - this refers to that curse mentioned by the Sages; "and he did not desire blessing" - for you see that he does not recite the blessing himself, but tells his wife and son to bless and fulfill his obligation. One who does not desire the blessing himself, relying instead on others to bless for him - upon him will the curse fall.
In Hebrew grammar, there are light verb forms (kal) and heavy verb forms (pi'el). A light verb is when the word rolls off the tongue easily - rotze'ach is a light form, whereas meratze'ach is a heavy form. A heavy verb form always signifies an action done with force and effort, whereas a light verb form denotes something done effortlessly. Here it is written, "Vaye'ehav kelalah" ("and he loved cursing") - indicating an active effort to love, that he exerted himself to love it. We find a similar idea regarding the Avot: "And Rivkah loved Yaakov" (ohevet) - using the light form; it was natural, simple, and flowed effortlessly. By contrast, regarding Yitzchak it says, "And Yitzchak loved Esav" (vaye'ehav) - he had to exert effort to love him. Here was a wicked son, and if he did not love him, he would stray completely; with such a person, one must make a conscious effort to love.
וַיִּלְבַּשׁ קְלָלָה כְּמַדּוֹ וַתָּבֹא כַמַּיִם בְּקִרְבּוֹ וְכַשֶּׁמֶן בְּעַצְמוֹתָיו׃ - He clothed himself with cursing like his garment, and it entered into his innards like water, and like oil into his bones.
Rashi explains: He brought himself into the curse, preferring to cast off the yoke of the sacrifices and the Priestly Blessing, opting instead for the curse of the nations. Esav was supposed to be a kohen, since the firstborn were originally the kohanim. When they told him what that entailed - that it is forbidden to enter with unkempt hair, and doing so incurs the death penalty - he said: How can I serve like that in the Beit HaMikdash with these locks of hair? "I do not want it." Take it; sell the birthright for lentils. It suited him to throw off the yoke of the sacrifices and the Priestly Blessing. And what did he love? The curse of the nations - "I loved Yaakov, but Esav I hated" - he loved the curse that befalls the nations, and therefore "and it came upon him"; the curse comes upon him, and he clothes himself in it.
And what is the meaning of "kemado" ("like his garment")? The Radak explains: It is like "mido vad" ("his linen garment"), a garment tailor-made to his exact size, from which the Hebrew word madim (uniform, a garment made to a person's measure) is derived. "He clothed himself with cursing like his garment" means that he is wrapped in the curse with no part of him left exposed. Likewise, "and it entered into his innards like water, and like oil into his bones" - like water that a person drinks, and like oil that one rubs on the body to soothe aching bones, penetrating deep inside into the bones; in the same way, the curse penetrates deep within him.
The Malbim notes precisely: Not only does the curse fit him on the outside like a garment measured to his size, but it envelopes him both from the inside and the outside. From the outside - like a garment tailored exactly to his measure; and from the inside - like water in his innards and oil in his bones. He is completely filled with the curse inside and out, leaving no part of him untouched by it.
תְּהִי־לוֹ כְּבֶגֶד יַעְטֶה וּלְמֵזַח תָּמִיד יַחְגְּרֶהָ׃ - Let it be to him like a garment in which he wraps himself, and like a belt with which he is constantly girded.
The Malbim explains: It is not enough that the curse will be to him like a garment tailored to his measure; rather, it will be like a wide and long cloak that a person wraps over all his clothes - like a large coat or a broad robe draped over everything. And the word ya'ateh indicates something external and conspicuous, so that everyone can see how he wraps himself in the curse.
"And for a belt that he girds continually" - a meizach is a belt, which they would gird over long garments in order to lift them so they would fit the size of the body. And since the curse is, as it were, longer than the measure of his body, a belt is needed to raise the garment to size - and the curse itself will be like a belt that he girds. That is, the curse will adjust itself to fit his exact measure.
By the way, this is the origin of the modern Hebrew word mizach (a pier or wharf) - the shore where ships dock and the point of connection to the sea, as well as a breakwater. This is based on the verse in Iyov, "And loosens the belt (mezi'ach) of the mighty" - which restrains and holds back the channels of water; similarly, "the Breastplate shall not be displaced (lo yizach)", which means it shall not depart. A pier is called this because it keeps the water away from the shore, stopping it from flooding it. Hence, a meizach is a belt - that which holds back and constrains.
זֹאת פְּעֻלַּת שֹׂטְנַי מֵאֵת יְהֹוָה וְהַדֹּבְרִים רָע עַל־נַפְשִׁי׃ - This is the recompense of my accusers from the Lord, and of those who speak evil against my soul.
The Radak explains: This will be the wage for their actions, for what they did to me, and as the Ibn Ezra puts it - the retribution for their deeds. The Malbim explains that this is fitting for them on two counts: First, in terms of action - for they actively did evil to me and sought to kill me. Second, in terms of speech and cursing - corresponding to which he says, "and of those who speak evil against my soul", in retribution for which the curse that I pronounced upon them will come and take effect. "The recompense of my accusers" refers to their wage, as in the verse "the wages of a hired worker shall not abide overnight" - this is the compensation due to them for the deed they committed.
In this section of the psalm, we have seen two approaches to understanding the curses: According to Rashi and the Radak, David is cursing his enemies (with Rashi applying the passage to Eisav and his sins against Avraham, Yitzchak, and Rivkah); whereas according to the Malbim, up until verse 14 David is recounting the curses his enemies hurled at him - that his children remain perpetual orphans and his wife a widow, that his sons wander begging for bread, that the creditor seize even their inheritance, and that no one remember his deeds of kindness - and only from "May they be before the Lord continually" does he turn their curse back into their own bosom. We have also learned a profound lesson in mussar: deterioration begins with someone who merely "did not remember to show kindness", and from there it spirals into persecuting the poor man and ultimately putting the brokenhearted to death; and one who loves a curse - the curse envelops him like a garment tailored to his size, inside and out, never letting go of him.