Psalm 113 opens with praise of the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, exalting Him above all nations and above the heavens. From there, it descends to describe how that very transcendence does not detach Him from the lowliest of the lowly. In this part, we will examine the final three verses of the chapter, which explain how Divine Providence descends to the impoverished and the destitute, even to the barren woman - thereby revealing that these matters are not governed by fate or celestial constellations, but by individual Divine Providence.
מְקִימִי מֵעָפָר דָּל, מֵאַשְׁפֹּת יָרִים אֶבְיוֹן׃ - He raises the poor from the dust, from the dunghill He lifts the needy.
The Radak explains: Hashem is exalted as stated above, and yet He looks upon the lowly, sees their poverty, raises them from the dust, and lifts them from the dunghill. He also notes a grammatical point: "ashpot" here is in the singular, for the plural form is "ashpatot."
The Malbim explains that here David comes to describe how Divine Providence from Hashem cascades down even to the pauper whom no one pays attention to - to him, too, the Holy One, blessed be He, attends and bestows bounty. All of this stands in contrast to what the nations claimed: that all matters of fortune - wealth, poverty, children, and barrenness - depend on destiny and the planetary alignments. Regarding this, Scripture declares: it is not so; rather, everything depends on Hashem's providence. As Chazal taught: What has the Holy One, blessed be He, been doing since He created His world? Setting up ladders in the heavens, bringing down one and elevating another - wealth and poverty come from Him, blessed be He; and He arranges matches, pairing this woman with that man. According to the Kabbalists, this refers to pairings of the supernal attributes, but in its simple meaning - He arranges human marriages.
Even if according to the celestial alignment and astrological signs this person was destined to remain in the lowest state, the Holy One, blessed be He, has the power to overturn the dictates of the stars and raise the poor from the dust. Just as Hashem told Avraham, "Go forth from your astrology," and as Chazal stated: the people of Israel are above astrology; through prayer, they have the power to overturn fate.
Not only does Hashem raise the impoverished from the dust, but "from the dunghill He lifts the needy" - from the dunghill, the very lowest place, He lifts the destitute to the highest heights. What is the distinction between a dal (poor person) and an evyon (needy person)? The Malbim explains that an evyon is worse off than a dal. Dal denotes poverty, and some say it refers to someone who once possessed wealth and became impoverished (niddaldel); either way, even if we define dal as someone originally poor, an evyon is in a direr state. Evyon comes from the root avah (to desire or yearn), meaning one who longs for everything, as in the phrase "my brother-in-law refuses (lo avah)," an expression of longing and desire. An evyon craves everything, whereas a dal has not reached that degree of deprivation. Scripture thus comes to teach that specifically from the dunghill, from the lowest place, the Holy One, blessed be He, raises the needy person to the heights of the world.
The Vilna Gaon explains that the verse speaks of spiritual matters. "He raises the poor from the dust" - one who is poor in mitzvot, the Holy One, blessed be He, raises him from the dust of materiality, from the coarseness and dustiness of the physical realm, as Rabbeinu Yonah phrases it. Man is coarse, and one who seeks to cleave to the mitzvot even though he is deficient in them - Hashem raises him from the dust. "From the dunghill He lifts the needy" - this is someone who is not merely lacking in mitzvot, but is already in the dunghill, steeped in transgressions; yet he is an "evyon," yearning and longing to do Hashem's will. He does not want to cling to those sins, he seeks to distance himself from them and ascend, and he weeps and repents over them. Such a person the Holy One, blessed be He, lifts from the dunghill to seat him with nobles. And who are the nobles? Chazal taught: These are the Patriarchs, who are called "the nobles of the peoples"; and "the nobles of His people" - these are the Prophets. The Holy One, blessed be He, elevates him and brings him to complete repentance.
The Talmud Yerushalmi in Tractate Chagigah explains "from the dunghill He lifts the needy" - after a person sinks to the absolute depths of degradation, from there onward there is only ascent. From there, he can only rise.
There is a story of a man whose situation was extremely dire. He went and invested, moving from business to business, buying and selling, and through Hashem's kindness he became exceedingly wealthy. One day, people came and informed him that the major project he had sought to secure was his, granting him total control over that entire industry in the country - and suddenly he burst into tears. His companion did not understand and felt uncomfortable asking: You wanted this so badly, and now you are crying? Time passed, his financial situation deteriorated into dreadful poverty, creditors seized everything he owned, and he was left with only the clothes on his back. He had no home and would go to bathe in the river. One day, he hung his clothes on a tree, went down to the river, and when he came out, he saw that they had been stolen. At that very moment, the same companion from the days of his wealth passed by and saw him dancing and rejoicing. He said to himself: Surely he has lost his mind. He approached and asked: What is going on with you, what happened? He replied: Understand, back then when you saw me crying, you did not realize why. On that day I reached the highest possible level, and once the wheel reaches its highest point, from there it can only go down - there is nowhere higher to climb. That is why I wept, because I realized that the turning point had begun. But today you saw me at the lowest possible state - there is no lower state than this, where a person does not even have clothes, and even those were stolen. I have reached rock bottom, and from here the wheel can only turn upward. And indeed, within a short time he engaged in business, and through Hashem's kindness returned to his previous standing. This is what the Yerushalmi says: "From the trash heaps He lifts the destitute" - from there, one can only rise.
Similarly, the Gemara relates regarding Rabbi Eliezer that he once walked through the marketplace, and a woman was sweeping her house and threw the trash from above onto his head. He said: It seems that today my colleagues will draw me close, as it says, "From the trash heaps He lifts the destitute." Rabbi Eliezer was a Shamuti - he had been placed under a ban of ostracism - and he said: Now I know that the situation will turn around; after having reached such degradation that trash is thrown upon me from above, from now on my colleagues will bring me near.
The Shem MiShmuel explains: It is known that a character trait to which a person is accustomed in this world remains attached to the soul even after it departs from the body. An example of this was once cited in the teachings on reincarnation, in the story of a dybbuk that possessed a person. The rabbi labored to cast it out, spoke with it, and sought a way to rectify it, when suddenly the dybbuk began to utter dreadful curses and foul language. The rabbi asked: What pleasure do you derive from cursing like this and speaking foully? It replied: It is no longer in my control. When I departed this world I was a base person; gutter language was my routine, and until I undergo rectification and refinement in the World of Truth - Gehinom and purgation - it is not my choice; I remain in the exact state I was in during my lifetime. Death is a snapshot: as a person was at the moment of death, so he remains until he undergoes purification.
Incidentally, when a person is reincarnated, that same trait remains attached to him as well. The holy Ari writes - as mentioned in the teachings on reincarnation - that if a person wants to know what he must rectify, he should examine the things he is drawn toward. Each person is drawn toward different transgressions: one person enjoys speaking lashon hara and cannot be stopped, while another has no inclination for lashon hara at all. The very trait a person had previously continues to accompany him in his new gilgul. The Ari teaches: See which matter is most difficult for you, and know that you came into the world to rectify precisely that. Many people err in this: when asked about a certain area, a person replies that that is specifically where he struggles, but that he tries very hard in other areas. This is comparable to someone assigned Project A, who, when asked if he is working on it, answers: No, but I am working on B and C. Who asked you for B and C? That is not your project; you must work on A. It is like parking a car in one spot and paying at a different parking meter - you have not paid for your own parking. Precisely because it is difficult for you, that is the clear sign that the sins and habits of the previous lifetime carved a groove into your soul, and therefore this is where your struggle lies. This is a profound lesson for everyone: to pay close attention to one's desires, for this is the central peg upon which everything hangs. "From the trash heaps He lifts the destitute" - that matter which in your life resembles a trash heap, from there you must lift yourself, there you must rectify, and for that purpose you came into the world.
In the sefer Tehillot Maharit, the juxtaposition of the verses is explained homiletically: "He raises the impoverished from the dust, from the trash heaps He lifts the destitute, to seat him with nobles, with the nobles of His people." A wealthy person who has never tasted poverty does not know what a poor person endures, and consequently feels no empathy toward him - he cannot understand what he is going through, since he was never poor himself.
Rabbi Yosef Cohen of Chasdei Naomi, who regularly visits the midrasha, once shared in an interview what led him to care so deeply for orphans, widows, and the destitute - the organization known for the phrase "Mama, you promised us chicken for Shabbat." He described the poverty he experienced at home, an unimaginable level of destitution: when fresh bread was bought, his mother would specifically serve yesterday's bread instead, because fresh bread is eaten more quickly and would run out, whereas from stale bread one eats only what is strictly necessary. He gave very difficult descriptions of poverty and hardship - not from seven hundred years ago, but from the early years of the State of Israel.
When a person comes from such a background and feels the plight of the poor, it is vastly easier for him to open both his heart and his pocket. But someone born with a silver spoon in his mouth, who, when told there is no bread, replies, "Then let them eat cake" - does he truly know what it means to lack bread? He lives on another planet, in a parallel universe. Such a person does not comprehend what poverty is, what deprivation is, or the hardship of the pauper. Therefore, through Hashem's kindness, the Holy One bestows wealth specifically upon one who was previously poor and felt the bitterness of poverty, so that from his own flesh he understands the depth of the pauper's suffering, and will consequently open his hand to support the poor. This is what the verse hints at: "He raises the impoverished from the dust" - Hashem raises the poor man from the dust and grants him wealth, so that he now possesses the ability to support others; to the extent that "He seats him with nobles" - that he sits with generous benefactors who give to others, rather than with mere hoarders of wealth, like "the mouse that sleeps on gold coins," lying on his money without giving anyone anything. He sits among the noble benefactors who sustain others, because he himself was raised from the dust and was impoverished, and he knows the anguish of the poor.
לְהוֹשִׁיבִי עִם נְדִיבִים, עִם נְדִיבֵי עַמּוֹ׃ - To seat him with nobles, with the nobles of His people.
Radak explains: Not only does Hashem lift them from their lowliness, but He elevates them and seats them with nobles - with wealthy individuals. And what is meant by "the nobles of His people"? That they are exalted above all nations, for His people fulfill God's will, and so it will be in the future over all the nations. That is to say, "the nobles of His people" are beyond ordinary wealthy people - they are the wealthy of the Jewish people, who are elevated above other rich men, for they fulfill the will of Hashem.
The Malbim, true to his approach of analyzing textual nuances, asks: Why the repetition of "with nobles, with the nobles of His people," and what is added by "the nobles of His people"? He explains: If a person goes to a place where no one knows him and no one remembers his former poverty, they will easily honor him there, for they see only his current wealth - this is "to seat him with nobles." But when he comes to a place where they remember him from his days of poverty, they will not accord him proper honor even if he is now wealthy. It is well known that one who comes from humble beginnings is rarely accepted among the wealthy elite; they treat him like someone from the wrong side of the tracks. Even if he is as wealthy as they are today, they still keep their distance - he is not part of their social circle, their milieu, or their clique, because they remember what he once was.
This was precisely how Rabbi Yisrael Salanter launched his life's work and the Mussar movement. He once attended a wedding hosted by a man who had previously been a poor cobbler, but whose fortunes had turned - whether through a lottery or some other means - making him exceedingly wealthy. Yet the established rich did not see him as one of their own. In the middle of the wedding, one of them took off his shoe, turned to the father of the groom, and said: "Tell me, how much would it cost to repair a shoe like this?" Everyone laughed - as if to remind him: "You used to be a cobbler; who are you to put on an affair fit for the Palace of Versailles?" The man turned pale with humiliation. Rabbi Yisrael Salanter said: "There was terrible humiliation here, and at that moment I realized that Heaven was holding the leaders of the generation accountable - how could such a thing happen in our generation, that a Jew could publicly humiliate his fellow and bury him alive in front of everyone? Why have you not aroused the people to study Mussar? How could someone commit such a vile act?" He resolved that action had to be taken. Despite his towering stature - the Rav of Brisk said of him that he was the preeminent gaon of the generation - he invested everything into spreading the Mussar movement, and he succeeded. Today, everyone studies Mussar, and hearing such a story evokes not laughter, but shock and dismay: How could anyone do such a thing? Because today, Mussar is studied.
We see, then, that among the wealthy it is not easy to accept someone who rose from the bottom. Regarding this, the verse says: "To seat him with nobles" - if he goes to a place where no one knows him, they will indeed accept him, as they are unaware of his former state. Even more so, Hashem seats him "with the nobles of His people" - among those who knew his previous lowliness and remember his poverty, yet now recognize how far he has risen, genuinely respect him, and welcome him into their midst. This is an even higher level than merely sitting "with nobles": he sits among them without humiliation, and they do not view themselves as superior to him.
מוֹשִׁיבִי עֲקֶרֶת הַבַּיִת אֵם הַבָּנִים שְׂמֵחָה, הַלְלוּ יָהּ׃ - He transforms the barren woman of the home into a joyful mother of children. Halleluyah!
Rashi explains: Zion, which is like a barren woman, will be settled by Him. This refers to Jerusalem and the site of the Beit HaMikdash, that the land will be inhabited. And why does the verse call her "a joyful mother of children"? Because this expression is applied to Zion, as it says, "For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children" - showing that she is called a mother who bears children. And for this we praise Hashem: Halleluyah!
The Radak explains that the verse comes to demonstrate how Hashem overturns even the laws of nature: He settles the barren woman in a home - "home" in the sense of establishing a household, as in "and He made them houses" and "He settles the solitary in a home." This barren woman will merit bearing children. The Radak emphasizes that the word akeret is not in the construct state (semichut) with ha'bayit. At first glance, akeret ha'bayit sounds like a construct phrase, but the Radak rejects this, for any construct phrase of two words must carry a distinct combined meaning - for example, a "house of study" is a place where books are studied, a house of education. But what would "a barren woman of a house" mean? Is there a barren woman of a house versus a barren woman of the street? Therefore, its meaning is: He settles the barren woman in a home, settling her in a home full of children. Even though the letter tav typically indicates a construct state - like knesiah (gathering) and Knesset Yisrael (the assembly of Israel) - here it is not a construct. Do not wonder at this, for we find similar grammatical forms elsewhere: ateret tiferet (a crown of glory) where ateret is not construct; mamlachet, which sometimes appears in construct form as in mamlachet kohanim (a kingdom of priests) and sometimes independently; as well as milchamah and milchemet, and others. The meaning of the verse is that Hashem establishes the barren woman and settles her so that she becomes a mother of children and rejoices with them, whereas previously she was grief-stricken as a barren woman without children.
The Malbim explains that akeret refers to a woman who was made barren by human hands, having drunk a sterilizing potion (kos shel ikarin). In ancient times, it was common practice to take two wives: one for childbearing, and since childbearing causes physical wear, they would take a second wife and give her a sterilizing potion so that she would not give birth and lose her beauty. This is described regarding Lamech: "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice" - one stayed in his shadow (for childbearing) and the other was like an ornament (for beauty). Even so, the verse tells us: come and see that even one who drank a sterilizing potion will be healed by the Holy One, Blessed be He, becoming "a joyful mother of children," and He will grant her children.
In the sefer Tehilot Yosef, the Chida explains based on the teachings of the Rama of Fano that on Rosh Hashanah, Hashem visited Sarah. What does pakad mean? It connotes deficiency or diminution, as in "and not one man of us was missing (nifkad)" - none was lacking. In what sense did Hashem diminish Sarah? Avraham and Sarah were both "princes" (sarim), possessing an exceedingly elevated spiritual level, and two princes cannot function together in marriage (an allusion to marital union, tashmish). That is, their union could not produce fruit as long as both were on an identical level of prominence. For a true marital union to take place, one must be primary and the other secondary, akin to the sun and the moon, where one is the giver (mashpia) and the other the receiver (mekabel). What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do? He diminished Sarah's level slightly relative to Avraham - "And Hashem diminished (pakad) Sarah" - and as soon as she was slightly lowered from his level, she was able to be blessed with children.
He further explains: the gematria of ishah (woman) is 306, while ish (man) is 311. If a woman recognizes that her husband is an ish, that he holds a certain primacy, and she defers to him, regarding this it is said: "He who finds a wife (ishah) finds good." That is, he finds her in the aspect of ishah (306), where she respects her husband as greater than herself, and through this he merits peace in his home. But if in her mind she considers herself completely equal to the man, and certainly if she feels superior to him, then "I find more bitter than death the woman (ha'ishah)" - for ha'ishah in gematria is 311, equal to ish: absolute equality of rights, even hyphenating her maiden name onto his, asserting, "No, sir, we are completely equal" - in the best case; and in the worse case, "you are even less than me." And that is bitter than death.
And this is what the verse hints at: "He transforms the barren woman of the home into a joyful mother of children" - forming the acronym ishah. That is, when she recognizes that she is secondary to her husband, serving as the homemaker (akeret ha'bayit), then she is also "a joyful mother of children." Through understanding that she is in the aspect of ishah and defers to the ish, the union will endure and bear fruit - just as we saw with Avraham, where once Sarah was slightly diminished and Hashem remembered (pakad) her, the union could bear fruit. But when she holds herself haughtily, she is not blessed with children.
The final three verses of the chapter teach that Divine Providence does not stop in the heights of heaven, but descends all the way to the dust and the ash heaps: the Holy One, blessed be He, raises the poor and lifts the destitute, reverses the decree of the constellations, and seats the one who was at rock bottom not only among princes, but even among the princes of His people - those who remember his former poverty and nevertheless esteem him. On a deeper, inner level: one who is poor in mitzvos and mired in the ash heaps of transgression, yet yearns to do the will of Hashem, is elevated from there to complete repentance; and specifically the challenge that is hardest for him is the very anchor for which he came into the world. And finally - "מושיבי עקרת הבית אם הבנים שמחה" - "He settles the barren woman of the house as a joyful mother of children": Hashem overturns nature itself. May it be His will that He remember with children all the barren men and women of His people Israel, Amen.