Chapter 119 of Tehillim is the longest chapter in the Book of Psalms and in the entire Tanach: one hundred and seventy-six verses, arranged according to the order of the alef-bet. And thus it opens:
אַשְׁרֵי תְמִימֵי־דָרֶךְ הַהֹלְכִים בְּתוֹרַת יְהֹוָה׃ - Praiseworthy are those whose way is wholesome, who walk in the Torah of Hashem.
The Ibn Ezra cites the Ba'al HaMesora, that throughout the entire chapter there is not a single verse that lacks a mention of one of these words: derech (way), Torah, eidut (testimony), pikudim (precepts), amira (saying), chok (statute), mitzvah (commandment), mishpat (judgment), or davar (word). King David describes in each and every verse praise of the Torah, its commandments, and its statutes. There is only a single exception, a verse with no direct mention of the Torah:
עֲרֹב עַבְדְּךָ לְטוֹב אַל־יַעַשְׁקֻנִי זֵדִים׃ - Guarantee the well-being of Your servant; let not the arrogant oppress me.
The Ibn Ezra mentions that some suggest David did not compose this chapter, but this is not the accepted view. The accepted tradition is that King David composed Chapter 119 as well.
Radak writes that this psalm is exceedingly distinguished, and David composed it in an eightfold alef-bet: eight verses for each letter. There are many chapters built on an alphabetical acrostic, such as "Ashrei yoshvei veitecha" and many others, but the unique feature here is that each letter is repeated eight times, something without parallel anywhere else in Scripture. An astonishing notion is cited in Me'am Lo'ez - whose source warrants investigation - that some say because David died on Shemini Atzeret, he therefore composed the verses in groups of eight. This is puzzling, since we know that King David died on Atzeret, on Shavuot, and not on Shemini Atzeret, so it remains to be understood what this is based upon.
Radak also notes that in each and every verse one of these expressions appears: derech (way), Torah, eidut (testimony), pikudim (precepts), mitzvah (commandment), amira (saying), dibbur (speech), mishpat (judgment), tzedek (righteousness), chukim (statutes), emunah (faithfulness) - and all of them are facets of the Torah. Here he provides us with a sort of glossary, so that we will not need to explain every term in each and every verse.
We have examples of this in our own time as well: those who attack us are precisely those who have mercy on the cruel and treat the merciful with cruelty. They show compassion to the corrupt, support nations that commit every atrocity and have no concept of human rights, and pour millions and aid into them. You claim to be a humanitarian, you claim to be a nation devoted to protecting human rights - so why is it only when it comes to us? Assad slaughtered hundreds of thousands, if not millions, yet in The Hague they found no reason to bother with him. An Arab killing an Arab is seen as legitimate, just the way things are there; but if a Jew kills an Arab, it is immediately an unforgivable crime. This is the essence of tzedek: to vindicate and justify the mitzvot, knowing that whatever Hashem said is the right thing. And whoever presumes to be merciful where the Torah commanded to be harsh, or vice versa, ultimately arrives at such moral distortions.
The Radak adds: when David mentions one of these terms, he does not intend that specific designation alone; rather, he mentions one, and the same applies to the others. For example:
אַתָּה צִוִּיתָה פִקֻּדֶיךָ לִשְׁמֹר מְאֹד׃ - "You have commanded Your precepts, to be kept diligently."
אַחֲלַי יִכֹּנוּ דְרָכָי לִשְׁמֹר חֻקֶּיךָ׃ - "O that my ways were directed to observe Your statutes!"
According to the Radak, one could just as easily have said "O that my precepts were directed," or "You have commanded Your ways to be kept diligently." When a particular word is used, it does not mean that term exclusively rather than the others. This is the Radak's approach, which interprets poetic parallelism (kefel inyan bemilim shonot - repetition of the same theme in different words) without analyzing why one term was chosen here and another there. We, as is our custom, will also study along with the Malbim, whose approach is to analyze with utmost precision: for him, there is no mere repetition in different words, and no phrase is chosen without precise intent. Every term is chosen deliberately and specifically, never by chance, and we will explain these matters, with the help of Hashem, following his method.
The Radak further explains that there are verses in this psalm that David uttered when he was in distress and fleeing, and when he composed the psalm, he incorporated everything he had endured. At times, his distress prevented him from engaging in Torah study, and he comes to express this here as well - for the entire psalm, in all its variations, is devoted to the Torah.
The Radak asks: Why did he compose the psalm with an eightfold alphabetical acrostic, no more and no less? Had it been seven, there would be no question, for there are seven celestial spheres containing seven planets that serve the world, and the cycle of the world proceeds in sevens, as the world was created in six days and rested on the seventh. Nor would there be any question about ten, since ten is the completion of the base count: our entire counting system is built on tens, after which the cycle begins anew - eleven, twelve, and so on.
The Radak mentions the literal reasons, and from that same perspective one can also speak of the more familiar Kabbalistic dimensions: seven corresponds to the lower seven sefirot - Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut - which are the sefirot generally referred to, since Chesed-Gevurah-Tiferet Netzach-Hod-Yesod-Malchut govern this world, whereas Keter, Chochmah, and Binah represent the governance of the World to Come and are therefore referenced less often. And ten corresponds to the ten sefirot, when including the first three as well. But eight, the Radak notes, is not found anywhere as a complete round number; rather, it is a deliberate count: if eight was chosen, there must be a specific reason for it.
The Radak answers: Since the entire psalm deals with mitzvot, judgments, and statutes, all of which are built upon intellect and wisdom, and the ways in which wisdom and human character traits are acquired are seven, as it is written, "She has hewn out her seven pillars." And how so? Five senses and faculties to which human traits are attributed, through which one acquires wisdom: through the eyes - with which a person sees into books of wisdom; through the ears - by which one hears words of Torah and wisdom from teachers; through the mouth - by which one speaks words of Torah and teaches others; and through the hand - with which one writes books.
The sense of smell requires explanation: How is it connected to the attainment of wisdom? The Radak explains: Do not wonder, for it too is associated with wisdom, because the nostrils are close to the two anterior cavities of the brain, where the power of imagination resides - and a person immediately senses things through the nose. So too it is said, "And He shall scent him with the fear of Hashem," meaning that Mashiach will judge based on scent, "morach v'da'in" (he smells and judges), as the Gemara expresses it: he smells and judges.
Speaking of the sense of smell: Once, the author of the Beit HaLevi was a guest of the Maharil Diskin. When it was time for him to return to his town, the Maharil Diskin remarked that he probably would not have time to eat before Yom Kippur, and gave him a chicken prepared by the Rebbetzin so he would have food, since there is a mitzvah to eat on Erev Yom Kippur. The Rav sat on the train, took out the food to eat, and as he brought it to his mouth, he detected a sharp smell that struck him, thinking it might have spoiled. He put it back in the bag and continued studying. Again he thought that perhaps he was mistaken; he took it out, smelled it, and put it back - once, twice, and three times. A non-Jew sitting beside him noticed this and asked what was going on. He said to him, "I smell an unpleasant odor here; perhaps you could smell it?" The non-Jew smelled it and said, "There is no problem at all; it smells great." He decided to eat it, but as he brought it close again, the smell arose even stronger than before, and he realized that something was evidently amiss. The non-Jew said to him, "I tell you it is fine; if you do not want it, give it to me and I will eat it." He replied, "Please, go ahead and eat." He gave it to him, and the man ate it.
When the Beit HaLevi arrived at the train station in his town, people were waiting for him and said, "Rabbi, a telegram has arrived from the Maharil Diskin." He opened it and saw that it instructed him not to eat the chicken, because the portion that remained at home had been examined, a halachic question arose, and it turned out not to be kosher. The Rav said, "Baruch Hashem, I did not eat from it." When this was related to the Maharil Diskin, he said that even when he sent the telegram, it was clear to him that the Beit HaLevi would not eat it, for it is written, "He guards the feet of His pious ones" - the Holy One, blessed be He, guards the righteous from stumbling into forbidden foods. And so Tosafot say: there is no guarantee that Rabbi Yishmael will read by candlelight and not tilt the lamp, nor is there a guarantee that one will not mistakenly put a conspiring witness to death; there is no guarantee that a tzaddik will never make a mistake. "No harm will befall the righteous" is said only regarding forbidden food. If so, why did he send a telegram? Because according to Halachah he was obligated to do so: when you have given someone non-kosher food, you must inform him. But it was clear that he would not stumble on his own - and so it was indeed.
And where is this hinted at? "No harm (aven) will befall (ye'uneh) the righteous (tzaddik) at all (kol)" - the initial letters of Ye'uneh la'tzaddik kol oven form the word yochal (he will eat), meaning: he will not eat (lo yochal). Heaven protects him from eating forbidden food, though in other matters there is no such blanket promise. Countless stories illustrate how the righteous are safeguarded in dietary matters, and even ordinary people who are meticulous about their food, regarding worms and insects, witness special siyata d'Shmaya to be spared from anything problematic. Here we saw this through the sense of smell, which is connected to wisdom: the Rav smelled it in his wisdom, and from Heaven he was given to understand that it was forbidden to eat.
The sixth way of acquiring wisdom is through the testimony of reporters: something we do not know through our own senses, yet it is completely clear to us. The Radak gives an example: Travelers report that the city of Constantinople exists in the world - where is it? In Turkey. People traveling from place to place say that such a city exists, and even though I have never gone there or seen it, I have no doubt about it. For something that is untrue will eventually be exposed as a falsehood, and a person does not lie about a matter that is bound to be revealed (and we are speaking of the normal course of things, not the era of WhatsApp). In the realms of wisdom itself, one also requires the testimony of reporters, for many matters in wisdom are known through the observation of creatures and are not directly known to everyone; rather, one hears them from reliable witnesses, as Hashem said to Iyov, "Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Can you mark when the hinds calve?" And the seventh way is intellectual perception and knowledge, which is the strongest of them all.
Now, there is one way that is not among the rational ways of wisdom and which intellect does not dictate on its own, and yet it is an even greater and stronger pillar for all people of Torah - this is Kabbalah (received tradition), which we are obligated to believe in under all circumstances. Not Kabbalah in the sense of the esoteric teachings of mysticism, but the tradition received from generation to generation. Through it, it becomes verified in our souls and firmly established in our hearts that Moshe Rabbeinu wrote the Torah from the mouth of the Almighty, blessed be He. Were you there? How do you know? So too regarding the creation of the world ex nihilo and the account of Creation, the story of the Patriarchs, the great signs our ancestors witnessed in Egypt and in the wilderness, the splitting of the Yam Suf, the Jordan River, the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, the sun and moon standing still for Yehoshua, and the rest of the wonders - our eyes did not see them, our ears did not hear them, pure intellect does not prove them on its own, and they cannot be empirically tested today. Regarding the testimony of travelers, we said that a person does not lie, because people could check and see that no such city exists; but here, can you test right now whether the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai occurred or not?
Regarding this, the Radak says: It has been verified to us through the books that are an inheritance from our fathers, generation after generation. And this tradition is true to us and firmly planted in our hearts as if our own eyes had seen it and our own ears had heard it; our intellect has affirmed it and even more so. Why even more so? Because sensory perceptions can sometimes deceive, and a person can sometimes make errors in his intellect as well, when the paths of logical proof are not clear to him.
It is fascinating that the Radak wrote this already back then. A person might say: "If only there were photographs from the Revelation at Mount Sinai, I would accept it." But today, one can show you photographs from Mars, and the whole thing was produced in Hollywood! To this day, there are those who claim that the entire story of the moon landing was an American fabrication, and they bring proofs and arguments: look at how the flag is standing, look at this, look at that. Someone even told me in all seriousness that there is a doctor or professor who passionately claims that the entire system of interceptors - the Arrow and the Iron Dome - is a lie, that there is no such thing as an aerial interception, and he has "explanations" for everything. A person can be a professor and live in a parallel universe of illusions, just like those who claim that Covid never existed. There is no point in investing energy in trying to convince them. But for our purposes: sensory perceptions can deceive and the intellect can err, whereas tradition - an inheritance transmitted generation after generation - has never found a denier among any of the nations.
Nothing is stronger than tradition. Consider this: the entire Jewish people sit on the Seder night and say, "This matzah that we eat, for what reason?" "This maror that we eat," and in the times of the Beit HaMikdash they ate the Korban Pesach. At what point in time did this begin? When did a group of people decide to deceive their children and tell them that they left Egypt? We are talking about an entire nation adopting a narrative that supposedly never happened! The Ramban states: fathers do not bequeath a lie to their children. There is no logic whatsoever in a group of people sitting down and telling their children an unfounded fabrication, and even commanding: "And you shall tell your child."
And notice what is included in that "fabrication": that you are obligated to observe the commandments of Hashem, with countless restrictions. Would a father want to make his child's life miserable for no reason? From now on, you are obligated in this, that, and the other; if you desecrate Shabbat, you are stoned; if you commit a certain sin, woe to you! Did a group of people simply decide to sit down and embitter their children's lives with baseless commandments, and further command them to pass this down from generation to generation? Furthermore, the Tanach is accepted today among all nations. Neither Islam nor Christianity denies that the Revelation at Mount Sinai took place; the dispute is only whether there were "upgrades" along the way, whether Muhammad, in one of his episodes, imagined that he saw the angel Gabriel who gave him updates - and we have proofs that these are nonsense. But they do not deny the historical reality of the Flood, for example, which is written in the Torah and received by us from generation to generation. And so it is with all matters of tradition: what our forefathers handed down to us is stronger than everything, for all the books written from the rising of the sun to its setting do not contradict one another on this foundation. Therefore, this tradition has been clarified for us beyond any shadow of a doubt, to the point that it has become for us like pure intellect - like something one understands with the mind, like something seen with one's own eyes.
Back when Ben-Gurion spoke at the United Nations about our right to the Land of Israel, he said to them: So many years ago, a ship sailed with the first pilgrims to settle America, named the Mayflower, and its journey is famous and well known. But go and ask not just a child, but adults in America: on what exact date did it arrive? What were the passengers wearing? What did they eat on the journey? Nobody knows. Yet regarding our Exodus from Egypt, ask any Jewish child what we ate, and he will tell you: matzot, maror, and the Korban Pesach. What were we wearing? "Your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand." What did we eat in the wilderness? Manna and quail. What water did we drink? From Miriam's well. And every detail of the forty-two journeys! With the Mayflower, it took place less than four hundred years ago, and the discovery of America about five hundred years ago, and nobody knows these details; whereas we have a living tradition preserved down to the smallest detail.
This is a fundamental principle: it is impossible to plant a story into history. If someone were to come along and claim that a certain national event occurred, that a certain public revelation took place, the people of his generation who never saw it would immediately contradict him. If he were to say, "It happened in the previous generation; my father told me," they would reply, "Your father must have had a unique memory, for my father remembers no such thing, nor does his father, nor his father's father." Whom could he convince? Perhaps himself and a few family members who place blind faith in him, but certainly not an entire nation.
This is the difference between Judaism and all other religions, and this is our strength and our tradition. A person might argue: everyone knows that that individual performed miracles, walked on water, and miraculously fed a multitude, and billions believe in this, whereas your story is told by only fifteen million Jews! But the error is simple: a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. A massive chain of cargo containers, as thick as it may be, if it contains a single link capable of bearing only one kilogram - that link will break first, and it determines the strength of the entire chain.
Their story begins with individuals. Who said that that individual distributed bread to all those people? There were twenty people at the meal. Who said that he rose from his grave? Three women claimed so, as recorded in their own texts. Who said he walked on water? Two or three who supposedly saw it. And to remove any doubt, we have no issue with these supernatural descriptions in and of themselves, for Chazal characterize him as a sorcerer and state that he performed acts through sorcery; the question is who claimed it and who bore witness. The entire narrative began with a few solitary individuals, and only later gathered momentum. One must also realize that it was not difficult for people to accept Christianity, for in what way did it restrict them? There were no 613 commandments dictating what to do from morning until night, especially since these were people who had previously been pagans and idolaters, so they were already accustomed to various religious obligations.
Judaism, by contrast, tells a story that begins with a minimum of several million people. We have documentation that six hundred thousand adult men aged twenty to sixty left Egypt; add the children, the elderly, the women, and the mixed multitude that ascended with them, and you reach many millions. And these millions all bore witness to the Revelation at Mount Sinai: "You have been shown to know" - you yourselves saw it. It is impossible to plant a story of millions retroactively into history. Both Christianity and Islam, when they tell their origins, recount that they began with individuals; one cannot retroactively fabricate a national experience that never occurred. And so the Torah promises that no nation will ever arise and invent a similar claim: "For ask now of the earliest days that were before you... has there ever been anything like this great thing, or has anything like it been heard? Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you heard, and live? Or has God ever attempted to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war?"