Before us is the conclusion of the section of the letter Yud in Psalm 119 - four pesukim in which King David asks for life and mercy, confronts those who falsely accuse him, asks for the return of those who fear Hashem to him, and concludes with a prayer that his heart be wholesome in Hashem's statutes. In the Malbim's customary way, each pasuk has a "central focal point" from among the designations of the Torah: Torah, Pikudim (precepts), Edot (testimonies), and Chukim (statutes) - and we will explain accordingly.
יְבֹאוּנִי רַחֲמֶיךָ וְאֶחְיֶה כִּי־תוֹרָתְךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי׃ - Let Your mercies come to me that I may live, for Your Torah is my delight.
The Ibn Ezra explains: since I have no delights other than Your Torah, have mercy on me so that I may merit to meditate upon the Torah and observe it. The Radak explains similarly. Once again, we see here the same principle that has recurred several times throughout this chapter: whenever King David asks for life, rest, and tranquility, it is entirely so that he can delve into the Torah. It is not for worldly pleasure or entertainment; material matters do not interest him at all, for "The Torah of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver." Let Your mercies come to me that I may live - and the goal: "for Your Torah is my delight," that I may merit to take delight in the Torah. But at present, when I am persecuted and suffering, I cannot contemplate the Torah properly.
The Malbim explains that the central focal point here is the Torah. There are two requests here stemming from two divine attributes: regarding consolation for the suffering he endured, he asks from the attribute of Chesed (lovingkindness) - Master of the Universe, perform chesed with me and bring me good corresponding to all the affliction I have suffered. But regarding life itself, he asks from the attribute of Rachamim (mercy): since the Torah is my delight, and Torah study saps a person's physical strength, I ask to live through Your mercy, for "it is life to those who find them." That is, let it not happen that I become weakened by the toil of Torah; give me the strength to delve into the Torah properly, especially since the Torah itself grants life.
יֵבֹשׁוּ זֵדִים כִּי־שֶׁקֶר עִוְּתוּנִי אֲנִי אָשִׂיחַ בְּפִקּוּדֶיךָ׃ - Let the arrogant be put to shame, for they subverted me with lies; as for me, I will meditate on Your precepts.
Rashi explains: "They condemned me without cause." This refers to their public humiliation of him, as they would taunt David, "One who lies with a married woman, what is his execution?" Yet he did not sin in this manner. As Chazal teach: whoever says David sinned with a married woman is mistaken. Certainly he fell short - we have mentioned this several times - a prophet came to rebuke him, and his conduct was unfitting. But adultery with a married woman did not occur here. Likewise, whoever says David was guilty of murder is mistaken; certainly what happened regarding Uriah the Hittite was unfitting, but murder in the literal sense it was not. Regarding the severe charges leveled against him - adultery and murder - anyone who claims he committed them is mistaken. Yet to say that King David was entirely spotless and without reproach is also inaccurate, for a prophet came to rebuke him and David was punished for those unfitting deeds. Nevertheless, those specific allegations do not apply to him, and therefore: "Let the arrogant be put to shame, for they subverted me with lies" - they distort the truth and falsely assert that I committed these grave sins.
The Ibn Ezra explains differently: the arrogant sought to divert me from the straight path - not in the sense of falsely convicting me, but in trying to distort my ways through deceit. And what is the way to avoid straying after the wicked? To cling to the Torah: "I will meditate on Your precepts" - through speaking and contemplating Your precepts, I am distanced from the path of the wicked, and they have no hold over me.
The Malbim notes that the central focus of the pasuk is "Your precepts." Corresponding to what was stated earlier, "The arrogant smeared me with lies," he says here, "Let the arrogant be put to shame" because they subverted me with lies. And "subversion" (ivut), as the Malbim explains in several places, always refers to a distortion of the intellect. This is a profound principle that we have explained several times regarding the distinction between pesha (willful rebellion) and avon (iniquity): pesha is when a person transgresses intentionally - his evil inclination may have overpowered him, but he acted willfully. Avon is a far more severe stage, where a person also finds intellectual justification for what he did. A person feels uncomfortable with his transgressions, so he enlists his intellect to justify them and offers all sorts of arguments as to why his action was right. This is a deepening of sin far worse than the preceding stage: as long as you recognize, "I am a transgressor," you are likely to repent; but once you have rationalized and justified your offenses, there is little chance of doing teshuvah.
This, incidentally, is the difference between the Maskilim of Europe and people in other places. In Eastern lands as well, not everyone was necessarily righteous; it is possible that in certain places there were those who stumbled and even sinned. The difference is that in Europe, people find a justification for everything, an intellectual rationale for everything: after falling and committing sins, they construct an ideology around it. Thus they will tell you that in nature a single bull services an entire herd of cows, so a person should not be bound to a single family - they built an ideology around their lusts. Similarly, various people today who come "out of the closet" construct an ideology around it: as if there are two valid formats of life - a traditional family on one hand, and male with male or female with female on the other, and everything is legitimate. In fact, they have created a situation where if someone expresses an opposing view in the media, they pounce on him as though he denied the fundamental foundations of truth. Why? Because they built an ideology around physical desire, to the point that it can no longer even be debated: "This is how it must be," "Psychologically one must not take him out of it; he must follow his desires." This is far more severe - you have turned the rebellion into an intentional perversion, you have distorted the intellect, and the mind now rationalizes the most terrible and perverse things.
Regarding this, David says: "Let the wanton be put to shame, for they have subverted me with falsehood" - they sought to distort my intellect with falsehood, to sway my heart toward heresy, to bring me to crooked distortion. And counter to this: "I will meditate on Your precepts" - I study the Torah, the precepts, and through them their falsehood becomes apparent. Just as we saw earlier, "The wanton have plastered me with lies" and the remedy was "with all my heart I will observe Your precepts," so it is here. For "Your precepts" are the mitzvos through which the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded us to remember the signs and wonders that took place in history, all of which prove divine reality - and with this strength I confront those who attempt to alienate me and distort my intellect.
Rabbeinu Ovadiah Sforno explains: "Let the wanton be put to shame" - these are Achitophel, Shimei ben Gera, and their factions, who were constantly insolent toward him. "For they have subverted me with falsehood" - their taunts saying, "There is no salvation for him in God forever," this taunt is a lie. And "I will meditate on Your precepts" - he offers a fascinating explanation: these are the reckonings of the Mishkan. For after the Sin of the Golden Calf, when the Jewish people sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, restored His Shechinah to them when they built the Mishkan. From the reckonings of the Mishkan, I learn that even after sin there is rectification, that even after sin the Holy One, blessed be He, returns to the Jewish people - and just as He did then, so Hashem will do for me upon my repentance.
In the sefer Tehillot Yosef, he cites the Gaon, the Rebbe Reb Heshel, author of Chanukat HaTorah - a work he did not write himself, but rather teachings collected from him from various sources, containing one or two razor-sharp, intricate insights on each parashah. The Gemara in Chagigah asks: Who is "a crooked thing that cannot be made straight"? One who has relations with a married woman and fathers a mamzer by her - as long as the mamzer exists in the world, there is no rectification for this. Rabbi Shimon disagrees and says: One is called "crooked" only if he was straight at first and then became crooked; but here it speaks of someone who was crooked from the outset, who went and corrupted himself with a married woman, and there was no stage at which he was straight. And about what is it said, "A crooked thing cannot be made straight"? About a Torah scholar who departs from the Torah - who generally does not return, and therefore falls into the category of a crooked thing that has no rectification.
Based on this, he explains our verse: "Let the wanton be put to shame, for they have falsely declared me crooked" - the enemies called David "crooked," because they claimed he engaged in forbidden relations and fathered a mamzer. David says: Their view is mistaken, for according to Rabbi Shimon, one is called "crooked" only if he was straight at first, whereas one who engaged in forbidden relations and fathered a mamzer is not called "crooked" at all. And if you say their intention in calling me crooked was because I departed from the Torah - to that I reply: "I will meditate on Your precepts"; I am actively speaking of Hashem's precepts and have never departed from the Torah. Thus, "they have falsely declared me crooked" applies on both counts: both in saying I engaged in forbidden relations, and in saying I abandoned the Torah.
It is further explained based on what the Rambam writes in his Commentary on the Mishnah at the end of Berachot: When the time comes to exact retribution from an individual or a nation, it is impossible to exact punishment from them as long as they are engaged in Torah. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, orchestrates circumstances for them to neglect the Torah, and thereby brings judgment upon them. That is to say, Hashem brings them to a state where they breach the Torah in order to collect payment for the sins they committed willingly.
This is what David says: "Let the wanton be put to shame, for they have subverted me with falsehood." They say that I was with a married woman, and therefore the decree stands and I deserve all these punishments - the rebellion of Avshalom, the persecutions, and everything I endured, all because of this sin, which in their eyes is proof that I stumbled. But if their words were true, I would have first had to be interrupted from Torah study, for as the Rambam explains, the Holy One, blessed be He, first causes a person to neglect the Torah and only then punishes him. Yet you see that I have not been separated from the Torah - "I will meditate on Your precepts." This is a sign that no decree was issued against me on account of that sin, and your assertion that I stumbled in the grave sin of forbidden relations and a married woman is pure falsehood.
יָשׁוּבוּ לִי יְרֵאֶיךָ וְיֹדְעֵי עֵדֹתֶיךָ׃ - May those who fear You return to me, and those who know Your testimonies.
Rashi explains: the Sanhedrin separated from him when he was stricken with tzara'at on account of that sin. Until now, David spoke about the wicked who spoke ill of him, but now he prays for the righteous - the Sanhedrin who withdrew from him because he was afflicted with tzara'at over that incident. And if you might ask, why was he stricken with tzara'at if we established that she was not a married woman? Rashi resolves this: even if she was divorced, he had cast his eyes upon her while she was still married - and this is a grave matter, "whoever touches her shall not go unpunished."
In the sefer Birkat Tzion by the grandson of Rabbi Ben Tzion Abba Shaul, he explains why Rashi needed to mention "even if she was divorced," and what the sin was if she was already permitted. He resolves this based on the preceding verse: the first verse was said regarding the wicked who degraded David and said he had sinned with a married woman, and concerning them he asks, "Let the willful be put to shame, for with lies they wronged me" - it is a falsehood, for she was divorced. Whereas in the second verse, David prays for those who fear Hashem and know His testimonies, meaning the Sanhedrin who withdrew from him. And why did they withdraw, given that those claiming she was a married woman were proven wrong? Because they are scholars of the Torah, and they know that even regarding one who took a divorcee under such circumstances, "whoever touches her shall not go unpunished."
The understanding of this is: first, the very fact that he set his eyes on her while she was still a married woman. Second, even if we say that anyone going out to the wars of the House of David gives his wife a complete bill of divorce - a dispute in Tosafot whether it was a conditional get "if I do not return" or a complete get and he would remarry her upon his return - even if we say he gave an absolute get and she was not a married woman, nonetheless their practice was that no one would approach such a woman, for she was waiting for her husband. This was a married woman who received a divorce solely because he departed for the battlefield, and to act in this way was certainly improper. Furthermore, the get was given privately, not publicly, so in the eyes of the public she was still perceived as a married woman. The Sanhedrin knew this. Therefore David asks, "Let those who fear You and know Your testimonies turn to me" - they do not accuse me like those wicked people of taking a married woman; they know there was no married woman here. Yet there was a flaw, something unbecoming: even if she was divorced, he set his eyes upon her, and "whoever touches her shall not go unpunished."
The Radak connects this verse to the preceding one: when it becomes evident that the willful are put to shame, then "let those who fear You turn to me" - they will return to bring me good tidings, to strengthen me in my faith, and to be with me once again. If the God-fearing have currently withdrawn from me, then when they see that the willful who leveled false accusations against me have been shamed, on the contrary - my standing will be fortified, and through this, the God-fearing will return and draw close to me.
The Malbim explains that the focal point here is "testimony" - "those who know Your testimonies." The willful will not return to see the light of life, "none who go to her return." "Your testimonies" are the mitzvot that Hashem commanded as a remembrance of the miracles throughout history: the mitzvot of Pesach as a remembrance of His passing over our houses, Simchat Torah corresponding to the splitting of the Red Sea, the prohibition of the sciatic nerve (*gid hanasheh*) corresponding to the angel who could not prevail against him and struck the socket of his hip. We perform many mitzvot in remembrance of the salvations and deliverances that the Holy One, blessed be He, performed for us. Yet the willful will not repent even from this. However, "those who fear You and know Your testimonies" - they will return to faith and the observance of the precepts, because the testimonies point to Hashem's Divine Providence, and with them there is common ground. They will study the Torah that testifies to Hashem's sovereignty and to reward and punishment, and this will return them and bring them close. But for the willful, nothing will avail - he acts with malice and has no desire to be convinced; on the contrary, if you bring him evidence and proofs he will flee, fearing that you might convince him. Therefore David says: from them I do not expect return; only "those who fear You" who are "those who know Your testimonies" - from Your testimonies they will turn to me.
יְהִי־לִבִּי תָמִים בְּחֻקֶּיךָ לְמַעַן לֹא אֵבוֹשׁ׃ - May my heart be wholehearted in Your statutes, so that I not be put to shame.
Ibn Ezra, as well as the Radak, explain: after mentioning "let the willful be put to shame," he prays that Hashem help him have a wholehearted heart - unlike those willful sinners - so that he will not be shamed like them. That is to say: I ask and pray that my heart be wholehearted in Your statutes, not like those willful people who distort the Torah and distort reality in order to fabricate falsehoods against me; may my heart not be warped, and then I will not be shamed like the perverse, willful sinners.
The holy Alshich explains that David prayed for healing, saying: even if You do not heal me - "may my heart be wholehearted in Your statutes, so that I not be put to shame." The meaning of this is: a *chok* (statute) is something whose reason we do not know, and why do I fulfill it? Because Hashem so decreed and I accept it. David says: regarding healing as well, if You do not heal me, may my heart be wholehearted in Your statutes; it is Hashem's will that I not be healed of this, and I accept it. Just as I accept a statute because such is the Creator's will, "I have enacted a statute," so too if Hashem wills that I not be healed, I will accept it as a Heavenly decree. And the reason: just as I do not understand the statute and yet fulfill it because Hashem commanded it, so too I do not understand the illness He brought upon me; yet just as He has a reason for the statute He commanded, so He has a reason for the illness He brought upon me.
We have already mentioned several times that when a person accepts upon himself the decree of Heaven, it possesses tremendous power to remove strict judgments and eliminate prosecution against him, for he thereby demonstrates that whatever Hashem does is acceptable to him. And this is a wonderful segulah: often, an upsetting event happens to a person, someone causes him great distress, or does something that drives him out of his mind. If he pauses for a moment and says: "Master of the Universe, I know this is not from him but from You, and I justify Heaven's judgment upon myself - I deserve this" - he will see a great salvation. And this is difficult, because naturally, when something happens to a person, he immediately looks for someone to blame: "It's because of the one who cut me off at the intersection, because of the one who delayed me, because of the one who promised and did not deliver." But if a person knows that no one in the world can cause him any harm unless it is Hashem's will - "I justify Heaven's judgment upon myself, this is the Creator's will, and I accept it upon myself."
And we once noted that one should also say: "See my affliction and my toil, and forgive all my sins" - Master of the Universe, I am in pain right now; see my distress and atone for my sins. This is a wonderful segulah: the very same event that could have driven you out of your mind, led you to a lack of emunah and to anger - turns into the exact opposite, building you in emunah in Hashem, in the knowledge that this is His will, and in the understanding that this is for my good. Seemingly, there is something bad here, but on the contrary - it cleanses me, purifies me, removes Heaven's harsh decree from upon me, and refines me for the World to Come. And whoever accepts suffering with joy, this is certainly a great opening to deliver him from all troubles.
According to this, the Alshich explains: I prayed for healing, and if the situation is that You do not heal me - may it be Your will that my heart be wholehearted in Your statutes, "so that I may not be ashamed" over the fact that healing was withheld from me. Just as with Your chukim (statutes) my heart is wholehearted, knowing that I do not understand the Creator's reason yet I accept it, so too, if Hashem wills that I not be healed - for me, this is like a chok, and I am not ashamed of having prayed for healing and not meriting it.
The Malbim explains that the central point here is the chukim (statutes). Even if I speak of the pikudim (precepts) - for the precepts have a rationale - there are still misgivings in the heart regarding the statutes, which have no explained rationale. "I will speak of Your precepts" - that is understandable, for these are rational mitzvos concerning matters we are charged to remember from the past. But the chukim - shaatnez, the Red Heifer, forbidden mixtures, and the like - are matters whose reasons are unknown. And if a person's heart is not wholehearted in complete faith, he feels ashamed to keep the statutes, because the nations of the world taunt Israel. And what does "taunt" (monin) mean? It is related to ona'ah, verbal torment - they distress us by saying: "What is the reason for this mitzvah? What is this mitzvah, and what sense is there in it?" Therefore David asks: "May my heart be wholehearted in Your statutes," that my heart be steadfast in complete and pure faith, "so that I may not be ashamed."
And what is "so that I may not be ashamed"? It is like a person who fulfills a mitzvah when he is not yet strong enough in the service of Hashem, and suddenly someone sees him reciting Bircas HaMazon and he feels embarrassed. We may not understand this, but someone living in secular society who wants to fit in tries to downplay his Jewish observance as much as possible; and if someone catches him performing a mitzvah, he begins to feel uncomfortable, and perhaps even apologizes for whatever mitzvos he does keep - dust into their mouths.
A man who served in the Air Force related that when he first began returning to observance, he wanted to put on tefillin, but on the base he felt he could not: everyone around him came from that same secular circle, and he feared being caught. What did he do? He would wake up at five in the morning, put on tefillin, take them off, and go back to sleep. One day, one of his roommates woke up and caught him red-handed. "What, you? Moshik? You're putting on tefillin?" - and Moshik wished the ground would swallow him up. The roommate said to him: "Can you do me a favor and let me put them on too?" He stared at him in disbelief. The roommate said: "To tell you the truth, I always wanted to put on tefillin, but I was afraid of your reaction." Do you hear that? This one was afraid of Moshik, and Moshik was afraid of him. We are a generation of anusim (hidden Jews): a person wants to fulfill a mitzvah, and what will they say to him - "Since when did you become religious? Since when did you become a believer?"
Concerning this, King David says: "May my heart be wholehearted in Your statutes, so that I may not be ashamed" - that I may fulfill the chukim without fearing those who raise objections due to their lack of understanding, and without being swayed by their opinions. May my heart be wholehearted in Your statutes, so that I will not be ashamed in front of all those who have criticisms and objections against observing the Torah and mitzvos - and it is specifically regarding the chukim that such remarks arise. May I observe even the chukim without fearing the mockery of the nations of the world who taunt Israel.
In the sefer Tehilos Yosef, he explains based on the Gemara in Nedarim: Whoever humbles himself, time stands by him and he merits to rise to greatness. Where do we see this? In the verse, "Walk before Me and be wholehearted (tamim)" - in the merit of Avraham Avinu walking in the path of wholeheartedness, he merited: "And you shall be the father of a multitude of nations." This is what David means by: "May my heart be wholehearted in Your statutes" - but in my case, it is not in order to merit greatness, but rather "so that I may not be ashamed": if I am not wholehearted in Your statutes, it would be a disgrace to me. I do not ask to be wholehearted in order to gain and rise to greatness, but solely so that I may not be ashamed.
In summary: In the final four verses of the letter Yod, King David pleads for life and mercy - not for their own sake, but in order to delve into the Torah, which is his delight. He confronts the willful sinners who attempt to distort his understanding and fabricate lies against him, and his weapon of war is speaking of the precepts - the mitzvos that bear witness to Divinity and Divine Providence, through which their falsehood is exposed. From the willful sinners he does not expect repentance, for one who has rationalized his transgression into a justified act no longer repents; but those who fear Hashem and know His testimonies he asks to return to him. Finally, he concludes with a prayer for wholeheartedness: a heart wholehearted in the statutes that have no rational explanation, a wholeheartedness that is not ashamed of the world's mockery, and a wholeheartedness that also accepts the decree of Heaven - for just as we do not know the reason for a statute, so we do not know the reason for illness and pain; and in that very acceptance lies tremendous power to remove judgments and open the gates of salvation.