Psalm 119 is arranged according to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, with each eight-verse octet focusing on a theme related to the Torah. We now reach the letter Cheit. According to the Malbim's approach, each verse in the octet corresponds to one of the ten terms for Torah: devarim (words), imarot (sayings), edot (testimonies), and so on. Let us examine the first three verses of this letter.
חֶלְקִי ה' אָמַרְתִּי לִשְׁמֹר דְּבָרֶיךָ׃ - Hashem is my portion; I have said that I would keep Your words.
The Ibn Ezra explains: "I have said that I would keep Your words" - I declared publicly that "Hashem is my portion," thinking that through this, they too would keep Your words.
The Radak asks what the expression "Hashem is my portion" means, and answers: While others chose money, worldly pleasures, physical desires, and earthly pursuits as their portion, I declared, "Hashem is my portion." I do not choose these material matters for myself; rather, my portion is the Holy One, blessed be He, and my sole purpose is to keep Your words, with my entire focus directed toward observing the word of Hashem.
Rashi explains that "to keep Your words" is phrased as a petition that King David makes to Hashem: Master of the Universe, fulfill Your word regarding that which You gave me hope, and in this You are my portion. The Holy One, blessed be He, promised David that he would be king, promised that he would serve before Him, and promised that his sons after him would continue his dynasty. Regarding this he requests: Please, Hashem, keep Your word and fulfill Your promise.
The Malbim explains that the focal point here is devarim (words) - "to keep Your words." Everyone chooses their portion in this world: one chooses wealth, another chooses an inheritance of fields and vineyards, but I said, "Hashem is my portion." I choose nothing of worldly matters, but have chosen only Hashem as my portion, as was said to the tribe of Levi: "You shall have no inheritance... I am your portion and your inheritance." So too David says: Hashem is my portion; this is the inheritance I chose for myself - and all this is "to keep Your words," so that I may keep Your words and commandments, for by having Hashem as my portion, I will merit to observe His words.
To explain further: the greater a person's share in earthly, physical pursuits, and the more tied he is to materiality - the more detached he becomes from spirituality. Conversely, the more detached a person is from materiality, the more naturally connected he is to spirituality. King David says: I said, "Hashem is my portion," detaching myself from materiality with only the Holy One, blessed be He, as my portion - and this naturally ensures "to keep Your words," so that I am more connected to spirituality, possessing the genuine desire, passion, and longing to fulfill His commandments.
We can explain this further. A person is obligated to fulfill all of Hashem's mitzvot, but how can anyone fulfill all of them? After all, many mitzvot do not apply to a given individual at all - whether as a male or a female, as a Yisrael, a Levi, or a Kohen; there are mitzvot that pertain only to specific groups. Moreover, even among the mitzvot that apply to us, we do not always encounter the opportunity to perform them. A person who was not blessed with a firstborn son, because his wife suffered a miscarriage first or had a daughter first, does not have the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of pidyon haben, the redemption of the firstborn (a mitzvah that does not apply to Kohanim and Levi'im, but does apply to a Yisrael). If so, how can we possibly fulfill all the mitzvot?
The answer is that when a person expresses a genuine intention to keep all the mitzvos, it is already credited to him as if he observed them all. As an example of this, Chazal say: anyone whose fear of sin precedes his wisdom, his wisdom endures; but anyone whose wisdom precedes his fear of sin, his wisdom does not endure. At first glance, this is difficult: How can one attain fear of Heaven without wisdom? After all, one needs to gain wisdom in order to achieve fear, to know Whom one fears and Whom one serves! Rather, from the very start, in everything a person does - even when starting small and before having achieved complete wisdom or complete fear - he must aspire to fulfill everything. The moment he genuinely desires to grow wise and to know the entire Torah, it is considered as if he already knows it right now, for he aspires to it and will reach it.
So too here: when a person declares, "Hashem is my portion," even if he only "resolved [said] to keep Your words," it is already considered as if he kept Your words. Why? Because I declared that Hashem is my portion, and everything Hashem says is my portion, and I want to fulfill it all. This is also counsel regarding the many mitzvos that we are unable to perform: by aspiring to fulfill the mitzvah, it is credited to us as if we performed it. If one was prevented by circumstances beyond his control, Scripture regards him as if he did it, like Moshe Rabbeinu, who yearned to enter the Land of Israel and was prevented from entering.
Alternatively, we can explain this in another way: How do we merit all the parts of the Torah and mitzvos that do not apply to us personally? Through the power of speech, in the sense of "Let our lips substitute for bulls." One who studies the laws of the burnt-offering is considered as if he sacrificed a burnt-offering; one who recites the verses of the sin-offering is considered as if he sacrificed a sin-offering. This is what is meant by "Hashem is my portion; I have said to keep Your words": even if I only "said" - meaning, I recited the verses and did not fulfill them in practice - it is credited to me as though I observed and fulfilled the mitzvah in actuality, and Hashem is already my portion, because I uttered it with my mouth. We thus have two aspects of "I have said": in the sense that I desire and intend to fulfill, and in the sense that I recite the verses - and in both cases, it is considered as if I observed all Your words and mitzvos.
חִלִּיתִי פָנֶיךָ בְכָל לֵב חָנֵּנִי כְּאִמְרָתֶךָ׃ - I have entreated Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your word.
Rashi explains that chilisi comes from the language of yearning and hope (yichul), as in the verse, "Hashem is my portion, says my soul, therefore I hope in Him" - I yearn for You with all my heart.
Radak explains: You said, "And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious," therefore I entreat Your favor - "Be gracious to me according to Your word," fulfill that graciousness in me. And where was Your promise? In "And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious." This is what I yearn for, Master of the Universe: that You fulfill this in me.
The Malbim notes that the central point here is "promises" - "Be gracious to me according to Your word." Therefore he says, "I have entreated Your face with all my heart": I have not asked You for anything of worldly affairs; I ask only for Your face. In the sense of "Our desire is to see our King" - this is the highest aspiration, to behold the light of the countenance of the Supreme King. For in the light of Your countenance You gave us Torah and life, love and kindness, righteousness and mercy; everything flows from the light of His countenance, blessed be He. This was also Moshe's aspiration: "Show me please Your glory," to be illuminated by the light of Hashem's countenance. And this is what David says: I have entreated Your face with all my heart - I do not ask for greater income, greater pleasures, or the fulfillment of my desires, but rather "Your countenance, Hashem, do I seek." "Be gracious to me according to Your word" - for You promised to be the portion of my inheritance and my cup, You promised to accompany me, You promised to establish a throne for me and my descendants after me, You promised me Your closeness; it is for this that I plead, for this is my sole ambition and goal.
חִשַּׁבְתִּי דְרָכָי וָאָשִׁיבָה רַגְלַי אֶל עֵדֹתֶיךָ׃ - I considered my ways, and turned my feet back to Your testimonies.
Rashi explains what "I considered my ways" means: weighing the loss incurred through a mitzvah against its reward, and the gain of a sin against the loss it causes; therefore the masters of reckoning say, "Come, let us make an accounting." A person must live with an accounting. When someone lives without reckoning, going through life casually with no thought - just floating along - that is the most perilous state. The Chafetz Chaim says: A business run without accounting will ultimately fail and collapse. Every business needs a balance sheet; it must see which merchandise yields more profit and which yields less, which branches are profitable and which only cause losses. The absolute foundation is accounting.
"The reward of a sin against its loss" - the sin provided pleasure. Here lies an important point: the right way to convince ourselves and others is not to turn to someone far from Torah and tell him that there is no pleasure in sin. He will only deduce that you are out of touch with reality, that you do not live in this world. He will say: "I actually enjoy sins very much, and you are trying to convince me to keep mitzvos, to read 'Vayedaber' and 'Vayomer' all day long?" That is how he sees it. If you tell a secular person to keep Shabbat, he will tell you that that Shabbat was his personal hell: no phone, no television, no going out to his club, and all the rest of those bad things. What gives you pleasure does not necessarily give him pleasure.
Therefore, we will not argue over whether there is "reward" in a sin. There is reward in a sin; there is pleasure in sin. Do not try to convince others that there is no pleasure in sin, and do not try to convince yourself that there is no pleasure in sin either. Rather, what is the focus? "Against its loss." There is pleasure - but what is the loss? What do I lose as a result? This is the right approach to persuasion: let us make a calculation - is this pleasure worth it? When I see what I lost because of it, was it really worth it?
This can be compared to a person who got angry at someone, pulled out a knife, and gave him a serious stab. He felt gratification - there is nothing sweeter than revenge: "He hurt me, and I showed him what's what," and his status rose among his peers. But afterward, with the lawyer he had to pay tens of thousands of shekels, and in the prison cell where he sits for months or years - there he has plenty of time to think: all that fun, that pleasure, taking revenge, showing him, acting tough, all well and good by the standards of those people - but in the end, when you calculate the cost, was it worth it? This is the method of persuasion: there is no sin worth the price you will pay for it afterward. The price is always far too steep, completely spoiling the taste. And then - "and I turned my feet to Your testimonies": I realized that the Torah is the best thing, the most precious thing, and the most worthwhile investment of all.
The Radak brings another explanation: I considered the ways of the world and found nothing as good as the path of Your testimonies, therefore I turned my feet to Your testimonies. In other words, when I look at all the paths in the world and ask which path is the most worthwhile and beneficial, I come to see that the path of the Torah, the path of performing mitzvos, the path of clinging to Hashem, Blessed be He - is the most worthwhile path, and that is what I chose.
The Malbim explains that the central point here is "testimony" (edus). King David says: nothing deters me from the service of Hashem. Even when I calculate my essential needs, my livelihood, sustenance, and physical existence - "I turned my feet" from those pathways "to Your testimonies." The "testimonies" are the narratives in the Torah that testify to the greatness of the Creator of the world, that the Holy One, Blessed is He, is the Maker of Creation, and they are the testimony of reward and punishment.
And what did I learn from this testimony? That one who trusts in Hashem and clings to Him attains salvation even without investing heavily in material effort (hishtadlus). The Jewish people walked for forty years in the desert, and the Holy One, Blessed is He, fed them the manna. And should you claim that this was a one-time phenomenon - what did the Holy One, Blessed is He, command Moshe to do with the jar of manna? To preserve it for all generations. As the prophet said: "O generation, see" how the people of Israel were sustained in the desert. A person who trusts in Hashem and devotes all his energy to spirituality will see salvation from Hashem above the natural order. The jar of manna is not an artifact of the distant past, but a living, enduring reality.
Rav Shteinman was once asked whether the Holy One, Blessed is He, performs miracles in our generation. He answered: "Certainly, we see it every single day." When asked what he was referring to, he replied: "Avreichim marrying off children." Can such a thing be understood rationally? An avreich with a stipend of fifteen hundred or two thousand shekels - for some people that does not even cover their phone bill - and on this amount he marries off children. What does he live on? What provides his livelihood? His wife works, but at what job, and for how much? Does she earn forty thousand shekels a month? These are miracles that can be witnessed every day, wondrous things in which anyone who reflects can see the hand of Hashem even in our generation.
King David says: "I considered my ways" - I calculate my ways, and I see that even in earthly matters, the path is not to be drawn after materialism, for in that realm there is never enough. No matter how much a person works and increases his income, he suddenly finds he needs more and more, because the standard of living is always rising, and there is no end to it. And when I considered my ways, the Torah comes as a testimony and testifies to me: Behold, the Holy One, Blessed is He, feeds and sustains; trust in Hashem and be like the tribe of Levi. And as the Rambam writes at the end of Hilchos Shemittah V'Yovel: not only the tribe of Levi, but anyone whose spirit moves him and whose intellect understands to cling to Hashem and cast off the yoke of many calculations - he is guaranteed that the Holy One, Blessed is He, will provide him with all his needs. "I considered my ways and I turned my feet to Your testimonies" - I return to the testimonies recorded in the Torah, that the Holy One, Blessed is He, takes care of the person who dedicates himself wholeheartedly to the service of Hashem and the study of Torah.
The holy Shelah explains: "I considered my ways" - I examined my deeds to see why afflictions came upon me. "And I turned my feet (raglai)" - the word regel also means cause or reason, as in "and Hashem blessed you for my sake (leragli)" or "on the occasion of (leragel) the party," meaning by reason of. Thus, I find the cause: bitul Torah (neglect of Torah study), "to Your testimonies." For Chazal say: If a person examined his deeds and did not find anything, let him attribute it to bitul Torah. When I calculate my ways and try to search out why the afflictions came, I find the cause in Your testimonies - in my failure to engage sufficiently in Torah.
Incidentally, one might raise a question: you said he examined, meaning he already searched - and if he is examining his deeds, he is not guilty of neglecting Torah, so why attribute it to bitul Torah? Some explain that bitul Torah is measured down to the finest detail, even to "the swallowing of my spittle," where a person is held accountable for fleeting moments, something nearly impossible not to stumble in. But others explain: "He examined and did not find - let him attribute it to bitul Torah" - attribute the fact that he did not find anything to bitul Torah! Do you know why you found nothing? Because you do not learn enough. If you were learning properly, how much you would find, how many sins you would discover in yourself! After all, an average person walking in the street feels righteous: he never robbed a bank, nor did he murder anyone - perhaps he hurled words that wound like murder, but he never killed anyone with his hands - and so he feels blameless. The lower a person is in Torah knowledge and study, the more certain he is of his own perfection. Therefore: if one examined and found nothing - let him study a bit more Torah, and see just how many flaws he will find in himself.
The Pri Tzaddik explains this based on the Midrash: I would plan to go to a certain place, but my feet would bring me to the Beit Midrash. That is, extraneous thoughts had no hold on me; the words of Torah were so deeply fixed in my heart that wherever I went, I found myself in the Beit Midrash. Extraneous thoughts are in the aspect of the left foot, and from them emerges the right foot, which is the aspect of study halls: in my thoughts I intend to attend to material affairs, and suddenly I find myself immersed in spiritual matters - because of how deeply connected I am to spirituality.
The Tehilot Maharitz explains that a person has two paths: the path of mitzvah and the path of the optional (reshut). The path of mitzvah - you woke up in the morning, prayed, recited berachot, learned Torah. The path of the optional - you ate, drank, worked, bathed, and the like. Our Sages say that a person can transform all optional matters into a mitzvah when he directs his intention for the sake of Heaven: "I am going to sleep so that I will have strength to wake up tomorrow morning to pray and learn Torah" - and then he receives reward for sleeping, for sleep is a vehicle for fulfilling a mitzvah. "I eat so that my body will be strong enough to pray and learn before Hashem, may He be blessed, and fulfill His mitzvot" - and he receives reward as if he fulfilled a mitzvah. And so it is brought in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 231), citing "In all your ways acknowledge Him": in all his earthly affairs a person can know Hashem, may He be blessed, and fulfill a mitzvah in all of them.
This is what is meant by the verse, "And David succeeded in all his ways, and Hashem was with him" (I Shmuel 18:14). Notice, says the Tehilot Maharitz, the keri (read form) is derachav ("his ways" in the plural), but the ketiv (written form) is darcho ("his way") without a yud - and according to the written form it can be read "in all his single way." Why? Because King David did not have two paths, a spiritual path and an optional path; he transformed even optional matters into spirituality, doing even material things for the sake of Heaven. He did not have two separate paths, only one - and therefore "David succeeded in all his ways," for he transformed his multiple ways into his single path, because in everything "Hashem was with him": even in physical matters Hashem was with him, as there too he sought how to do things for the sake of Heaven.
And this is what is written here: "I considered my ways" - in the plural: I contemplate the two paths before me, "and I turned my feet to Your testimonies" - in both paths I direct my feet back to the holy Torah. Certainly in the spiritual path, but certainly also in the physical path, which I direct "to Your testimonies" - so that I can learn Torah and fulfill mitzvot. Consequently, eating, drinking, sleeping, bathing, and all physical matters are all aimed at turning my feet toward Your testimonies, directing me toward the fulfillment of Your mitzvot, and it all falls under the status of a mitzvah.
Our Sages expound on our verse: "I considered my ways and turned my feet to Your testimonies" - every day I would plan to go to a certain house, and my feet would carry me to the Beit Midrash. From here the Tehilot Maharitz draws a moral lesson: the Yetzer Hara often approaches a person with clever schemes to prevent him from fulfilling mitzvot, and at times he comes disguised as bitachon (trust in Hashem). He says to a person: "Why are you so consumed with worries? 'If I do this, I might stumble into sin; if I do that, an obstacle might arise' - you live with too much fear! After all, 'No harm will befall the righteous' (Mishlei 12:21), and 'He preserves the feet of His pious ones' (I Shmuel 2:9). Act with simplicity, do not overdo it, and Hashem will protect you. Trust in Hashem!" In this way, he weakens him: "There is no need for such extremism; just go, Hashem will help, you will not stumble, and everything will be fine."
And how should one counter these schemes of the Yetzer? If the Yetzer wants to bolster me with bitachon, let me examine how I conduct myself in business and livelihood. Does he tell me there too: "Why chase after wealth and fortune? Work just a little; you made a bit, and that is enough. Even if you want to add a second story to your house and buy a new car, trust in Hashem and He will provide what you need"? In that arena, the Yetzer Hara pushes in the exact opposite direction: "He who gives life gives sustenance" is not an excuse to sit idle; if you do not run and work hard, you will not achieve anything or get ahead! And he comes armed with arguments and sources: "'And Hashem your God will bless you in all that you do' - our Sages emphasize 'that you do'; could one simply sit idle? The verse says 'that you do!' 'Torah study is good together with an occupation.' 'Fortunate is one who enjoys the fruit of his labor.'" He has citations for everything - so long as you throw yourself headlong into material pursuits.
Now, if that is how you act regarding physical affairs - not saying "The Holy One, blessed be He, will help me; I will do a little and He will shower blessings upon me," but rather putting in full effort - then kal vachomer in spiritual matters! How much more must you invest, struggle, and be vigilant not to enter through one gate of leniency lest you enter a hundred gates of prohibition. Do not say, "Hashem will help me; I will do a little and He will take care of the rest." If you do not rely on such logic in material matters, you certainly must not rely on it in spiritual matters.
A story is told of a wagon driver who finished his work late at night and passed through Vilna, unable to return home. He looked for a Jewish home to lodge in for the night and be on his way the next morning, as the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim (hospitality) was widespread in those days. He searched for a house with a light on, and spotted one where a lamp was still burning late at night. He approached and heard the sound of Torah study. He knocked on the door - and who opened it? The Vilna Gaon. The driver entered, and the Gaon honored him properly with the mitzvah of hospitality, seeing to all his needs. Then the wagon driver turned to the Gaon with bitterness: "Rebbe, tell me, will I at least have a share in the World to Come?"
The Gra asked him: "And how is your this world?" He answered: "What can I tell the Rav? I work from sunrise until my soul expires. I was up before dawn, already had a trip, and I keep running - and look what time it is and I still haven't reached home, so I am going to sleep here." He asked him: "And for how much?" He replied: "For very meager earnings; I haven't become wealthy from this." The Gra said to him: "If so, I do not understand you. This world, in which you invest so much, running and chasing after it, you yourself say that you do not have much from it. The World to Come, in which you do not invest at all - from where will you have anything?"
He thought he had come to hear words of comfort, but heard pure realism: think logically - if you do not invest in something, why do you think you will have it? In order to have it, you must invest in it. The same applies here: if you invest so much in the material, in spiritual matters you certainly must be vigilant and invest, and do not listen to the yetzer hara telling you, "Trust in Hashem and everything will be fine." In material matters you do not merely trust in Hashem, but go out and exert yourself - all the more so in spiritual matters, where you must go, exert effort, and act, because that is incumbent upon you. Parnassah is in the hands of Heaven, but spiritual matters are placed in the hands of man.