We continue in Psalm 119, with the letter Cheis. The entire psalm is a song of love for Torah, and in every verse one of the key terms appears: Torah, mitzvos, pikudim (precepts), chukim (statutes), eidos (testimonies), mishpatim (judgments), davar (word), and imrah (utterance). The Malbim teaches us that in every verse there is a "central point" focused around that term, and the entire verse revolves around it. We will go through the verses in order and see how King David builds a complete ladder of divine service here.
"I Considered My Ways" - Learning Musar from Material Pursuits
חִשַּׁבְתִּי דְרָכָי וָאָשִׁיבָה רַגְלַי אֶל עֵדֹתֶיךָ׃ - I considered my ways, and turned my feet back toward Your testimonies.
In a similar vein, the Chida explains in his work Chomat Anach on the verse in Iyov, "And You remember him every morning." A person does not get up in the morning early for prayer and Kerias Shema, and the excuse is readily available: "I am not feeling well, I have a slight cold." Yet if a lucrative business deal had presented itself, you would see him showing up before dawn, recounting how many painkillers he took along the way, and nevertheless he arrived! Why? Because here it involves profit, financial matters, and on that he does not compromise.
This is what King David is saying: the answer to the yetzer hara must be drawn from the needs of the physical world itself. "I considered my ways" means: I would weigh and contemplate within myself - after all, I am going to such-and-such a place, to a certain home. If I had a financial interest, I would go myself and take no risks. There I do not say, "Rely on the Holy One, Blessed be He; He will provide for you." If so, how much more so in matters of fear of Heaven: arouse yourself to His service, go to the beis midrash, and occupy yourself with Torah, even when you do not feel so well. "It shall be health to your navel," and whoever feels a headache should occupy himself with Torah. And if I am not for myself, who will be for me? For in spiritual matters, everything depends on me alone. In material affairs, one could say that sustenance comes from Heaven, but in spirituality, if I do not exert myself, they will not bestow anything upon me from Above.
And this is the meaning of "And You remember him every morning (livkarim)" - in the plural: on that morning when it is hard for you to rise for the service of Hashem, remember another morning when you did rise early because business was at stake, even though you were not feeling well. How does the Holy One, Blessed be He, examine and judge a person? From that morning to this morning. If there you were capable of waking up for financial gain, you will be held accountable as to why here, for prayer and Kerias Shema, you did not get up.
Similarly, Scripture says: "When I seize the appointed time (mo'ed), I will judge with equity." A person claims all year, "I have no time to study." Then Chol HaMoed arrives, he has a free day, and he is seen squandering his time. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says: I will observe what you do during the appointed festival time, and based on that I will judge the entire year with equity. Did you truly fail to study due to circumstances beyond your control, or could you have engaged in Torah study and were merely seeking excuses to be exempt? Certainly, from material matters a person must draw musar for himself, so that he will at least exert himself in spirituality just as he exerts himself in materiality.
Outsmarting the Yetzer: A Second Explanation of the Chida
The Chida offers another explanation for this verse. The Gemara states that thought is effective even against words of Torah. That is, if a person declares, "I will go and do such-and-such," this may cause harm: the yetzer hara takes him on as a project and strains to hinder him, so that he does not go to the beis midrash, does not complete the tractate, or does not perform the mitzvah he intended. The very announcement arouses the yetzer to wage war against him. Therefore, a person should merely contemplate in his heart and anticipate, rather than voicing his good intentions aloud.
And here the idea is marvelous. King David says, "I considered my ways" - I planned to go to such-and-such a place and to a certain dwelling, and in the end, "and turned my feet back toward Your testimonies," I found myself in the beis midrash. Seemingly, this is astonishing: one day, two days, three days - how long can one make such an error? Once you see that you always end up at the beis midrash, declare in advance that you are going to the beis midrash! Rather, the Chida explains, David did not want the yetzer hara to take him on as a project. When they would ask him in the morning, "Where are you going?", he would answer, "To a certain dwelling, to a certain business." The yetzer hara hears this and goes to sleep: King David is not going to study today. And then his feet would carry him to the beis midrash. He put the yetzer to sleep, bypassed him, and arrived to study.
"I Hurried and Did Not Delay" - Double Alacrity
חַשְׁתִּי וְלֹא הִתְמַהְמָהְתִּי לִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֺתֶיךָ׃ - I hurried and did not delay to observe Your commandments.
Ibn Ezra explains "chashti" in the sense of speed and alacrity, in the spirit of "the zealous advance to fulfill mitzvos": I was eager and prompt in the mitzvos and did not act sluggishly with them. When a person is zealous with a mitzvah, this reveals his love and yearning for it. But when he performs it sluggishly, like someone bearing a heavy burden looking to be rid of it, this reveals how distant he is from the Torah and from the mitzvos.
The Malbim asks: What is the duplication? "I hastened" and "I did not delay" seem to be the very same thing. He answers: "I hastened" refers to alacrity in the action itself, at the moment of performing the mitzvah. "I did not delay" refers to promptness in time, that I did it immediately. Some delay before approaching a mitzvah, but once they do, perform it properly with alacrity; while others rush to start it, but perform it sluggishly. Dovid Hamelech says that he possessed both virtues: I hastened to fulfill the mitzvah as soon as it presented itself, and when performing it, I did so with alacrity and desire.
"The Bands of the Wicked Have Robbed Me"
חֶבְלֵי רְשָׁעִים עִוְּדֻנִי תּוֹרָתְךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי׃ - The bands of the wicked have robbed me, yet I have not forgotten Your Torah.
"Chevlei resha'im" means bands and factions of wicked people. Rashi cites Menachem that "iveduni" is related to plunder (shalal), as in "in the morning he devours the prey (ad) and at evening he divides the spoil" (Bereishis 49:27), meaning they plundered me. Rashi also explains it as related to "od" (more/again), meaning that these wicked men multiplied and overwhelmed me.
The Malbim explains that the central theme here is Torah. The wickedness of other people did not deter me. Even though bands of wicked men made me prey for their teeth, and when a person is pursued he has no peace of mind to engage in Torah and no rest to fulfill mitzvos - and after all, Torah requires clarity of mind - nevertheless, "I have not forgotten Your Torah." Even when they came to plunder me and disrupt my observance of the Torah and mitzvos, I remained attached to the Torah.
"At Midnight I Will Arise" - The Time of Judgments
חֲצוֹת לַיְלָה אָקוּם לְהוֹדוֹת לָךְ עַל מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ׃ - At midnight I will arise to give thanks to You because of Your righteous judgments.
The Radak explains: I awaken myself from my sleep and rise from my bed at midnight to give thanks to You for the judgments You gave me, which are upright and righteous, and I compose psalms concerning them. Others interpret "mishpatim" in the sense of divine retribution: I thank You for the judgments You execute in righteousness against the wicked, through which You demonstrate Your sovereignty and punish those who act wickedly against You.
The Malbim notes that the central focus here is judgments (mishpatim). Sleep did not hold me back, even though I need to sleep at night and give rest to my body, for I would always rise at midnight to give thanks for Your righteous judgments. Night is generally the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, executes judgment upon the wicked: "He overturns them in the night, and they are crushed" (Iyov 34:25); "And it came to pass at midnight that Hashem struck all the firstborn" (Shemos 12:29); "You make darkness, and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest creep forth" (Tehillim 104:20). This is the time of strict judgment (dinim). On Rosh Hashanah, the Holy One, blessed be He, also judges the nations at night, and the Jewish people during the day, when the lights of lovingkindness shine forth. That is why Pharaoh dreamed his dream on the night of Rosh Hashanah and saw what was destined to befall Egypt, for night is the time of judgment. Concerning this, Dovid says: At the time of night, the time of judgments, when You execute retribution upon the wicked, for this I rise to give thanks to You.
Because strict judgment holds sway at night, one does not read Mikra (Torah shebichtav) at night. The Kabbalists likewise wrote not to cut hair at night, not to cut fingernails, and not to recite the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy at night. Cutting nails and hair are actions that clip the judgments where the kelipos take hold, and we do not perform actions to sever their power during the time of their dominance, as this entails danger. All of this is the explanation of the Malbim.
Juxtaposition of the Pesukim: Tikkun Chatzos and Who Is Fit for It
The sefer Ayal Tzvi explains the juxtaposition of "At midnight I arise to give thanks to You" with "I am a companion to all who fear You" based on the holy Zohar, as well as the Recanati, and in Halachah in the Shulchan Aruch, the Magen Avraham, and others: that it is fitting for every God-fearing person to rise at midnight and mourn the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, reciting the psalm "By the rivers of Babylon" (Al Naharos Bavel) and the like. In practice, even one who does not recite Tikkun Chatzos should at least recite the psalm "By the rivers of Babylon" when going to sleep after midnight. In the Shulchan Aruch, the specific term "Tikkun Chatzos" is not mentioned - for it was instituted by the Kabbalists and the holy Ari, and its spiritual stature is immensely great - but at all events, the Shulchan Aruch rules that it is fitting for a God-fearing person to mourn the exile of the Shechinah.
The Brisker Rav asks: What is the meaning of "it is fitting for a God-fearing person"? Do we ever find such an expression as "it is fitting for a God-fearing person to lay tefillin" or "to take a lulav"? If one must mourn the exile of the Shechinah, that obligation rests upon every single Jew! Rather, the explanation is this: It is fitting for a God-fearing person to grieve over the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash and mourn the exile of the Shechinah - and this applies specifically if he is indeed God-fearing. But one who is not God-fearing ought first to grieve over his own personal destruction, do teshuvah, and express remorse over his spiritual standing; only afterward is it appropriate for him to grieve over the national destruction and the exile.
According to this, the juxtaposition is beautifully understood: Concerning whom is it said, "At midnight I arise to give thanks to You"? Concerning one who falls into the category of "I am a companion to all who fear You" - for in the Mishnah, a chaver is a term for a God-fearing person who is scrupulously observant regarding tithes and ritual purity. It is fitting for such a God-fearing person to rise at midnight and mourn the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. And one who is already awake need not go to sleep in order to wake up; he may recite it immediately when midnight arrives.
"I am a companion to all who fear You"
חָבֵר אָנִי לְכָל אֲשֶׁר יְרֵאוּךָ וּלְשֹׁמְרֵי פִּקּוּדֶיךָ׃ - I am a companion to all who fear You, and to those who keep Your precepts.
Ibn Ezra explains "who fear You" as referring to those who stand in awe of the negative commandments - for the dimension of love is expressed in the positive commandments, whereas the dimension of fear and awe is expressed in the negative commandments, wherein one fears and withdraws from sin. The Radak comments: The wicked I hate, but those who fear You and keep Your precepts I love, to the point that I have become their friend and companion.
This serves as the true gauge by which a person can examine whether he is God-fearing: Where does he feel most comfortable, and in whose company does he feel truly connected? If one feels at ease and at home among those far from Torah at work and in other settings, his spiritual state is in grave peril. But if it is specifically among "those who fear You" that he experiences genuine companionship, it is a sign that his true interest is fear of Heaven and Torah, and that he is bonded with spirituality. Dovid HaMelech said of the wicked, "With utmost hatred I hate them; they have become enemies to me" - extraordinarily sharp words. Seemingly, it would have been advantageous for him to associate with high society, with people of wealth, influence, and the royal court. Yet Dovid declares: That is not where I find myself, nor is it where I feel at home. Rather, my place is in the beis midrash, alongside someone who might be at the very bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, but is God-fearing. His closeness is what I seek; to him I wish to attach myself.
The Malbim explains that the focal point here is pikudim (precepts). It was not enough that I fulfilled the mitzvos on my own; I also organized groups upon groups, so that the merit would multiply through the multitude of participants. A mitzvah performed by an individual cannot compare to a mitzvah performed by ten; therefore, with every mitzvah we endeavor to gather people together. Birkat HaLevanah (the blessing over the new moon) may technically be recited alone - one may say "Shalom aleichem" to oneself and answer oneself, and there is no halachic barrier to this - yet the primary ideal is based on "In the multitude of people is the King's glory" (b'rov am hadras Melech), and so that Kaddish may be recited afterward. Even three people are preferable to one. In anything performed in a gathering and with a multitude of people, the merit increases in proportion to the number of participants. Dovid says: In every group assembled for a mitzvah, you will find me as well; wherever people gather to fulfill something good, I immediately join.
A well-known account tells of zealous individuals who came to the Chafetz Chaim and said: "Rabbi, have you heard what Madame Sarah Schenirer is doing? She is gathering Jewish girls and beginning to teach them Torah! Yet Chazal said that whoever teaches his daughter Torah is considered as if he taught her frivolity (tiflus), and let the words of Torah be burned rather than handed over to women!" The Chafetz Chaim listened and began to sigh deeply. Thinking he agreed with them, they were taken aback when he said: "Oy, such an immense merit, and I had no share in it! They did not ask me to issue a public proclamation, I did not fundraise for Bais Yaakov, I did nothing for this monumental merit of Torah study for Jewish daughters!" They asked him: "But isn't it considered as if he taught her frivolity?" He answered them: "And what is happening today? They attend the secular gymnasiums and learn actual frivolity and immorality! Better 'as if he taught her frivolity' than actual frivolity." For in those days, anyone seeking general education attended the local non-Jewish schools.
Indeed, Torah leaders have affirmed that it was Sarah Schenirer who saved the Torah world, for the continuity of Torah was at risk of being severed. The reason was simple: there were no young women who made it their life's goal to build a home centered on Torah; on the contrary, they looked upon yeshivah students with disdain: "He won't provide for you; he just sits and learns - who will support you?" No one wanted to marry a ben Torah. This, by the way, was why yeshivah students began to adopt a suit and hat, which were then the attire of the upper class, because their standing was so low in public perception. Today, the situation is that there are more young women aspiring to build a home of Torah than young men aspiring to do so! What an extraordinary revolution she brought about. And this is the meaning of "I am a companion to all who fear You": in every group formed for a mitzvah, I took part. And the Chafetz Chaim grieved that there was a group assembled for a mitzvah and he was not privileged to take part in it.
"Your loving-kindness, Hashem, fills the earth"
חַסְדְּךָ יְהֹוָה מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ חֻקֶּיךָ לַמְּדֵנִי׃ - Your loving-kindness, Hashem, fills the earth; teach me Your statutes.
The Radak explains: All created beings endure through Your lovingkindness. There is nothing in the world that exists without Hashem's kindness, and all that exists in the world, at every single moment, is sustained by the lovingkindness of the Creator, blessed be He. And I ask: The kindness You bestow upon me should be to teach me Your statutes, to give me a heart that understands the words of Torah. That is the ultimate kindness.
Whenever an ordinary person meets a king, an official, or someone of influence who can help him, he immediately asks for his material needs: a cousin needs a business permit, I want to build a balcony and am held up by bureaucracy, a daughter is looking for a municipal job. King David says: No. When I meet the King, the Master of the Universe, I ask for a heart to understand Your statutes and the wisdom to acquire words of Torah. It is no wonder that his son Shlomo also requested, "Grant Your servant an understanding heart." He could have asked for children, the continuation of the monarchy, long life, wealth, and honor, yet he set all of that aside and asked only for an understanding heart to discern and judge this people. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: You shall receive it all. We see that this began already with the father, whose entire focus was "teach me Your statutes."
The Malbim explains: "Hashem, Your lovingkindness fills the earth" - that the earth has become filled with pious individuals and men of action, and in this way You continually bestow Your lovingkindness, just as we saw that David formed groups upon groups of the God-fearing and joined them all in the service of Hashem. In the merit of all this, I ask: "Teach me Your statutes," that I may merit to comprehend the reasons for the statutes. The *chukim* (statutes) are the difficult part of the Torah, the concealed part, about which it is said, "I have enacted a statute, I have issued a decree." David says: In the merit of my labors to awaken the world to safeguard Your words and fulfill Your mitzvos, the reward I ask for is to merit understanding Your statutes, the hidden matters that transcend logic, just as Shlomo sought to understand the mystery of the Red Heifer (*Parah Adumah*). A man of wisdom and spiritual stature sees this as the greatest possible achievement: to grasp yet another inner layer, another concealed depth that belongs to the secrets of Torah.
As is known, today is the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Chaim Vital. The holy Ari told him that his entire descent into this world was for his sake, and that if he only knew the place of his soul in Adam HaRishon, he would never cease rejoicing, for he stemmed from the hair on the shoulder of Adam HaRishon, a very lofty place. Let us only understand that the souls of our generation come from the heel, from the calloused skin, from the least sensitive place there is. That is why our hearts do not feel; our hearts are numb. In earlier times, when a person heard of a tragedy, he would burst into tears, whereas today someone hears of two more people killed and takes another bite of a croissant and another sip of coffee. We have lost all feeling, because we come from the hardened skin of the heel, while he came from the hair on the shoulders, from the highest place.
Whenever Rabbi Chaim Vital had a difficulty or something he wished to understand, he would not let the holy Ari rest until he revealed it to him. Once, the disciples pressed the holy Ari to reveal one of the hidden mysteries of the Torah to them. He asked them not to pressure him, tried to deflect them, and told them that it was not worthwhile for him to disclose it, but he never held back when they insisted. After revealing that secret to them, he told them: I have just heard that a decree has been issued and I will be taken from you. And indeed, he passed away young, at the age of thirty-eight, because he revealed one of the deep secrets of the Torah. We see that among the masters of wisdom and Torah, the greatest aspiration is to know, to comprehend the secret, to fathom the statutes of the Torah, and to grasp its inner dimensions. This is their entire life and their supreme longing, and it teaches us how exalted King David's level was. With this, we conclude the letter *Chet* of Chapter 119.
In summary: In the letter *Chet*, King David teaches us a complete order of divine service. "I considered my ways" - to apply an *a fortiori* deduction from our alacrity in physical pursuits to spiritual matters, and even to outwit the Yetzer Hara, as David did by keeping his good intentions secret. "I hurried and did not delay" - double alacrity, both in timing and in the execution of the deed itself. "Bands of the wicked have robbed me" - even when pursued and disrupted, "I have not forgotten Your Torah." "At midnight I rise" - giving thanks for righteous judgments during a time of strict judgment, which is also the time to mourn the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. "I am a companion to all who fear You" - to cleave to the God-fearing and join in every gathering devoted to a mitzvah, for the merit multiplies with the multitude of participants. And finally, "Hashem, Your lovingkindness fills the earth; teach me Your statutes" - David's sole request from the King, the Master of the Universe, is nothing other than an understanding heart to grasp the inner depths and secrets of the Torah.