Introduction: The Letter Tzadi in Chapter 119
We continue in Psalm 119, with the letter Tzadi. The eight verses before us all revolve around one central theme: the righteousness of the Holy One, blessed be He's governance of the world, even when our eyes seemingly see the opposite. The Malbim, as is his way throughout this chapter, highlights the "central point" in each verse: judgments (mishpatim), testimonies (edot), sayings (imarot), precepts (pikudim), Torah, and mitzvot - and thus an entire picture of faith, patience, humility, and devotion unfolds before us.
Verse 137: "Upright Are Your Judgments" - The End Proves the Beginning
צַדִּיק אַתָּה יְהֹוָה וְיָשָׁר מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ׃ - Righteous are You, Hashem, and upright are Your judgments.
The Radak explains: You are righteous, Hashem, and Your judgments are likewise righteous and upright. Yet one might ask: Why does the verse say "veyashar" (and upright) in the singular, when "mishpatecha" (Your judgments) is plural? It should have said "veyesharim mishpatecha"! The Radak offers two resolutions: either it means that every single one of Your judgments is upright, or it is a collective noun, similar to "And I have acquired oxen and donkeys" (shor vachamor, literally an ox and a donkey) - did Yaakov have only one ox? Rather, a group of many oxen can be referred to in the singular. So too here: upright are Your judgments.
The Malbim focuses the verse on "mishpatim" (judgments), which are the rational mitzvot, as in Parashat Mishpatim. All of Hashem's judgments are executed with righteousness and according to strict justice: He pays reward to the righteous and punishment to the wicked. Do not wonder if you see the Holy One, blessed be He, delaying the reward of the righteous, while in the meantime the righteous person suffers; or conversely, that the wicked person receives his reward here and now, "and repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them." This happens precisely because "upright are Your judgments." The righteous person believes in an eternal world; would it be worthwhile for him to accept a temporary reward spanning seventy years instead of infinite reward? Certainly not. Therefore, it is far better for him to be penalized here in this fleeting world for the few sins he committed, while his full reward is preserved for eternity.
The wicked person, by contrast, does not believe in eternal reward or in the World to Come at all. "No one has ever returned from there" - and even though there are those who have, it does not convince him. He believes only in this world, and he too performed a few mitzvot; therefore, he is given his reward here. You believe in this world? Take your reward here, arrive there empty-handed, and there receive your punishment as an eternal sentence.
This is the meaning of "upright are Your judgments": all Your judgments lead to true equity, even what seems to us at first glance to be an injustice. Our vision is limited, for we live a short time and see only short-range outcomes, blind to eternity. Indeed, one does not even need to wait for the World to Come: even in this world, whoever observes closely will see that ultimately it is good for the righteous and bad for the wicked. We simply lack the patience to wait for the process to conclude; we see the beginning, and at the beginning things seem reversed. But anyone who surveys all of history will not find a wicked person who ended well. Even if in his day he seemed prosperous and "riding high," ultimately whoever did righteousness received good, and whoever acted wickedly received evil.
Kayin and Hevel - An Example of Patience
Consider one example: the story of Kayin. Kayin murdered Hevel. What became of Hevel? He died on the spot - a righteous man who lost his life immediately. Kayin also took the extra twin sister, and later even received divine protection - "sevenfold vengeance shall be taken on Kayin" - living a long life afterward. Well, what did we see? The wicked prospering, and the righteous suffering. But anyone with a little patience discovers that Kayin was completely wiped out, leaving no surviving descendants. There is an opinion that Na'amah, the wife of Noach, came from the lineage of Kayin, meaning a single lineage survived through a woman; but according to the other opinions, nothing remained of him. Meanwhile Hevel, who died immediately, returned in a reincarnation - he is Sheis. And who is Sheis? The one upon whom the entire world is founded (mushtat). Ask people: Whose children are we, Kayin's or Hevel's? Most do not even remember Sheis, yet we are neither the children of Kayin nor of Hevel, but the children of Sheis, who was the reincarnation of Hevel. You say: Hevel offered a sacrifice, his offering was accepted favorably - and he died! You lack patience. If you have patience, you will see how Sheis merited that the entire world was founded upon him. At first glance it appears to be a case of the righteous suffering and the wicked prospering, but whoever is willing to view things with perspective sees that ultimately the wicked suffer and the righteous experience good. This is "Righteous are You, Hashem, and upright are Your judgments."
Verse 138: The Testimonies of the Torah and Great Faith
צִוִּיתָ צֶדֶק עֵדֹתֶיךָ וֶאֱמוּנָה מְאֹד׃ - You have commanded Your testimonies in righteousness and great faithfulness.
Ibn Ezra explains: You commanded the Forefathers to engage in Your testimonies, that is, the mitzvot of Hashem. Radak explains: You showed us great love by commanding us Your testimonies - the Torah and the mitzvot - which are righteous, and which are "exceedingly faithful": the mitzvot are dependable, containing righteousness and integrity.
Malbim applies this verse to "testimonies" - the historical narratives in the Torah that testify to Hashem's greatness and the judgment through which He exacts retribution from the wicked. Look at the narrative portion of testimonies in the Torah: it all testifies to how the Holy One, blessed be He, punishes the wicked in accordance with justice. The people of the Generation of the Flood, the men of Sodom, the Generation of the Dispersion, Korach and his congregation, Amalek, Pharaoh king of Egypt. And on the other hand, how the Holy One, blessed be He, watches over the righteous: making promises to Avraham, and later bringing his descendants into Eretz Yisrael. All the narratives of the Torah are true and righteous testimony, guiding us onto the right path, and they are all built upon faith - that anyone who clings to Hashem is "alive, every one of you today."
The Ya'avetz writes: As my soul lives, even more astonishing than all the miracles the Holy One, blessed be He, performed for the Jewish people throughout history - the splitting of the Red Sea, the Exodus from Egypt - is the very survival of the Jewish nation. How is it possible that a tiny nation has endured for thousands of years, when throughout history empires tried to destroy it, abused it, burned it, the Inquisition, auto-da-fé, and what not - and it still exists? Anyone who observes carefully will see that of all the sects that broke away from the Jewish people, not a trace remains of any of them. In us, the Torah's promise has been fulfilled: "And you who cling to Hashem your God are alive, every one of you today," while the rest were erased from the stage of history, cast somewhere into the recycling bin. And all this is "Your testimonies" - Hashem testifies to this in the Torah: ten generations from Noach to Avraham, and nothing remained of them, until Avraham came and from him the Holy One, blessed be He, brought forth the entire lineage. Such are the ways of Hashem's providence: one who walks in faith - Hashem assists him, raises him up, and grants him continuity; and one who does not - perishes.
And even though you temporarily see the wicked prospering and "springing up like grass," regarding this it says "and exceedingly faithful": one must believe that what he sees is only temporary. For if there were no test, everyone would believe. The Holy One, blessed be He, is not looking for robots; He could have created people with artificial intelligence who would do precisely what they were programmed to do, and nothing more. But He wants you to have free choice. And how could there be free choice if you always saw the righteous prosper and the wicked suffer? Free choice is created precisely when it appears that the wicked are riding high while the righteous are humiliated, persecuted, and brought low. This creates a trial for a person, and if he clings to Hashem and believes in Him even at such times, "holy shall he be called," and he is worthy of all the reward.
And this is what is written: "For all His ways are justice; a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, righteous and upright is He." Corresponding to "righteous" is "all His ways are justice," and corresponding to "faithfulness" is "upright is He." And so it is in our two verses: corresponding to "Righteous are You, Hashem" it says "You have commanded Your testimonies in righteousness" - the testimonies in the Torah teach that everything is done with justice, to punish the wicked and grant a good reward to the righteous; and corresponding to "and upright are Your judgments" it says "and exceedingly faithful" - that whoever clings to his faith, Hashem deals with him uprightly and grants him his deserved reward.
Verse 139: My Zeal Has Consumed Me
צִמְּתַתְנִי קִנְאָתִי כִּי שָׁכְחוּ דְבָרֶיךָ צָרָי׃ - My zeal has consumed me, because my adversaries have forgotten Your words.
The zeal I feel for Your Name on account of those who forget Your words - it consumes me. It pains me; it bothers me. When I see people committing wickedness, that zeal constricts and withers me, as it were, for I am unable to do anything to stop them. Radak explains: My zeal almost destroyed me when I saw my adversaries who had forgotten Your words, as though You had never commanded them. And I see them succeed and feel indignant over them, as it is written: "For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked" - not that he wishes to be like them, but rather in the sense of "He will arouse jealousy": zeal for Hashem is awakened within me, seeing how these wicked individuals succeed while acting completely contrary to Hashem's will.
Malbim explains: The zeal I feel over the desecration of Hashem's honor, because You show patience to the wicked - and what does that patience cause? "My adversaries have forgotten Your words." The wicked have forgotten Your words, which teach us to follow the upright path, for they say: Look, those who do evil prosper more! The reality of the wicked prospering while the righteous suffer leads them to forget the Divine command and do whatever they please, and regarding this David says, "My zeal has consumed me" - zeal for Hashem is aroused within me over the evil deeds they commit.
When One Cannot Exact Retribution - The Chida's Explanation
The Chida explains in his work Yosef Tehillot: If those wicked people were not my personal enemies, I would have punished them. But since they are my enemies, a severe problem arises, for people would immediately say: Look at King David settling scores with his personal foes! He searched for excuses against them - claiming this one is a sinner, that one acted against the Torah - all because they were his enemies and he was waiting to catch them. King David says: The result is that I cannot exact retribution from my enemies, because it would be viewed as being done for my own honor rather than for the honor of Heaven, as revenge for transgressing against me. And in order not to give an opening to them or to others to judge me unfavorably, I restrain myself from chastising them. And what does this cause? "My zeal has consumed me" - I possess zeal for the word of Hashem, yet it cannot be translated into action, and it withers and consumes me from within.
Avenging and Bearing a Grudge Like a Snake
This brings us back to what we discussed earlier: "Any talmid chacham who does not avenge and bear a grudge like a serpent is not a talmid chacham." In recent generations, we see that they did not adopt this path; on the contrary, the gedolim of the generation, even when deeply insulted, restrained themselves. Why? Because Chazal defined the nature of this vengeance: "like a serpent." "If the serpent bites without a whisper, there is no advantage to the master of the tongue." The serpent is asked: The lion claws and eats, the fox preys and eats - they all derive pleasure from what they consume; but for you, everything tastes like dust: "and dust shall you eat all the days of your life." What pleasure, then, do you derive from killing? His eating brings no pleasure and no taste. And when a talmid chacham avenges and bears a grudge like a serpent, it means he derives no personal pleasure or satisfaction from it whatsoever - and only then is he truly a talmid chacham. But otherwise, it is better not to avenge or bear a grudge, for there is great concern that he is avenging his own honor rather than the honor of Heaven. If you feel a sweet taste of satisfaction - "Ah, I got back at him, I showed him, what was he thinking?" - it is a sign that something personal has crept in, and the moment a personal motive enters, this is certainly not the vengeance spoken of by Chazal. And this is what King David means by saying, "My persecutors have forgotten Your words" - I want to hold them accountable, but because they are my persecutors, I cannot, for people will say I took retribution against them because they are my personal enemies, not because they forgot the word of Hashem.
A Story of a Bochur and a Mashgiach
It is told of Rav Meir Chodosh, as well as other mashgichim of the previous generation, that he once summoned a certain student with the intention of expelling him from the yeshivah. They told the bochur, "The Mashgiach is calling you, and it seems he is ready to cut ties," for the student's problematic situation was well known. He told them, "Do not worry, he will not say a word to me." He entered, and the Mashgiach said to him, "I heard you spoke against Hashem and His anointed - you spoke against the yeshivah and also against the Mashgiach." The bochur answered insolently, "Which hurts the Mashgiach more: that I spoke against Hashem, or against His anointed?" And it is recounted that the Mashgiach sent him right back to seder and did not expel him from the yeshivah. That bochur said to his friend, "I knew that if I attacked him personally, he would no longer send me away from the yeshivah, because he would fear that a personal motive had entered - 'perhaps I am expelling him because he insulted me.' I knew he possessed such immense awe of Heaven that he would never expel a student from the yeshivah out of personal offense." For after all, how could one expel a bochur from a yeshivah merely because he offended you personally? That is a terrible thing, for which one would have to give an accounting. While such conduct might seem to grant an opening to the brazen, it teaches us the sheer greatness of these towering figures, who were terrified of doing anything tainted with the slightest trace of personal honor if it was not purely for the sake of Heaven. And this is "My zeal has undone me" - the zeal I wish to express silences and paralyzes me, for "my persecutors have forgotten Your words": those who forgot Your words are also my personal persecutors, and therefore I am restrained from striking back at them.
Verse 140: Your Word Is Refined
צְרוּפָה אִמְרָתְךָ מְאֹד וְעַבְדְּךָ אֲהֵבָהּ׃ - Your word is exceedingly refined, and Your servant loves it.
Ibn Ezra explains this verse as answering a question: Why have "my persecutors forgotten Your words"? After all, Your word is refined! "Refined" like refined silver - free of any dross or imperfection; the word of Hashem is pure and refined, so why did they forget it? The Radak explains: "And Your servant loves it" - I love Your mitzvos exceedingly, whereas those who persecute me not only do not love Your words, but have even forgotten them. And so we see throughout the entire psalm how King David contrasts himself with his pursuers and persecutors: how far they have strayed into wickedness, and how deeply he cleaves to Hashem and desires His mitzvos.
The Malbim bases this verse on the category of imarot (sayings), explaining: There is nothing preventing me from keeping Your word. Not on their own account - for the words of Hashem are refined, without any dross or defect, "pure utterances"; nor on my account - for "Your servant loves it," I love the mitzvos of Hashem and cleave to them. Nor is it because I anticipate a reward, for one who hopes for reward is not consistent in his righteousness: he is subject to ups and downs, feeling motivated at times and unmotivated at others, sometimes swayed by the reward and sometimes less so. When does a person remain steadfast in his righteousness? When he acts purely for the sake of Heaven. The service of one who hopes for reward is incomplete, but service out of love - "and Your servant loves it" - is complete and enduring.
Verse 141: I Am Small and Despised
צָעִיר אָנֹכִי וְנִבְזֶה פִּקֻּדֶיךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי׃ - I am small and despised, yet I have not forgotten Your precepts.
Rashi explains according to the simple meaning, as it is said, "And David was the youngest," and adds: I am despised - humbling myself before those who study Torah in order to learn, "for I have not forgotten Your precepts," engaging in deep analytical study and debate over them. This is truly wondrous: he is a king, exalted and supreme, yet he comes down among the people to debate Torah with them. This is especially striking because during Talmudic debate, one's words are challenged and contradicted: you state an argument, and someone else offers the exact opposite; you say something, and they tell you it is incorrect. A person who may be of humble stature, yet a talmid chacham, might propose an argument completely contrary to yours. Nevertheless, King David says: I humble myself before those who engage in Torah in order to learn, for I know that in Your precepts there is justice and truth, and therefore I occupy myself with them with constant devotion.
The Radak explains: I am small and despised in their eyes, in the eyes of those who did not keep Your statutes; I am despised in their eyes because I occupy myself with the Torah of Hashem and His mitzvos, and I have not forgotten Your precepts as they have. Even though they hold me in contempt, this does not cause me to abandon the mitzvos of Hashem. Unfortunately, all too often, a person who is mocked for observing mitzvos tries to project an outward image of being just like everyone else and not overly meticulous, in order to gain approval. King David says: Even though I am despised in their eyes, I have not forgotten Your precepts.
The Malbim explains the verse based on the category of pikudim (precepts): Even though I am small and despised, and I derive no honor from observing the mitzvos, nevertheless I have not forgotten Your precepts. This proves that I do not observe them for the sake of honor - for in terms of honor, "I am small and despised" - but rather because You commanded and charged us with them, and out of love for You I fulfill them.
Humility and Remembering the Torah
In the sefer Shai LaMelachim, it is explained based on Chazal that the segulah for meriting to retain one's Torah is humility and submissiveness. Who was the humblest of all men? Moshe Rabbeinu. And who attained Torah at the very highest level? Moshe Rabbeinu. And when did Moshe Rabbeinu forget halachah? When he became angry. And what is the root of anger? Pride - I am angry because something does not align with what I said and what I wanted. With Moshe, this was exceedingly subtle, and all his anger was solely for the sake of Heaven and concerning spiritual matters: why they did not eat the sin-offering, why they brought the Midianite women, and the like. Even so, that minute trace caused him to forget the laws of purging the vessels of gentiles, to forget the halachah of the sin-offering, and so on. It emerges, therefore, that the way to remember the Torah is through humility and submissiveness, and this is what Dovid Hamelech says: "I am young and despised" - and through that measure of humility, "I have not forgotten Your precepts," and as a result, whatever I learn, I retain.
Verse 142: Your Righteousness Is Everlasting Righteousness
צִדְקָתְךָ צֶדֶק לְעוֹלָם וְתוֹרָתְךָ אֱמֶת׃ - Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your Torah is truth.
The Ibn Ezra connects this to the preceding verse: How could I forget Your precepts, when Your righteousness is unchanging and constant, and Your Torah is forever one and the same? This itself is what keeps me from forgetting. This is completely logical: something that constantly changes is difficult to remember, but a constant thing that never changes and is always the same is remembered perpetually. Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, Your Torah is eternal and unified, and consequently "Your Torah is truth," and therefore "I have not forgotten Your precepts."
The Radak explains: "Your righteousness" - the justice and righteousness that You perform with the world - is an eternal righteousness that endures forever. "And Your Torah is truth" - all the mitzvot of the Torah are truth, and "truth" means a lasting foundation and existence for the world: the upright laws upon which the preservation of the world depends, which includes interpersonal conduct, without which "one person would swallow his fellow alive." Likewise, all the promises of the Torah - all the good promises to one who walks in the path of Hashem and observes His mitzvot, in this world and the World to Come - are all absolute truth, and everything is destined to be fulfilled exactly as the Torah promises, without a single word falling to the ground.
The Malbim interprets this verse as referring to "Torah," explaining: The term "tzedakah" (righteousness / charity) when applied to the Holy One, Blessed be He, indicates deeds performed out of supreme benevolence - outpourings of goodness that Hashem bestows without looking at the deeds of mortal creations, whether they are worthy or not, whether they are fitting or not. This is a mode of conduct akin to pure chesed. "Everlasting righteousness" - Hashem conducts the world in this manner when the entire world stands in need of it: as He acted with the Avot, as He acted with Dovid and the community of Israel, and as He did for us at the Exodus from Egypt and the Giving of the Torah, even though we were not yet worthy - "these are idolaters and these are idolaters." This is the limitless chesed that the Holy One, Blessed be He, pours forth, even though we do not deserve it, because it is necessary for the world as a whole. "And Your Torah is truth" - observe that in the Torah itself we already witness this conduct in practice: at the Exodus from Egypt and the Giving of the Torah, the Jewish people were not yet spiritually elevated enough to merit this, yet because this was necessary in order to bestow goodness upon them and act toward them with chesed, the Holy One, Blessed be He, performed chesed with them.
Verse 143: Trouble and Anguish
צַר וּמָצוֹק מְצָאוּנִי מִצְוֺתֶיךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי׃ - Trouble and anguish have overtaken me; Your commandments are my delight.
The Radak explains: In times when troubles overtake me, what consoles me? With what can I delight myself in order to emerge from that distress and not feel that anguish? Your commandments are my delights, and they comfort me from troubles when I occupy myself with them.
The Malbim aligns this verse with "mitzvot," and notes the precise distinction between "tzar" (trouble / external oppressor) and "matzok" (anguish / internal distress), as he explains in several places: "Tzar" refers to one who oppresses from the outside, an external adversity; whereas "matzok" is internal anguish - when a person is in a state of pressure and distress from within. It is possible for someone to have no internal anguish within himself, yet face enemies on the outside. And against internal anguish he says: "Your commandments are my delight" - by taking delight in Hashem's mitzvot, I banish that inner distress and grief. And what does one do against the external oppressor? That is addressed in the next verse.
Verse 144: Give Me Understanding and I Shall Live
צֶדֶק עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ לְעוֹלָם הֲבִינֵנִי וְאֶחְיֶה׃ - Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding, and I shall live.
The Malbim explains this verse as referring to "testimonies" - those testimonies found in the narratives of the Torah, which testify to how the Holy One, blessed is He, rewards those who believe in Him and punishes those who go against His will. From the Torah, I learn how to confront the external adversary: I see how Hashem delivers the righteous and shields those who fear Him, while on the other hand exacting retribution from the wicked - the Generation of the Flood, the Generation of Sodom, the Generation of the Dispersion, Bilam, Lavan, Esav, and all who did evil. When I see this Divine conduct, I have the strength to stand against the external enemy, for "Your testimonies are righteous forever" - this is how You always act, and this is how You consistently deliver the righteous from the hand of the wicked.
And what is the meaning of "Give me understanding, and I shall live"? Grant me an understanding of these testimonies - the ways in which You punish the wicked and the ways in which You save the righteous. And what is there to understand here? The Malbim explains: sometimes reality appears to be the opposite - the righteous person suffers while the wicked person prospers, presenting a reality that demands deeper understanding. Therefore, "Give me understanding, and I shall live": grant me insight into the ways of Your Providence, and through this I will live with that steadfast faith. For without an understanding of these matters, questions may arise in a person's heart regarding the ways of Hashem's governance.
The Radak explains: Grant me an understanding of the righteousness through which You guide the world, so that through this I may live to inherit the World to Come. The Radak adds that the word le'olam ("forever") in the verse serves a dual purpose - that is, instead of writing the word twice, Scripture placed it once in the middle, and it is read in both directions: "Your testimonies are righteous forever," and "Forever give me understanding, and I shall live." In other words: Your testimonies are righteous and endure forever; the Torah is righteousness and endures forever. Therefore, I ask that You also grant me the merit forever to understand Your mitzvot and live through them.
In summary: Through the letter Tzadi, David HaMelech teaches us the foundational principle of faith in the justice of Divine Providence. "You are righteous, Hashem, and Your judgments are upright" - even when it appears that the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper, this is merely the partial perspective of mortal beings; whoever looks with broader perspective, as in the account of Kayin and Hevel, will see that the ultimate outcome sets everything straight. "You have commanded Your testimonies in righteousness" - the testimonies of the Torah bear witness to the justice of the verdict, and "exceeding faithfulness" is demanded precisely because the Holy One, blessed is He, desires free will rather than robots. "My zeal has consumed me" - the painful zeal for Hashem that cannot be put into practice when personal bias might intrude, following the principle of bearing a grudge and taking revenge "like a snake" solely for the sake of Heaven. "Your word is exceedingly refined" - the ultimate service of Hashem is out of love and not for the sake of receiving a reward; "I am small and despised" - humility is the secret to retaining the Torah; "Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness" - Hashem's lovingkindness flows even when we are undeserving; "Trouble and distress" - His mitzvot comfort internal distress, and His testimonies provide strength against the external adversary. And above all stands the plea: "Give me understanding, and I shall live."