Psalm 127 is a brief psalm, yet embedded within it is one of the greatest foundations of faith: that human effort (hishtadlut), no matter how strenuous and calculated, is of no avail without heavenly assistance (siyata di’shmaya). The psalm centers on the building of the house and the guarding of the city, and from there it descends into the daily life of every person: livelihood, health, toil, and sleep. We will study it in light of Rashi, Radak, Ibn Ezra, and Malbim, and supplement with the words of the author of Chovot HaLevavot and the material brought by the author of Otzrot HaAggadah.
שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת לִשְׁלֹמֹה, אִם ה' לֹא יִבְנֶה בַיִת שָׁוְא עָמְלוּ בוֹנָיו בּוֹ, אִם ה' לֹא יִשְׁמׇר עִיר שָׁוְא שָׁקַד שׁוֹמֵר׃ - A song of ascents, of Solomon: If Hashem does not build a house, in vain do its builders labor on it; if Hashem does not guard a city, in vain is the watchman vigilant.
Rashi explains that David recited this song concerning his son Solomon, foreseeing through Ruach HaKodesh that Solomon was destined to build the Beit HaMikdash. Yet on that very day, Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh. It is written that an angel then stuck a reed into the sea, forming a sandbar upon which Rome was ultimately established - the very empire that would destroy the Beit HaMikdash. On that day, the joyous song of the Beit HaMikdash mingled with the song of Solomon's wedding, and concerning this it is said, "For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My wrath from the day that they built it."
According to this, David comes to rebuke his son: Why should you build a house while turning away from the Omnipresent? You build Me a house and simultaneously turn away from the Omnipresent? Since I have no desire for this, "in vain do its builders labor on it." You labor and toil in constructing the house, yet through your own actions you bring about its destruction. You married the daughter of Pharaoh, and that is what ultimately led to the destruction; therefore, all this labor is in vain. One may put it this way: "If Hashem does not build a house" means that unless you build a house purely for the sake of Heaven, free of ulterior motives, moral decay, and sins, then its builders labor in vain, for you are building a house while planting within it the seeds of catastrophe that will destroy it.
Radak explains that the psalm was said concerning Solomon, and that the word "LiShlomo" means "for the sake of Solomon," just as in the verse "Say of me (li), he is my brother," where it does not mean "say to me" but "say on my behalf." He too understands that these words refer to the building of the Beit HaMikdash, when King David himself wished to build it. David went and gathered silver, gold, and copper, but ultimately the prophet was sent to him to say: "Will you build a house for My Name? Not you, but your son, who will be a man of peace - he shall build a house for My Name."
From here Radak draws a profound lesson: David's plans did not come to fruition. David had many plans, yet despite his diligence and toil, he was not the one to build the house, but rather his son. How much he labored and exerted himself, yet the plans were not realized. And so it is, he says, for the rest of humanity: their intentions do not necessarily succeed. Often a person toils and strives toward a specific goal, but that exertion does not guarantee success, for if Hashem does not build a house - if it does not originate from Him, blessed be He - you labor in vain.
Radak further adds that there is also an allusion here to King Mashiach, who is likewise referred to as Solomon in Shir HaShirim. He notes that he will interpret the psalm on three levels: first tracing one explanation throughout the psalm, and concluding with the additional themes. Initially, he interprets it regarding Solomon and the Beit HaMikdash: David labored, but because the Holy One, Blessed Be He, did not wish it, David did not build. "Its builders" are those involved in the physical construction. David said this concerning Jerusalem, the capital of the kingdom where the Temple was built. The one who would build the house in accordance with Hashem's will was specifically Solomon, and therefore the construction would not be in vain, and the Temple stood for 410 years.
So too with the city of Jerusalem: if Hashem does not guard it, the watchman keeps vigil in vain. But if Hashem guards it - meaning that his son reigns as king over it - the city will be preserved. Do not imagine for a moment that flesh and blood guards Jerusalem. The only One who guards Jerusalem is the Holy One, Blessed Be He. It is He Who guards the house, and He Who guards the city.
In simple terms: you need to observe Torah and mitzvot, fulfill and carry out the will of Hashem, and then the city will be preserved. But if you say, "Don't worry, we have security forces," in vain does the watchman keep vigil. If you do not truly safeguard what you need to safeguard, you lack siyata diShmaya (Heavenly assistance). You abandon Hashem and place your trust in your defenses because you have walls, doors, and crossbars, only to discover that when the time comes, the walls collapse, the enemy arrives, and nothing can help us the moment we deviate from the path of Hashem. The enemy arrived, and all the guards we posted were of no avail whatsoever. One must invest in the right things, first and foremost in fulfilling the will of Hashem.
The author of Chovot HaLevavot writes that there are people who toil, strive, exhaust themselves, and amass great wealth, and it all ends up going to their wife's next husband. A person passes away and leaves his wife a multimillionaire; she remarries, and the new husband says: "All credit to your late husband, may he rest in peace - he worked properly, left behind plenty of money, may he rest in Gan Eden." He might even sponsor an hashkavah (memorial prayer) for him in the synagogue! For what did you toil? One must understand that from all the effort a person exerts here, one takes nothing along. None of it accompanies a person Above, except for Torah, mitzvot, and good deeds.
The Malbim explains that this psalm and the one following it are deliberately juxtaposed. In our psalm, he explains that human effort (hishtadlut) accomplishes nothing if it is not the will of Hashem. Whatever we do and however much effort we exert, the first requirement is siyata diShmaya, and without it nothing will help. In the next psalm, he explains when human effort is truly effective, and in what ways it is appropriate to exert effort in order to achieve the desired outcome and the proper goal.
"Unless Hashem builds a house" means that if Divine assistance does not accompany the very act of building, if there is no siyata diShmaya, then "its builders labor on it in vain," and human effort is entirely futile. There is an adage: without siyata diShmaya, a person cannot even leave the house; and with siyata diShmaya, he can reach the moon. What does it mean that he cannot leave the house? Suddenly it turns out that his wife left and locked the door from the outside, leaving him without a key - locked inside, unable to leave. This is a simple example of how everything depends on siyata diShmaya, and when it is present, one has everything.
There is a story of a debate between Mazal (fortune) and Sechel (intellect): what is better for a person, mazal or intellect - or if you will, siyata diShmaya or intellect? The two were walking along the road, and Mazal went and sat down in the middle of the street. Intellect, having good sense, went and sat on the sidewalk. A speeding car approached; the driver saw a madman sitting in the middle of the road, swerved onto the sidewalk, and ran over Intellect. The point is not that a person should act foolishly, but rather to teach us that everything depends on siyata diShmaya.
And so we see with our own eyes: two people establish a yeshivah. In one, millions are poured in, everything is provided, students are showered with resources, top talents are brought in, yet the yeshivah never takes off. In another yeshivah, built on pennies, without big-name figures, you see an immensely sought-after institution with hundreds of students knocking on its doors every year. When there is siyata diShmaya, there is success; when there is no siyata diShmaya, in vain do its builders labor.
The Malbim adds: siyata diShmaya is needed not only to bring something new into fruition, but also to sustain what already exists. In our normal habits, when do we turn to beseech Hashem? For the extras, the additions, the things we still lack. But for what already exists, we see no need to pray - it is already here, taken for granted.
This is what is spoken about before Rosh Hashanah, which is "the day of the beginning of Your works," when a person must pray even for what already exists. What do we pray for on Rosh Hashanah? Life, life, life. Is there anything a person takes for granted more than this? One assumes, "I am alive anyway; from here on, the question is merely how much livelihood, which shidduch, enduring offspring, abundance, a home, a job." We constantly ask for the additions, while regarding life itself we rely on momentum. Not so. Nothing is guaranteed, and for this, too, one must pray.
This is the deeper meaning of the verse, "Unless Hashem watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." The city is already built and already established; there is no new construction underway here, and yet the effort (hishtadlus) to guard it is an effort in vain unless Hashem is guarding it. Not only is it unhelpful, but at times it can even be detrimental. One must understand that even preserving what already exists requires siyata d'Shmaya (Heavenly assistance), and one must pray that Hashem watch over and preserve it.
There have been people who ate healthily with fanatic devotion, refusing to put anything into their mouths that contained the slightest suspicion of unhealthy fats, sugars, harmful additives, or food coloring, yet they still did not live long lives. Someone once related a story about his mother, who had traveled to America for surgeries in a critical condition involving liver failure and other complications. He recounted: "I was scooping ice cream for the children, when suddenly my mother said, 'Wait, you're not giving any to Mom?' I was astounded; in all her life she had never eaten ice cream or chocolate, always telling us that these are poisons and sugars that destroy a person's health. Yet suddenly, in her final months, she craved ice cream."
This is certainly no endorsement to eat unhealthily. The point is entirely different: Do you really think that you are the one guarding yourself? Do you think this regimen guarantees anything? Effort is necessary, and a person must make the effort to live a good and healthy life. Yet there are those who, instead of opening the day with Shacharis, begin with a morning jog. "We run and they run." And then, as he is running, he crosses the street and, Heaven forbid, a car strikes him. Someone once phrased it: he died healthy. A person must care for his health, without question, but to view that as a guarantee for longevity? No. If Hashem grants health, one will be healthy; if Hashem grants life, one will have life. A person must make the appropriate effort, but never trust that this effort is what guarantees life. Whatever Hashem grants is the only true guarantee.
When doctors examined the diets of the Gedolei Yisrael - what Rav Shteinman ate or what Rav Kaduri ate - they declared that their nutrition was utterly substandard. In all other matters, Rav Shteinman was willing to heed his doctor's advice, except for one thing: his diet, which in the doctor's eyes was fundamental. In that area, he was unwilling to listen or make any changes whatsoever, yet he lived to a ripe old age, long after the doctor had already passed on to the World of Truth. Naturally, this is not an instruction for an ordinary person to eat poorly. Rav Shteinman was sustained by other means; he lived on spirituality, and his body did not require what ours requires. A single egg a day and a bit of barley cooked in water in the morning were enough to sustain his physical form, for how much physical mass did he possess? We are corporeal people, and we need to eat, and eat well and healthily. But to rely on this and claim that this is what will grant life and length of days is an error. A watchman is necessary, but one must not imagine that the watchman's vigilance alone is sufficient. Everything depends on His blessed will.
שָׁוְא לָכֶם מַשְׁכִּימֵי קוּם מְאַחֲרֵי שֶׁבֶת אֹכְלֵי לֶחֶם הָעֲצָבִים, כֵּן יִתֵּן לִידִידוֹ שֵׁנָא׃ - It is vain for you who rise early, who sit up late, who eat the bread of sorrows; so He gives to His beloved sleep.
Rashi explains: "It is vain for you" refers to craftsmen who rise early for their labor and delay returning from it, earning their sustenance in hardship and toil - this is "the bread of sorrows," striving intensely to make a living. "So does He give to His beloved sleep (shena)" means that the Holy One, blessed be He, will grant sustenance to "His beloved." And here, the word "yedido" does not mean His beloved (ohevo), but is related to the root for banishing (menaded): the Holy One, blessed be He, will provide livelihood to the one who banishes sleep from his eyes in order to engage in the study of Torah.
This is one of the most wondrous phenomena. Someone once asked Rav Shteinman why there are no open miracles in our generation, and he replied: "No miracles? Avreichim (kollel scholars) marry off their children - that is a miracle!" An avreich marries off his children and provides funds for apartments; who can comprehend this? Take an Excel spreadsheet and try to calculate where it comes from; you will never make the numbers balance. How can one marry off children on a modest kollel stipend, whatever his wife earns, and a few small allowances here and there? He said to them: "Is that not a miracle?"
A story is told of a dispute between two mechutanim, one who was employed and one an avreich, when the working father asked the avreich to contribute more toward the wedding expenses. The avreich said, "Look at my financial situation and see how limited my means are." They went to Rav Shteinman, and he turned to the avreich and said, "You are the one who needs to add." The avreich asked, "Me? But he is the one who works!" Rav Shteinman answered, "Yes. Because he works, in order to contribute more, he needs an identifiable source of income. But you are an avreich; in any case, from where does whatever you give come from? If it comes from that transcendent source anyway, bring another hundred thousand dollars from there." In other words, Rav Shteinman lived this reality: an avreich lives by miracles, and when someone lives by miracles, upon Whom does the burden fall? Upon the Holy One, blessed be He, and He has broad enough shoulders.
This, then, is Rashi's explanation in its plain, true sense: the Holy One, blessed be He, provides sustenance to the one who banishes sleep from his eyes to engage in Torah study. "I have not seen a righteous person forsaken, nor his children begging for bread." It does not promise that he will own a villa, nor that he will drive a luxury car, nor that he will live the glamorous life portrayed by secular society. But for his basic sustenance, to marry off his children, and for his daily livelihood - of this it was said, "I have not seen a righteous person forsaken."
The Ibn Ezra explains: It is futile for you to rise early for work or commerce, eating bread in sorrow. Why do they rise early? To go to the market. And why do they sit late? Because one sits in the market until a late hour, thinking perhaps another customer will come, perhaps someone else will buy. And "His beloved" (yedido), in his view, refers to the one who loves Him, as it is written, "Sweet is the sleep of a laborer." The Holy One, blessed be He, gives to each person according to what He has decreed, not according to a person's thoughts, rushing, toil, and schemes.
A person thinks: I will push harder, wake up an hour earlier, stay at the business an extra hour. There are people about whom it is written after a hundred and twenty years that their funeral will depart from their place of business. He fell at his post, suffered a heart attack next to the cash register, and collapsed in the line of duty. Pity on the person! You are already ninety years old, there is a Beit Midrash - come prepare something for the World to Come. But no, perhaps another customer can be brought in, perhaps another ten shekels can be earned. Regarding this, the Ibn Ezra says: it is not through his running, toil, and schemes; rather, "sweet is the sleep of a laborer." To His beloved, Hashem grants rest and sleep, since he is immersed in the service of Hashem, blessed be He.
The Radak interprets the verse as referring to Avshalom and Adoniyah. "Those who rise early" refers to Avshalom, who rose early and acted prematurely to rebel against his father to seize the monarchy; he rose early and stood by the way of the gate, and "Avshalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel." Regarding those who sided with him - the faction he formed - it is said, "It is futile for you who rise early." "Those who sit late" refers to Adoniyah, who delayed his rebellion to sit upon the royal throne, waiting until David was old and confined to his bed.
"Eating the bread of sorrow" - both these and those toiled and exerted themselves to acquire the kingship and failed, ultimately ending up in sorrow, reminiscent of "in sorrow shall you eat of it." Just as a person toils for bread, so they toiled for the kingship, and in the end they came up empty-handed. "So He gives sleep to His beloved" - who is the beloved of the Holy One, blessed be He? That is Yedidyah: "And he named him Yedidyah, for Hashem's sake" - that is Shlomo. And the meaning of "so" (ken) is: just as they sought to take the kingdom through toil and effort, a kingdom that was not rightfully theirs, so Hashem gives the kingdom effortlessly to Shlomo. And "sleep" (shena) means with ease, without toil, like a person sleeping. Shlomo knew nothing of the kingdom, yet Hashem was preparing it for him. He goes to sleep, and the Holy One, blessed be He, takes care of the kingdom for him.
The Malbim explains: It is in vain for you, those who rise early and sit late, diligently working day and night. After all the toil and effort, rising early and going to sleep late, you eat the bread of sorrow - meaning that you gained nothing from all this toil. For it has been decreed from Heaven how much a person will earn, and exerting oneself beyond what was decreed is of no avail, as one will not receive beyond that. One must make an effort (hishtadlut), but multiplying one's toil does not necessarily increase one's livelihood.
"So He gives sleep to His beloved": Hashem gives sleep to His beloved - to one who believes in Him and trusts in Him - while you are toiling, and bestows upon him all the abundance due to him even without all this labor. They receive their allotted sustenance just like you. While you deprived your eyes of sleep and thought that through this you achieved success, Hashem's beloved receives the very same thing without all that effort; as it were, he goes to sleep and the Holy One, blessed be He, showers abundance upon him. And there is a great lesson here: a person should know that an abundance of livelihood does not come through an abundance of toil. Make the required effort, and beyond that, the Holy One, blessed be He, will send what is destined for you. And the fact that "sleep" (shena) is written here with an aleph is equivalent to sheina with a heh: Hashem will grant this sleep and rest to His beloved.
In the sefer Otzrot HaAggadah, on the verse "It is futile for you who rise early," the author cites what our Sages said in condemnation of anger. One of the matters the holy Arizal spoke about with the greatest severity is anger. The Arizal writes that through anger a person loses his holy soul and is given a soul from the kelipot (forces of impurity), a soul that is torn asunder - "he tears his soul in his anger." Even if a person performed all the rectifications (tikkunim) recorded in the holy books and perfected his soul, through anger he renders his soul unkosher (tereifah), and he must start all the rectifications anew, Heaven spare us.
Rabbi Chaim Vital writes that his master, the Arizal, continually and emphatically cautioned him against anger. Once, the Arizal looked at him and said: "I see a trace of idolatry upon you; you became angry yesterday." He admitted: "Indeed, I was studying with the child, and apparently his understanding was unsatisfactory to me, so I came to anger." The Arizal then cautioned him severely. A trace of idolatry! From this one can see how exceedingly careful one must be regarding anger.
According to this, he explains: You who rise early to the synagogues and study halls, you who sit late and stay awake at night to study Torah, know that if you have not rectified this trait, it is futile for you - everything is in vain. When is this so? If you are "eating the bread of atzabim" - when irritation and anger have become your daily bread. You might say: "I sat and studied until late, and do you know how early I woke up?" Yet through anger, you tore everything apart. Is it not a pity? Therefore, a person must rectify his character traits and overcome his anger, so that he does not, God forbid, resemble one who gathers into a torn bundle - who collects and collects while his bag is perforated, and everything he puts in falls right through.
And what is the measure of this anger? We do not have precise definitions or dosages. Simply put, it refers to great anger. There are expressions in Chazal: "One who breaks utensils in his wrath should be viewed by you as an idolater," yet it is not specified what degree of anger this refers to. And since the Holy One, blessed be He, does not deal tyrannically with His creatures, it stands to reason that this refers to an anger a person could have overcome. Nor can one say that there is any anger that is permitted: Moshe Rabbeinu, even though he became angry in justifiable situations, his wisdom departed from him. What did he get angry about? That they had not offered the sacrifice in its proper time and the like - all the places where he grew angry were fully understandable, and nonetheless he was punished for them. What we do find permitted is anger shown outwardly in the face, not anger felt in the heart.
The Taz in Even HaEzer (siman 25) writes regarding the verse "In all your ways acknowledge Him": a person who eats and drinks and pampers himself so that he will be healthy for the service of Hashem receives reward like someone who fasts. Indeed, of many of the greatest of Israel it is written that they did not fast at all. Of the Vilna Gaon it is written that he did not fast at all, and he was a healthy and strong man.
There is a story of a dybbuk in Vilna that was asked who the greatest of the generation and its tzaddikim were. It enumerated two, and listed the Gra third. They asked it: "Is he not the foremost?" It replied to them: "In truth, he is first and above everyone, but he has a bit of fame." From this we see, first of all, the harm of publicity.
Similarly, a story is told about Rav Gershon Edelstein, of blessed memory. There was a photographer who took photos of him on many occasions, and Rav Gershon always told him: "I permit you to take photos on one condition, that you do not publish them." That photographer said: "I have a massive archive of photos - of him lying prostrate on the ground with a candle checking for chametz under a wardrobe, and all kinds of photos that could have caused a huge sensation in their time - and all were conditioned on never publishing them." Once, someone wrote an article about him in Hamodia and gave him publicity. Rav Gershon called the writer to his home and asked him: "Tell me, have you seen a picture of the Rebbe of Gur in Hamodia?" He replied no. Rav Gershon said to him: "If so, I too do not want my picture to appear. I do not need publicity; do not advertise me and do not tell stories about me." He was always wary of the evil eye and of publicity. One does not merit to live past the age of one hundred by mere chance, but through quiet and obscurity. In the end, everything comes to light, but why should people know about you right now, and why shorten your life?
To return to the main point: they asked that dybbuk, "Behold, the Gra does not fast, whereas there are other kabbalists in the generation who practice mortifications?" It replied: "In his eating, he rectifies far, far more than others rectify through their mortifications and fasts." This is precisely what the Taz says: if a person eats and drinks so that he will be healthy and strong for the service of Hashem, he receives reward as if he had fasted. The main thing is that his intention must truly be for the sake of Heaven, as formulated by the Shulchan Aruch in Orach Chaim (siman 231), "And all your deeds shall be for the sake of Heaven" - that while eating, his intention should be to strengthen his body for the service of the Creator, and when sleeping, his intention should be that he can awaken and engage in Torah and prayer. Once the intention is for the sake of Heaven, all actions are considered service of Hashem.
According to this, the verse is explained in another way. There are Torah scholars who banish sleep from their eyes to engage in Torah study, and regarding them it is said: "It is vain for you to rise early" - as if to say, you distress yourselves for naught. And likewise, "to sit up late," referring to those who learn until a very late hour of the night and thereby diminish their hours of sleep. And why? Because "so He gives His beloved sleep" - all that you achieve by banishing sleep, the Holy One, blessed be He, gives to His beloved who chose to sleep at that hour, so that his body will be healthy and strong for the service of Hashem.
It is well known that they asked the Chofetz Chaim how one merits to become the Chofetz Chaim, and he replied that it is very simple and one needs do nothing extraordinary: you wake up in the morning and go to pray; you return from prayer and eat the morning bread; then you go learn Torah; at one o'clock you pray Minchah; you eat the midday meal; you go rest; you wake up and engage in Torah again; toward evening you pray Maariv; you eat supper; you engage in Torah and go to sleep; and the cycle repeats. In other words, one thing: consistency (hasmadah). There is no need to stay up until four in the morning, and there is no need for self-mortifications and fasts. Be consistent and maintain your schedule.
He himself would come to the yeshivah at midnight and put out the kerosene lamps, turning off the lights for the bachurim. Granted, the students recount that they would wait for him to leave, and then relight them and remain learning until two, three, or four in the morning. But he did not approve of this at all, and in accord with the words of the Taz: Go to sleep, wake up refreshed the next morning, and sit and meditate upon the Torah. For if you go to sleep late, it is hard to wake up the next day, you rise late, and even when you begin to learn you are not completely focused; you are fatigued and sometimes doze off in the middle. Why do you need all this? "So He gives His beloved sleep" - the Holy One, blessed be He, gives everything to one who chooses to sleep during sleeping hours and be awake during waking hours. Then a person has his set times and his regular hours, does not distress himself unnecessarily, and can truly attain genuine spiritual achievements.
It is likewise related that Rav Chaim Kanievsky said his father, the Steipler, would instruct him to sleep during the hours of sleep and be awake during the hours of wakefulness, to adhere strictly to the schedule, and not to think that by staying up late one gains anything. They asked him if he maintained this vigilance while in the yeshivah in Lomza, and he said that he tried, though sometimes he was engrossed in a sugya and stayed late. And he related that the Mashgiach was not strict with him if occasionally during afternoon seder, when everyone else was learning, he went to bed to sleep, since he felt he needed it. His learning was not dependent on formal hours but was a continuous state of learning, yet he certainly maintained a disciplined schedule and kept up his quotas.
Psalm 127 teaches us three fundamental principles. The first: nothing is established or built without Divine assistance - neither the Beit HaMikdash nor any structure that man labors upon. The second: even for that which already exists - for the city, for life, and for health - one must pray, for "unless Hashem guards a city, the watchman stays awake in vain," and neither walls nor sentries guarantee anything without His blessed will. And the third: an abundance of livelihood does not depend on an abundance of toil. Effort (hishtadlut) is necessary, but one who toils excessively receives no more than what has been decreed for him. Meanwhile, the beloved of the Holy One, Blessed be He - one who trusts in Him, who gives up sleep for Torah, who refines his character traits and does not eat the bread of sorrow born of anger, and who balances his time properly between sleep and wakefulness - receives everything, and with tranquility: "so He gives sleep to His beloved."