Chapter 131 is a brief psalm of only three verses, in which King David portrays himself as one who did not pursue grand ambitions: not in worldly pleasures, not in authority, and not in intellectual attainments beyond his capacity. The Radak teaches a fundamental rule that he has mentioned several times: David speaks many of the psalms about himself, yet they also characterize the condition of the entire nation. Just as David depicts his lowliness, his persecutions, and his longing for salvation, so too is the state of Israel in exile and subjugation, persecuted and yearning for redemption. This is also why the Book of Tehillim is continually recited by all of Israel: every individual finds oneself within what David endured.
שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת לְדָוִד יְהֹוָה לֹא־גָבַהּ לִבִּי וְלֹא־רָמוּ עֵינַי וְלֹא־הִלַּכְתִּי בִּגְדֹלוֹת וּבְנִפְלָאוֹת מִמֶּנִּי׃ - A song of ascents, of David: Hashem, my heart was not haughty, nor were my eyes raised high, neither did I walk in matters too great or too wondrous for me.
Rashi explains: "My heart was not haughty" - I did not conduct myself with haughty authority; I did not pursue grandeur and luxuries, buildings and plantations, as my son later did. I did not seek bodily desires, nor did I seek estates and plantations. I stand before You like one without hands and feet, like an unformed vessel lying before You. I did not seek the pleasures of this world at all.
Why does David emphasize his humility and lowliness? Because this in itself is the plea for mercy. We ask that the Holy One, blessed be He, have mercy upon us just as David asked for mercy upon himself, on the grounds that his heart was not haughty nor were his eyes raised high. This accords with the words of Chazal: "For though Hashem is high, He sees the lowly," and "A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint, and pours out his plea before Hashem" - the Holy One specifically hearkens to the humble, specifically gazes upon the downtrodden, and "God seeks the pursued." David says: Master of the Universe, I am lowly; my heart was not haughty and my eyes were not lifted up, so from Your exalted abode, look upon me and have mercy on me. It is for this reason that he concludes the psalm with "Let Israel wait for Hashem" - there is cause for You to have mercy upon us as well, for we are the lowliest of nations and the most persecuted among nations, and Hashem is high yet sees the lowly.
Why the double expression, "my heart was not haughty, nor were my eyes raised high"? The Radak, as well as Ibn Ezra, explain: "My heart was not haughty" refers to what is hidden, while "nor were my eyes raised high" refers to what is overt - just as the heart is concealed while the eyes are visible. I did not carry myself with overbearing authority outwardly, nor did I harbor pride inwardly in the secrecy of my heart.
What is meant by "neither did I walk in matters too great or too wondrous for me"? The Radak explains: In matters concerning the Divine essence. The Rambam preceded him in The Guide for the Perplexed, noting that this is what Chazal meant when they taught: "Do not seek what is beyond you" - apply your intellect only to that which a human being is capable of apprehending; but pursuing that which is outside human capacity to comprehend is profoundly damaging. Four entered the Pardes, and we know how few emerged unharmed.
The Radak adds: I did not boast in my heart that I could comprehend and grasp matters and secrets that are far too wondrous for my intellect; rather, I approached them step by step, with awe and trepidation, lest I break through to gaze upon what my mind cannot reach and lose my sanity. For if I enter a realm where I have no grasp, it will lead to mental confusion. Concerning this it is said, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter" - there are matters that, for the glory of God, must remain hidden. And it is said, "Have you found honey? Eat only what is sufficient for you, lest you become gorged and vomit it" - there are things of which one cannot assimilate more than a proper measure. David says: Even in spiritual matters, in things too great and too wondrous for me, I did not rashly break through to ascend.
The Malbim explains that David is describing here how he relies in all his affairs upon the Holy One, blessed be He. "Haughtiness of heart" refers to a drive that crosses boundaries in desire and passion, whether in quantity or in quality - for the heart is the seat of desires, as in the verse, "You have granted him his heart's desire." And what are quantity and quality? One who desires to be like an angel of the heavenly hosts crosses the boundary in quality, for an angel's existence is qualitatively different from human existence. And one who aspires to excessive physical prowess, accumulating great muscle, crosses the boundary merely in quantity, since more muscle is not a different quality but a greater quantity. David says: In neither of these areas did I aspire or have the desire and craving to overstep my bounds.
"Nor were my eyes lofty" - haughtiness of the eyes describes, according to the Malbim, one who crosses boundaries in the theoretical intellect. A person who imagines that his comprehension is unlimited, and consequently presumes he can pass judgment on all sorts of divine matters: here was fair and here was not, this was proper and this was not, leveling criticism against the Master of the Universe - why did He do this, and why did He not intervene there - breaches the boundaries of the human mind with his words. In this there is certainly error and a failure to understand the limitations of the human intellect. Man possesses a human mind, and this mind is limited; you cannot judge divine matters that transcend human intellect.
The Malbim further explains that the verse addresses both the practical intellect and the theoretical intellect. The practical intellect originates in the heart, in the realm of desires, where a person seeks to benefit himself and pursue what is comfortable for him. The theoretical intellect originates in the eyes, for whatever we wish to comprehend, we examine with our eyes and contemplate; even a researcher, when discerning subtle distinctions, scrutinizes them closely with his eye. Therefore, when a person delves into a matter, he says, "I looked into this (*iyanti*) and reached a conclusion" - I set my eyes to contemplate it thoroughly. And corresponding to bringing matters into action, he says, "Nor did I exercise myself in great matters or in things too wonderful for me": "great matters" (*gedolot*) in terms of quantity, and "too wonderful" (*nifla'ot*) in terms of quality. Rather, I conducted everything along the middle path, not in a manner that strives beyond comprehension, neither in physical matters nor in spiritual matters - I did not aspire to exceed my limits.
The author of the *Panim Yafot* explains: "My heart was not haughty" refers to pride and honor, which stem from haughtiness of the heart. "Nor were my eyes lofty" refers to desire; haughty eyes belong to a person who covets everything, lifting his eyes to all things and wanting them for himself. "Nor did I exercise myself in great matters" - he sees greatness in others and wants it for himself as well, which is envy. And how did David succeed in overcoming pride, honor, desire, and envy? "Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul" - I remembered that my end is to become silent (*domem*), as in reminding oneself of the day of death. And because a person remembers that he must give an accounting for everything, all these earthly pursuits fall away from him.
אִם־לֹא שִׁוִּיתִי וְדוֹמַמְתִּי נַפְשִׁי כְּגָמֻל עֲלֵי אִמּוֹ כַּגָּמֻל עָלַי נַפְשִׁי׃ - Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child upon its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Rashi explains: I have stilled and quieted my soul before You like a child placed upon its mother. We should note that the word *gamul* carries two distinct meanings among the commentators. Some explain that *gamul* refers to a nursing infant. Why would it be called *gamul* (literally "weaned")? Because each time, it is temporarily separated: it nurses and is detached, nurses and is detached, and between feedings it is weaned. This is like the smoker who was asked when he would quit smoking, and replied, "I quit all the time, between one cigarette and the next." And they said to him, "Haven't you already quit several times?" The wisdom lies not in stopping once and resuming, but in sustaining it. Others explain according to the plain sense, that *gamul* is one who has already been fully weaned from nursing.
Following Rashi's approach, "like a *gamul* upon its mother" refers to an infant nursing at its mother's breast, and thus "like a *gamul* is my soul within me" - my soul within me is before You like an infant nursing at its mother's breast, like one who has no salvation, no one else from whom to receive, and no one else to look to other than You alone.
The Radak interprets *gamul* in the sense of one who has been weaned, and first addresses the phrasing "surely" (*im lo*): Why does it not simply say, "I stilled and quieted"? Rather, *im lo* is the language of an oath and curse - if it were not so, let such-and-such befall me, just like the biblical idiom, "May Hashem do so to me and more also." In other words: I swear that this was indeed so.
And what is the meaning of "I stilled and quieted" (shiviti vedomamti)? Shiviti comes from the root of placing (simah), as in "I have set Hashem before me always" (shiviti Hashem lenegdi tamid). I placed my soul like a weaned child upon its mother: like a child who has been weaned from his mother's breast, who begins little by little to observe the world around him and takes small steps, yet still cannot rely on himself but depends on his mother to guide his steps - he holds her hand, and she leads him gently. "And I quieted" (vedomamti) - I silenced my soul from relying on its own intellect regarding hidden and wondrous matters. I do not rely on myself, but rather lean upon the teachers and the received tradition, which take the place of the mother, like a toddler giving his hand to his mother, knowing that otherwise he would fall. I do not go about thinking that I can already understand everything on my own, lest one breach the boundary and reach a place where he will be harmed, a realm far beyond his reach.
And he reinforces this idea: "like a weaned child is my soul within me" - just like the weaned child, so have I positioned my soul upon me; I do not rely on my own understanding at all, but just as a weaned child relies solely on his mother, so do I rely entirely on the Holy One, blessed be He.
Chazal expound: "My heart was not haughty" - when Shmuel anointed me king; "nor were my eyes lofty" - when I slew Goliath; "nor did I go after things too great" - when they brought me back and I assumed the monarchy; "or things too wondrous for me" - when I brought up the Ark. All of these were moments when the sun of success shone upon David in a wondrous manner, and despite it all, David says: in all these occasions, I remained in my humility and did not act with haughtiness.
The Malbim explains that David is saying that in all matters he is like a weaned child: just as a child places all his trust in his mother to sustain and guide him, so "I have stilled my soul like a weaned child upon its mother" - I trusted only in the Holy One, blessed be He, that He would grant me understanding in both theoretical and practical matters, how to succeed in the material world and how to succeed in spiritual matters. And just as the weaned child does not rely on himself for anything, because he knows he lacks strength, so "like a weaned child is my soul within me": because I know that of my own power, I possess no strength at all.
According to this, the repetition is precise: "I have stilled" (shiviti) my soul like a weaned child upon its mother, and "I have quieted" (vedomamti) myself like a weaned child upon my soul - my soul is silent like a child who has no speech and no word on his tongue without his mother. "Like a weaned child upon its mother" in earthly, material matters; "like a weaned child is my soul within me" in matters of the soul and spirituality: in everything, I rely completely upon the Holy One, blessed be He.
The Chafetz Chaim explains that there are two dimensions to the child's bond with his mother. The first: a child has no hesitation in asking his mother again and again and again. No child says, "I already asked once, I already asked twice, it's uncomfortable to ask again"; he asks repeatedly. This is how a person must be before his Creator - praying and praying again, never saying, "I have already troubled Him too much, I have already exhausted the Holy One, blessed be He, with my requests." "He does not faint, nor is He weary" - ask again and again. And as we have already mentioned, persistent pleading applies above all to spiritual matters; in material pursuits, what one asks for may not truly be good for him, but in spiritual matters, one should ask repeatedly without limit.
The second dimension: the mother knows best what the child truly needs. Often, a child has requests that he insists upon, believing it will be wonderful for him, while the mother knows it is dangerous. Take, for example, a skateboard - a board with four wheels, no steering wheel, no brakes, and no controls. An acquaintance who worked at a medical clinic related that, Heaven forbid, countless children arrive there every day with broken limbs from it: someone comes toward him, he tries to brake, falls, and breaks a leg. The child pleads, but the mother refuses because she knows it is not good for him. Then comes the ride-on toy - also a vehicle without brakes - and then the electric scooter, which has turned into a lethal weapon, Hashem protect us, causing tragedies daily; just recently there was a collision between a motorcycle and an electric scooter and both riders were killed. Anyone who can guard himself from motorcycles, electric bicycles, and electric scooters - he who guards his soul should keep far from them. One of the Gedolim remarked that if the Sanhedrin existed today, they very well might have banned them. If so, says the Chafetz Chaim, a person must know not to demand a specific material outcome relentlessly, for it may very well be that the very thing you are pleading for is harmful to you. Rather, "like a weaned child upon its mother" - I trust the mother to give me what is truly best.
In the sefer Kol Eliyahu, the Vilna Gaon explains the pasuk based on the Gemara: A person should never bring himself into a test, for David, king of Israel, brought himself into a test and stumbled. He said before Him: Master of the Universe, why do people say, "the God of Avraham, the God of Yitzchak, and the God of Yaakov," but they do not say, "the God of David"? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: They were already tested with trials, but you have not yet been tested. He said before Him: Test me, as it says, "Examine me, Hashem, and test me." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: I will test you, and unlike them, I will even reveal to you in advance what I will test you with: with a matter of forbidden relations. And that was the incident with Batsheva.
After being tested, David says: If only I had kept a bridle on my mouth and not asked for this, for this request was to my detriment and ultimately brought about my downfall. This is what he meant by "If I did not equate [shiviti]" - my mistake lay in "shiviti," thinking that I could equate myself to the Patriarchs. Had I not equated myself to them and asked that people say "the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David," then "and stilled [vedomamti]" - I would have remained silent and not made improper requests, and then "like a weaned child is my soul" - I would have remained like an innocent child without sin. How did sin reach me? Because I equated and did not remain silent: I equated myself to the Patriarchs, desiring to be likened to them, and thereby brought sin upon myself.
It is also cited in the name of the Vilna Gaon that he was asked what a person's trust in Hashem (bitachon) ought to look like. He answered them from the verse: "If I have not calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me." When an infant nurses from his mother's breasts and finishes his meal, he does not rack his brain: Wait, what will happen at the next meal? Will I have anything to eat or not? So too, "is my soul within me" - I rely on the Holy One, blessed be He, one hundred percent and do not worry about what I will eat tomorrow or what will be left for me afterward. And he added that this is what David says in Tehillim 22: "You gave me trust upon my mother's breasts" - the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, guaranteed my sustenance just like an infant at his mother's breasts; thus is my sustenance assured.
So it is taught in the holy Shelah, that it is very fitting for a person neither to purchase nor leave over food from today for tomorrow. In our modern way of life, this is almost impractical - a person goes to the supermarket once a month, does a major grocery shopping, and stocks the pantry; and for a person to go out every morning to purchase everything he needs would be an immense burden. Yet indeed, the Mishnah Berurah writes that ideally one should not buy or prepare anything from today for tomorrow, but rather live by the verse, "Blessed be the Lord, Day by day He bears our burden," and be confident that He Who provided for his sustenance today will provide for him tomorrow as well.
This was famously the practice of the Brisker Rav, who never prepared from one day to the next. Even when he thought he might have nothing for the morrow, if he needed to finish the food today, he finished it and did not worry about tomorrow. His level of bitachon was on a plane difficult to fathom. It is told that during wartime, amid shelling and curfews, the following day was Erev Yom Kippur. The Rebbetzin served him food, and the household members suggested that since there was not enough bread for tomorrow as well, perhaps it would be wise to cut back today and save a little, for tomorrow there is the mitzvah of the seudah hamafseket before the fast, and if nothing remains, the Rav will have nothing on which to conclude the meal. He told them: "But we never leave food over from one day to the next; whatever we eat that day is finished, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will provide tomorrow as well." They argued that this time it concerned a mitzvah, and they managed to persuade him, so they left some over.
The next day, a baker who knew the Rav arrived and brought him two challahs. He said: "I know the Rav is very meticulous regarding the prohibition of Chadash (new grain), and I know it is currently very difficult to obtain bread, so I specifically went and baked two challahs for the Rav from Yashan flour that I had." He added that he had also brought along a portion of fish, but just then there was a shelling, and the blast knocked everything down; the challahs somehow remained intact, but the fish was soiled with dirt and could not be salvaged. Hearing this, the Brisker Rav said to his household: "Do you see? Had we possessed enough emunah and bitachon in Hashem last night, we would have had fish today as well. But because the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that we lacked sufficient emunah and bitachon, He still provided challahs, but fish He did not give us." A person must always rely on the Holy One, blessed be He, and never worry about tomorrow: He Who sustained you today will sustain you tomorrow.
יַחֵל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־יְהֹוָה מֵעַתָּה וְעַד־עוֹלָם׃ - Let Israel hope in Hashem, from now and forevermore.
The Radak explains: With these traits, whereby a person conducts himself with humility both in private and in public - both in lowliness of heart and lowliness of eyes - and does not burst forward to delve into wonders beyond his grasp, through this you will hope in the Holy One, blessed be He, and Hashem will fulfill your hope and your request from now and forevermore. The Metzudat David explains that here David turns to the Jewish people and tells them: Just as I have conducted myself in this manner, so too should you, let Israel hope in Hashem, and place your hope in Him from now and forevermore, that He may fulfill all your requests.
The Malbim explains: "Let Israel hope in Hashem" - the Holy One, blessed be He, is the One Who leads us and guides our path, like a mother who guides and leads her children. However, this is not like a weaned child, who looks to his mother only during his infancy and nursing days; for us, this relationship is constant and eternal - "from now and forevermore," not limited to a defined period. Furthermore, the term "yachel" (hope) teaches, as explained earlier, that "tochelet" (hope) applies to something a person is assured of: for us, salvation, sustenance, and everything are guaranteed by Him, may He be blessed.