Introduction: The Conclusion of Mizmor Ashrei
Before us is the final section of Psalm 145, the psalm we recite three times each day. We will examine its concluding verses: "Hashem is close to all who call upon Him," "He fulfills the will of those who fear Him," "Hashem preserves all who love Him," and "My mouth shall speak the praise of Hashem." In them, we will discover fundamental principles in the service of prayer: what true prayer is, the power of a single prayer uttered properly, and why the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded that prayer and vows must be articulated specifically through speech.
קָרוֹב יְהֹוָה לְכׇל קֹרְאָיו לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָאֻהוּ בֶאֱמֶת׃ - Hashem is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.
The Vilna Gaon: Why the Connecting Vav Is Missing Here
A precise observation is cited in the name of the Vilna Gaon: if we pay attention, almost every verse in Ashrei contains a conjunctive letter vav ("and") in its second half. "You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing"; "To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the majestic glory of His kingdom"; "They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, and tell of Your power"; "Hashem supports all who fall, and straightens all who are bent down"; "Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout every generation." Yet here: "Hashem is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth" - without a vav. Why?
The Vilna Gaon explains: In all the other verses, two distinct matters are stated. Hashem opens His hand, and also satisfies the desire of every living thing. "They shall utter the memory of Your abundant goodness," and besides that, "and sing of Your righteousness." "Gracious and merciful is Hashem," and besides that, "slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness." "Hashem is good to all," and besides that, "and His mercies are over all His works." The vav serves to divide and indicate that there are two separate subjects. But in our verse, there is intentionally no vav. For had it said, "and to all who call upon Him in truth," it would imply that Hashem is near to all who call - even to someone who does not call upon Him in truth. Therefore, it is stated without a vav: this is a condition. Hashem is near to all who call upon Him - provided that they call upon Him in truth.
The Ketav VeHaKabbalah: Guarding One's Tongue and Accepted Prayer
The author of Ketav VeHaKabbalah explains the verse based on the words of Reishit Chochmah: one who does not blemish his tongue with falsehood has his prayer answered. We have already noted that whoever prays from the depths of the heart, Hashem hears his prayer; yet there is undoubtedly a prayer on a higher level, and that is the prayer of the tzaddik, who guards his mouth and his tongue.
To what can this be compared? To a sharp knife. When you take care of the knife and do not use it to chop wooden planks and stones, when you need to use it, it cuts sharply and precisely. So too, the tongue of the tzaddik is a sharp blade. Hence the concept of "an error that proceeds from a ruler" - sometimes a tzaddik mentions something casually, without intending for it to come about, and it nevertheless comes to pass. When a person guards his mouth and tongue and takes care to avoid lashon hara (derogatory speech), his prayer is heard at the highest level.
Why "Elokai Netzor" Concludes the Shemoneh Esreh
According to this, we can understand why our Sages instituted that we conclude the Shemoneh Esreh prayer with "My God, guard my tongue from evil, and my lips from speaking deceit." For we opened the prayer with "Hashem, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise" - and by virtue of what will my mouth declare Hashem's praise and have its prayers accepted? By virtue of guarding the tongue and lips from falsehood and evil speech. If you guard your mouth, you will merit that your prayer is heard and favorably accepted. This is the meaning of "to all who call upon Him in truth": when does Hashem accept their prayer? When they are meticulous in the attribute of truth, speaking no lies, offering no flattery, and speaking no lashon hara - then their prayer is favorably received.
The Gates of a Tear and the Gates of Tears
It is written that "the gates of tears are never locked." Tears are the most inward expression of prayer, as they reflect genuine inner feeling. Yet one may ask: if the gates are never locked, why are gates needed at all? Rather, we are taught: sometimes there are crocodile tears, or if you will, tears from cutting an onion. The gates are needed precisely for this - to filter out such tears. Only genuine tears are heard and accepted by Hashem.
The Chiddushei HaRim: One Prayer Elevates Them All
In the name of the author of Chiddushei HaRim, it is cited: The Midrash asks, "Could it mean to all? The verse teaches, 'to all who call upon Him in truth.'" Yet on the other hand, the verse itself opens, "Hashem is near to all who call upon Him." Rather, an extraordinary insight is offered: the Kabbalists and Chasidic masters explain that when there are people who call upon Hashem in truth, their prayer ascends on high and elevates with it the prayers of all those that lack the strength to ascend on their own. And this applies not only between the righteous and the simple folk, but within the individual person as well: many prayers that a person recites do not reach above, for they are said without heart, without attention, and without thought. The Holy Zohar teaches: a person needs only to pray properly once - and that single prayer elevates all of his prayers along with it.
A Story of the Rebbe of Chortkov
A man once told the Rebbe of Chortkov that his father-in-law does not pray. The father-in-law was a Chasid of the Rebbe, and the Rebbe said to him: "He does not pray? Surely by the time you wake up in the morning, he has already finished Shacharis and Musaf!" The man replied: "No, I watched him; he truly does not pray." The Rebbe told him: "Do this - place a note inside his tefillin bag saying that I am calling for him. If he opens his tefillin, he will come to me; and if he does not come, I will know that he is not praying." So it was. After several days, the Rebbe asked: "Well, did your father-in-law come?" The son-in-law said: "No, the Rebbe was right." The Rebbe said: "Go tell him that I am calling for him."
The father-in-law came before the Rebbe. The Rebbe said to him: "I heard that you are not praying." He replied: "I will tell the Rebbe the truth. I am going through a very difficult period in business. My mind is unsettled, and during every prayer I think only about the bank and my affairs. What is the point of praying such a prayer? There is no point. When I strengthen myself, with Hashem's help, and feel that I am truly capable of speaking to the Holy One, Blessed be He - then I will pray. But to utter words from my mouth without paying attention to what I am saying?"
The Rebbe said to him: "Let me ask you a question. Explain to me the verse, 'Hashem will count in the register of the nations.'" It was embarrassing for the father-in-law to admit that this was the first time he had ever heard the verse, so he said: "Let the Rebbe explain."
The Rebbe told him: "A person prays a prayer that is hardly a prayer, and then another prayer that is empty - merely mumblings without attention, without thought, and without contemplation. What is recorded in Heaven? A zero. And another zero, and another zero. But then, on one occasion, he hears an inspiring mussar discourse, experiences an awakening, is deeply moved, and prays properly - what is recorded in Heaven? A one. Now tell me: where is that one recorded, at the beginning or at the end?" The man replied: "I do not know, I have never been to Heaven." The Rebbe said to him: "It depends - if in Heaven they write like Jews, from right to left, then the one stands on the right, resulting in: zero, zero, zero, zero, one. But if they write like the nations, starting from the left, then the one stands at the beginning - and you have a million! For all the zeros join the one. And this is the meaning of 'Hashem will count in the register of the nations': the counting of the Holy One, Blessed be He, follows the way the nations write, and therefore the one is written at the head."
At first glance, one might view this as merely a pleasant Chasidic insight. Yet this is precisely what the Holy Zohar explicitly teaches - one prayer that a person recites properly draws up and elevates with it all the empty prayers, those recited without thought and without contemplation. In the same way, the prayer of the righteous draws all those prayers up along with it.
With this, the verse is beautifully resolved: Why does it state, "Hashem is near to all who call upon Him," and only then, "to all who call upon Him in truth"? If this were merely a qualifying condition, the verse should have stated from the outset, "Hashem is near to all who call upon Him in truth." Rather, Hashem is near to all who call upon Him, even to one who prays without heart - by virtue of those who call upon Him in truth. Through the prayers of the righteous who call out in truth, Hashem elevates all the cast-off and distant prayers as well. Or if you will: by virtue of a person's own prayer, when on one occasion he calls upon Hashem in truth - that single prayer elevates and draws upward all his other prayers that lacked genuine truth.
רְצוֹן יְרֵאָיו יַעֲשֶׂה וְאֶת שַׁוְעָתָם יִשְׁמַע וְיוֹשִׁיעֵם׃ - He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will hear their cry and save them.
Ibn Ezra and Radak
Ibn Ezra explains: One who fears an earthly king is satisfied if only the king does him no harm. But the Holy One, blessed be He, fulfills the desire of those who fear Him and cares for all their needs. In other words: If you fear Me, I will take care of you.
The Radak explains: "He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him" - because they call upon Him in truth, and therefore He will fulfill their desire in whatever they ask of Him, and He will hear their cry and save them from the trouble that comes upon the world. The Radak adds: Even a trouble that comes upon them for the atonement of their sins - from that too He will save them. For seemingly one might ask: Why would trouble come upon one who fears Hashem? To this the Radak replies that it may come to atone for his sins, but in any event, ultimately the Holy One, blessed be He, will save him.
The Alshich: He Yearns for the Prayer of the Righteous
The holy Alshich cites the words of Chazal in Midrash Rabbah: Why were the Matriarchs barren? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, yearns for the prayer of the righteous. From this he resolves the order of the verses here. First it says, "and satisfies the desire of every living thing" - and who is "living"? That is the righteous person. Hashem satisfies the righteous person even without him praying; it is enough for him to have a desire, for Hashem knows what his desire is. But then it says, "Hashem is close to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth" - which implies that they must actually call upon Him. This is seemingly a contradiction: you said that for the righteous, desire alone is sufficient!
Concerning this comes the following verse: "He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him." Indeed, Hashem certainly would fulfill the desire of those who fear Him even without them praying. However, since Hashem yearns for their prayer, He waits for the righteous person to pray, because He desires to hear his prayer. Therefore, "and He will hear their cry and save them" - the Holy One, blessed be He, would have granted it beforehand based on desire alone, but then the righteous person would not pray; therefore Hashem waits until he cries out, and only then hears and saves, for He desires to hear the voice of the righteous.
A Principle: The Words of Chazal - One Reason Among Many
One must realize that when Chazal state a reason, it is not the only reason. For example: Why did the sons of Aharon die? Because Aharon sinned with the Golden Calf, "and destroyed his fruit from above." Yet in Chazal we find additional reasons: that they offered strange fire, that they said, "When will these two old men die?", that they did not marry, and more. We should never view a single reason as the entire picture; the words of Torah are impoverished in one place and rich in another. So too with the statement that the Holy One, blessed be He, yearns for the prayer of the righteous: this is one aspect, and there are other aspects to the matter.
Why Specifically Were the Matriarchs Barren?
It is cited in the Chasam Sofer, and similarly brought by the Ben Ish Chai: Notice that the Patriarchs themselves were not barren, except for Avraham. Yitzchak was not barren, and Yaakov was not barren - after all, Rachel says to Yaakov, "Give me children," and he replies that Hashem withheld fruit of the womb from her and not from him. And by Yitzchak it says, "opposite his wife, for she was barren," and there is a Midrash that expounds "for she was barren" - and not he (though there are other opinions). In contrast, all the Matriarchs were barren. Why?
Rather, Avraham Avinu needed to be severed from the connection to Terach, so that Terach would not be able to say: I am the first patriarch, the Patriarchs begin with me. To this the answer is: The son you fathered was fundamentally incapable of fathering children; Avraham was a tumtum and Sarah was an ayalonit, and after years and after prayers, the Holy One, blessed be He, created a new reality for them so that they could bear children. Thus, it is not connected to you at all; it is not your continuation. Similarly, all the Matriarchs came from wicked people - from Lavan, from Haran, from Betuel; therefore a new reality had to be created for them that did not stem from what preceded it. They prayed, and a new reality was formed - and that new reality is created specifically through barrenness. Yitzchak and Yaakov, however, did not need this, for they came from the holy Patriarchs, and on the contrary, it was best that it stem from the power of the holy father.
"For This Child I Prayed"
Based on this, the words of Chanah can be understood, as is brought in the sefarim: "For this child I prayed." Seemingly, what is the argument - pray and another one will come? Rather, she was saying: You see here one who renders a halachic ruling before his teacher - for Shmuel stated that shechitah is valid by a non-kohen - and therefore you want to execute him, fearing that this is a continuation of Korach, from whose lineage Shmuel descended, and you believe such individuals must be eliminated while they are young. She said to him: Not at all! I was barren; the lineage was severed! "For this child I prayed" - he came through the power of prayer, and what comes through the power of prayer is a new reality that does not belong to the previous reality.
We see, then, that there are multiple facets to this matter, and it is certainly not that the Holy One, blessed be He, torments people just so they will pray; there are deeper perspectives here in understanding heavenly calculations, and we have hardly begun to grasp them. Similarly, people ask: did the Holy One, blessed be He, make someone poor just so another person could merit the mitzvah of tzedakah? The answer is that it is truly worthwhile for a person to be poor his entire life so that someone else may gain merit through him. If he only knew what an immense merit it is for another to acquire merit through him, he would prefer to be poor all his days as long as someone gains merit through him - and for such a merit, one is willing to accept even poverty.
Tehillah LeShaul in the Name of the Chatam Sofer: When the Request Is Not for the Best
In the sefer Tehillah LeShaul, he cites in the name of the Chatam Sofer, based on what the Maharsha writes on the verse, "He who loves money will not be satisfied with money": There was a man who loved money exceedingly, and he requested from the Holy One, blessed be He - Master of the Universe, if only everything I touch would turn to gold! Yet had that actually come to pass, when mealtime arrived and he reached out for a slice of bread, everything would turn to gold. Even if he did not touch it with his hands, how could he touch it to his mouth? It would immediately turn to gold. That man would have starved to death within the first few days.
And this is what the verse means: "He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him" - even when a person asks for something that is actually to his detriment, Hashem fulfills his wish. And afterward, "He will hear their cry and save them" - when the person cries out before Hashem to rescue him from that trouble, Hashem hears his cry and saves him. This is also what is meant by the verse: "You have given him his heart's desire," and along with this, "and the request of his lips You have not withheld, Selah." Observe this wonderful explanation: sometimes a person asks for something, convinced it is for his good, and the Holy One, blessed be He, fulfills his desire and grants his request. Afterward, when it becomes clear that it is not good for him, what does he do? He prays: Master of the Universe, why do I need this trouble? Remove it from me! What he previously prayed for Hashem to give him, he now prays for Hashem to take away. And the verse says: "and the request of his lips You have not withheld, Selah" - Hashem does not say to him, "You asked for it, you received it, now deal with it." Rather, He listens to the second prayer as well and removes that distress from him.
This applies here as well: "He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him" - Hashem agrees to do their will; and afterward, when the one who fears Him realizes that it is not good for him, "and He will hear their cry and save them" - Hashem hears their cry, saves them even from this trouble, and removes it from them. From this we see the greatness of the Creator's loving-kindness, blessed be He: had He not granted it to him initially, the person would have thought, "I prayed and was not answered"; and if afterward, once he realized it was a trouble and asked for it to be removed, Hashem had not answered, he would remain in distress, feeling that Hashem is distant. Therefore, at first He granted it to him, and afterward He listens to his voice and removes the distress from him.
Practical Lesson: Do Not Pray for a Specific Outcome
From here we derive a major principle: do not pray for a specific outcome, for you do not know whether it is truly good for you or not. Do not pray that a specific woman become your spouse; pray instead: Master of the Universe, grant me a match - and You decide who it should be. Do not pray for a specific job - who says it is good for you? Rather, ask: Master of the Universe, provide me with livelihood in abundance and ease; and by which means - however You know is best for me. This is the far better path, rather than needing "He will hear their cry and save them" afterward. It is better from the very beginning to let the Holy One, blessed be He, run His world as He sees fit.
שׁוֹמֵר יְהֹוָה אֶת כׇּל אֹהֲבָיו וְאֵת כׇּל הָרְשָׁעִים יַשְׁמִיד׃ - Hashem guards all who love Him, and all the wicked He will destroy.
Those Who Love Him Are Above Those Who Fear Him
With those who fear Him, when trouble befalls them, Hashem saves them; but those who love Him, Hashem guards from the outset, so that no trouble befalls them at all. "And all the wicked He will destroy" - yet ostensibly, He has not yet destroyed all the wicked. Ibn Ezra explains: "In the end," their ultimate fate is destruction; do not expect it to happen immediately. He adds: a mortal king cannot destroy the wicked of his realm, lest they conspire against him; but with Hashem there is no such concern, and when the time comes, He will destroy them all and bring about a reality of absolute good in the world. Furthermore, a human king cannot destroy all the wicked because he cannot know who is truly wicked and who is not - someone may present an outward appearance of righteousness. But the Holy One, blessed be He, knows even the secrets of the heart, and therefore He has the power to destroy all the wicked.
Radak notes that "those who love Him" occupy a higher level than "those who fear Him": they love Him without expectation of personal benefit and without fear of punishment. One who fears serves out of awe or fear of punishment; but the lover serves out of pure love, neither hoping for reward nor dreading retribution. Such people Hashem protects so that no trouble will ever befall them. And this is how the Jewish people will be in the future, says Radak: Hashem will rescue them from every adversary, and then "all the wicked He will destroy" - so that no evildoer remains in the world, as it is written: "For behold, the day comes, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble, and the coming day will burn them up," and as it is written: "A little longer, and the wicked will be no more; you will gaze upon his place, and he will not be there." And this is what we anticipate will be fulfilled speedily in our days, Amen.
The Malbim: The Level of Divine Providence Corresponds to the Level of Divine Service
The Malbim notes a precise distinction: in the previous verse it says, "He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will hear their cry and save them" - that is, only after they cry out for salvation does Hashem hear and save them. But with those who love Him, Hashem does not wait for them to cry out; rather, "Hashem guards all who love Him" - those who serve Him out of love are guarded from the outset so that distress does not reach them at all, and they do not need to cry out. Furthermore, there is another difference: when someone who serves out of fear cries out before Hashem, Hashem delivers him from what troubles him, but does not take vengeance on his enemies. For those who love Him, however, it says, "and all the wicked He will destroy" - all the enemies who came to torment those who love Him, Hashem destroys them. Thus, according to the level of divine service and closeness to God, so is the level of Divine providence that the Holy One, blessed be He, extends over those close to Him.
Otzrot HaHaggadah: Present Versus Future
The author of Otzrot HaHaggadah observes: the verse opens in the present tense - "guards" (shomer) - and concludes in the future tense - "He will destroy" (yashmid), rather than "He destroys" (mashmid). This aligns precisely with what we explained from the Ibn Ezra and the Radak: the wicked are not destroyed right now - we see that the world is still full of wickedness - but rather "in the end," in the future to come, no wickedness will remain in the world. And why is one in the present and the other in the future? Why not destroy them right now? The answer is: Hashem awaits their repentance. The Holy One, blessed be He, waits for them to do teshuvah so that He will not have to destroy them, for He has no desire to ruin His world, but rather that the wicked turn from his ways and live. "And all the wicked He will destroy" applies only when there is no other choice; ideally, however, let all repent so they do not come to destruction.
תְּהִלַּת יְהֹוָה יְדַבֶּר פִּי וִיבָרֵךְ כׇּל בָּשָׂר שֵׁם קׇדְשׁוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד׃ - My mouth shall speak the praise of Hashem, and all flesh shall bless His holy Name forever and ever.
This is the verse that concludes "Ashrei." (The continuation that we recite, "And we will bless God from now and forever, Halleluyah," is not part of this chapter, and we have already mentioned above the reasons it was appended to this psalm.) The verse contains two parts: what I say - "My mouth shall speak the praise of Hashem," and what all flesh will say - that the entire world will bless His holy Name forever.
Who Is "All Flesh"?
The Ibn Ezra explains: "And all flesh shall bless" refers to all flesh that is suited to bless, meaning anyone capable and relevant to giving blessing. This is like the verse, "and she was the mother of all living" - was Chavah the mother of cats? Rather, "living" there does not mean animals, but human beings. So too here: "all flesh" refers to anyone to whom blessing applies, namely mankind.
The Radak explains: "My mouth shall speak the praise of Hashem" - I will live among the dead who will be resurrected, and then all human beings will bless His holy Name, for all will serve Him with one accord, as is foretold for the future to come, and as it is written in Yeshayahu 66: "all flesh shall come to prostrate before Me" - and "all flesh" refers to human beings, as mentioned. At that time, His Name will be blessed forever and ever, His Name blessed for eternity.
The Malbim: Publicizing the Name in the World
The Malbim explains that "forever and ever" applies to both parts of the verse: "My mouth shall speak the praise of Hashem forever and ever" - Hashem's praise has no end and no boundary, and therefore my mouth will never be silent, for there is no end to His praise; and likewise, "and all flesh shall bless His holy Name forever and ever."
And who is "all flesh"? One who cannot grasp the praise of Hashem on his own, yet nonetheless will bless His Name. As the Malbim explains in several places, "His Name" refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, in terms of His renown, as in the idiom "his name went out into the world," meaning he became famous. Therefore, David HaMelech says: "My mouth shall speak the praise of Hashem" - I, who comprehend Hashem, will constantly speak His praise; and through this, "and all flesh shall bless His holy Name" - those on a lower level will at least know that there is a God, and they will glorify and exalt His holy Name, meaning the Name made renowned in the world through my publicizing it and spreading His praise. They do not know Him for what He is in Himself, but His Name has become renowned and recognized throughout the world, and on that basis they will praise His Name.
The Chida: Why Prayer and Vows Are Specifically with the Mouth
The Chida, in his work Yosef Tehilot, explains this based on what the disciples of the Ari wrote concerning the verse, "To You silence is praise, and to You a vow shall be paid. You Who hear prayer, unto You all flesh shall come." Seemingly, why is there a need to articulate with the mouth? After all, Hashem searches the heart and mind, and it would be far better for everyone to pray in the heart and in thought! That would create an even greater sanctification of Hashem's Name: even if I merely requested in my heart, Hashem fulfilled my request. Indeed, as our Sages say, one who shouts aloud in the Shemoneh Esreh is considered of little faith, for he imagines that Hashem only hears shouts and cannot hear him unless he screams - which borders on heresy. On the contrary, had we prayed solely in the heart and witnessed how Hashem answers us, there would be a far greater sanctification of Hashem: a person would see with his own eyes that what he thought in his heart was answered by Hashem, serving as conclusive proof that the Blessed Name knows all hidden secrets. The same applies to a vow: why must one articulate a vow with his mouth? Let him contemplate it in his heart and have it count as a vow!
Rather, the answer is: if a vow made solely in the mind were binding, and a person made a vow in his heart and later regretted it, who would compel him to fulfill his vow? No one would know what he vowed, and no one would know that he regretted it. The same applies to prayer: a person would arrive at the synagogue, sit alone and silent, while actually daydreaming about his business affairs. When asked why he is not praying, he would reply, "I am praying in my heart." He could easily refrain from praying altogether, and no one would ever know, nor would there be anyone to correct him. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded that a vow must be uttered with the mouth - so that if you fail to pay, someone will remind you; and prayer must be articulated with the mouth - so that if someone arrives at the synagogue and daydreams, he will not be able to claim, "I am contemplating in my heart," but rather it will be clear to everyone, and someone will wake him from his slumber. The Chida adds that there are further answers, but he cites this one because it directly explains the verse.
And this is the meaning of "To You silence is praise" - truly, it would be appropriate for prayer to be in silence, in the heart, without speech. Why, then, is this not so? "You Who hear prayer, unto You all flesh shall come" - so that everyone will come to pray and will not say, "We already prayed in our hearts." And why must one articulate a vow with the mouth? "And to You a vow shall be paid" - so that the one making a vow cannot quietly regret it in his heart without anyone knowing, but will instead pay his vow. This is why a person must pray aloud and make a vow out loud.
In light of this, the Chida explains our verse: "My mouth shall speak the praise of Hashem" - prayer must be expressed in speech. And why is speech necessary, if the heart should suffice? "And all flesh shall bless His holy Name" - because now, when prayer is spoken, everyone will bless; for if one fails to bless, people will notice and correct him. But had it been possible to pray solely in the heart, anyone could always claim, "I have already prayed," and thereby exempt himself from prayer.
In summary: The conclusion of Psalm 145 ("Ashrei") teaches us the ladder of closeness to the Holy One, blessed be He. "Hashem is close to all who call upon Him" - on condition that they call upon Him in truth, through guarding the mouth and tongue; and through the merit of those who call out in truth, as well as the merit of a person's single sincere prayer, all the empty prayers are elevated as well. "He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him" - Hashem fulfills their desire, and even when the request is not for their ultimate good, He later hears their cry and saves them; from this we learn that it is best to ask for the good and leave it to the Holy One, blessed be He, to choose the path. "Hashem protects all who love Him" - those who serve out of love are guarded from the outset, while the destruction of the wicked is postponed to the future because Hashem awaits their repentance. Finally, "My mouth shall speak the praise of Hashem" - the mouth that publicizes His blessed Name in the world brings about that all flesh will bless His holy Name forever and ever. With this, we conclude the commentary on Psalm 145, the chapter of "Ashrei Yoshvei Veitecha."