Psalm 148. The Ibn Ezra opens by stating: "This psalm is most esteemed, containing profound secrets." He does not reveal these secrets to us, yet it is enough for us to know that the psalm conceals profound mysteries within it. The Radak adds that in this psalm, King David mentions every single creation, both those in the heavens and those on earth: "He began with the great world and concluded with the small world" - he began with the upper realms and concluded with this terrestrial world.
הַלְלוּ־יָהּ הַלְלוּ אֶת־יְהֹוָה מִן־הַשָּׁמַיִם, הַלְלוּהוּ בַּמְּרוֹמִים׃ - Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights.
At first, he speaks in general terms: Praise the Lord from the heavens - everything formed from the celestial element. The Radak defines the heavens as a fifth element: there are four earthly elements - fire, wind, water, and earth - and the fifth element is the spiritual element, the heavens. Afterward, "Praise Him in the heights" - you who abide in the heights, you too shall praise Him. The Radak explains that this includes "true abstract forms that are neither bodies nor possess bodily form," referring to the realm of the angels. Furthermore, the Radak emphasizes that "praise" here is not an imperative command, but rather an expression of fittingness - it is fitting for the heavens to praise the Lord; it is fitting that He be praised from the heavens.
The Malbim first lays out the overall structure of the psalm before explaining it verse by verse. The Psalmist depicts how the praise of Hashem descends from above to below, from the highest of the upper realms down to the lowest of the lowly realms; subsequently, he begins to depict how this praise turns around and ascends from the lowliest depths upward. From the lowest point, the praise ascends all the way back to the top.
This was also the pattern in the creation of the world: Creation began descending from above to below, and as it descended, it became increasingly material and dense - Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. Within Asiyah, our physical world was formed, this lowly world so distant from the supreme Light. Initially, He emanated the light of Atzilut (Emanation); then a curtain formed and the light condensed in the World of the Throne, which is the world of Beriah (Creation); from there it cascaded down and condensed further in the world of the angels and the world of the Ofanim, until our lowly terrestrial globe emerged, enveloped in darkness, cloud, and thick fog.
However, once existence reached the nadir of physical denseness and obscurity, it began to turn back, refine itself, and ascend to its origin high above. See how wondrous this is even in our physical reality: after inanimate matter was created, matter became refined and gradually shed its gross physical nature until it was prepared to receive a vegetative soul - plant life. Then Hashem progressed in creation to the animate soul, the animals, on the fifth and sixth days; afterward, matter was further purified and elevated until it became worthy of receiving the form of the speaking soul, which is man, whom Hashem made in His image and likeness. Creation reached the lowest point, and from there it began to ascend - "a ladder set on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven" - this is man.
Likewise, man himself advanced progressively, the Malbim notes, when one examines the order of human history: his coarseness was stripped away, and he gradually achieved perfection in removing the husks and the veils, until the time came for the Jewish nation to ascend the mountain of Hashem. Moses, His chosen one, ascended to God, and the lower beings ascended upward to the very place where the King reclines at His banquet. The ascent begins from the lowest place: the world takes form, the identity of the Hebrews emerges in contrast to the rest of the world, followed by the giving of the Torah and the establishment of the Jewish people, and the world becomes progressively refined.
The Malbim, echoing Plato, compares existence to a conceptual geometrical circle - a perfect circle, or if you will, a wheel. Hashem, blessed be He, stands at the head of the dance and the circle, at the pinnacle of the wheel above, and from Him reality began to descend downward, condensing and materializing, like a rotating wheel turning downward, until it culminated in the creation of the corporeal world, the plants and the animals, reaching the ultimate lowest extreme. From there, it turned and began to ascend back toward the head of the circle, from earth toward heaven, all the way to the Exalted One who stands at the head of the dance - back to Him, blessed be He - Who, at the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, opened the seven heavens so that we perceived Godliness directly.
And this is what Chazal taught: "In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will be the head of the dance (rosh cholah) for the righteous." At first, one might suspect a textual error, but upon examination, this is indeed the wording of the Midrash in several places. The commentators explain that it does not derive from illness (choli), but from dance (machol) - as in "like the dance of two camps" (kemacholat hamachanayim), dancing in circles. That is to say, the Holy One, blessed be He, will lead the circle dance of the righteous, just as the Gemara states that in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will make a circle dance for the righteous, and they will point toward Him with a finger - representing the pinnacle of spiritual closeness. From the lowest of places, we have begun to ascend to the very highest realm.
Incidentally, this is also how the very creation of the worlds unfolded: How did it all begin? When the Holy One, blessed be He, placed the light into the vessels, the light was too intense and caused the breaking of the vessels (Shevirat HaKeilim). The vessels then fell into the lower worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah (BY"A), and from there they gradually began to be refined until the Partzufim (spiritual configurations) were formed, and only then did the creation of the physical world begin. Once again, you see that one must descend to a very low place, and from within that place begin to rebuild everything anew.
Based on this, one can understand the psalm. At first, it describes praise descending from above to below: "Praise Hashem from the heavens; praise Him in the heights" - the exalted upper realms, the world of Atzilus and the world of the Throne, which is the world of Beriah. From there, it descends to the realm of the angels:
הַלְלוּהוּ כׇל־מַלְאָכָיו, הַלְלוּהוּ כׇּל־צְבָאָו׃ - Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts.
"Praise Him, all His angels" refers to the angelic realm, which is lower; "Praise Him, all His hosts" marks a descent to the celestial spheres (galgalim), which are the great luminaries. The "world of spheres" was the ancient term for the orbital paths of the sun and moon. To their understanding, it was inconceivable how the sun, moon, and planets could revolve without drifting from their course. Naturally, when an object spins, centrifugal force should cause it to fly outward, yet here they revolve in fixed circles. Therefore, they understood that they moved within a crystalline sphere that held them in place. Today we understand gravitational and magnetic forces that keep them in orbit, but according to the scientific models accepted in their time, they spoke of celestial spheres.
The Radak explains: "Praise Him, all His angels" refers to the separate intellects, the spiritual drivers of the celestial spheres, which are neither physical bodies nor resembling physical bodies. These spheres are the circuits along which the celestial bodies move - the circuit in which the sun revolves and the moon revolves. They are not physical bodies, for it is obvious to all that we do not see a physical sphere; one sees only the moon moving, but no one has ever seen its sphere. They therefore understood that there is a sphere that is invisible and imperceptible to the eye. And "Praise Him, all His hosts" refers to the pure and luminous celestial bodies, the spheres and the stars situated in the eighth sphere. Thus it says "all His hosts," for the stars form a vast army, and the plural form is used because they are distinct celestial spheres, each star unto itself.
הַלְלוּהוּ שֶׁמֶשׁ וְיָרֵחַ, הַלְלוּהוּ כׇּל־כּוֹכְבֵי אוֹר׃ - Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all stars of light.
Rashi explains that "stars of light" means the stars of the night. Simply understood, his intention relates to the Sages' teaching, "On the light of the fourteenth [of Nisan], we check for chametz," where "light" (or) is used to mean night - the eve of the fourteenth; here, too, "stars of light" means the nighttime stars. The Radak, however, explains that the verse first mentions the two great luminaries - the sun and the moon - and then the remaining five celestial bodies, which are the "stars of light." These are the planets that shine upon the earth more brightly than the stars of the eighth sphere, being among the seven classical planets. Two of them are the sun and the moon, and the remaining five are the "stars of light" - the principal celestial bodies visible to our eyes.
הַלְלוּהוּ שְׁמֵי הַשָּׁמָיִם, וְהַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר מֵעַל הַשָּׁמָיִם׃ - Praise Him, highest heavens, and the waters that are above the heavens.
What are the "heavens of heavens" (the highest heavens)? The Radak cites that some of our Sages interpreted this as the supreme echelon of the heavens, similar to the phrase "king of kings" - supreme above kings. According to this, it refers to something non-corporeal and spiritual, where "highest" does not denote physical location but spiritual elevation: a more spiritual realm of heaven. And if the "heavens of heavens" are already spiritual, then certainly the "waters that are above the heavens" must be spiritual as well, for it is impossible to ascend to such a high spiritual level and find something physical situated above it. Radak therefore explains that this refers to form without matter - spiritual aspects of water. This parallels the kabbalistic concept of Mayin Nukvin (feminine waters), and the Zohar's discussion of the divine outflow cascading down from the supernal reservoir (bereikha) - which is related to the word berakhah (blessing), a pool being a source of abundance, and water serving as an expression of the flow of loving-kindness (chesed) descending to affect the world below. This also corresponds to Bereishis 1:7: "and the waters that were above the firmament."
The Malbim explains differently: From the layer of cloud cover and above is called "heavens" - from above the clouds, as in "And God called the firmament Heaven"; and above that, up to the sphere of the moon, is called "the heavens of heavens." Anyone who has ever recited Birkat HaLevanah knows that the moon is higher than the clouds; the moon does not conceal the clouds, but rather the opposite. It turns out that at the lunar sphere, we are already dealing with the "heavens of heavens," and according to the Malbim, we are dealing here with a physical reality perceptible to the eye, rather than a purely spiritual reality as the Radak suggested. There, the upper waters are suspended by the decree of the King, and they are "the waters that are above the heavens." Indeed, the Gemara records a dispute over whether the earth drinks from the upper waters or from the waters within the clouds.
Anyone reading these words is left wondering: Where are these upper waters? One of the primary things scientists look for on other celestial bodies is water, because if one hopes to find life, water is a prerequisite; yet they have not found planets with water, and there are no celestial bodies with rivers. If so, what are we talking about? For the Radak, this poses no difficulty, as he explained it as a spiritual matter; but if we are speaking of something physical, what is being referred to?
Rabbi Zamir Cohen notes in his series "The Revolution" (HaMahapach) that there are massive comets and celestial bodies composed entirely of ice - and ice, after all, comes from water. Occasionally pieces break off from them, meteorites or asteroids, and reach Earth. When they enter the atmosphere, they usually disintegrate, as the intense heat and tremendous friction burn and crumble them. Historically, intact meteorites have also struck the earth, and there are places in the world - such as in Nevada and elsewhere - where one can see massive craters clearly created by meteorite impacts. However, when it comes to an icy celestial body, it melts and reaches us as water. Scientists say that there are rains originating from these icy meteors. This means it is possible for rain to originate from the highest heavens, not from clouds below but from something far higher - and this is an aspect of "the waters that are above the heavens," for anyone who wishes to understand the matter in a physical, literal sense as well.
יְהַלְלוּ אֶת־שֵׁם יְהֹוָה, כִּי הוּא צִוָּה וְנִבְרָאוּ׃ - Let them praise the name of Hashem, for He commanded and they were created.
Regarding all the celestial beings mentioned so far, the psalmist says that they should praise the Name of Hashem and acknowledge Him as their Master. Even though they are high, exalted, and sublime, Hashem is higher than the highest, and therefore they certainly praise and glorify Him. To us this seems obvious, but one must understand that in ancient times people worshipped the stars and turned them into deities. To this the verse responds: Know that even those stars and those exalted, lofty entities - the angels and everything on high - they too praise the Name of Hashem, "for He commanded and they were created." He is their sole Master; He is the Pre-existent, and they are mere created beings. Hashem reigned before any being was created, He was, He is, and He will be; and they, however high and spiritual they may appear to you, were also created by Hashem.
וַיַּעֲמִידֵם לָעַד לְעוֹלָם, חׇק־נָתַן וְלֹא יַעֲבוֹר׃ - And He established them forever and ever; He issued a decree that shall not pass.
The Malbim explains: The praise offered by the upper realms differs from the praise of the earth that we will see further on, and there are three distinct aspects to this. The first is "He commanded and they were created": the making of the heavens differs from the making of the earth, for in the heavens there was only beriah (creation), whereas on earth there was beriah, yetzirah (formation), and asiyah (action/completion). Beriah means bringing forth something from absolute nothingness (yesh me'ayin). In the heavens, there was only beriah and nothing more; no subsequent changes occurred. Hashem brought the heavens into being out of nothing, and that was all.
On earth, by contrast, there were further stages. Yetzirah is already something from something (yesh miyesh): forming distinct entities from the primordial matter (chomer hayuli). The Ramban writes, based on the Midrash, that when Hashem created His world, everything was created on the first day - like a builder who brings all the raw materials to the site and then begins to build. Similarly, everything was already created on the first day, but the Holy One, blessed be He, then divided it across the various days. This process is yetzirah, something from something, for the only day on which yesh me'ayin occurred was the first day. This is what the ancient philosophers called "the primordial matter," substance that can assume any form. In modern terms, we might compare this to the atom: the atom was created on the first day, and from it everything could be formed, since all matter consists of atoms. This is the emergence of distinct forms from existing substance - from pre-existing matter, bringing forth actual entities: plants, seas, rivers, and man. Afterward comes asiyah, which the Malbim consistently explains as the final completion of a thing: pa'al refers to the ongoing process itself, while asiyah is the finished product - "which God created to make (la'asot)." In the heavens, they remained exactly as they were in that initial creation; there is no yetzirah and no asiyah. On earth, however, after the initial creation came yetzirah - Hashem formed the dry land - and asiyah - He caused plants and all its inhabitants to sprout and develop. As Yeshayahu states: Hashem is the Creator (borei) of the heavens; Hashem is God, the Former (yotzer) of the earth and its Maker (oseh), He established it - followed by asiyah, the completion, establishing everything upon it. Therefore, it is said here, "He commanded and they were created" - for in the heavens there was only beriah.
The second difference: the earth is a realm of generation and decay (havayah vehefsed), and its creatures endure only in the species (min) and not in the individual (ish). This is a phrasing the Malbim repeats in many places, and it is worth grasping. Something that exists "in the individual" is a permanent entity that does not change, such as the angels. Man, by contrast, exists "in the species": one cannot say that an individual person is everlasting, for he is born and eventually dies; yet he fathers other human beings, and so on, so that the human species is enduring, and the same is true of animals. One cannot say that the specific animal created at the dawn of creation exists as an individual today, but the species endures, having reproduced down through the generations to our own day. Says the Malbim: this world is a world of generation and decay, and its creatures endure only as a species - the individuals pass away while the species remains. The heavens, on the other hand, endure in the individual; they have never been replaced - they are the exact same heavens that have existed since the creation of the world: "And He established them forever and ever."
The third difference: the Holy One, blessed be He, instituted laws of nature, and on earth those laws can change - because on earth there is free choice, and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, can alter decrees and natural laws in response to human choices. In the heavens, however, "He issued a decree that shall not pass": there are no changes and there is no free will there. One cannot say that Hashem altered a celestial law because the celestial bodies acted improperly or better than expected - there is no concept of free choice among them whatsoever. Therefore, "He issued a decree that shall not pass"; whereas on earth, where free choice exists, the rules and decrees change according to the deeds of mankind.
The book Shirat Yonah cites the Sefat Emet, explaining that "And He established them la'ad le'olam" can also be understood in the sense of edut (testimony): the Holy One, blessed be He, established them le'ed - as a testimony. For everything He created in His world, He created for His glory, and whoever possesses true discernment sees His blessed oneness in everything. The universe could not have been created except by One who is truly and completely singular. The Chovot HaLevavot elaborates on this at length in Sha'ar HaYichud - a section often passed over and not commonly studied - noting that if one were to contemplate whether there might be two distinct powers in creation, as the ancients believed, the question would immediately arise: which of them created the other? If there are two, did one create the other? Did they come into being at the exact same instant? Or were they both primordial from the very beginning? None of this is logically tenable. One is therefore compelled to conclude that there is a single Creator Who precedes everything in existence. This is the meaning of "He established them la'ad le'olam, He issued a decree that shall not pass" - anyone who contemplates creation sees testimony that everything comes from Him, blessed be He. Everything in creation testifies that there is a Master to the palace. The world is far too meticulously designed to have come about by chance.
Someone once asked Einstein about one of his theories, suggesting that perhaps things occur randomly, by chance. He replied: "The Holy One, blessed be He, does not play dice" - the Holy One, blessed be He, does not leave things to a gamble, to see how the dice fall and act accordingly. Here is a man of science who was chosen by the London Times as Person of the Century, and being Jewish, one can understand how remarkable that is; yet he stated that everything in Creation is far too deliberate to be considered accidental. We are believers, the children of believers, and we have no need for scientists to validate our faith, but for some, such an observation reshapes their perspective. In any event, "He established them forever and ever" - everything Hashem commanded in Creation testifies to the unity of the Creator.
In the sefer Shaarei Simchah, it is explained that the Holy One, blessed be He, established all of Creation just as it was created, but there is one creature that does not merely stand, but walks - namely, man: "And I will grant you movement among these who stand" (Zechariah 3:7). "He established them forever and ever" was said of everything mentioned thus far: the sun, the moon, the stars of light, the highest heavens, and the waters above the heavens - "He commanded and they were created, and He established them forever and ever." They stand, fixed and unchanging. Man, however, can advance from level to level, for man's creation was not completed at his birth until he perfects his soul; he must fashion himself. As the Gemara notes regarding the verse, "When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born" - a day-old ox is already called an ox. But man is not so; man advances, creating and building himself.
This is the meaning of what we say: all of these - "He commanded and they were created, and He established them forever and ever" - stand without change. Man, by contrast, is classified as a "walker," and it is his duty to advance spiritually to bring his soul to completion.
In Tehillot Mahari'tz, this is explained based on what we recite: "He gave them a statute and a time, that they should not alter their task; joyful and glad to do the will of their Maker." What is the novelty in saying they are "joyful and glad"? A person naturally rejoices in anything new, but once he grows accustomed to it, its luster fades - whether it is a new car he purchased or a newborn baby in the family. With any new thing, there is initially great joy, but it is the nature of joy to fade, until one no longer feels that same excitement.
The Vilna Gaon notes regarding the verse, "He who has found a wife has found good" (Mishlei 18:22), that it is phrased in the past tense ("found"), whereas of a contentious wife it is written, "And I find more bitter than death the woman" (Kohelet 7:26), in the present tense ("find"). What accounts for this difference? A person grows accustomed to good, but one never gets used to bad. Therefore, "I find more bitter than death" - he constantly encounters her bitterness anew, over and over, without end. But "he who has found a wife has found good" - he married her thirty, forty, or fifty years ago, found good, and has since grown accustomed to it. He does not actively perceive that goodness afresh each day, for we quickly take good for granted, whereas suffering is something one never gets used to.
Routine naturally dulls enthusiasm; yet consider the heavenly host, where this does not apply. It is said of them that they are ever "joyful and glad to do the will of their Maker," even though "He gave them a statute and a time, that they should not alter their task." They have a set statute and schedule without any variation, and by nature, their excitement ought to have waned; nonetheless, they fulfill Hashem's will with fresh joy every single time. This is what is meant here: "Let them praise the name of Hashem, for He commanded and they were created" - the entire heavenly host praises with genuine joy of soul. Even though "He established them forever and ever; He gave a decree that shall not pass," and a phenomenon that is constant and eternal is usually taken for granted without great praise or joy, with them it is not so; they continually praise the name of Hashem each time with profound renewal.
Tehillot Mahari'tz offers another insight into "He established them forever and ever; He gave a decree that shall not pass": Hashem created the world and set the laws of nature in place - "Day to day utters speech" - without deviation or change. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, unchangingly, for thousands of years and onward. But upon what does it all depend? Upon "the sixth day." Our Sages teach that the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world and conditioned its existence upon the sixth day - the future sixth of Sivan and the acceptance of the Torah. If the Jewish people accept the Torah, the world will endure; if not, the pillars of heaven will totter, and the earth will collapse if Torah is not studied. "Were it not for My covenant day and night, I would not have appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth" (Yirmeyahu 33:25) - if for even a single moment the world were devoid of Torah study, it could not survive for an instant. For this reason, the Holy One, blessed be He, created the earth as a sphere, so that while it is night and people sleep in one place, it is daytime on the other side, and Torah is studied around the clock, twenty-four hours a day.
In fact, today in Eretz Yisrael this global shift is not even required to ensure continuous learning, for we have midnight kollelim and night kollelim: when some avreichim go to sleep, others wake up and learn until morning, and from morning onward there are Torah shiurim - in short, around the clock. As is known, our yeshivot are modeled on the framework founded by Rav Chaim of Volozhin in the glorious Volozhin Yeshivah, known as the "Mother of Yeshivot." Yet there is one feature of Volozhin that is no longer practiced: in Volozhin, learning went on twenty-four hours non-stop - as some went to sleep, others woke up. Today, no yeshivah can operate on that model, as it would cause great logistical complication: shiurim would have to be delivered twice, once for the day shift and once for the night shift, and it is generally much harder for a person to remain awake by night than by day. Nevertheless, one sees the immense virtue of engaging in Torah around the clock.
Based on this, he explains: "He established them forever and ever" - Hashem established heaven and earth to endure forever, but only on the condition that "He gave a statute that shall not be transgressed." Hashem gave a statute - the Torah, the legislation He engraved - on condition that people do not transgress it. But if, Heaven forbid, they transgress Hashem's statutes and abandon the Torah, there is neither "He commanded and they were created" nor "He established them forever and ever." All of eternal and worldly existence is contingent upon not transgressing the statute Hashem gave, the Torah He commanded - and through this, Creation can endure forever and ever.
Rashi explains "He gave a decree" - the determination that this one serves by day and that one serves by night; "and it shall not pass" - that the sun does not serve at night, and as for the moon and stars, although the moon is sometimes faintly visible by day, this is not their time of dominion.
And the Radak explains regarding "He established them forever and ever" that they are unlike the creatures of the lower realm, whose "individuals perish while the species endures." As explained several times regarding this expression in the language of the early commentators, this means that individual entities perish. Concerning human beings, one cannot say that an individual person is eternal, but rather that the human species is eternal, for every person lives here where "the days of our years are seventy years, and if with strength, eighty years"; the individual perishes even though the species endures forever. But when speaking of the sun and the moon, this is not so: regarding them it says, "He established them forever and ever," and they exist eternally even as individual entities. A new sun is not born each day or once in an era - it is the very same sun, and Hashem established it forever and ever. This is what the Radak means: Not so the celestial beings; rather, their individuals endure forever just as their species does - not only does the category of stars endure, but each and every individual star; and the statute that Hashem established for them at the inception of their creation - "and it shall not pass" - never changes.
The psalm depicts the praise of Hashem descending from the highest of upper realms down to the lowest of the low, and from there returning and ascending higher and higher, like a circle at whose summit stands Hashem, blessed be He. The praise begins in the heavens and the heights, descends to the angels, to the celestial spheres and the luminaries, to the heaven of heavens, and to the waters that are above the heavens - and they all praise the Name of Hashem, for He commanded and they were created; He is the Primordial and they are created beings. The heavens were brought into being through creation ex nihilo alone, enduring as individuals and not merely as a species, and their statute does not change because they possess no free choice; whereas the earth is the realm of generation and decay, containing formation, action, free will, and changing laws. All of creation stands forever as a testimony to the Oneness of the Creator, and therefore we are commanded to contemplate and discern His Oneness, blessed be He, in everything. And the great distinction: all other creatures are static, "standing" without the capacity to change their spiritual state, whereas man walks among those who stand - and it is upon him to walk, advance, and build himself, with renewed joy like the heavenly hosts who are glad and joyous to perform the will of their Maker, and through deep engagement in Torah, upon which the existence of the entire universe depends.