מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד יְהֹוָה רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר׃ - A psalm of David: Hashem is my shepherd; I shall not lack.
Let us begin with the words of Rashi. Our Sages taught: wherever it says "Mizmor leDavid" (A psalm of David), he played music first, and only then did the Shechinah rest upon him; the melody brought the Ruach HaKodesh to David. Conversely, wherever it says "LeDavid mizmor" (Of David, a psalm), the Shechinah rested upon him first, and only afterwards did he sing. When "Mizmor leDavid" is written, it required at first "and it came to pass, when the minstrel played" and only then "the hand of Hashem came upon him" - to play music, to enter into an exalted state of soul, and only then to utter the words of Hashem through divine inspiration.
The Malbim reveals to us the underlying theme of this psalm: here King David etched his life's journey, from the time he was a shepherd in the wilderness until his ascent to the monarchy. The chapter describes the stages David traversed from the lowliest place - a shepherd in the desert - to the loftiest heights: David, King of Israel.
At the outset, David describes his early days, when he secluded himself with the flock in the wilderness. He compares himself to sheep grazing in lush pastures, with the Holy One, blessed be He, as his Shepherd, watching over him and guiding him with compassion. Those years, David reflects, were the most wondrous years of his life, the finest of his days: when he was in solitude with his Creator, singing before Him with meditative melodies on the harp, the sweet singer of Israel - before the royal crown was placed upon him to pull him away from cleaving to Hashem. Thus we see that David always longed for those days; even after becoming king, he would refer to himself as "poor and destitute," for his happiest era was that very period when he viewed himself in poverty and humility.
Afterwards, the Holy One, blessed be He, removed him from that reality and orchestrated a chain of events: He brought him to the house of Shaul to play the harp, then inspired him to battle Goliath, which in turn aroused Shaul's jealousy and wrath - "Shaul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands"; they attributed thousands to me and tens of thousands to David. Following this, Shaul gave him his daughter in exchange for one hundred Philistine foreskins in an effort to bring about his downfall, yet the exact opposite occurred, and David gained even greater renown; and subsequently he was pursued by Shaul. All of these, the Malbim explains, were diverse causes through which Hashem brought David to the monarchy - and all against David's personal desire. For in his eyes, the pinnacle of life was his seclusion with Hashem among the sheep, "Oh that I were as in months past," which he cherished far more than the royal crown. Indeed, we see that David had no ambition for kingship: for seven years he reigned in Chevron and did not ascend to Jerusalem until he received an explicit command from Hashem.
To help us properly understand this dynamic, the Malbim offers a parable. A king's son, the heir to the throne, grew weary of royal life and chose an ascetic existence. He went and lived in the forest inside a watchman's hut, feeling that this was the ideal place for him. But the king had a different destiny for his son: you will not sit there as a hermit; I want you to govern the kingdom. What did the king do? He sent one of his servants to set fire to his hut. When the son searched for a place to lay his head, he discovered his hut had burned down. The king then sent someone to convince him to move into a small, vacant house on the edge of the forest - with the prince entirely unaware of the scheme. He stayed there, and once again the king sent someone to burn down the house. He then sent another messenger to tell him: there is a house closer to the city where you can stay in the meantime. In this manner, step by step, they advanced him: from a hut in the forest to a cottage, and from a cottage to a house near the city. That house was also set on fire, and then they found him an apartment in the city that suited him perfectly - until, ultimately, he returned to take his place in the royal palace.
The prince then understood that none of what had occurred was accidental: the fires had not broken out by chance, nor had people met him and offered shelter by coincidence. Everything was a series of stratagems orchestrated by the king, gradually drawing him out from the depths of the forest and advancing him step by step until he reached the royal palace. Even so, the son said to his father: Father, know that despite everything you have done, and even as I sit today upon the royal throne, I still yearn for that watchman's hut deep in the forest. To me, that was the true peak. Today, being a king wearing a crown - it does not give me the true savor of life. I still long for that place.
This is precisely what takes place here. King David describes his state when he was with the flock, "Hashem is my shepherd; I shall not lack" anything, and how Hashem gradually guided circumstances so that he was compelled to ascend all the way to the kingship. And despite it all, David declares: I still yearn for the months of old, for those years when I shepherded the flock.
בִּנְאוֹת דֶּשֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵנִי עַל־מֵי מְנֻחוֹת יְנַהֲלֵנִי׃ - He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters.
At that time, when he was with the sheep, David compares himself to sheep shepherded by Hashem: how wonderful it was that "He makes me lie down in green pastures" - I would rest in lush grassy pastures. Rashi explains "ne'ot" as an oasis or habitation of grass. "Beside still waters" - clear waters that are not murky - "He leads me." From this point onward, David begins to describe how the Holy One, Blessed be He, took him out of this idyllic place, from the green pastures and the clear waters, from the setting where he experienced his highest connection to Hashem, blessed be He.
נַפְשִׁי יְשׁוֹבֵב יַנְחֵנִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶדֶק לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ׃ - He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake.
The Malbim explains: at the beginning of the journey, when Hashem directed him to Shaul and they sought someone skilled at playing music, David was still shepherding his father's sheep, going back and forth - traveling to the royal palace to play music and returning to the sheep. Even when he went to fight Goliath, Eliab asked him, "With whom have you left those few sheep?" - meaning, he was still fundamentally a shepherd. In the stage where he begins to venture out, he is not yet entirely detached. David then portrays his condition as a lamb that begins to turn wild and wayward, straying from the green pastures into other terrains.
"Nafshi yeshovev" - according to the Malbim, this is related to shovav, wayward, as in "wayward children," or as the verse says, "My people were lost sheep; their shepherds led them astray, turning them onto wayward mountains; they went from mountain to hill, they forgot their resting place." In other words: Hashem made me restless and wild; I no longer sit within the flock as a tranquil lamb, but rather flee into the mountains - this was the period when Shaul began to pursue him, "as one hunts a partridge in the mountains."
"He leads me in paths (circuits) of righteousness" - a ma'agal (circuit), the Malbim notes, is a roundabout path that ultimately leads to the correct destination. I walk along a winding, circular route, yet I arrive at righteousness, at the destination I am destined to reach; this differs from a straightforward path (nativ yosher). The Holy One, Blessed be He, guided me along this circuitous route so that I would ultimately reach what He desired - to seat me upon the royal throne. And all this is "for His Name's sake," for Heaven's Name was sanctified through David reigning as king over Israel.
Here David begins to describe the reality of being pursued by Shaul, and how many times there was but a step between him and death: once Shaul threw a spear at him, and another time surrounded him at Sela Hamachlekoth until David said, "I said in my haste: all men are deceitful," convinced his death was imminent. Yet at the very last moment, Hashem rescued him when word reached Shaul that the Philistines had invaded the land, forcing Shaul to abandon his pursuit and rush there. How often this lamb - whom Hashem made to stray and wander from the flock - ended up among lions' dens and leopards' mountains, in the most perilous places, reaching the very jaws of death, as he mentions in the next verse.
Before that, let us mention additional interpretations of the word yeshovev. Radak explains it as an expression of rest and calmness: the shepherd ensures the sheep do not overexert themselves, neither driving them harshly nor rushing them - as it is written, "and if they overdrive them one day, all the flock will die," and "He gathers the lambs in His arm and carries them in His bosom, gently leading the nursing ewes." Thus, yeshovev is related to tranquility (shuvah vanachat): Hashem provided me with green pastures and pure water, and nafshi yeshovev - He gave me tranquility and peace of mind. Rashi, however, explains yeshovev as meaning to restore (lehashiv): after I fled and wandered and my soul was unsettled, Hashem restores my soul to its place, calming the terror, panic, and flight.
גַּם כִּי־אֵלֵךְ בְּגֵיא צַלְמָוֶת לֹא־אִירָא רָע כִּי־אַתָּה עִמָּדִי שִׁבְטְךָ וּמִשְׁעַנְתֶּךָ הֵמָּה יְנַחֲמֻנִי׃ - Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
What is a "valley of the shadow of death" (gei tzalmavet)? Rashi cites: a land of darkness. And every instance of tzalmavet, as Dunash ben Labrat notes, denotes darkness, for when a person dies, he enters darkness, as it were - tzalmavet is the shadow of death, of darkness. Nevertheless, David says, "I will fear no evil, for You are with me," because I see that the Shepherd accompanies me at all times.
A shepherd carries two sticks: "Your rod" (shivtecha) and "Your staff" (umish'antecha). The rod is the small stick meant to strike the sheep when it strays from the path - giving it a light tap so it returns to course. The staff is a sturdy pole with which the shepherd drives off those who come against the sheep, should foxes and the like come to prey upon it. And as long as I see Your rod and Your staff - knowing that if I stray from the path I receive a rebuke, and not only that, but You also protect me from enemies - "they comfort me." It comforts me to know that no evil will approach me, for they prove that I have not been cast off to happenstance; rather, I am constantly accompanied by the Master of the Universe. And this comforts in suffering, in persecutions, and in troubles: you are still safeguarded in the hands of the Holy One, blessed be He.
The root n-ch-m, explains the author of the Kli Yakar along these lines, is understood in two ways. The first: when a person is in mourning and people come to comfort him - consolation whose purpose is to give him relief (lehaniach) from sadness. The second: "I regret (nichamti) that I have made them," "Nor is He human that He should relent (veyitnecham)" - consolation in the sense of regret. This too derives from the concept of rest (lano'ach): I rest from my initial thought; I thought one way, and now I cease from it and think differently. Thus both meanings stem from granting rest and relief.
According to this, "Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" is explained beautifully. On the surface it seems difficult to understand: the rod represents blows while the staff represents protection - two opposing things - so how do both comfort? Rather, both meanings apply here, each to its respective aspect. The rod - "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger" - when the Holy One, blessed be He, brings a rod upon a person, "comfort me" means nichamti, I regret my bad deeds; I receive blows and repent. And the staff - when Hashem sustains and supports me - "comforts me" in the sense of consoling mourners, granting me relief from grief. Thus, the rod brings me to repentance, and the staff brings me to comfort and encouragement, and together "they comfort me."
Through this, the verse in Kohelet chapter 4 is also explained: "I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they have no comforter" - the oppressed have no one to give them relief from their sorrow, like the consolation of mourners. "And from the hand of their oppressors there is power, and they have no comforter" - the oppressors have no comforter in the second sense: they do not regret or relent regarding their evil deeds. This is the reason for the repetition in the verse.
Wondrously, based on this principle one can explain "Comfort, comfort My people" (Nachamu nachamu ami) in the haftarah. Everyone asks why the repetition is necessary, and the well-known answer is: she was stricken doubly, so she is consoled doubly. But according to our approach: the first "comfort" means repent of your bad deeds, in the sense of nichamti; and then "comfort My people" - then it will be possible to console you with the comfort of encouragement and relief from sorrow, just as one comforts mourners.
The Holy One, blessed be He, says: "I am with him in distress." The time when Hashem is with a person on the highest level is when that person is in distress. When someone is in trouble, the Holy One, blessed be He, is right beside him, accompanying him every step of the way, far more than during good periods and prosperous times - hand in hand, carrying him in His arms.
And see how wonderfully this is hinted at in the wording of the psalm: when I have every good thing - "He makes me lie down in green pastures," "He leads me beside still waters," "He restores my soul, He guides me" - it is all in the third person, as if from a distance. But "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me" - here it is "You," face to face. When I am in trouble, when I am in distress, downcast, and in crisis - there the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I am with you, I am right beside you, I carry you in My arms. "And I will remove sickness from your midst" - when a person is in crisis and hardship, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: It is I; I am coming here to heal you. There you merit the close, personal accompaniment of the Master of the Universe.
תַּעֲרֹךְ לְפָנַי שֻׁלְחָן נֶגֶד צֹרְרָי דִּשַּׁנְתָּ בַשֶּׁמֶן רֹאשִׁי כּוֹסִי רְוָיָה׃ - You prepare a table before me in full view of my adversaries; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Now he describes the time when all of Israel anointed him as king. He transcends his previous status: if before I was like a sheep grazing in green pastures in tranquility and peace, now I am no longer a sheep - "You prepare a table before me." A sheep grazes on grass from the ground, whereas here You brought me to the status of a human being eating from a table. And all this is "in full view of my adversaries" - even though I had adversaries who opposed me and took no pleasure in seeing me ascend to greatness, You did so in spite of their opposition, and they could not hinder it; these were the house of Shaul and Ish-Boshet, who did not relinquish the kingdom quickly. "You anoint my head with oil" - all of Israel anointed him with oil to be king over them. And I no longer drink stream water as "still waters," but rather "my cup overflows" - I drink an abundance of royal wine from the cup to satisfaction, meaning I have reached an exalted level; You have elevated me to royalty.
אַךְ טוֹב וָחֶסֶד יִרְדְּפוּנִי כָּל־יְמֵי חַיָּי וְשַׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית־יְהֹוָה לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים׃ - Only goodness and kindness shall pursue me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of Hashem for length of days.
The Malbim explains that here the hermit says to his father in the parable, and David says to his Father in Heaven in the lesson: Master of the Universe, all that You took me out from and brought me this far - this does not give me what I truly wanted, and all of this was against my will. For me, it would have been good to remain there, a shepherd in the wilderness, and I have no interest in the royal table. And even now, the goodness and kindness You performed with me by seating me upon the royal throne - it is like one who pursues me; I flee from goodness and kindness, yet they pursue me without my consent and against my desire. And this is "all the days of my life," for all my days I yearn to "dwell in the house of Hashem for length of days" - and that I achieved specifically there, as a shepherd.
And so we find: Yaakov Avinu was a shepherd, Moshe Rabbeinu was a shepherd, and David Hamelech was a shepherd. All shepherds distanced themselves from human society, from falsehood, from dispute, from lashon hara (evil speech), and from theft, and remained connected to Hashem, blessed be He. That is why the holy Patriarchs were shepherds, for this was a state where one could attain lofty Divine perception. These are the days to which I yearn - "and I shall dwell in the house of Hashem for length of days." If so, the goodness and kindness I have today are merely in the category of pursuers, for truly it would have been good for me to remain as I was then.
The Malbim presents an additional explanation: From now on, David says, I see that the fact that my enemies pursued me was "only goodness and kindness," for all of this pursuit was intended to bring me to the monarchy. The pursuit that I viewed at the time as something incomprehensible - why are they pursuing me, why is it so bad for me? - turns out to be goodness and kindness. For how does one drive a person from the forest to the royal throne? Just like in the parable of the hermit: his hut and his house had to be burned down, and only then did he ascend to the throne. So it became clear to me that all the persecutions were only goodness and kindness, so that I might dwell in the house of Hashem as a king in His palace for length of days. It is very possible that left to my own will I would have preferred to remain there, but the Holy One, blessed be He, in His abundant kindness, wished to elevate me and grant me this level - and it turns out that all the persecutions were solely for my benefit.
The Malbim explains "veshavti" (ושבתי) as an expression of serenity and tranquility (shuvah vanachat), an expression of settling and calm; or as an expression of returning (lehashiv) - that Hashem returns me and brings me to the house of Hashem. And according to the first explanation, this is David's aspiration: When will I merit to return and be a shepherd, when will I merit to return and be there, connected to Him, blessed be He?
Let us mention two more explanations of "only goodness and kindness shall pursue me." The first is that of the Gra (the Vilna Gaon), which we learned in Megillat Ruth, where Naomi says, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Marah, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me." The Gra says: Sometimes goodness and kindness are themselves the pursuers. When a person enjoys goodness, at times it only pursues him; when Hashem treats him with kindness, at times it brings him only harm - "And Jeshurun grew fat and kicked." It turns out that goodness and kindness pursue, harm, and cause him distress: had you not possessed all that wealth, you would not have deteriorated there. Korach, had he not attained all that wealth, would not be under the ground today. Sometimes wealth leads a person precisely to rebellion and corruption.
On the contrary, says the Gra, it is good for a person to experience a measure of suffering; it is good for him to feel the need to turn to Hashem, blessed be He, for this brings him to self-nullification and closeness to Hashem. And this is the meaning of "The troubles of my heart have broadened" - the troubles that came upon me broadened my heart for Your service, for when a person faces a problem, he turns to Hashem and draws closer to Him. Therefore, "bring me out of my distresses": "tsar" (trouble) is external, while "matzok" (distress) is internal - when a person has troubles from without, his heart and his inner being draw close to Hashem.
And this is what Naomi meant: Do not call me Naomi - named after the pleasantness and goodness that I once had - but rather "call me Marah." That is to say, the goodness I had initially was not truly good; it turned out to be detrimental and became my downfall, whereas my misfortune today is what is truly good. And the proof: When things were good for me, where did that lead me? To leave the Land and not give bread to the needy, for that was the reason Elimelech departed - because people were knocking at his door. I went to the land of Moab, and my sons married Gentile women. It turns out that all that goodness led me only to deterioration and deficit in the service of Hashem. And this is what she meant by "I went out full" - when I was full and had all good things, I left on my own, abandoned the Holy Land, and drifted far away; "and Hashem has brought me back empty" - specifically when I am empty, Hashem brought me back to the Holy Land. Thus, sometimes goodness brings a person only harm, and sometimes it is better for a person to experience a little suffering and lack, for this brings him to closeness to Hashem.
The second explanation is from the Chafetz Chaim, and it is based on a true story. Vienna was the home of the finest physicians, and anyone who needed medical care would travel there. It was not easy to get there - it was an expensive city, and certainly difficult to afford a hotel room. There was a fine Jew living there who established a guest house for hospitality (hachnasat orchim): anyone who needed to come to Vienna for medical treatment or any other purpose would stay with him. His home was like a hotel; he fed them, gave them drink, attended to them, and provided for all their needs - a great and tremendous merit.
At a certain point, his wife felt suffocated: there was no privacy at home, people were constantly coming and going, "I want a little quiet and rest, and now I have to cook for this one and prepare for that one." Issues of marital harmony began to arise. What could he do? Go to the Chofetz Chaim. And by Hashem's kindness, at that very time the Knessiah Gedolah of Agudath Yisrael was taking place in Vienna, attended by the great Torah leaders of the generation, headed by the Chofetz Chaim (from where, as is well known, comes that sole two-minute film clip from the Knessiah Gedolah in Vienna in 5693 [1933]).
Being a resident of Vienna, this man knew the host who was accommodating the Chofetz Chaim, and he made a request of him: "I have a question; I need to know how to act - whether to close the gemach or continue. My wife is unhappy with it; what should I do?" The host said to him, "Come over, the Chofetz Chaim is staying with me, and you will find a minute or two to approach him." When he arrived, the Chofetz Chaim had just finished his morning meal, and they told the man, "The Rav will recite Birkat Hamazon, and afterward you can speak with him." He sat off to the side and waited.
Then the Chofetz Chaim, as was his custom in fulfilling what is written in the Mishnah Berurah, recited the psalm preceding Birkat Hamazon - some say "Al Naharot Bavel" and some say "Mizmor L'David, Hashem Ro'i Lo Echsar." And while reciting the psalm, he began to ask: What is the meaning of "Ach tov vachessed yirdefuni kol yemei chayai" (Only goodness and kindness shall pursue me all the days of my life)? After all, a pursuer is someone who comes to cause harm; it should have said, "goodness and kindness shall accompany me." Why does it say "pursue me"? The Chofetz Chaim explained: People say that a fool turns gold into garbage, while a wise man knows how to turn garbage into gold.
Let us reflect: A person receives goodness and kindness in this world; Hashem grants him abundance and bestows bounty upon him. If he is wise, he takes the garbage and makes gold out of it. For what was he given? Material possessions, which are fleeting. And he opens a gemach, welcomes guests into his home, and provides them with abundance so that they can manage - how wonderful, from garbage he made gold! But if a person lacks understanding, he turns gold into garbage: Hashem arranged an opportunity for him to host guests and sustain them at his table, and instead of seizing this great merit, he looks for ways to get rid of it and shut it down.
The Chofetz Chaim continued - without knowing a thing about the man's question, for the man had not even revealed to the host what he wished to ask: Know that this world is an abode of hardships. And if a person makes his hardships hardships of Torah - fortunate is he. Fortunate is the one whose suffering comes from Torah, and woe to the one whose suffering comes from all kinds of vanity and nonsense. "Man is born to toil" - and this is even alluded to, as was once noted by a Jew named Tal Chen, in that the final letters of "Adam L'amal Yulad" (אָדָם לְעָמָל יוּלָד) spell "Yilmad" (יִלְמַד, he shall learn): to teach you what toil a person must invest in - in Torah study and the observance of mitzvot.
A person may have suffering decreed upon him, said the Chofetz Chaim, and how does he expend it? Through exertion, through helping others, through hospitality, through toiling on their behalf. It is difficult; sometimes people make demands, and sometimes guests arrive whom it is not very pleasant to stand beside. But if a person accepts this suffering in this manner - fortunate is he, for he has fashioned eternity out of it. And if not, one cannot escape suffering; the afflictions due to him will reach him, if not through this, then through something else. At times it is also difficult at home: the wife objects, and for her it is hard, and we have no idea how much suffering that entails. "All the days of the poor are bad" - Chazal asked: To whom does this refer? To one who suffers on account of his wife. And they said: Any evil rather than a difficult wife, for she is like a persistent drip - drop after drop that never ceases. Thus, suffering exists at home as well; but how much heartache does a person spare himself when his suffering is for matters of Torah and mitzvot, rather than suffering over vanity and nonsense!
And this is what King David asks: "Only goodness and kindness shall pursue me" - let my pursuer specifically be goodness and kindness. Sometimes a person feels that goodness and kindness pursue him, giving him no rest, burdening and disturbing him. David says: Let only this pursue me, and let no suffering of any other kind pursue me; only the suffering of goodness and kindness. Then I will merit, "And I shall dwell in the house of Hashem for length of days" - I will merit an immense reward, having turned the garbage into gold. That Jew was astonished by the Ruach Hakodesh that radiated from the Chofetz Chaim even before hearing his question. And this was a well-known, frequent occurrence with the Chofetz Chaim: people would come to him with questions, and before they even opened their mouths, he would offer some insight or explanation - and it would be the precise answer to what they had come to ask.
Let us conclude with a parable. A man once arrived at the port in Odessa and saw ships loading and unloading cargo. Suddenly, he noticed one ship being loaded with stones - not precious gems, not basalt, and not hewn stone, just ordinary stones. He was astonished and asked the captain, "Why these stones?" The captain replied, "Let me explain. By nature, an empty ship is light. When we arrived here, we brought cargo, but now that we must return to our destination, I have nothing to carry back. If the ship remains so light, even slight waves could capsize it. Therefore, we load it with stones; this causes it to sit lower in the water and achieve stability, allowing it to reach its destination safely." (Presumably modern technology is more advanced, but that is how it was done in the past.)
What a powerful message this contains: If a person merits, his ship carries precious merchandise; if not, it will be forced to carry stones. But know this: one must carry something. The choice is yours whether it will be merchandise or stones, but make no mistake - ultimately, everyone carries a certain measure of hardship. It is within a person's power to choose what type of hardship he will endure, and fortunate is one who chooses that his suffering be in Torah, acts of kindness, and good deeds. He will then merit: "And I shall dwell in the house of Hashem for length of days."