Introduction
In the previous part of the psalm, King David prayed for his needs: both physical needs and emotional and spiritual needs. From here onward, he turns to a higher path - the path of those who fear Hashem. For as long as a person seeks to have all his physical needs met and lack for nothing, he remains tied to physicality. But the path of those who fear Hashem is completely different: they despise worldly matters, and their entire aspiration is purely spiritual, solely closeness to God. The concluding verses of the chapter are built around this theme.
Who is the Man Who Fears Hashem - The Chosen Path
מִי־זֶה הָאִישׁ יְרֵא יְהֹוָה יוֹרֶנּוּ בְּדֶרֶךְ יִבְחָר׃ - Who is the man who fears Hashem? He will instruct him in the path He chooses.
Who is truly the man who fears Hashem? It is a person whom Hashem guides along a different path, a path that Hashem Himself chooses. This is genuine fear of Hashem. And what is that chosen path? The next verse answers this.
נַפְשׁוֹ בְּטוֹב תָּלִין וְזַרְעוֹ יִירַשׁ אָרֶץ׃ - His soul shall abide in goodness, and his descendants shall inherit the land.
His primary effort is that his soul should abide in goodness in the World to Come. He does not seek to pamper his body by fulfilling all physical conditions and material needs; rather, his entire aspiration is that Hashem grant his soul the reward of the World to Come. This is the "path He chooses" - the chosen and superior path. And what does he ask for from this world? Only the continuation of the human race, the perpetuation of generations: "and his descendants shall inherit the land" - that his children prosper in his merit. As for himself, a measure of carobs suffices for him, because the essential thing for him is that his soul abide in goodness, not earthly matters.
Rashi explains "his soul shall abide in goodness" - when he rests in the grave, his soul will rest in goodness. Incidentally, this is the origin of the custom practiced by Yemenite Jews: when someone goes to sleep, they do not tell him "Good night" - which is an expression borrowed from the non-Jewish world, as is "Good morning" - but rather they tell him "Talin b'tov" (may you abide in goodness), based on the verse "his soul shall abide in goodness," meaning may your sleep be good. There is a general principle that one who receives a blessing should respond by adding to the blessing he received, as is customary among Yemenite Jews with many greetings; therefore, the recipient replies, "Takitz b'yeshu'ah u'v'rachamim" - may you awaken to salvation and mercy. The blessing returns doubled: you wished me goodness, and I wished you both salvation and mercy.
The Secret of Hashem is for Those Who Fear Him
סוֹד יְהֹוָה לִירֵאָיו וּבְרִיתוֹ לְהוֹדִיעָם׃ - The secret of Hashem is for those who fear Him, and His covenant is to make them know it.
Corresponding to what he said, "his soul shall abide in goodness" - that his entire aspiration and desire are for eternal life in the World of Truth - he reveals to us: this matter of the eternity of the soul and the refinement of the soul for life in the World to Come is from the secret of Hashem to those who fear Him. Only those who fear Him, true servants of Hashem, understand the secret of the soul and its significance in the World to Come, grasping that "better is one hour of spiritual bliss in the World to Come than all the life of this world." One who truly fears Hashem is the one who attains these insights and realizes the supreme importance of the World to Come in comparison to this world.
And corresponding to what he said, "and his descendants shall inherit the land" - that his children will inherit the land while he asks nothing for himself - he adds to this, "and His covenant is to make them know it": Hashem makes His covenant known to those who fear Him, just as He made a covenant with the holy Patriarchs that their descendants would inherit the land, and with David that kingship would never cease from his descendants. The Holy One, blessed be He, declares to the children who follow them: I keep the covenant of your father for you. The righteousness of the father, who was content with a measure of carobs, is what enables you to inherit the land; the righteousness of King David is what enables his descendants after him to reign as kings for generations.
The Alshich: The Thirteen Attributes - A Secret Entrusted to the God-Fearing
The holy Alshich says: Come and see how great the Holy One, blessed be He's desire is to do good for those who fear Him, for He reveals to them His secret. And where do we see this? In Moshe Rabbeinu, who pleaded, "Make known to me, please, Your ways, so that I may find favor in Your eyes." And what is the meaning of "so that I may find favor in Your eyes"? That we might know how to find favor before You even at a time when we do things contrary to Your will. And out of "the secret of Hashem is for those who fear Him," the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed to him the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy: When Israel sins, let them perform this order before Me. The Alshich was precise regarding the phrase "and His covenant to make them known," just as it says, "Behold, I make a covenant," and our Sages said that a covenant is established for the Thirteen Attributes that they never return empty-handed. Thus, the Thirteen Attributes are a secret that Hashem revealed to those who fear Him, and He revealed along with it that there is a covenant guaranteeing they never return unanswered.
Yet, as noted previously on this subject, this applies when a person has proper intent when reciting the Thirteen Attributes. People recite, "merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in kindness and truth, preserver of kindness for thousands of generations, forgiver of iniquity, willful sin, and error, and Who cleanses" - and if you ask him what he just said, he has no idea. This is truly painful, for a person says this at least twice a day, and on Mondays and Thursdays even more, and during Elul and on Yom Kippur it is repeated endlessly. It is written that the essence of the atonement of the Thirteen Attributes is when one focuses on their meaning: what is "merciful," what is "gracious," what is "slow to anger," how do they differ from one another, and why are they divided into two parts? A full shiur was once dedicated here to the entire topic of the Thirteen Attributes, and whoever wishes can listen to it on the website or on Kol HaLashon. It is well worth studying these matters once, so that naturally, each time one recites them, he can have proper intent.
Radak: The Secrets of the Torah Are Entrusted Only to the God-Fearing
Radak explains that "the secret of Hashem is for those who fear Him" refers to the esoteric teachings of the Torah: Hashem reveals His secrets only to those who fear Him, but to one who is not God-fearing and not complete in his observance of the mitzvot, Hashem does not reveal His secrets. There was once an interview with the kabbalist Rabbi Nissim Peretz, ztz"l. He was asked: How do you allow people who are not qualified to enter and listen to classes in Kabbalah? After all, people show up and you wonder what they are doing in such a place! He replied to them: "'The secret of Hashem is for those who fear Him, and His covenant to make them known' - Hashem transmits His secret only to those who fear Him." And the reality, he said, is that he opens a class on Otzrot Chaim, which covers the fundamentals of Kabbalah, with fifty people, and finishes with five.
People think to themselves: Let us learn Kabbalah! Then they begin delving into it, and a person realizes that these are profound matters requiring deep contemplation and a strong memory, for they contain countless details. It is not at all what he imagined beforehand - that he would come to hear secrets and tomorrow be able to create a golem. Suddenly, he begins to realize that he himself is sitting in the class like a golem, unable to understand what the Rav is talking about - this attribute influencing that one, the Yesod of Abba influencing the Imma of Arich - completely disoriented, not knowing where he came from or where he is going. And anyone who has ever looked into a sefer kavanot or a siddur kavanot sees things where one cannot even begin to comprehend what they are discussing: permutations of letters, divine Names in various forms, here Abba and here Imma, Partzuf Yaakov, Partzuf Rachel, Partzuf Leah, with no clue what the letters signify or why one influences the other. You see someone flipping through three or four pages while saying the single word "Baruch" - what is he meditating on there? These are profound, exalted matters. When a person genuinely invests himself and fears Hashem, he is granted Hashem's secret; but if not, there is a natural sifting process, and people filter themselves out. This is "the secret of Hashem is for those who fear Him" - one who truly fears Hashem merits that Hashem reveals His secret to him, "and His covenant to make them known."
My Eyes Are Continually Toward Hashem
עֵינַי תָּמִיד אֶל־יְהֹוָה כִּי הוּא־יוֹצִיא מֵרֶשֶׁת רַגְלָי׃ - My eyes are continually toward Hashem, for He will release my feet from the net.
Therefore David says: I have chosen this path, "in the path he chooses." Not so that Hashem will set me up financially; material matters do not interest me at all, but rather only closeness to God, the Higher World, the spiritual world. And this is so even though I know that a person who walks with his eyes directed upward is liable to stumble, trip, and fall. Indeed, this often happens to righteous and God-fearing individuals: because they live in spirituality, people deceive them, take advantage of them, and extract money from them improperly. Why? Because "his eyes are continually toward Hashem" - he is always with the Holy One, blessed be He, and is not versed in worldly schemes and deceptions.
There was once an incident where a man came to the Satmar Rebbe and began telling him of his dire situation: his wife was a widow, his children were orphans, his financial situation was terrible, and he suffered from all sorts of illnesses. The Rebbe listened, his heart ached, and he took out a substantial sum of money and gave it to him. Afterwards, the gabbai saw the man leaving, immediately entered the Rebbe's room, and asked, "Did the Rebbe give that man money?" He replied, "Yes." The gabbai said, "Why, he is a known fraud, a liar! His wife is healthy, his children are fine, he has a car, and he is financially well-off." To the gabbai's astonishment, he saw the Rebbe looking overjoyed - whereas he had expected the Rebbe to say, "Quick, run after him and get the money back!" The Rebbe said to him, "You cannot imagine how much you have made me rejoice! My heart ached so deeply to hear of this Jew's misfortunes, and now you tell me that everything is fine with him? Baruch Hashem, how glad and happy I am!" People who live on a higher plane are, quite simply, easily deceived and taken advantage of. Thus, David seemingly asks: My eyes are toward Hashem; might this lead to my downfall? To this he answers: I do not worry, "for He will release my feet from the net" - the net that was spread for my feet while my eyes were turned upward, the Holy One, blessed be He, will extricate me from it, and from there Hashem will save me.
Ibn Ezra explains that in his view, "the net for my feet" refers to the desires of the evil inclination, as the soul is caught and ensnared in the web of desire. And who will extract it? Hashem will extract it. Regrettably, this is all too familiar to all of us today - how many have become ensnared in the net of their own feet, how many have fallen into the "net"! A person connects to the internet without a filter and without any protection, or with filters that are themselves Heaven-forbid inadequate, trying to have it both ways. For this, prayer is needed: "He will release my feet from the net." And as Rabbi Shteinman used to say: "None who go to her return" - the only true path is never to go there in the first place. And whoever has already arrived and wishes to get out must undergo rehabilitation; today there are organizations established specifically to rehabilitate people from these addictions, may the Merciful One spare us. This is how one must pray: that Hashem will release my feet from the net.
For I Am Lonely and Afflicted
פְּנֵה־אֵלַי וְחׇנֵּנִי כִּי־יָחִיד וְעָנִי אָנִי׃ - Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am solitary and afflicted.
This verse is very puzzling: David HaMelech asks, "Turn to me and be gracious to me" - why? "For I am solitary and afflicted." Yet David was neither solitary nor poor. The Malbim explains: after David described himself in such deep cleaving to Hashem, where material matters hold no interest for him and his entire desire is "He will instruct him in the way He chooses" and "His soul shall abide in goodness" - he stands completely apart from everything in this world. "Solitary" - because he is set apart from all human beings; "afflicted" - because he is detached from all worldly possessions, for none of this interests him. And in this state he pleads: be gracious to me, Hashem. I am willing to be solitary and poor, provided that I remain connected to You; I am willing to abandon all worldly pursuits so long as my soul abides in goodness. "Solitary and afflicted" is thus an expression of David's reality, detached from all worldly concerns: I have nothing here, I surrender everything to Hashem, blessed be He, and I am set apart, bound only to Him.
Radak explains: Even though I am a king with a vast nation, I am solitary and poor. "Solitary" - because I do not trust in a multitude of troops, but in Your might alone; I do not rely on my own power, nor do I place my trust in the army or armed forces, but solely in You, and therefore I stand alone. And "poor" - not in the sense of destitution, for David was a king and naturally wealthy, but "poor" in the sense of submission, as in "He delivers the afflicted in his affliction" (Iyov 36:15): even though I am a king, I do not take pride in my wealth or my possessions, but remain humble and submissive. "Afflicted" here is an expression of David's humility and submission.
And so the Midrash Shocher Tov explicitly asks: Was David an only child? Is it not written, "Otzem the sixth, David the seventh" (I Divrei HaYamim 2:15) - he was one of seven sons! And was David poor? Is it not written, "And behold, in my affliction I have prepared for the house of Hashem a hundred thousand talents of gold" (I Divrei HaYamim 22:14) - legendary wealth, one hundred thousand talents of gold David prepared for the building of the Beit HaMikdash! Rather, David said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, since You made me king over Your children and their eyes look to me and they all need me, and since they are many while my eyes look only to You - I stand solitary against them. Therefore he said, "For I am solitary and afflicted." That is, the public relies on him: when there is a problem they come to David, when salvation is needed they come to David, when Your people Israel need livelihood they come to David. David says: From where can I provide for everyone? I depend solely on You. This is the quality of solitude and affliction: everyone depends on me, and I depend on You.
Troubles and Distress
צָרוֹת לְבָבִי הִרְחִיבוּ מִמְּצוּקוֹתַי הוֹצִיאֵנִי׃ - The troubles of my heart have expanded; bring me out of my distresses.
Radak explains: The troubles have already expanded their dwelling in my heart, establishing permanent residency. They have multiplied to such an extent that a vast space has formed in my heart for many troubles, and therefore I cry out to You: "Bring me out of my distresses" - take me out of the constraints in which I am trapped, for when I am trapped in distress, my heart is not free for Your service.
The Malbim distinguishes between a tsarah (trouble) and a metzukah (distress): a tsarah is always external, whereas a metzukah is an inner affliction of the soul. A person suffering from an internal issue, such as depression, is in a state of metzukah, even if nothing threatens him from the outside. Conversely, a person threatened from the outside whose inner state remains whole and unbroken is merely in tsarah. Sometimes both exist together: an external trouble accompanied by internal distress, when one becomes overwhelmed and falls into depression and sadness. Based on this, the Malbim explains the verse in the exact opposite manner of Radak: "The troubles have expanded my heart" - the troubles have broadened my heart; I rejoice in them. They do not constrict me; on the contrary, they bring me joy, as it were, for material pursuits do not interest me, and my sole desire is "He will instruct him in the way He chooses." What, then, do I ask for? "Bring me out of my distresses" - from the inner distress of the soul, because it paralyzes me from the service of Hashem; a person who is depressed and downcast certainly cannot serve Hashem properly. But external trouble does not bother me; on the contrary, every trouble here yields reward in the World to Come and tempers physical indulgence. Concerning the external troubles, I make no plea; it is only regarding the inner distresses that I ask You to deliver me.
Look Upon My Affliction and My Toil
רְאֵה עׇנְיִי וַעֲמָלִי וְשָׂא לְכׇל־חַטֹּאותָי׃ - Look upon my affliction and my toil, and forgive all my sins.
According to the Ibn Ezra, who interpreted "my feet from the net" as the net of desire, David is pleading here: See how much effort and toil I invest to keep myself from desire, and on that account assist me, and also "forgive all my sins" - grant me atonement for everything in which I have already stumbled.
Radak explains "my affliction" (onyi) as my submission, as we explained regarding "for I am solitary and afflicted," that it does not mean financial poverty, but submission. And see also my toil, how much I toil in wars. And "forgive all my sins" - that this submission should serve as atonement for my sins, and that the battles I fought, the wars of Israel, should also be counted for me as an atonement.
The Malbim explains that concerning the affliction and toil in this world, David asks that they serve as an atonement for iniquity, and that through them You forgive all his sins. Everything I endure here, about which I said "the troubles of my heart have widened" and in which I rejoice - why do I rejoice? Because through them I have atonement for iniquity, and through them You pardon all my sins.
A Hatred of Violence
רְאֵה־אֹיְבַי כִּי־רָבּוּ וְשִׂנְאַת חָמָס שְׂנֵאוּנִי׃ - See how many are my enemies, and they hate me with a violent hatred.
שׇׁמְרָה נַפְשִׁי וְהַצִּילֵנִי אַל־אֵבוֹשׁ כִּי־חָסִיתִי בָךְ׃ - Guard my soul and rescue me; let me not be ashamed, for I have taken refuge in You.
See that my enemies are many and they hate me with a violent hatred, and therefore I ask, "Guard my soul and rescue me," that they not cause my soul to sin. Furthermore, I ask that I not be shamed, for I have taken refuge in You. For David began the psalm in this way: "In You I have trusted, let me not be ashamed" - when a person trusts in Hashem and his trust is not fulfilled, he suffers humiliation before those around him: "Look, he said that Hashem would help him, and see, He did not help him at all; he has fallen and has no rising." Therefore he returns and asks: "Let me not be ashamed, for I have taken refuge in You" - since I take refuge in You, let me have no shame in this, so that people do not say, "Here, he took refuge in Hashem, yet Hashem did not save him."
Radak explains who these enemies were: the Philistines, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Aram - there was no shortage of enemies. "And they hate me with a violent hatred" - I did no wrong to any of them, and yet they fight against me. And the Metzudat David explains: they hate me as if I were a violent man, as though I had robbed them or done them harm. And the Midrash says: If Esau hates Jacob because he took the blessing from him - what did he do to the Barbarians? What did he do to the Philistines? Thus, "they hate me with a violent hatred."
And this is truly wondrous, for anyone who observes cannot fail to reach the conclusion of Chazal that from Sinai, hatred descended to the nations of the world. The literal meaning is that Hashem hates the nations of the world, and by way of homily - that from there the nations of the world hate us. For there are countries that automatically vote against the Jewish people in every vote, countries that have never seen a Jew, where a Jewish foot has never trodden, that have had no dealings whatsoever with Jews - yet they hate Jews. Can anyone explain why? Did we ever do anything bad to them? There is no rational way to understand antisemitism. Anyone who examines the votes at the UN will find countries with which we have never had any contact, or with which we have had no ties for seventy or eighty years; there are no Jews there, you do not suffer from us, we have caused you no trouble whatsoever - and one cannot understand where this hatred comes from. This is what the Midrash means: Esau's hatred of Jacob can somewhat be understood; on Jacob's record there was a "scheme" he pulled on Esau, taking the birthright and the blessings from him - and even though this was done rightfully, suppose Esau thinks it was done unjustly, so he has a pretext for hatred. But what do the other nations want from us? What did we do to them that they should hate us with such tremendous hatred? "They hate me with a violent hatred."
Integrity and Uprightness Will Guard Me
תֹּם־וָיֹשֶׁר יִצְּרוּנִי כִּי קִוִּיתִיךָ׃ - May integrity and uprightness guard me, for I have hoped in You.
I ask, Master of the Universe, that You save me and guard me from the enemies - not through war and not through a vast army, where people would then say, "We fought against them and subdued them." I want the integrity and uprightness in which I conduct myself to be what guards me. By continually placing my hope in You and walking in integrity and uprightness - that is what will preserve and protect me, without any need to wage war.
Redeem Israel, O God
פְּדֵה אֱלֹהִים אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִכֹּל צָרוֹתָיו׃ - Redeem Israel, O God, from all its troubles.
King David concludes with a plea: In contrast to what I said - that I treat all worldly matters as vanity and do not pray concerning my troubles, but on the contrary, the afflictions have broadened my heart and will grant me the World to Come - on behalf of the community I plead: Redeem Israel from all its troubles! In simple terms: not everyone is on the level that I am on, and not everyone has attained what I have attained. I am at a level where troubles and physical matters do not speak to me - give me money and wealth, it does nothing for me; take from me and give me troubles, it will not distance me from You. But the people are not at this level, and therefore, Master of the Universe, save them from all distress, so that they will experience only good and abundance. Not all people are at the level of renouncing all worldly matters and not asking for their physical needs; they have not reached these spiritual attainments - and therefore, grant them everything in great abundance.
It was once told about Rav Shteinman that a man came to him with a question: He had done a very high-end home renovation, and at a certain point his wife and daughters began telling him, "Listen, this is too much worldly indulgence; who knows if what a person takes here comes at the expense of the World to Come." After finishing the renovation, he recalled this and went to ask Rav Shteinman - for who understood worldly matters, the World to Come, and the vanity of this world better than him, whose home had not seen a drop of fresh paint for decades. The Rav asked him: "Where is the problem? What is bothering you?" The man replied: "Rebbe, we all know that in the World to Come there is a four-legged table, but the righteous sit at a three-legged table; if I received this leg here in this world, like the famous story related in the Gemara, I will be missing it in the World to Come." Rav Shteinman heard this and said: "Look at this. Here sits a Jew who is over ninety years old, and this Jew asks himself where they will take him, to Gan Eden or Gehinnom - for Rabbi Yochanan said, 'Two paths lie before me, and I do not know along which one they are leading me.' And here sits a young man, full of desires and everything, and the only thing he is not sure about is the fourth leg of the table in Gan Eden! Everything else is already settled for him; the only thing troubling him is what will be with that fourth leg." He wanted to dispel his illusions a bit. In simple terms, he told him: The way I live is my reality; but you should live reasonably, like an ordinary person lives. And so King David says: I do not demand my spiritual levels of every person. Let each person live normally, and may the Master of the Universe redeem them from distress and grant them financial abundance and blessing.
And once a man came to Rav Elyashiv and asked him a halachic question, and Rav Elyashiv answered that the matter was permitted and there was no need to be stringent. The man asked him: "Wait, does the Rav himself treat it as permitted? Does the Rav actually do so?" It is truly improper to ask a Rav such personal questions - some people never learned when not to pry. Nevertheless, Rav Elyashiv answered him: "No, I treat it as forbidden; but when you conduct yourself like me in all other matters, then in this matter too you may act like me." Meaning, do you really think that by taking on this one stringency you become like Rav Elyashiv? Do you wake up at two in the morning and learn without a moment's pause, twenty hours a day? Is your meticulous observance of mitzvos at that same level, having never wasted a single second since childhood, with your entire being immersed in Torah? Are you like him in every way, so that only this one stringency remains for you? Rav Elyashiv tells you that it is permissible, and you can act normally.
Similarly, it is told of Rav Shteinman that when he would travel with a group of people to offer chizuk in various places, they would often stop along the way, and he would take money out of his pocket and tell the driver: "Buy ice cream for everyone, buy popsicles for them" - referring to the grown adults traveling with him. Now, Rav Shteinman himself never ate ice cream. Rather, by doing so he conveyed: This is who I am, leave that to me; but you, as an ordinary person, should act like an ordinary person. I do not impose my stringencies on you, nor do I demand of you what I demand of myself. And this is the meaning of "Redeem Israel, O God, from all its troubles": may Israel not suffer any troubles at all; as for me - on the contrary, afflictions have broadened my heart and draw me closer to Your service, but save them from all distress.
In summary:
The conclusion of the chapter portrays the image of a true God-fearing person: one whom Hashem guides along the chosen path, whose entire aspiration is that "his soul shall abide in goodness," seeking nothing from this world other than that his seed shall inherit the land. It is specifically to him that the Holy One, blessed be He, reveals His secret and His covenant - the secret of the eternity of the soul, the secret of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, and the secrets of the Torah. His eyes are always toward Hashem, and even though one who stands with his eyes raised upward might stumble, he is assured that "He will release my feet from the net." He describes himself as solitary and afflicted - separate from mankind and worldly possessions, submissive, trusting solely in Hashem, and bearing upon his shoulders the entire nation that depends on him. External troubles do not oppress him; rather, they expand his heart and atone for his sins. He asks to be delivered only from the inner distress of his soul, and from his many enemies who hate him with groundless, violent hatred, praying that integrity and uprightness will protect him. And at the close, he prays on behalf of the community: "Redeem Israel, O God, from all its troubles" - for he does not demand his own spiritual level of everyone, and for Klal Yisrael he asks only for abundance, blessing, and deliverance from all distress. May Hashem so rescue us, Amen and Amen.