Introduction: Two Modes of Divine Providence
In this section of Chapter 33, King David explains how the Holy One, blessed be He, oversees His world through two distinct modes of governance. We have already discussed at length that there is a providence operating through nature and the celestial order - those forces that seemingly manage what transpires here on earth; and in contrast, there is a miraculous, personal providence (hashgachah pratit) through which the Holy One, blessed be He, actively directs His world and scrutinizes every single detail. The Malbim explains: Come and see how the Holy One, blessed be He, governs His world through these two dimensions.
מִשָּׁמַיִם הִבִּיט יְהֹוָה רָאָה אֶת כָּל בְּנֵי הָאָדָם׃ - From heaven Hashem looks down; He sees all mankind.
The first mode is the governance of nature and the celestial order, according to the alignment of the stars and the like. Under this governance, "Hashem has established His throne in the heavens" - the Holy One, blessed be He, guides the world according to the laws of nature established from Creation, and concerning this it says, "From heaven Hashem looks down; He sees all mankind." And what is meant by "He sees all mankind"? The Malbim explains: He knows the end from the beginning. In advance, He already knows all future deeds, and this is a single, comprehensive vision - an unchanging, unified vision in which Hashem saw everything from the very start.
Moreover, the Holy One, blessed be He, fashioned the world from the outset to meet the needs of humanity, just as He foresaw them. It is like a person preparing for a trip or journey who knows he will need certain items, and therefore readies everything in advance. Thus, "From heaven Hashem looks down; He sees all mankind."
Hibit, Ra'ah, Hishgi'ach - Three Levels of Observation
What is the difference between hibit (glancing) and ra'ah (seeing)? The Malbim explains: habatah is paying attention to a specific thing, registering it with the eye - that is habatah. Afterward, when one observes more closely, one says "I saw": not merely looked, but saw. In modern usage, people often invert these terms and understand "to gaze" (lehabit) as deep contemplation, but according to biblical Hebrew (Lashon HaKodesh), this is not so. Habatah is a superficial glance, a preliminary taking in of the object, followed by re'iyah (seeing). After that, when one is not satisfied with mere viewing but takes the matter and scrutinizes it carefully, that is hashgachah (providential scrutiny). Hashgachah is an intensified gazing, as in "peering through the lattices" (mashgi'ach min hachalonot). Thus we have three stages: looking (hibit), seeing (ra'ah), and scrutinizing closely (hishgi'ach).
מִמְּכוֹן שִׁבְתּוֹ הִשְׁגִּיחַ אֶל כָּל יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ׃ - From His dwelling place He gazes upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
One should also note: the first verse speaks of "all mankind" (kol bnei ha'adam), whereas the second refers to "all the inhabitants of the earth" (kol yoshvei ha'aretz). The Malbim explains that "mankind" includes the entire human species, everyone who is a descendant of Adam from the dawn of creation; whereas "inhabitants of the earth" refers specifically to the generation living here right now - not from the Six Days of Creation, but the generation presently dwelling upon the earth.
Thus, in the verse "From heaven Hashem looks down; He sees all mankind," Scripture refers to the governance in which the Holy One, blessed be He, foresees everything, calling the generations from the beginning - a governance operating through the natural order, through which He provides for all their general needs. Yet know that there is another mode of governance: "From His dwelling place He gazes upon all the inhabitants of the earth." This is not the governance of nature and the celestial order. "From heaven" signifies the natural realm - the sun, the moon, the heavens; but "from His dwelling place" refers to the metaphysical abode of the Creator, blessed be He, and here we are dealing with individual, specific providence. "He gazes" (hishgi'ach) denotes intense scrutiny and detailed observation. It is not merely general providence over the world from its creation to its end, but rather that in every single generation, Hashem scrutinizes the actions of each individual in that generation, according to what is fitting for that generation and that person. This is an entirely different level of governance, meticulously attuned to the deeds of each generation and each unique individual.
"Who Fashions Their Hearts Together" - Unchanging Knowledge
הַיֹּצֵר יַחַד לִבָּם הַמֵּבִין אֶל כָּל מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם׃ - He Who fashions their hearts together, Who understands all their deeds.
Here, the Malbim explains the matter deeply, explaining that David came to counter the arguments of the philosophers. They argued: How could it be that the Holy One, Blessed is He, knows all the deeds of human beings? For they maintained that God's knowledge is immutable - it is impossible that knowledge should increase in Him, for if His knowledge increases, it implies that He did not know beforehand and has now come to know, and could one say such a thing of the Almighty? Surely not. If so, His knowledge is single and unchanging, so how could He know the constantly changing actions of human beings? After all, a person decides to do one thing, and suddenly changes his plan and does the opposite. What did Hashem know? This was the dilemma of the philosophers.
This was also discussed in the study of Sefer Iyov: Hashem's knowledge is one, yet human deeds are subject to free will. Therefore, some arrived at the conclusion that there is no free will at all - determinism, where everything is stamped and scripted in advance, since His knowledge is unchanging. But Judaism certainly does not accept this, for the Torah states explicitly: "And you shall choose life." On the other hand, we as Jews also know that the knowledge of the Holy One, Blessed is He, does not change, and it is impossible for Him to regret or reconsider. Even if we find such expressions, they are spoken in human terms. Regret means: "I did not take that into account; had I known, I would have acted differently" - that applies to a human being, not to the Holy One, Blessed is He, Who proclaims the generations from the beginning. How, then, is this paradox resolved?
The Rambam already dealt with the question of divine knowledge and free will, stating that it is beyond our capacity to comprehend these matters, because our knowledge is nothing like His knowledge. This was already discussed at length regarding chapter 12 of Sefer Iyov, and also in Sefer HaKuzari, so there is no need to enter the entire subject anew. Let us examine here what the Malbim says.
The Malbim says: The answer lies in what the Rambam wrote in Moreh Nevuchim (part 3, chapter 21), that there is a fundamental difference between the creator's knowledge of what he has made and another person's knowledge of that made object. As for the made object, if it is made according to the knowledge of its maker, its making follows his knowledge; whereas the perception of other people follows after the completed object.
The Parable of the Clockmaker and the Programmer
The Malbim himself provides a parable: a timepiece, known in our language as a clock. A person who crafts a clock with gears through intricate craftsmanship - one gear turning another, and so on - knows in advance everything that is going to happen: how this gear will turn its companion, and through it the smaller gear, and by that force the seconds will tick, and in so-and-so amount of time the clock will show a particular hour. And if you ask, how does he know this - after all, he has not yet seen the hands move? He does not need to; he assembled the clock, and therefore he knows what will be.
By contrast, a person who goes to a store and buys a clock - his knowledge is based on results. He sees that the hand is here at this hour, and after some time it has arrived there, and from this he draws conclusions. His knowledge is derived from the outcome. The clockmaker, however, knew all of this without looking at the hands for even a single moment.
And if we want a more contemporary example: the programmer versus the software user. Today there are autonomous vehicles, from Google and others, which people say will dominate the roads in the future. There is no need for a driver; software operates it, guided by sensors all around. Admittedly, some wind was recently taken out of their sails when an autonomous vehicle killed a person for the first time. Some blame the vehicle and some blame the person who stepped into its path, but in any event, from this point forward, one can no longer blame a human driver operating the vehicle; perhaps the person who wrote the software, but not the driver.
When a person rides in such a car, he discovers something new every time and is amazed: here the car detected an oncoming vehicle, recognized a changing traffic light, spotted a pedestrian - and made a decision. A light drizzle began and the wipers turned on, darkness fell and the lights went on. Each time, the user marvels at the wisdom embedded within it. But the one who created it all, the software programmer, feels no wonder at all; he knows exactly when each thing will happen. And if someone were to tell him that the wipers failed to operate - that would indeed evoke surprise: What happened? Why didn't they work?
This brings to mind an old commercial from a world-famous lighter company. As the story is told, a man arrives in a forest inhabited by native tribesmen completely cut off from civilization, and they threaten his life. He told them: "If I show you a wonder, will you let me go?" They agreed. He took out the lighter and clicked it - but it did not spark. He clicked it again - and it lit. Seeing this, the tribesmen were completely stunned, almost fainting, and they released him. Afterward, he noticed that they too had lighters in their pockets. He asked: "Wait, what were you so shocked by?" They replied: "This is the first time we have ever seen someone click that lighter and have it fail to light!" That was what amazed them. That was the whole point of the advertisement: this lighter always lights.
Thus, for the software programmer, what sparks surprise is only a deviation from the design; that everything functions properly is something he knew all along, since he wrote the software. An outside observer, however, acquires new knowledge at every turn. This is what the verse means: The Holy One, Blessed is He, is "He Who fashions their hearts together," and because He created everything in advance, He is inherently "He Who understands all their deeds." No knowledge is newly acquired by Him when an action unfolds in reality, for He crafted it beforehand. No knowledge is added to Him due to the vast multiplicity of novel deeds, because He knows all of it by virtue of having fashioned their hearts together - like that clockmaker who knows everything the clock will do in the years to come, because he built it.
Similarly, His knowledge does not multiply due to the multitude of human beings. Lest one argue: Are there not countless people here, each with his own shifting plans? Regarding this, the verse says: "He Who fashions their hearts together" - the Holy One, Blessed is He, created this multiplicity of people, each with a distinct heart and individual free choice, and He fashioned all their hearts in a single act of creation; therefore, He is "He Who understands all their deeds." Consequently, His knowledge is neither newly acquired, nor multiplied, nor altered by the multitude, novelty, or variety of actions. This is the answer to the dilemma: the change in deeds exists only from the perspective of the observer, who witnesses a new event each time; but the One Who programmed everything from the outset sees nothing new, for all the parameters are already inherently present in His design.
If So, Where Is Free Will?
Yet this immediately raises a difficulty: does this mean we are programmed? For if the Holy One, blessed be He's foreknowledge is like the knowledge of one who programs a vehicle or builds a clock, knowing which gear will turn at what point in time and what the hour will be even forty years from now - then it could not be otherwise, and free choice is consequently nullified. On this, the Malbim cites the words of the Rambam: our knowledge is not like His knowledge. With human knowledge - if I know you will do something other than what you planned, and ultimately you did exactly as I knew, and what I know is always what you do - then my knowledge effectively overrides your choice. But with the Holy One, blessed be He, this is not so: He knows what you will do, and nonetheless this does not infringe upon your free choice. And how can this be? The Rambam says: it is beyond your capacity to comprehend, for our knowledge is not like His knowledge. There are other answers that bring this closer to human intellect, but those have been discussed at other times and in other contexts. Here the primary point the Malbim explains is: "He Who fashions their hearts together" - and for that reason, "He Who understands all their deeds," not because He now sees some novel action performed by man. Everything was fashioned in advance.
A King Is Not Saved by a Great Army
אֵין הַמֶּלֶךְ נוֹשָׁע בְּרׇב חָיִל גִּבּוֹר לֹא יִנָּצֵל בְּרׇב כֹּחַ׃ - A king is not saved by a great army; a warrior is not rescued by great strength.
Once we understand that the Holy One, blessed be He, oversees all the inhabitants of the world with complete providence, David comes and says: see that those who cleave to Hashem enjoy a special providence, a wondrous and individual providence over them personally. Consequently, any schemes devised to nullify this providence will be of no avail, for it is Hashem's providence that achieves triumph. "A king is not saved by a great army" - naturally, a king who possesses a multitude of troops seems assured of victory in battle; yet Scripture tells you: no. If the plans of the Holy One, blessed be He, are otherwise, the greatness of his army will not avail him. All the Arab nations that came against us in the Six-Day War, and before that in the War of Independence, and later on Yom Kippur - they had vast armies, and it helped them not at all. A great army is no guarantee of victory.
Furthermore: "A warrior is not rescued by great strength." "A great army" represents the advantage of quantity, while "great strength" represents the advantage of quality; and Scripture tells you that even quality will not be deemed an advantage when the Holy One, blessed be He, wills otherwise.
Divine Providence Over Those Who Fear Him
Speaking of those who fear Hashem being under individual divine providence, it is told that when Rav Ovadia Yosef was in Egypt in his youth, there was terrible chaos in matters of kosher slaughter. A vile and corrupt individual served there as a shochet, effectively feeding people non-kosher meat. The Rav stood up against him, fought, and revoked his slaughtering license. Hearing the stories of what transpired there is hard to believe. That man decided to assassinate the Rav, and sent an Arab to throw acid in his face as he left the synagogue. On that day, someone delayed the Rav in the synagogue, the Arab misidentified his target, and poured the acid on another man, who tragically lay in the hospital for several months. And the Rav was saved. Here we see that those who fear Hashem enjoy a unique individual providence and special protection.
And as is known, that same man later came to the Land of Israel and sought to be hired by one of the slaughterhouses. Rav Ovadia Yosef, who was then serving as a rabbi in Petach Tikva, heard about this and immediately issued a clear directive to all rabbinical authorities that he was not to be accepted into any slaughterhouse. When the man heard this, he came to the Rav holding his slaughtering knife and said to him: "What, are you persecuting me here too?" It was a truly perilous situation. It is told that the Rav unbuttoned his shirt and said to him: "If you wish - stab me; if you wish - kill me; but I will not allow you to feed people non-kosher meat." When the man saw this, he left; later on, he died an unnatural death, may Hashem protect us.
And as some may recall, one of the vegetable suppliers to the Rav's home also plotted to plant an explosive device there, Heaven forbid. This occurred following the targeted killing - distinguishing between the impure and the pure - of Sheikh Yassin: they decided to carry out an attack assassinating a prominent Torah figure, and therefore sought to assassinate the Rav. By the grace of Heaven, the plot was uncovered and his life was saved. We see that there is special providence over those who fear the Holy One, blessed be He.
A Horse Is a False Hope for Salvation
שֶׁקֶר הַסּוּס לִתְשׁוּעָה וּבְרֹב חֵילוֹ לֹא יְמַלֵּט׃ - A horse is a false hope for salvation, nor shall it rescue by its great strength.
The Malbim explains: Even the means and tools prepared to win a battle will be of no avail. One of those means is horses; typically, a king with many horses could win a battle, like an army equipped with many tanks. Yet scripture tells you: "A horse is a false hope for salvation." And not only can the horse not bring victory in battle, but even in the fullness of its strength, it cannot rescue its rider from falling on the battlefield.
The Malbim offers an additional explanation: Sometimes "the horse proves false" - the horse deceives its owner. How so? The owner gives one command and the horse does the opposite. For example, the rider tries to rein it in, but the horse is frenzied, unstoppable, and charges straight into the fray of battle. Yet that very "falsehood" turns out to be for salvation, for by Divine Providence salvation emerged from it. And even though "by its great strength it cannot deliver" - by its own natural power there was no way out - the Holy One, blessed be He, drove the horse inward, forcing the man to fight against his will, and thus he subdued his enemies against all odds.
We see that sometimes Hashem's providence operates in ways that defy odds and logic, yet such is the will of the blessed Creator. A story was told about an incident in Brachfeld. Back when the neighborhood was still under construction and some apartments were just beginning to be occupied, a woman was riding in a taxi with her children and a stroller in the trunk. She asked the driver to stop at a specific address. The driver pulled over a building or two early. She said to him: "It is difficult for me; you see I have children and a stroller, why can you not stop exactly where I asked?" The driver pulled forward and stopped one building past it. Again she said: "Is it not possible to stop right where I requested?" A moment later, they heard a tremendous crash. It turned out that a crane working above had been lifting a heavy load - concrete blocks, if I recall correctly - and the load slipped, crashed onto a balcony, the balcony collapsed, and everything plummeted directly onto the spot where the taxi was supposed to have stopped. Right in that exact spot - and "by chance" the car was parked just a few meters ahead.
In other words, things you imagine happened purely by chance are not accidental at all; they are meticulously planned. It was not for nothing that the horse bolted forward. And sometimes the reverse occurs: it is related about the minister Don Isaac Abarbanel that he was once in battle serving the King of Spain, riding a very loyal horse. He spurred it to gallop forward, but the horse stopped dead and refused to budge. A moment later, an arrow whistled right through the spot where he would have been. Had the horse advanced, he would have been struck by the arrow and killed; yet by Hashem's kindness the horse stopped, the arrow passed harmlessly in front of him, and he was spared. This is "the horse's falsehood": sometimes you instruct the horse to do one thing and it defies you, refusing to obey your will - whether it rushes ahead when ordered to stop, or freezes when told to charge - and that very defiance brings salvation, according to the will of the blessed Creator to bring His design to fruition.
The Eye of Hashem Is upon Those Who Fear Him
הִנֵּה עֵין יְהֹוָה אֶל יְרֵאָיו לַמְיַחֲלִים לְחַסְדּוֹ׃ - Behold, the eye of Hashem is toward those who fear Him, toward those who wait for His lovingkindness.
Observe and see that the eye of the Holy One, blessed be He, is toward those who fear Him, which means that Hashem fights on man's behalf. As scripture states, "The riders of horses will be put to shame": those horsemen who were ostensibly destined to win the war will suffer disgrace and humiliation, meeting no success. And as King David says, "You are a shelter for me; from distress You preserve me." This providence, the Malbim explains, stems from two reasons: first, because they fear Him, and one who fears Hashem is worthy of Divine Providence; and second, because they wait for His kindness, for the Holy One, blessed be He, delivers whoever takes refuge in Him.
We once explained the Vilna Gaon's insight on the verses, "It is better to take refuge in Hashem than to trust in man; it is better to take refuge in Hashem than to trust in nobles." What is the distinction between taking refuge (lachasot) and trusting (livto'ach)? The Gra explains: "Trusting" applies when one has received a promise - someone gave his word. "Taking refuge" applies when no one has promised you anything. When a missile attack occurs and you take shelter beneath a reinforced structure, did it promise you anything? No, you simply take shelter in its shade, seeking cover under it. Scripture therefore says: even when someone makes you a promise, saying, "I take full responsibility, I will look after you, you have nothing to worry about," it is still better to take refuge in Hashem. Hashem made me no personal guarantee, yet taking refuge in Him is far better than trusting in man. What does it matter that a human being promised? Disregard his promises; we know how little reliance can be placed on mortal promises, as it is written, "Do not trust in nobles, in mortal man in whom there is no salvation." Thus, taking refuge, even without a promise, is vastly superior to trusting in someone who gave an explicit promise but is merely flesh and blood. This is "toward those who wait for His lovingkindness": Hashem's eye watches over the one who waits for His kindness, and Hashem saves the one who places his trust in Him.
לְהַצִּיל מִמָּוֶת נַפְשָׁם וּלְחַיּוֹתָם בָּרָעָב׃ - To rescue their soul from death, and to sustain them in famine.
For the one who takes refuge and trusts in Hashem, Hashem rescues his soul from death, so that they will not perish at the hand of the oppressive enemy; "and to sustain them in famine" - that even during times of famine, He delivers them from hunger. This is not written here casually, notes the Malbim, for as explained earlier, our chapter directly continues the preceding one. There we witnessed a three-year famine, after which the Holy One, blessed be He, brought rains that also produced a flash flood that swept away the enemies rising against them. This resulted in a twofold salvation: on the one hand, they were saved from famine, and on the other, they were rescued from their enemies. "To rescue their soul from death" - through the floodwaters that washed away the enemies; "and to sustain them in famine" - for those very rains, following three years of drought, provided drinking water and nourished their fields, saving them from starvation.
Our Soul Waited for Hashem
נַפְשֵׁנוּ חִכְּתָה לַיהֹוָה עֶזְרֵנוּ וּמָגִנֵּנוּ הוּא׃ - Our soul waited for Hashem; He is our help and our shield.
The Gemara cites this verse as an example of someone who interchanges the letters chet and heh. When reciting, "Our soul waited for Hashem" (chiktah), if one substitutes a heh for the chet (turning it into hiktah, meaning struck or beat) - does he not end up blaspheming, Heaven forbid?
The Malbim explains: "Our soul waited for Hashem" - even though the salvation did not arrive immediately. We have already seen earlier, "My bones wore away through my roaring all day long" - roaring all day while the salvation is delayed. Our soul waited; one had to wait for salvation. Yet despite all this, "He is our help and our shield" - come and see that Hashem helped us from famine and shielded us from the foe. The word chiktah denotes hope, in the sense of patient waiting.
כִּי בוֹ יִשְׂמַח לִבֵּנוּ כִּי בְשֵׁם קׇדְשׁוֹ בָטָחְנוּ׃ - For in Him our heart shall rejoice, for in His holy Name we have trusted.
The Malbim explains: The hope one places in the Holy One, blessed be He, is nothing like the hope one places in the salvation of flesh and blood. When a person hopes for help from a friend and the friend delays - having promised to help, yet nothing happens - he grows disheartened: "It seems there is nothing more to expect from him. He said he would help, but I have been waiting for two days and he hasn't even picked up the phone." The person sinks into gloom, realizing that the help he anticipated will likely not come. Perhaps his friend had second thoughts, or perhaps he did not change his mind but simply lacks the ability to deliver: he thought he could persuade and influence, but finds it is beyond his power. Simply put, when relying on a human being, that anticipation often leads to sadness. But for one who trusts in Hashem - with Him, blessed be He, there is neither lack of ability nor lack of will. Therefore, "Our soul waited for Hashem," yet nevertheless "in Him our heart shall rejoice," unlike relying on flesh and blood where delay causes distress. Even though we waited, we trust in Hashem's salvation even if it does not arrive at once - "for in His holy Name we have trusted," with absolute confidence that Hashem will surely save us, for His holy Name is proclaimed upon us, as it is written: "And Your Name is proclaimed upon us; do not forsake us."
A wonderful explanation has been offered on this (the source is not recalled): Where is Hashem's Name proclaimed upon us? In the name "Yisrael," which contains the divine Name Keil. "He did not do so for any nation." But one might immediately ask: Does not "Yishmael" also contain the name Keil? Notice, however, that there Hashem's Name is not pronounced, for the aleph is quiescent and unpronounced: one says "Yishmel," rather than "Yishma-El." With us, by contrast, it is distinctly pronounced and sounded: "Yisra-el" - Keil explicitly. Hashem's Name is not proclaimed upon them; only upon us - "And Your Name is proclaimed upon us; do not forsake us."
יְהִי חַסְדְּךָ יְהֹוָה עָלֵינוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר יִחַלְנוּ לָךְ׃ - May Your kindness, Hashem, be upon us, just as we have hoped for You.
In any event, David says: I pray that in the future we will not need to wait and linger a long time for Hashem's kindness, but rather "May Your kindness, Hashem, be upon us" immediately. "Just as we have hoped for You" - as soon as we hope for You, save us and do not delay the salvation. And although our soul waited for Hashem, and although in Him our heart rejoices because we are certain that salvation will surely come, nevertheless, may Your kindness be upon us at once, without holding back the salvation.
In summary: The chapter teaches us two modes of divine providence: "From heaven Hashem looks down" - the order of nature and the universal system, in which the Holy One, blessed be He, knows all in advance and created the world according to the needs of His creatures; and "From His dwelling place He gazes intently" - individual divine providence over each generation and every person according to their deeds. His knowledge is neither newly acquired nor increased, for He is "He Who fashions their hearts together" and therefore "He Who understands all their deeds," like a clockmaker or a software programmer who knows all its operations in advance. Yet despite this, free will remains in our hands, for "His knowledge is not like our knowledge." Hence, a king is not saved by a vast army, nor is a warrior delivered by great strength, and even the horse can prove deceptive - and that very deception can turn into salvation, whatever the Creator desires. "Behold, the eye of Hashem is on those who fear Him, on those who yearn for His kindness": It is better to take refuge in Hashem than to trust in man, and whoever trusts in Him does not grow sorrowful even when salvation delays, for with Him, blessed be He, there is neither lack of ability nor lack of will. Therefore David concludes with a prayer: "May Your kindness, Hashem, be upon us, just as we have hoped for You" - that salvation may come immediately, without delay.