Introduction
We continue in Chapter 34, King David's alphabetical acrostic psalm recited when he feigned madness before Avimelech. In the passage before us, David turns to his listeners with a call to examine for themselves the goodness of the Holy One, Blessed be He, teaches what true fear of Hashem is as opposed to the "fear" of the nations, and promises that those who seek Hashem will not lack any good. Let us follow the order of the verses.
"Taste and See" - Examination, Not Tasting
טַעֲמוּ וּרְאוּ כִּי־טוֹב יְהֹוָה, אַשְׁרֵי הַגֶּבֶר יֶחֱסֶה־בּוֹ׃ - Taste and see that Hashem is good; fortunate is the man who takes refuge in Him.
This verse is especially dear to us - "Ta'amu U're'u" is the name of our organization. Yet one must ask: can one actually taste the Holy One, Blessed be He? The Radak explains that intellectual knowledge and discernment are called ta'am (taste/reason). We find this in the chapter itself: "when he changed his ta'am (behavior/sense)" - meaning he altered his intellect and appeared insane. So too, "She senses (ta'amah) that her enterprise is good" - the Woman of Valor sells fabrics; does she taste them? Rather, it means that she examined and tested them. Similarly in colloquial speech: a person wants to do something and you tell him, "There is no ta'am (sense/reason) in that" - did you put it in your mouth? Rather, it means: I see no logical reason for it. Just as someone who wishes to test food tastes it, so David says: examine and test, and you will see how wonderful it is to serve Hashem. And "see" refers either to intellectual perception or visual sight; you will see that the goodness of the Holy One, Blessed be He, reaches those who take refuge in Him: "fortunate is the man who takes refuge in Him."
The Good, the Pleasant, and the Beneficial
The Malbim adds here another distinction between the salvation of Hashem and human salvation, regarding which it was said earlier that the faces of those who wait for human salvation will be ashamed. There are three categories of good: the good (hatov), the pleasant (he'arev), and the beneficial (hamo'il). "Good" is something that is truly good in essence; "pleasant" is sweet and enjoyable; "beneficial" is not necessarily enjoyable, but it certainly brings benefit. When a person eats chocolate, I do not know how good or beneficial it is, but it is certainly pleasant. When a person takes medicine, I do not know how pleasant it is - and usually it is not - but it is certainly beneficial. And there is a third category: something that is good in and of itself, even if it is not pleasant and does not appear beneficial, but is the true good, for that is what ought to be done.
The Malbim explains: in human salvation, you can attain the pleasant and the beneficial, but not the true good. With the Holy One, Blessed be He, all three are present. "Taste" - this is the pleasant, perceived by the sense of taste; come and see how wonderful faith and trust in Him are. "And see" - this is the beneficial; see that Hashem has saved me; trust in Hashem is far more beneficial than trust in flesh and blood. Moreover, "fortunate is the man who takes refuge in Him" - this is the good, the spiritual bliss a person attains through the very clinging to Hashem, which is the perfection of goodness. For if a person helped me and solved my problem, I gained a benefit, and perhaps I also enjoyed the solution, but did I become more elevated, more righteous, more holy as a result? The true good is to cleave to Him, blessed be He.
It is told that a man came to the Chafetz Chaim to tell him about a difficult problem he had, and the Chafetz Chaim blessed him and prayed for him. After some time, he returned to share the good news that, thank God, the problem had been resolved and everything had passed. The Chafetz Chaim said to him: "Tell me, how was your closeness to God while you had the problem?" This is reality: when we have a problem, we develop closeness to God - Master of the Universe, solve my problem, grant me viable offspring, provide me with a suitable match. It turns out that you also attained the good, for our true good is to be close to Him, blessed be He. Yet once the problem is resolved, a person no longer feels the need to cling as before - and thus has lost something. This is "Taste and see that Hashem is good; fortunate is the man who takes refuge in Him" - fortunate is one who trusts in the Holy One, Blessed be He, and merits all these virtues.
"Fear Hashem, You His Holy Ones" - Fear, Not Sight
יְראוּ אֶת־יְהֹוָה קְדֹשָׁיו, כִּי־אֵין מַחְסוֹר לִירֵאָיו׃ - Fear Hashem, you His holy ones, for there is no lack for those who fear Him.
Notice that I read "Yeru" (with a vocal sheva under the yud) - the alef here is quiescent, as the Radak notes. And why is it not written "Yir'u" (with a chiriq)? In order to distinguish between the language of fear (yir'ah) and the language of seeing (re'iyah). Had it been written "Yir'u et Hashem kedoshav," one might have mistakenly thought it meant seeing Him, which is certainly not the case, since it is impossible to see Hashem. Therefore, the alef was made silent, and it is now clear that the intention is fear: fear Hashem, all His holy ones.
The Malbim explains this based on what we explained regarding "Taste and see": David commands Hashem's holy ones to fear Hashem. The nations of the world used to sanctify themselves through asceticism, separating themselves from human civilization - as can still be seen today in India and various parts of the Far East, as well as in Christianity. In their view, one cannot draw close to the Divine while remaining in human society; one cannot draw close while engaging in the affairs of this world, nor while marrying a woman. One must be a monk somewhere in the Himalayas or in a remote monastery, severing oneself from physicality, and only then can one attain fear. But the Malbim says: their fear was not the fear of Hashem, but a fear of futilities and a fear for themselves, lest harm befall them. Such a person does not truly fear Hashem, but rather all sorts of futile forces, and fears lest evil happen to him - and out of that motivation, he performs his service.
By contrast, you, those who fear Hashem, must fear only Hashem and nothing else - neither vanity nor harm. Furthermore, those ascetics suffered from deprivation on two fronts: chosen deprivation and unavoidable deprivation. Chosen - because from the outset he chose not to invest in business, not to seek fine clothing or pleasures, and withdrew from worldly enjoyment. Unavoidable - because since he did nothing at all to provide for his needs, he practically had nothing, to the point that they had to eat broom roots, as is known, out of sheer poverty when they could not find food. Those who seek Hashem, on the other hand - even if they are impoverished, the Holy One, Blessed is He, prepares their food and sees to their needs even in their low state. Here you have a complete contrast: those people chose a life of affliction and actually received a life of affliction; whereas the Torah does not ask you to choose a life of affliction, but rather, as King Shlomo said, that a person should eat, drink, and enjoy good, conducting himself like ordinary people while still remaining ascetic, holy, and elevated. Nor do they lack what is essential: "Those who seek Hashem shall not lack any good thing," for the Holy One, Blessed is He, fills their every need.
Fear as the Key, and the God-Fearing as Supporters of Torah
The Lubavitcher Rebbe would say: "Fear Hashem, His holy ones" - when one fears Hashem, one attains holiness; "for there is no lack to those who fear Him" - one who is God-fearing lacks no spiritual level, he attains everything through fear. According to this, fear is the key to attaining godliness: fear Hashem, and through this, you will lack nothing in His service, may He be blessed.
And the author of Sha'arei Simchah explains: "His holy ones" - these are those who engage in the holy Torah; "those who fear Him" - these are those who support Torah scholars, the patrons of Torah. The verse comes and tells the Torah scholar: Do not worry about a financial collapse of your supporter; you have nothing to fear, for he is merely a vessel, and the support comes from Him, blessed be He. "There is no lack to those who fear Him" - the supporters of Torah will not suffer lack, and therefore you can sit in the kollel with peace of mind; they will continue to earn a livelihood and continue to support the avreichim. You need only be among "His holy ones," fearing Hashem, and the Holy One, Blessed is He, swore that the Torah will not be forgotten from the mouth of his descendants, and in every generation a yeshivah never ceased from our forefathers, including in this generation.
Fear Is Not the Cause of Lack
The Rav of Nikolsburg asks: We see people who are God-fearing and yet suffer lack. One might suggest this proves they are not truly God-fearing - but such a statement borders on slander, for we see many genuinely God-fearing people who nonetheless suffer poverty. He explains with a wonderful and true insight: Does poverty exist only among those who fear Hashem? Poverty exists everywhere. When people talk about the poverty line, they like to point to Bnei Brak, but are there not poor people everywhere? Who is poor? One upon whom poverty was decreed. And who is rich? One upon whom wealth was decreed, for it is decreed upon the seminal drop even before it enters the world whether one will be rich or poor.
And so we find with Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat, to whom the Holy One, Blessed is He, said: If I overturn the world, perhaps there would be a chance you would be born under a constellation of wealth; but you were born under a constellation of poverty. Thus, if you find a poor person among the God-fearing, his poverty did not come upon him because he fears Hashem, but because poverty was decreed upon him, whether he were God-fearing or not. And this is what King David means by "there is no lack to those who fear Him" - his being among those who fear Him is not the cause of the lack. After all, you see that there are also poor people among those who do not fear Him. But for someone to say, "This is only because he learns Torah, this is only because he is such-and-such" - that is a falsehood. Fear of Hashem does not cause lack.
"Young Lions May Suffer Want and Hunger"
כְּפִירִים רָשׁוּ וְרָעֵבוּ, וְדֹרְשֵׁי יְהֹוָה לֹא־יַחְסְרוּ כׇל־טוֹב׃ - Young lions may suffer want and hunger, but those who seek Hashem shall not lack any good thing.
Ibn Ezra cites an interpretation that "kefirim" (young lions) refers to heretics who deny the fundamental principle of faith, but adds that it is more correct to interpret it as referring to people who resemble young lions, devouring prey in their voracious appetite. You see such a person preying, building, acquiring, and succeeding, and suddenly he experiences a crash. Once, if you had a share in Teva, you were set - and today the shares are waiting for someone to buy them, and they are looking for a CEO willing to take a failing company and pull it out of the mud. So it is when a person pursues nature (teva) and forgets the Holy One, Blessed is He, trusting that nature will save him - and behold, nature itself plunges and nature itself falls. "Young lions may suffer want and hunger" - they too can experience a fall; "but those who seek Hashem," who request their bread from Hashem alone, shall not lack any good thing, and He will not abandon them, but will provide their needs.
Ibn Ezra also cites that some expound the verse in connection with the subject of the chapter: When David stood before Achish king of Gat and was seized, and it is said, "and he feigned madness in their hands," he reached a state where they gave him nothing to eat and he suffered hunger. Regarding this he says: "Young lions may suffer want and hunger, but those who seek Hashem shall not lack any good thing" - and the Holy One, Blessed is He, had mercy on me and gave me every good thing even in that situation, just as He helped Eliyahu, whether through the ravens or by other means. Radak explains: Young lions possess strength when seeking their prey, for the lion is very mighty, yet sometimes their strength does not avail them - "they suffer want and hunger," just as Iyov says: "The lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered"; whereas by contrast, those who seek Hashem shall not lack any good thing. And Metzudat David explains that the "young lions" refers to the great and wealthy.
"They Shall Not Lack" - Rather Than "They Shall Have"
And again we ask: Do those who seek Hashem truly possess every good thing? After all, we noted that a state of lack can certainly exist, as decreed upon an individual. Rav Eliyahu Lopian explains: It does not say here, "those who seek Hashem shall have every good thing," but rather "they shall not lack any good thing" - they experience no feeling of deficiency.
When the CEO of Tambour came to receive a blessing from Rav Shteinman and offered to paint his apartment with the finest paints and sponsor the entire renovation, the Rav flatly turned him away: "Do you think I lack paint? Is that what I need?" Once, it became necessary to paint because of mold on the ceiling, and the Rav said not to paint. They told him: "Rebbe, it is harmful; breathing it in is unhealthy." He agreed with them to paint only the exact spot of the mold without spreading beyond its borders. Did he lack anything? What one feels is lacking - "those who seek Hashem shall not lack any good thing."
Similarly, it is related that when the British High Commissioner came to visit Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld at his home, people suggested: Perhaps the Rav should meet him in a more dignified place? His home was a semi-basement apartment, damp and cramped - a home characteristic of the Gedolei Yisrael. He told them: "No, precisely here is where I want to meet." The High Commissioner arrived and could not believe his eyes: "What, the sage of the Jews, the leader of the generation, lives in such a place?" Rabbi Yosef Chaim directed him to the window and asked: "What do you see?" He replied: "I see the Kotel." The Rav said to him: "The Holy One, blessed be He, has no home, and what do you expect me to seek for myself?" It is told that he began to weep, trembling with tears as he spoke those words. From this we can appreciate how deeply the Gedolei Yisrael felt the Churban. But to our point: he did not feel that he lacked anything. This is the meaning of "those who seek Hashem shall not lack any good thing." One who continually seeks more pleasures and desires shows that he is less of a seeker of Hashem. The more a person seeks Hashem, the more he says: "What I have is good for me, it is enough for me; I do not seek to elevate my social status or expand my material wealth." People around him may view him as living in deprivation and misery, yet he lives the happiest of lives.
Rabbi Yaakov Galinsky related that he was once sitting on a train and noticed a man take out all his pills and arrange them, deciding which to take first and which second. Seeing Rabbi Yaakov watching him, the man asked: "And you, don't you have any pills to take?" He replied: "No." The man said: "Well, what can one do, not everyone is so fortunate..." Rabbi Yaakov said: I looked at him with compassion and said, "Thank You, Master of the Universe, that I do not need pills." It is like a drug addict who looks at you and says: "Mister, what stuff this is, incredible, it sends you soaring to the heights - and you have nothing like this? Poor fellow, you don't understand." And I reply: "I don't understand, and I wish to remain ignorant of it; I am content where I am, and I have no desire to fly to those heights. You are the unfortunate one, not I - you are the one who needs substances to reach the heights, living in illusions, and then everyone sees where you crash when you fall." So too here: one who fears Hashem feels no lack in not possessing this world; on the contrary, he feels all the more closely attached to Him, blessed be He.
"Come, Children" - Fear of Hashem Accessible to Every Soul
לְכוּ־בָנִים שִׁמְעוּ־לִי, יִרְאַת יְהֹוָה אֲלַמֶּדְכֶם׃ - "Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of Hashem."
Among the nations, as we noted, sanctity and reverence were the exclusive domain of the elite - the priests, the monks, the pagan clergy. Here King David introduces a fundamental distinction between Judaism and other religions: "Come, children, listen to me" - the fear of Hashem belongs even to young children; I will teach them as well. Fear of Hashem is accessible to every soul, and anyone who desires can attain closeness to the Creator, blessed be He. This is why the only ones who bring children to their houses of prayer are the Jewish people: in a mosque you will not see children, and in a church you will not see children, whereas in a synagogue, to distinguish between the holy and the profane by thousands of degrees, you will see children. From the moment a child is capable of sitting, listening, and praying - on the contrary, let him come and take part in the experience with us. Not through coercion, of course; one brings a child only when he wants to come, never by force, unless one wishes to make it hateful to him. But we never say, "This is a place of Divine service; what place do little ones have here?" We hold that if there are no kids, there will be no goats, and the Torah commands: "And you shall teach them diligently to your children," to instruct the young from an early age.
"Go Now, the Men" Versus "For It Is a Festival of Hashem to Us"
Among the nations, the opposite is true. Thus Pharaoh said to Moshe: "Not so; go now, the men, for that is what you seek." What, you want to serve Hashem? And who serves Hashem? In early Christianity, women did not attend church at all, only men; they held that a woman has no soul, that she stems from the devil. Only about four or five hundred years ago, in a council of bishops, did they decide that a woman has a soul - and since then, thank God, she has one. From this one can see how far they went in viewing woman as a demonic force in creation.
In Judaism, by contrast, a woman is half of a person's very being, and one cannot achieve any spiritual attainment without her. When Rav Kaduri's wife passed away and he was nearly ninety years old, he sought to remarry, explaining that he could not perform all of his spiritual work - yichudim, uniting higher divine attributes, and tikkunim - unless he was married, for without a wife, a man is only half. The holy Arizal writes in Sha'ar HaGilgulim, as discussed in Mishnat HaGilgulim, that whoever never married is considered as if he never lived in this world at all; he does not reincarnate to continue from his previous stage, but must start anew, and that lifetime is not credited to him. This applies to a new soul; one who was already here surely married in an earlier gilgul, and we no longer have new souls today, but if a new soul were to exist and never marry, that lifetime would not count at all. We thus learn that in Judaism, woman carries immense, profound significance, and all attainment of wholeness stems from the bond of marriage and the reality of "and they shall become one flesh." In Judaism, there is an essential place for the woman and a place for the children, and all are partners in the service of Hashem - unlike in Christianity and unlike in Islam.
Pharaoh said to him: Go now, the men - what connection do women and children have to the service of God? Moshe Rabbeinu answered him: You are mistaken. You think our Divine service is like your worship. "With our youth and with our elders we will go, with our sons and with our daughters we will go, for it is a festival of Hashem to us." The difference between us and you is this: you view religious service as suffering, and therefore you say, "It is enough that I suffer; why subject my wife and children to my suffering as well?" With us, however, the service of Hashem is not suffering but a festival, and when celebrating a festival, one brings both his wife and his children, so that all may celebrate and rejoice together. (Yet there are those for whom it is quite the reverse: when suffering comes, he sends his wife. They tell of a man who woke up and saw the Satan standing before him. He asked: "What are you doing here?" The Satan replied: "I have come to take your soul." He immediately woke his wife and said: "My soul, they have come to take you...") But in truth, a discerning person understands that the greatest good is the service of Hashem, which is a celebration - "for it is a festival of Hashem to us." And therefore, "Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of Hashem."
What Is "Going" and Who Are the "Children"?
The Radak asks: "Come, children" (literally, "go, children") - where must they go? He answers that the term "going" (halichah) here is an expression of urging action, not actual walking, just as in: "Come now, I will test you with mirth," "Come, and let us devise plans against Yirmiyahu," "Come now, and let us reason together," and "O house of Yaakov, come and let us walk in the light of Hashem" - where the intention is not physical walking, but hastening to cling to the light of Hashem. So too: "Come, let us sing to Hashem." And who are the "children"? These are those who listen to the ethical teachings of Dovid Hamelech, who are like the disciples of the prophets (bnei hanevi'im); the intention is not necessarily biological sons, but disciples in general. And why does he say, "I will teach you the fear of Hashem"? Because he previously stated that "there is no want to those who fear Him," he now says: whoever wishes to be among those who fear Him - I will teach him this fear. Dovid Hamelech was foremost among those who fear Hashem, and he teaches how to attain the fear of Hashem.
In Summary:
Dovid Hamelech calls on us to examine for ourselves the goodness of Hashem: "Taste" - the pleasant, "and see" - the beneficial, "praiseworthy is the man who takes refuge in Him" - the true good, which is cleaving to Him, blessed be He, and closeness to God. From this, he teaches what true fear of Heaven is - neither a hollow fear of vanities nor an ascetic withdrawal that brings deliberate and necessary deprivation, but the fear of Hashem of someone who lives among people yet remains separated, holy, and elevated. "There is no want to those who fear Him" - fear of Heaven is not the cause of deficiency, and one who seeks Hashem feels no lack, even when in the eyes of the world he might seem lacking. And finally: the fear of Hashem is not the preserve of an elite few, but belongs to every soul - children, women, and the young included - "for it is a festival of Hashem to us," meaning that for us, the service of Hashem is a celebration, not suffering.