Introduction: For the Choirmaster, to Yedutun
לַמְנַצֵּחַ לִידוּתוּן מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד׃ - For the Choirmaster, to Yedutun, a psalm of David.
What is "Yedutun"? Several explanations are offered. Rashi explains that it is the name of one of the singers - there was a singer in the Beit HaMikdash named Yedutun, and this song was given to him. Rashi also brings that Yedutun is the name of a musical instrument. And in the Midrash Aggadah, Rashi explains that Yedutun comes from the language of datot (edicts), meaning the decrees and judgments of afflictions decreed upon the people of Israel, and concerning those decrees David recited this psalm. Radak explains: King David composed this psalm and gave it to Yedutun the singer - meaning Yedutun was not the composer of the song, but David composed it and granted the song to him. In Kohelet Rabbah, it is brought that Yedutun was the father of Oved-Edom the Gittite, and he had a friendship with David; therefore, it says "For the Choirmaster, to Yedutun."
The Malbim says that in this psalm, David speaks glorious matters concerning the secret of the soul and its essence, and its existence within this "stricken body" (haguf hanaguf). "The stricken body" is an expression used by the early sages for the body destined to be struck down, meaning to descend into the grave; contrasted with it is the soul, as the Malbim will explain further on. The descriptions here are reminiscent of the previous psalm.
"I said: I will guard my ways" - A fence and safeguard for the tongue
אָמַרְתִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה דְרָכַי מֵחֲטוֹא בִלְשׁוֹנִי אֶשְׁמְרָה לְפִי מַחְסוֹם בְּעֹד רָשָׁע לְנֶגְדִּי׃ - I said: I will guard my ways from sinning with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth while the wicked is before me.
Radak explains: "I said" - I thought in my heart; "I will guard my ways" - my conduct and my path, as in "from pursuing your own ways" and "I recounted my ways." I said that I will guard my ways from sinning with my tongue, and I will place a muzzle on my mouth so that I do not stumble with my speech and do not speak out of my distress. A person finds himself in distress, and opens his mouth unwisely, voicing complaints against Heaven. David says: despite all this, I was careful.
Just as it is written concerning Iyov: "In all this, Iyov did not sin with his lips" - meaning that even though he suffered many afflictions, he did not sin with his lips. Our Sages said: with his lips he did not sin, but in his heart he did sin - he sinned in his inner thoughts. And they said that had he been careful even in his heart, we would say "the God of Avraham, the God of Yitzchak, the God of Yaakov, and the God of Iyov"; but since he sinned in his heart, we do not say "the God of Iyov." In any case, with his lips he did not sin - and this is what David is saying: I am careful not to sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth.
"While the wicked is before me" - and all the more so when the wicked stands before me, coming to visit me and see my breakdown and distress; all the more so must I guard my mouth from speaking, as if there were a muzzle on my mouth. This is for two reasons. First, so that he does not rejoice: the wicked person looks upon my ruin, and the more I suffer, the greater his joy - and I do not want to give him that pleasure. Second, if it comes to criticizing Heaven, where a person voices grievances over why he suffers - the wicked person standing before me will say: Look, King David is hurling harsh words toward Heaven, so restraint has been cast off! Thus, I would cause another person to learn evil from me.
For this reason, we find several matters that are permitted for a Torah scholar to do, and special leniencies that apply to him in areas where he is otherwise more meticulous - yet the Sages stated that he should not do so in the presence of an ignoramus (am ha'aretz). Why? Because often an unlearned person learns from this and becomes lenient where it was not permitted, performing actions that have no halachic basis. Therefore David says: certainly, while the wicked is before me, I will be extremely careful not to open my mouth, so that no stumbling block arises through me, lest someone else revile and blaspheme because he heard that I complained.
The Malbim's Explanation: An Inquiry into the Soul
The Malbim explains: "I said" - I thought in my heart that regarding the matter I wish to investigate, I will not speak. For David was engaged here in a profound inquiry into the nature of the soul and its powers, and initially he thought to guard his way from speaking of it, for two reasons. First, the essence of the soul is concealed, lofty, and exalted. None of us has ever directly encountered his soul; who can understand its essence and nature? For all our perceptions come through the senses, whereas the soul cannot be perceived by the senses and lies beyond our grasp. Therefore, David says, I feared sinning with my tongue - lest through this I come to commit a sin.
Lest I begin speaking about the soul from misconceptions: that the soul is like the body, and when the body ceases to exist it ceases along with it, as one sees with animals, where the moment they die their spirit is reduced to nothing - "the spirit of the animal descends downward to the earth," having no enduring existence. David says: I am deeply afraid to begin discussing the soul, lest I fall into error and think that the soul is intrinsically bound to the body, thereby denying the eternity of the soul and the immortality of the neshamah, imagining that the soul dies with the death of the body.
And even if I trust in the strength of my faith that I would not come to this - for when a person begins philosophical inquiry he cannot know what conclusions he might reach, yet even so, I remain confident in my faith - nevertheless, "I will place a muzzle on my mouth"; it is proper that I not speak about this matter at all. And why? Because the wicked person is before me. Even if I am careful, he will not be careful, and he will come to think that the soul is merely a corporeal entity destined to perish, with no eternal existence. Certainly, investigating such matters and speaking of them while a wicked person is before me is liable to cause that wicked person to stumble.
Tongue and Mouth: Inwardness and Outwardness
Notice, the Malbim explains, that here we have both "from sinning with my tongue" and "I will place a muzzle on my mouth." We have already seen in several places that the tongue represents the realm of understanding and intellect - rational speech is associated with the tongue; whereas the mouth represents externality, through which outward speech is expressed. Deeper, more internal articulation belongs to the tongue, just as the tongue itself is more internal. This corresponds to the faculty of binah and contemplation, for the tongue "kneads" (lasha) - turning over and kneading food thoroughly; similarly, when a person contemplates a matter and delves deeply into it, this is the aspect of the tongue. But from the mouth outward is mere external expression, not internal speech.
According to this, David says: When I am by myself, I guard myself against speculative inquiry through the methods of intellect and analysis - and this is "with my tongue"; and when the wicked person is before me, I guard my mouth, for now he is listening, and the mouth represents outward speech - "I will place a muzzle on my mouth while the wicked is before me."
The Zohar: A Covenant Is Made with the Lips
The holy Zohar in Parashat Pinchas expounds the verse: "I will place a muzzle on my mouth" - I am exceedingly careful never to curse myself, even conditionally. Just as Yaakov said, "With whomever you find your gods, he shall not live" - a conditional curse; and likewise, "Erase me now from Your book that You have written." David says: I am exceedingly cautious regarding this. And who is meant by "while the wicked is before me"? The Zohar explains: there is an appointed prosecuting angel in charge of the curses a person pronounces upon himself, who takes that very word on high and pursues him until that word is fulfilled, Heaven forbid - he does not relent until he brings it into reality. Therefore David says: "I will place a muzzle on my mouth," meaning I am exceedingly careful never to say anything negative about myself.
From here we see that a person must always be cautious. One should not say, "If something happens to me, Heaven forbid" - one must never speak ill of oneself, nor of one's fellow. How can someone say to his friend, "And what if you have a car accident?" One should never say to a person "if it happens to you," but rather "if a person has a car accident." By the way, one must be especially careful about this with insurance agents, who love giving examples: "Listen, if tomorrow you have a car accident and suffer this kind of property damage, and Heaven forbid bodily harm as well" - tell him: do not use me as your example, give examples about others. This is why Chazal always phrased such matters in the third person, saying "that man almost died," rather than saying "I was almost killed" - which would be a negative utterance directed at oneself. There is an angel appointed to seize whatever curse a person utters upon himself, even conditionally, and bring it upon him, Heaven forbid. Therefore, one must be exceedingly vigilant: a covenant is made with the lips.
In the Segulah cemetery in Petach Tikva, there is a grave inscribed with the words, "A covenant is made with the lips." The story behind it is that when the cemetery was inaugurated - and as is known, a cemetery must be consecrated before burials can take place, involving certain rituals - someone asked: "Well, who volunteers to be the first?" One person replied jokingly, with a laugh: "I volunteer." A short time later his funeral took place, Heaven forbid; the man was killed, they buried him, and they inscribed on his tombstone: "A covenant is made with the lips." Do not let negative words about yourself pass your lips - there is an appointed angel who takes that very utterance, as the Zohar says, and pursues him until that word is brought to pass.
We also find this with Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, who said, "Erase me now from Your book." Even though he said this for the sake of the Jewish people, and even though the Holy One, blessed be He, fulfilled his will and accepted his prayer - nevertheless, he was not spared the consequence. In Parashat Tetzaveh his name is erased: "And you shall command," and his name is not mentioned at all. Because he had said, "Erase me now from Your book," he was erased from one portion in Hashem's book.
"I Was Mute in Silence" - A Painful Silence
נֶאֱלַמְתִּי דוּמִיָּה הֶחֱשֵׁיתִי מִטּוֹב וּכְאֵבִי נֶעְכָּר׃ - I was mute in silence, I held my peace even from good, and my pain was stirred up.
The verse speaks of the terrible pain David suffered. And an interesting observation: "נֶאֱלַמְתִּי דוּמִיָּה הֶחֱשֵׁיתִי מִטּוֹב" - the initial letters spell "נדהם" (astonished, stunned). King David was stunned, as it were, by his pain.
Radak explains: "I was struck dumb, in silence" - from the word for mute, in silence; I am so quiet that I have become like a mute. "I refrained even from good" - I do not speak even good things. "And my pain was stirred up" - even though my pain is stirred up and corrupted, I restrain my mouth from speaking even good things. And why? Because by speaking good, I might inadvertently come to speak evil. As people often say of someone: "He is a wonderful person, an exceptional individual - except for that issue where he sometimes loses his temper quickly, but besides that..." What happened? I praised him lavishly, and in doing so, I also came to disparage him.
King David says: I am so cautious - as we explained according to the Malbim, that he was careful not to delve into philosophical inquiries of the soul lest he arrive at heretical thoughts - that I do not speak even good things. And this also aligns with the words of the Zohar that a person should never curse himself: I am careful even regarding good things, so that I do not, Heaven forbid, come to utter a curse.
And what is the meaning of "my pain was stirred up" (כאבי נעכר)? Radak explains that this refers back to the flesh - the flesh where the pain resides. "Ne'ekar" with a chaf, related to murkiness or corruption (achur). One cannot describe the sensation of pain itself as murky or corrupt, but the site of the pain, the flesh, has become putrid and corrupted from all the pus and damage wrought upon it by the illness.
There are further interpretations of "I refrained from good": Another explanation in Radak is that I held back from speaking of good because I had no good. I wanted to speak of good, but I cannot say anything good, for I experience only suffering. When someone is asked, "What about good things?" he answers, "I have none." And a third explanation in Radak: "I refrained from good" in my thoughts - I no longer expect any good; I have lost hope, I have no more expectations, and I cannot imagine that any further good will come to me. From the expression of silence - I have despaired of goodness and no longer rely upon it.
The Malbim explains: "I was struck dumb, in silence" - I was hushed in silence until I became like a mute, to the point that "I refrained even from good" - I did not speak even of good things. For from this subject, ethical lessons could have blossomed: contemplating the soul, its purpose, its nature, and what a person is meant to accomplish here in this world. Yet David says: I feared and trembled greatly to touch this philosophical inquiry, lest I stumble into error, and therefore I was careful not to utter even good things. But as a result - "and my pain was stirred up": my soul clamors within me to delve into the matter, to contemplate and comprehend it, for this is the entirety of man, this is his ultimate end, his purpose, and his very existence. And by keeping silent and refusing to speak of it, an internal ache stirs within me again and again to investigate the matter.
"There Is No Good Except Torah"
The Gemara in Masechet Berachot expounds: "'I was struck dumb, in silence; I refrained from good' - whoever is able to engage in Torah study and does not engage in it, and there is no 'good' other than Torah, 'and my pain was stirred up' - brings upon himself ugly and troubling afflictions." When does a person suffer afflictions that trouble him? When he is struck dumb and silent from engaging in Torah study. When a person does not engage in Torah, pains beset him, and "one who feels pain in his head should engage in Torah."
There was once a yeshiva student who did not come down to the study session (seder). The mashgiach went to check on him and found him lying in bed in his room. He asked him, "What happened?" The student replied, "I have a headache." The mashgiach said to him, "It is written, 'One who feels pain in his head should engage in Torah.'" The student answered him, "There is a ban instituted by the early authorities against healing oneself through the segulot recorded in the Gemara, and this segulah is recorded in the Gemara..." Happy is he, and happy is his lot!
The Zohar: Punished Even for a Good Word Left Unsaid
The holy Zohar explains the verse in a direction opposite to our previous explanation. The Zohar says: Just as a person is punished for an evil word that leaves his mouth, so too is he punished for a good word that presented itself to him, which he could have spoken and failed to speak. And why was "my pain stirred up"? Because "I refrained from good." You are punished when you speak negative words, and to the same degree you will be held accountable when you had the opportunity to say something positive and refrained.
Therefore, a person must always recognize: if one is able to say something good, words of praise, thanksgiving to the Creator of the world, or words of encouragement and support to someone - let him not hold back from it. For the Zohar teaches that a person is called to account for this: "You were able to speak, yet you did not; why did you do so?" If you have the opportunity to speak good, speak good, so that you will not be held accountable.
"My heart grew hot within me" - The Fire Within
חַם לִבִּי בְּקִרְבִּי בַּהֲגִיגִי תִבְעַר אֵשׁ דִּבַּרְתִּי בִּלְשׁוֹנִי׃ - My heart grew hot within me, in my meditation a fire burned; I spoke with my tongue.
Radak explains: From the severity of the illness my heart grew hot, to the point that "in my meditation a fire burned" - when I speak, related to hagigim (utterances), as I meditate and utter words, my speech is as hot as fire. Why? Because if a fire burns deep inside me, when I speak that fire bursts forth. And since my heart was hot, as I spoke, the fire emerged from my mouth. "I spoke with my tongue" - when I spoke with my tongue, then in my speech a fire burned.
The Malbim explains: "My heart grew hot within me" - my heart was inflamed with the passionate desire to speak about this philosophical inquiry, and this already occurred during the stage of hagigim (meditation). And what are hagigim? The Malbim explains that there is speech, and there is thought, and between them lies hagigim. Speech is something you have articulated from your mouth; thought is something that still passes only through the mind without being uttered; and hagigim are what a person begins to murmur or meditate upon: it has not yet reached full speech, but it has already progressed beyond mere thought.
David says: Already when I began to ponder this matter, it was like a blazing fire within me, and I could neither endure nor contain the flame burning inside me. Therefore, "I spoke with my tongue" - I brought my meditations from potential into actuality and decided to speak with my tongue after all. That very inquiry that had awakened within me, which until now was kept deep inside and which I had not wished to utter with my lips, I now decided to bring forth and express clearly with my tongue.
An Additional Explanation: "A Person Should Not Speak of His Fellow's Good Qualities"
There is a wonderful and well-known explanation offered on these verses. Chazal said: A person should never speak of the good qualities of his fellow, lest through his praise he come to speak disparagingly of him. At first glance, this is puzzling: If I want to say that Reuven is a good person, why should it be forbidden to speak well of my fellow?
Two explanations are offered for this. The first is that of the Rif and Rashi: The intention is that one should not praise him excessively. When you talk too much, you elaborate, and there is a concern that out of lengthy praises you will slip into disparagement: "He is a wonderful person, a good man, he does this and that - except for that one issue that he sometimes has a short fuse, but other than that..." How did you arrive at criticism? Through excessive praise! Thus, the meaning is: Do not praise him excessively, but a brief compliment is permitted. The Rambam, on the other hand, explains that the prohibition refers to speaking in front of his enemies - one must not praise someone in the presence of those who dislike him, for they will retort: "What are you making of him? We know who he really is, let us tell you the truth about him!" - thereby provoking them to speak lashon hara.
In practice, as a matter of halachah, both things are forbidden: both praising someone excessively, where according to Rashi and the Rif one will end up disparaging him, and praising someone in front of his detractors, where according to the Rambam it will lead them to disparage him. This is indeed ruled as halachah by the Chafetz Chaim.
It is in light of this principle that David Hamelech speaks here. "I said, I will guard my ways" - I resolved to set a fence and safeguard around my ways, "from sinning with my tongue," so that I would not stumble in my speech. And what is this safeguard? "I will guard" - meaning, I do not abstain entirely, but act with care. I do not praise excessively: I speak of my fellow's goodness, but I take care not to overdo the praise, so that I do not lapse through excessive praise into disparagement, in accordance with the Rif and Rashi.
Yet notice: "I will keep a muzzle on my mouth" - here David speaks of an additional stage, where one closes his mouth completely. And when is that? "While the wicked is before me" - when that person has enemies, and one might want to praise him before the wicked person or adversary. In that situation, "I will keep a muzzle on my mouth": not merely being cautious not to speak too much, but remaining entirely silent, refraining from speaking of his virtues altogether, so that those enemies will not be provoked to speak ill of him. This corresponds to the Rambam's view. And regarding the great difficulty of guarding one's tongue, he says, "and my pain was stirred up" - for this is exceedingly difficult; it is painful, an ongoing struggle.
The Chafetz Chaim once remarked: "What pleasure is there in lashon hara?" To this, the Chazon Ish replied: "This is proof that the Chafetz Chaim never spoke lashon hara in his life, for had he ever spoken lashon hara, he would know how much pleasure there is in it!" When a person has never experienced something, he has no conception of it. One might say, "What pleasure is there in drugs?" - having never tried them; but if someone who has experienced them explains the pleasure, one understands what he means. When someone who has never indulged asks, "What pleasure is there in this?" - how would he know? Has he ever tried it? So too with the Chafetz Chaim, who attested that he had never spoken lashon hara.
The "Dust" of Lashon Hara
David HaMelech adds another dimension, saying: "My heart grew hot within me" - my heart burns within me. Over what? Over another transgression, which is *avak lashon hara* (the subtle "dust" of evil speech). And what is *avak lashon hara*? The Gemara asks what qualifies as such and cites an example: a newcomer arrives in town and asks you where fire can be obtained, and you answer him - there is fire in so-and-so's house. What is the meaning of these words? They could be understood as praise: so-and-so is hospitable, there is always a fire burning there, whenever you arrive there are pots cooking on the fire, he is a great person of chesed. On the other hand, it can be understood in an entirely different sense: that person never stops gorging, eating and munching all day long; he washes his hands in the morning and recites Birkat HaMazon at night, and throughout the day his mouth never ceases - he is constantly eating. It turns out that by saying that he always has pots on the fire and is in the midst of an unending feast, I have spoken disparagingly of him. Yet what did I actually say? Merely, "There is fire in so-and-so's house." The question is what the intention was; and if I intended it negatively, that is *avak lashon hara*.
Regarding this, David HaMelech says: "In my meditation, a fire burned." When did "my heart grow hot within me"? It pains me that in my meditation, when I reflect and say "a fire burns" - fire burns in so-and-so's house, where pots are on the fire - when I expressed myself by saying that a fire burns in so-and-so's home, through this my pain was stirred up and my heart grew hot, for I have stumbled into *avak lashon hara*. This matter pains me exceedingly. Even if you say that I am careful regarding *lashon hara* according to the view of Rashi and the Rif, not to be overly effusive in praising someone; and even if you say that I am careful not to speak favorably of him at all in the presence of his enemies, according to the Rambam's view, so that they will not be provoked to speak ill of him - what shall I do with *avak lashon hara*, which is so difficult to contend with? About this he says, "in my meditation a fire burned," and through this "my heart grew hot within me": my heart aches that in such subtle matters, I still tend to stumble.
In summary: The opening of the psalm is an opening of silence. David HaMelech erects a double fence: "I will guard my ways from sinning with my tongue" - caution in internal reflection, and "I will keep a muzzle on my mouth while the wicked is before me" - completely sealing his lips when there is concern of causing the listener to stumble. According to the Malbim, this refers to the profound inquiry into the mystery of the soul, which David feared to touch upon lest he arrive at heresy regarding the soul's immortality and cause the wicked person to stumble; and according to the Zohar, it refers to absolute caution against cursing oneself, even conditionally, because there is an appointed angel who pursues the spoken word until it is fulfilled. "I was struck dumb with silence" - to the point that I withheld even from speaking good, and from this Chazal derived that one who refrains from Torah brings painful afflictions upon himself, while the Zohar adds that a person is also punished for a good word that he could have spoken but did not. Finally, "my heart grew hot within me" - the inner fire that does not let him remain silent, and with it the anguish over the severity of guarding one's tongue: over excessive praise, over speaking before enemies, and over the subtle "dust" of *lashon hara* that is so difficult to guard against.