Psalm 39 is a psalm of inner conflict. In the opening verses, King David described how he guarded his mouth and was struck dumb with silence, fearing that the profound inquiry he wished to pursue might lead to statements unfitting toward the Holy One, Blessed be He, or perhaps, Heaven forbid, to words of heresy. Yet this inquiry burned within him and gave him no rest, as he said: "In my contemplation a fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue." From this point onward, he turns to detail that very inquiry.
הוֹדִיעֵנִי יְהֹוָה קִצִּי וּמִדַּת יָמַי מַה הִיא אֵדְעָה מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי׃ - Hashem, make me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am.
Radak explains David's plea in light of what Job said: "And what is my end, that I should prolong my life?" - is my end far off? Do I still have a long life ahead, after which I will be restored to health? But if my days are few, Job says, it is better for me to pass away early; only a short time remains anyway, so what is the point of enduring its suffering? So too here: "Hashem, make me know my end, and what is the measure of my days" - how long am I destined to live, so that I may know whether it is worth continuing to wish for life. And what is the meaning of "let me know how fleeting I am" (meh chadel ani)? Radak explains that chadel is related to yoshvei cheled ("the inhabitants of the world"), where cheled refers to the duration of this world. That is to say: let me know how much longer I will be in this earthly realm, how much longer I will remain here in this world.
The Malbim reveals to us the true nature of the inquiry that so deeply preoccupied David. David observes himself and sees that man is a resident of two separate worlds, discerning within himself two diametrically opposed roots. Man is composed of a physical dimension and a spiritual dimension. When he looks at the corporeal aspect of his being, there is no doubt that he is an inhabitant of this world, one of the dwellers of the earth: he is limited, and like the animals, he requires food and drink, and if he does not eat and drink, he will die. He is dependent on physical matters and corporeal desires; concerning this aspect, "Man and beast You save, Hashem."
On the other hand, when he contemplates the spiritual aspect within him, the portion of God from above, the soul and its faculties - he finds himself like one of the angels. The soul possesses vast and mighty powers; it has free choice, and its desires are boundless - not confined by the limitations of time and body or within the framework of nature, but truly limitless. Man is left in profound doubt: Where do I truly come from? Where do I belong? Do I belong to the corporeal reality like the beasts of the earth, or to the spiritual reality, among the angels on high?
Therefore David pleads: Master of the Universe, make known to me the true nature of these two roots. "Hashem, make me know my end" - the Malbim explains that this refers to the spiritual component within him, because it is destined to endure until the ultimate end of days (ketz hayamin); it is what will remain at the end, for the body decays in the dust while the soul lives on. "And what is the measure of my days" - this refers to corporeal life, which has a defined measure and an allotted span - not rhythm in the sense of tempo, but an allocated duration, fixed and bounded. Make known to me their true nature. "Let me know what fleeting thing I am" (meh chadel ani) - let me know to which earthly realm (cheled) I truly belong: do I belong to the lower, physical world, or to the spiritual realm, the world of the angels, as expressed by my soul?
This verse is renowned, and it is expounded both in the holy Zohar and in the Midrash. The Zohar explains: "Meh chadel ani" - David had no life of his own whatsoever. King David was destined to be stillborn, born without any life at all, until Adam HaRishon gifted him seventy years of his own, which is why Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years instead of a thousand. In the end, when Adam reached nine hundred and thirty, he regretted it and asked for them back - but it did not avail him. Once a gift is given, it is final, with no regrets. In any case, because of this, King David needed to receive additional years from other sources, but of his own, he had no lifespan at all.
The Zohar explains: because the moon has no light of its own. King David is bound to the attribute of Malchut (kingship). The seven lower Sefirot are ChaGaT NeHYM - Chessed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut - which correspond to this world, whereas Keter, Chochmah, and Binah correspond to the World to Come. As we recite during the Hakafot: Chessed corresponds to Avraham, Gevurah to Yitzchak, Tiferet to Yaakov, Netzach and Hod to Moshe and Aharon, Yesod to Yosef, and Malchut to David. King David embodies the Sefirah of Malchut, which is why he merited kingship.
Regarding the Sefirah of Malchut, the Kabbalists write that "leit lah migarma klum" - it possesses nothing of its own. It is the Sefirah closest to the lower realm, and all divine abundance descends through it. It is known as the Nukva, and it receives from the Dechura, from Ze'ir Anpin, which comprises the six Sefirot, the six extremities - Chessed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, and Yesod - forming one complete Partzuf. Facing it is Malchut, which channels the abundance downward into this lower world where mortality exists. It has nothing of its own, merely transmitting downward what it receives from the masculine realm. Thus, King David, who personifies the aspect of Malchut, has nothing of his own. Similarly, the moon is bound to the attribute of Malchut, having no light of its own but receiving its radiance from the sun and reflecting it - and like the moon, David was not naturally destined for any life of his own.
The aspect of the moon is also the aspect of the Davidic dynasty. The moon is alternately revealed and concealed: there is a time when it is visible and a time when it cannot be seen, a time of revelation and a time of hiddenness. So too, the Davidic dynasty is not constant - there was a period when it was openly revealed, and a period of concealment. We yearn for the revelation of the kingdom of the House of David, when it will shine perpetually: "And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun," for it will possess its own intrinsic source of light, and then "Your sun shall no more go down, neither shall your moon withdraw itself" - there will no longer be a reality where the moon withdraws its light, but rather the kingship will endure constantly and eternally.
From here, says the Zohar, David embodies the moon which has no light of its own, the aspect of Malchut. Therefore he cries out: "Hashem, make me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how short-lived I am" - why do I have no inherent life at all? Why do I have no light of my own, unlike all the other supernal lights that all possess life, and why was it withheld from me? This is what David sought to understand.
The Zohar further explains: "Hashem, make me know my end" - will I belong to the "end of the right," as mentioned in Daniel, or Heaven forbid to the "end of the left"? For regarding the end of days it is written, "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence." David asked: To which end do I belong - to those destined for everlasting life, or Heaven forbid to the end of the left, which is the realm of reproaches and everlasting abhorrence? His mind was not at ease until the Holy One, blessed be He, answered him, "Sit at My right hand," meaning you are destined for My right side, the aspect of the end of the right - and only then was he reassured.
There is a well-known Midrash on this verse, found in Rut Rabbah and likewise in the Gemara in Shabbat: David said before the Holy One, blessed be He, "Master of the Universe, make known to me when I will die." The Holy One, blessed be He, replied: "It is a secret that is not revealed to man."
Why is this concealed? First of all, if a person knew when he was destined to pass away, he would spend his entire life in despair. Already at age ten he would know that he is due to pass away at forty-five or thirty, and such a person would live his whole life brokenhearted. It is hidden from him so that he can at least live a wholesome life until his passing, with the feeling that he might reach a full hundred and twenty, and perhaps even receive bonus years beyond that - at least he is not crushed by this knowledge. Furthermore, such knowledge would undermine free will. Instead, a person must always maintain the perspective of "Let your garments always be white, and let your head lack no oil," in the sense of "Repent one day before your death" - lest he die tomorrow, and in this way he will diligently safeguard his spiritual standing at all times.
"And what is the measure of my days" - he said to Him: How many years will I live? He said to him: Seventy years. "Let me know when I will cease" - some explain that this means that through this I may know how to rectify myself: what are my shortcomings, in what area do I have a lack and deficiency that I must repair? But the Midrash explains "when I will cease" - on which day of the week will I cease, when will I cease from this world, when will I cease to be here? He said to him: On Shabbat.
David said: If so, deduct one day from me - I do not want to die on Shabbat, but rather on a weekday; I am willing to forfeit a day of my life, provided that I do not lie dead on Shabbat. And as we will see shortly, this indeed created a problem. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: That cannot be, for a single prayer that you stand and pray before Me is more beloved to Me than the thousand burnt-offerings that your son Shlomo is destined to offer before Me, as it is stated, "For better is a day in Your courtyards than a thousand."
Incidentally, many people read this verse mistakenly, and almost everyone who recites the psalm connects the words: "For better is a day in Your courtyards than a thousand, I chose." But this is incorrect. The proper reading is: "For better is a day in Your courtyards than a thousand" - full stop; "I chose to dwell on the threshold of the house of my God rather than dwell in the tents of wickedness." This is also proven by the cantillation marks (the teamim). And the meaning is: The Holy One, blessed be He, says, better is one day that you spend in the courtyards of Hashem praying before Me than a thousand burnt-offerings that your son Shlomo will offer.
David said: If so, do not subtract a day from me - add a day to me! As if to say: From the outset I was not brazen enough to ask for an extension, but if subtracting is impossible, what other choice is there? The only alternative is an extension. Hashem said to him: No, the reign of your son presses forward, for one reign does not encroach upon another by even a hairsbreadth. That is to say, once the time for your son's reign arrives, there can be no overlap between kingdoms: the moment your reign ends, your son's reign begins, and there is no situation where one comes at the expense of the other or delays it. Therefore, David died on the festival of Shavuot, which fell on Shabbat, and following this Shlomo came to the beit midrash and asked: My father lies in the sun, and the dogs of my father's house - what is their law? Thus we find that the very circumstance David wished to avoid - dying on Shabbat and being left in a state where he could not be buried - he was not able to avert.
This is extremely interesting, and it calls to mind what appears in Chazal concerning Moshe Rabbeinu. It is related there that Eldad and Meidad were prophesying in the camp, and what was their prophecy? Moshe will die, and Yehoshua will bring Israel into the Land. Yehoshua immediately ran to Moshe and said to him: "My lord Moshe, imprison them!" - look at what they are saying, prophesying that Moshe will die! Yet Moshe Rabbeinu was not alarmed by this at all; instead, he said, "Would that all of Hashem's people were prophets!" The Gemara asks: How could Moshe say such a thing, seeing that they said Moshe would die? And the Gemara answers: "They did not finish before him" - they did not recount their entire prophecy to him.
A wonderful explanation is offered for this: They had said two things - Moshe dies, and Yehoshua brings them in. Yehoshua came and told Moshe only the part that troubled him, "Moshe will die," and did not finish by telling him "and Yehoshua will bring them in." Moshe thought: If so, I am not worried. As for their prophecy that Moshe will die - I will pray and plead before Hashem, and with one more prayer he could annul the decree; indeed, up until that day, all decrees were nullified through his prayers. But had they finished the prophecy before him and told him "Yehoshua will bring them in," here he would have become deeply concerned: "Yehoshua brings them in" means that the reign of another is beginning, and one reign does not touch another by even a hairsbreadth. Consequently, "Moshe will die" could not be overturned, and even prayers would not avail.
The reason for this is that when Hashem issues a harsh decree, prayers can annul it; but regarding a beneficial decree, the Holy One, blessed be He, never retracts a decree made for good, with only a single exception in the matter of "and mark a sign" (ve-hitvita tav). Therefore, when only the harsh decree of "Moshe will die" was mentioned, Moshe said: I will pray. But "Yehoshua brings them in" was a favorable decree issued concerning Yehoshua, and from such a decree Hashem does not retract; and both cannot exist simultaneously, since one reign cannot overlap another. For this reason Moshe was unperturbed by what they had prophesied, but had he heard how their prophecy concluded, he would have been deeply anxious, knowing there was no longer any possibility of annulling the decree.
הִנֵּה טְפָחוֹת נָתַתָּה יָמַי וְחֶלְדִּי כְאַיִן נֶגְדֶּךָ אַךְ כָּל הֶבֶל כָּל אָדָם נִצָּב סֶלָה׃ - Behold, You have made my days mere handbreadths, and my lifespan is as nothing before You; indeed, every person standing firm is total vanity, Selah.
What is "tefachot"? From the word tefach (handbreadth): my days are measured, like an object measured in handbreadths, limited as one who measures by the measure of a handbreadth. "Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths."
Rashi explains here differently from what we saw earlier: "cheldi" is from the language of chaludah (rust), referring to old age - where man gradually rusts away. "And my lifespan is as nothing before You" - my old age already indicates that soon I will no longer be before You. "Surely every man at his best is altogether vanity, Selah" - man's life and standing are a life of vanity, and this is "standing firm, Selah." That is to say: all his days are vanity, for he already begins to rust and arrives at the point of departing this world; my life is short as the span of a handbreadth, and all that remains of it is old age and rust - if so, what is left of my life?
The Radak explains that the measure of a handbreadth (tefach) is the smallest of measurements. At first glance, this is puzzling: after all, there is a fingerbreadth (etzba), the span between fingers (sit), and a span (zeret) - so why does he call a tefach the smallest of measures? Rather, his intention is the measures of the Beit HaMikdash: among the measurements used in the Beit HaMikdash, the smallest was a tefach, as there was an amah (cubit) and so forth, and the smallest of them all was a tefach. And so says the Radak: my days, too, are short like the smallest measure.
"And my lifespan is as nothing before You" - the span of my life, as we said that cheled refers to this world, is as nothing before You. Since You exist for all eternity, what is my life? Seventy years, or by reason of strength eighty years - what are they compared to eternal life? Relative to the Holy One, blessed be He, it is as nothing, it is naught, it is zero.
"Surely every man at his best is altogether vanity, Selah" - the Radak explains that everything man attains in this world is vanity. And what is meant by "kol hevel" (altogether vanity)? It refers to even the slightest bit of vanity, the most minute vapor, similar to "Vanity of vanities, said Kohelet" - the ultimate vanity within vanity. This follows the idiom of the language: "You shall do no manner of work [kol melachah]" does not mean that doing all the work is forbidden while a part is permitted, but rather that you shall not do any work whatsoever. Likewise, "You shall eat neither fat nor blood [kol chelev vechol dam]" does not mean that only eating all of it is forbidden while a little is permitted, but rather that you shall not eat any amount of fat or blood at all. Here too, "kol hevel": even the least bit of vanity - my life is not worth even that.
In these verses, King David lays out the inquiry that burned within him until he could no longer remain silent: the nature of the two roots within man - "my end [kitzi]," which is the spiritual component that endures forever, and "the measure of my days [midat yamai]," which is the finite physical life - and from which realm (cheled) he originates, whether the lower world or the world of angels. The Zohar reveals that David, who embodies the attribute of Malchut and the moon that has no light of its own, asked why he possessed no independent life and light of his own, and whether he was destined for the end of days (ketz hayamin); his mind was not set at ease until he was told, "Sit at My right hand." The Midrash further teaches that the day of death is a secret not revealed to man, and when it was revealed to David that he would die on Shabbat, his pleas were of no avail, for no reign encroaches upon its fellow even by a hairsbreadth - just as the prophecy of "Joshua will lead them in" sealed the decree of "Moses is dead." From here we arrive at the verse's conclusion: our days are measured in handbreadths, our lives are as nothing against eternity, and even the smallest fraction of vanity - such is all that man acquires in this world.