Psalms · Psalm 128

"A song of ascents. Praiseworthy is every man who fears the Lord" — All of these are admonitions and disciplines. Because it is written, “Praiseworthy is the man,” “Praiseworthy is a man,” it therefore says here “every,” to include a woman.

'A Song of Ascents' — similar in sense to the [psalm] above, in the matter of children: 'Happy is every one who fears Hashem' — [meaning] that he will not violate a negative commandment, out of his fear of Hashem. 'Who walks in His ways' — the ways of Hashem are the positive commandments.

"A song" — He praises the ways of one who fears the word of Hashem, [stating] that everyone who is in exile will do this, and will merit to see the good of Jerusalem. "One who fears Hashem" — this is one who is careful to observe the negative commandments. "Who walks in His ways" — [this refers to] one who is careful to observe the positive commandments. After this he speaks of the conduct of one's livelihood: that the good way is for a person to live from his own labor and not benefit from others, so long as he is able to exert himself in labor. And if his conduct is of this manner:

"Fears Hashem" — from transgressing the negative commandments. "Who walks in His ways" — to fulfill the positive commandments.

"A Song of Ascents" — now he will explain the ways in which effort is good and avails, and he divides the perfection of one who fears Hashem into three: the perfection of himself, the perfection of his household, and the perfection of the community. Regarding the perfection of himself he says, "Happy is every one who fears Hashem" — the essential "steps" (ashurav, playing on ashrei, "happy") of one who fears Hashem consist in his being "one who walks in His ways" — this very fact, that he walks in the ways of Hashem, is the essence of his soul's happiness. And regarding his bodily success he speaks next.

"If...the toil of your hands" — He who benefits from the toil of his hands inherits two worlds. In Tractate Berachoth (8a).

'The labor' — for your appetite, through the sustenance that comes into your hand: 'by the labor of your hands, happy shall you be.'

"Happy you shall be, and it shall be well with you" — the people of the world will call you happy, and it will be a good reward from God, blessed be He. This is what our Sages, of blessed memory, explained: "Happy shall you be" — in this world; "and it shall be well with you" — in the World to Come.

"When you eat" — when you eat the labor of your hands, and do not benefit from others by sharing with them in the reward for Torah [study] — then "happy are you," meaning, that will be your praise and your glory, and it will be good for you, for then you will receive your full reward, lacking nothing.

"When you eat the labor of your hands" — if the labor of your hands is only in the measure that you eat, that is, that you do not labor to grow rich and increase wealth, but only to the extent necessary for a living being to sustain itself and find food, and no more — then "happy shall you be, and it shall be well with you" — meaning, the happiness of the soul together with the good of life in this world. From now on he will describe the perfection of the household.

"as a fruitful vine" — Every woman whose blood is abundant will have many children. "in the innermost parts of your house" — Because it is customary to have marital relations in secret. Another explanation: "in the innermost parts" — If your wife is menstruating, put her into the innermost parts of your house so that you will not become accustomed to being with her. "your sons will be like olive shoots" — Just as olive trees cannot be grafted, so will your sons not have any disqualification.

'Your wife shall be as a fruitful vine' — that she shall bear children in her due time. And the sense is: since every vine grows outside the house, exposed to the sun, therefore, in contrast to this, it says 'like olive plants' — in respect of their strength, and that the leaf of the olive tree does not wither.

"Your wife" — [vocalized] with a segol under the alef. He also speaks here of the good ways of conduct in this world: that you should direct your wife to be like a fruitful vine in the innermost parts of your house. He compares her to a vine, for there is no tree that people plant inside the house except the vine, which some people plant in the innermost parts of their house; and when it grows, they bring it out through an opening in the house to the outside, toward the sun — so that its root is inside the house while its branches are outside the house. So too the wife should be modest, [remaining] in the innermost parts of the house, not going outside. And he says "in the innermost parts" — for even within her own house she should be modest, not sitting at the entrance of her house where passersby would see her, for that is the way of a disreputable woman; rather, she should always be in the innermost parts of the house, so that no one sees her except her husband and the members of her household. But the sons go outside, to their work and for the needs of the household, just as the branches of the vine go outside so that they may be fruitful and multiply. And if your wife conducts herself in this manner, [your children] will be: "Your children like olive plants" — He compares them to the olive, for the olive tree does not accept grafting from another tree, and its saplings are truly the offspring of their own parent tree. So too the children born of this [modest] wife — there will be no suspicion of illegitimacy about them, because their mother is modest and has been intimate only with her husband. He also compares them to olives because the olive tree remains green and moist all the days of the year; so too they will be, in their good splendor, through their good deeds. And he says "round about your table" — that they will be before you to serve you; that is, at the time when you eat, they will always be around your table, so that they will not be sent off to be gluttons and drunkards [elsewhere], but they will eat and drink only at your table.

"As a vine, etc." — [your wife] will be like a fruit-bearing vine that stands in the innermost part of the house, near to him, so that he can watch over it, fertilize it, and water it in its season — for then the fruits are abundant and good. So too your wife will bear you many and good sons. "Like olive plants" — which stand in their beauty all the days of the year; so too your children — the appearance of their faces will never dim, and they will be around your table, and will not be reclining at the table of others.

"Innermost parts" — its meaning is "side" and "edge," like the thigh (yarech), which is on a person's side, as in "on the side of the altar" (Leviticus 4). "Like olive plants" — like plantings of olives, as in "and he shall be like a tree planted" (above, Psalm 1).

"Your wife" shall be like "a fruitful vine" — so shall she bear children — and she shall also be like a vine planted "in the innermost parts of your house," for although it stands in the innermost part of the house, it raises its branches and tendrils up to the roof of the house and shades the house as a whole from there. So she is modest, dwelling in the tent in the innermost part of the house, and nevertheless guards and shelters the house as a whole. "Your children" are like "olive plants," which do not accept grafting, and which give oil for light — so shall they be true offspring, shining with the light of knowledge, and sitting "round about your table":

'Behold' — this is the blessing that one who fears Heaven seeks in this world.

"Behold" — with such qualities and practices shall the man who fears Hashem be blessed.

"Behold, surely thus" — behold, when [a man conducts himself] thus, with these blessings he shall be blessed, etc.

"Behold, surely thus the man shall be blessed who fears Hashem" — that is to say, what I have spoken until now pertains to the blessing of the man himself, for the blessing of his wife and children pertains to his own blessing. For from now on he will begin to speak of the blessing that goes forth beyond him, in that he proceeds along the path of perfection for all the people of his nation, and so he says next.

"from Zion" — which is the gate of heaven. Moreover, in the merit of Zion they would be fruitful and multiply, as it is written (I Kings 4:20): “Judah and Israel [were] many.” "the good of Jerusalem" — And you shall rejoice with all the good.

'Hashem bless you' — the sense is that this blessing shall come to you from the Glory that dwells in Zion. And the sense of 'the house that is near' is that in Zion is the House of Hashem. And the sense of 'and see the good of Jerusalem' — when he goes up [to Jerusalem] on the three pilgrimage festivals.

"Out of Zion" — from the place of His Divine Presence, which is Zion. "And see" — and you will merit to see the good of Jerusalem when Israel returns from exile. "All the days of your life" — and you shall see good all the days of your life, whether in exile or in the good of Jerusalem; and "see the good," which he mentioned, stands in place of two [statements — applying to both circumstances].

"Hashem bless you" — for Hashem will bless you from Zion, the source of the abundance of all blessings. "And see" — and you will be seeing the good of Jerusalem at the time of its rebuilding.

"Hashem bless you out of Zion" — you shall further merit to be blessed from Zion, which is the blessing of the community of Israel that goes forth from Zion, where Hashem commanded the blessing for the entire people. And this blessing you shall receive from the community, and you too shall strive for the good of the community — "and see the good of Jerusalem" — to see the good of Jerusalem and the success of the community. To this shall be devoted "all the days of your life" — that you dedicate all your days to the good of the community, to see their good and their happiness:

"And may you see children [born] to your children" — and they shall not come to quarrel about halitzah, [since that is performed only if there are no children,] and then there will be peace upon Israel (addendum). "children [born] to your children" — They will inherit the estate, and no woman will be subject to the levir [in a levirate marriage]. Then there will be peace in the world.

'And see' — [this verb] also serves for what follows; thus it is as if it said, 'and see: peace be upon Israel.'

"And see" — and you shall live long, until you see children born to your children, and until you see peace upon Israel. This refers to the ingathering of the exiles: if the Redeemer comes [in your lifetime, you will see it]; and if not, the Creator will then revive you together with the righteous dead who will live again, and you will see peace upon Israel.

"Peace" — the word "and see," stated at the beginning of the verse, stands in place of two [occurrences], as though it said "and see peace upon Israel" — meaning, you will see the peace of Israel when they dwell upon their land.

"And see" — you shall also strive to see that the "children" who will be born "to your children" will likewise serve the comprehensive goal that there be "peace upon Israel" — that from the generation of your children, perfection and peace shall be achieved for the community of Israel as a whole, in such a way that the days of your life shall be devoted to the good of Jerusalem, and the days of your children's lives to the good of the entire community of Israel: