Psalms · Psalm 131

"my heart was not haughty, etc." — I did not behave with superiority. I did not make great things pleasures, buildings, and plantings as my son made. Behold I am with You like one who has no hands or feet, like an incomplete form lying before You.

'A Song of Ascents; of David. Hashem, my heart is not haughty' — in secret; 'nor my eyes lofty' — in the open. 'Neither do I walk about' — [this is] an intransitive verb, like 'I go about mourning' (Psalm 38:7); but if it is transitive, then 'my heart' is missing, and this 'walking' is a walking in heart and in thought. The word 'from me' [mimeni] — serves for both 'great things' and 'wonderful things.'

"A Song" — David said this concerning himself, and stated this matter in these Songs of Ascents, which speak of the exile — meaning, just as he conducted himself, so will Israel conduct itself during the exile, in lowliness; and through this Hashem will have mercy on them, for Hashem is high, yet He sees the lowly. Therefore, at the end of the psalm, he says, "Let Israel hope in Hashem." He says, "My heart is not haughty" — in secret; "nor" were "my eyes" lofty — in public. "Neither do I walk" — This is an intransitive verb, even though it comes from the intensive (dagesh) pattern. "In things too great and in things too wonderful for me" — In matters of divinity, I did not boast of grasping and knowing things and mysteries that are too wonderful for my intellect; rather, I proceeded into them little by little, in awe — so as not to break through to see what my intellect cannot attain, lest my understanding become confused by it.

"My heart is not haughty" — in the thought of my heart I was not proud. "Nor my eyes lofty" — in deed, to domineer excessively, raising the eye upward in the manner of the arrogant. "Neither do I exercise myself in things too great" — I did not do great and wondrous things, with fine buildings and lofty towers, to display greatness and honor for myself — meaning, more than was necessary and more than was fitting for me.

"A Song of Ascents" — he explains how he relies on Hashem in all his affairs. "Hashem, my heart is not haughty" — haughtiness of heart indicates one who oversteps the bound in his desire and longings, whether in quantity or in quality. For example, one who desires to be like one of the angels on high oversteps the bound of desire in quality; one who desires to have strength far beyond the [natural] bound oversteps the bound of desire in quantity. "Nor my eyes lofty" — loftiness of the eyes indicates one who oversteps the bound in theoretical understanding, if he thinks that his comprehension is unlimited, and judges by his own intellect matters of the Divine that are beyond human understanding. And this corresponds to the distinction between the practical intellect and the theoretical intellect: the practical intellect has its source in the heart, and the theoretical [intellect] has its source in the eyes, for the foundation of all understanding is the examination and experience attained through the senses. And he adds that also in bringing matters to actual practice, "I do not occupy myself with things too great, or with things too wonderful for me" — "things too great" with respect to quantity, and "things too wonderful" with respect to quality.

"I calmed and quieted" — my soul upon You, like a suckling who is placed upon his mother. גָמוּל is one who sucks the breasts. "like a suckling was my soul with me" — My soul within me was before You as an infant sucking its mother’s breasts.

'Surely I have stilled' [shivviti] — like 'I have made myself equal' [nishtaveh], or 'I have set,' as in 'I have set Hashem [before me always]' (Psalm 16:8). 'And quieted' [domamti] — from the root of 'silent' [domem], or from 'likeness' [dimyon]. And the sense of 'like a weaned child' — since he mentioned 'and I do not walk about,' now a weaned child has no strength to walk unless he leans upon his mother, for he would immediately fall; so 'like a weaned child is my soul with me' — the sense is doubled. And the word 'alai' [with me] — is like 'in my eyes.' And some say: this is in the manner of a prayer — that I did not think in my heart to seek out secrets and wonders beyond me; rather, if I have not stilled my soul like a weaned child with its mother, may my soul be like a weaned child with me — in the manner of: 'let my tongue cleave to my palate, if I do not remember you' (Psalm 137:6). And David said: behold, all my trust is in Hashem; and so did Israel do.

"Surely" [lit. "if not"] — It is the convention of the language that "if not" is used in the manner of an oath or imprecation, meaning: if it were not so, then such-and-such would happen. Thus he says: "If I have not stilled and quieted my soul," may such-and-such befall me. And the meaning of "I have stilled" (shivviti) and "quieted" (domamti) is that I have set myself [at rest]. "Like a weaned child with his mother" — Like a child who is weaned from his mother's breast and begins little by little to understand the matter of his growing up, and to walk little by little, yet still does not rely on himself but on his mother, who leads him gently and trains him a little — so have I set my soul and silenced it, so that it would not rely on itself, on its own faculty, in hidden and wondrous matters, but would rely instead on its "mother" — that is, on teachers and on tradition, which is the "mother." And he adds further to strengthen the matter, saying: "My soul is with me like a weaned child" — Like the weaned child, so have I set my soul with me, that I should not rely on my own understanding.

"Surely" (lit. "if not") — this is an expression of an oath, as if saying, "if I did not do so, may such-and-such punishment come upon me" — and he cut himself off and did not say [the rest]. "I have stilled and quieted [my soul]" — I have likened my soul to a weaned infant taken from its mother's breast, whose whole trust is in its mother; so is all my trust in Hashem. "Like a weaned child, my soul is with me" — the soul that is upon me and within me is like a weaned child; and the matter is repeated to express its constancy.

"Stilled" — from the language of "shaveh" (level, i.e., calm). "And quieted" — from the language of "dimyon." "Weaned child" — its meaning is an infant recently removed from the mother's breasts, as in "and the child grew, and was weaned" (ibid., 21).

"Surely" — meaning, that he resembles, in all his affairs, a weaned child; for just as a weaned child places all his trust in his mother, that she will sustain him and guide him, so too, "I have stilled my soul, like a weaned child with his mother" — for I have trusted only in Hashem, who grants understanding in theoretical matters and guides me in practical matters. And just as a weaned child relies on nothing of his own, and knows that his strength is too short to accomplish anything, so too, "like a weaned child, my soul is with me" — for I know that I, by myself, am feeble-handed and lacking strength. And regarding this he doubles the expression, "I have stilled and quieted": he explains "I have stilled my soul, like a weaned child with his mother" [in respect of trust], and "quieted, like a weaned child, my soul is with me" [in respect of helplessness] — meaning that my soul is silent like a silent weaned child, who has no word on its tongue except "mother." And he goes on to explain who this "mother" is.

'Therefore, hope' — [is] in the imperative form.

"Hope" — With these qualities — that you conduct yourself in lowliness, both in private and in public, [so that] your heart is not lifted up to reach for wondrous things — hope in Hashem, and He will grant your hope from now and forever.

"O Israel, hope in Hashem" — meaning, learn from me, and do likewise, you too, and hope in Hashem from now and forever.

"O Israel, hope in Hashem" — for He is the one who teaches and guides them, as a mother [guides] her children, and not like a weaned child, who looks to his mother only in his infancy; for Israel shall hope for Him "from this time forth and forever."