Psalms · Psalm 42

"of the sons of Korah" — Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaf. At first, they were in their father’s counsel, but at the time of the controversy they parted, and when all those around them were swallowed up, and the earth opened its mouth, their place was left within the mouth of the earth, as the matter that is stated (Num. 26:11): “But the sons of Korah did not die.” There they uttered a song, and there they composed these psalms. [Then] they ascended from there, and the holy spirit rested on them, whereupon they prophesied concerning the exiles, the destruction of the Temple, and the Davidic dynasty.

"For the leader, of the sons of Korah" — [belonging] to the sons of Korah, to one of the sons of Heman, grandson of Samuel the Prophet. Rabbi Moshe said that this psalm was spoken in Babylon. And some say that he speaks in the voice of the people of this present exile. "And Maschil" — this is elliptical, lacking its object [i.e., "a maskil-poem"]. And some say that it is a noun, like: "and my splendor was turned in me into corruption" (Daniel 10:8). And in my opinion, it is a poem whose opening word is "Maschil."

"For the leader" — it is possible to explain that David composed these psalms through the holy spirit and gave them to the sons of Korah, the singers who were present in his time. And because the sons of Korah were prophets, these [psalms] were attributed to their descendants, and it says "of the sons of Korah" for brevity. And regarding this psalm, some say that it was spoken when he [David] was in exile among the Philistines; and some say that it was spoken in the voice of the exiles [of Israel], and this is the correct view. And he speaks in the singular, as though each one of the exiles moans and cries out from the exile, longing for the Holy Land, that the [Divine] glory should return upon it; and this is [the meaning of] "unto You, O God."

"Maschil" — through this they will learn knowledge and understanding, to pray for the redemption.

"For the leader; a maschil of the sons of Korah" — this psalm was composed by the leaders of the sons of Korah concerning the exile, and it is divided into three parts. For in our exile, two precious things that we had in ancient days were taken from us: (1) the revelation of the Divine Presence and prophecy; (2) signs and wonders, as it says, "we do not see our signs, there is no longer a prophet" (Psalm 74:9) — for by these two things we were honored in ancient days, as it says, "Has a people heard the voice of the living God..." or "has God ever attempted to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of a nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders" (Deuteronomy 4:33-34); and it says (Isaiah 63:11), "Where is He who brought them up out of the sea, with the shepherd of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them?" And this is the third [matter] — the exile itself, that is, the dispersion, that they were then scattered among the idolatrous nations, suffering pain and afflictions. And these are three distinct matters: (1) The absence of prophecy, the Holy Spirit, and the revelation of the Divine Presence — this is a matter that concerns the soul, which is a daughter of God and longs for this wondrous attachment that it now lacks; and concerning this the first part was composed — the soul's complaint about this, and its consolations, with which it is consoled (verse 6): "Why are you downcast, my soul?" (2) The absence of wonders and miracles — this is a matter that concerns the Godhead and the honor of His name, for through the wonders His greatness and kingship were made manifest; and concerning this the second part was composed, from verse 6 onward, and it likewise consoles it with the words, "Why are you downcast, my soul?" (3) The exile, the dispersion, and the afflictions — this is a matter that concerns the general body, the multitude of the house of Israel; and concerning this the third part was composed, in chapter 43 — the complaints of the congregation and its grievances, and a request for the ingathering of the exiles and the building of the chosen House; and its consolation regarding this third matter, with the words, "Why are you downcast, my soul?" And he says in the first [part], "the salvations of His face," and in the latter two, "the salvations of my face and my God" — for the restoration of the Divine Presence, which he sought in the first [part], is the salvation of His face, that He shine His face upon us and no longer withdraw it; while the restoration of the wonders and the future salvations that he sought afterward are "the salvations of my face and my God," for by this it will be known that He has a bond with Israel, and that He is their God, and that He has not despised them nor loathed them so as to destroy them, for "I am Hashem their God."

"As a hart cries longingly for rivulets" — Heb. תערג. The expression of ערג applies to the voice of the hart as the expression of נהם, roaring, applies to a lion; שּׁקוק, growling, to a bear; געה, lowing, to oxen, and צפצוף chirping, to birds. [See Teshuvoth Dunash, p. 18.] Our Sages said: The hind is the most pious of the beasts. When the beasts are thirsty for water, they gather to her so that she should raise her eyes to heaven. And what does she do? She digs a pit and thrusts her antlers into it and lows. Thereupon, the Holy One, blessed be He, has compassion on her and the deep brings up water for her. "As a hart cries longingly" — “As a hind cries longingly” is not stated, nor, “As a hart cries longingly (יערג) [in the masculine].” Only, “As a hart cries longingly.” Scripture speaks of [both] a male and a female. The male cries longingly for water, as we explained, and the female when she kneels to give birth, [because] her womb is narrow. [When] she cries out, the Holy One, blessed be He, is compassionate and prepares a serpent, which bites her on her birth canal, whereupon her womb opens. Menachem (p. 138) connects תערג with (Song 5:13): “His cheeks are like a bed of (כערוגת) spice,” but his view is impossible. Dunash (p. 18) too explained it as the sound of the hart.

"As the hart" — it is known concerning the hart that when it eats snakes its innards grow hot, and then it seeks strong streams of water. "And hart" — is used in the feminine sense, like: "a year-old she-goat" (cf. Numbers 15:27).

"As the hart" — harts dwell in the wilderness, in a place where water is not plentiful, and they long for water. Furthermore, they eat snakes and grow heated, and so they seek water to cool themselves; and this is the meaning of "channels of water," which are the flowing waters found there. There are also those who say that when hunting dogs chase after them, the harts flee onward until they find deep waters — going along and panting — and enter the water exhausted, and are thereby saved from the dogs. And it says "hart" [in the] masculine, but "pants" [in the] feminine, since [the word] includes both males and females; or he said "pants" [in the feminine] because it may be that the female pants more than the male — panting and crying out from great longing. And the term "panting" applies to the hart just as the term "lowing" applies to the ox.

"As the hart" — like the hind that cries out for lack of water, when she has none to quench her thirst, so is my soul, etc.

'Pants' (ta'arog) — this is what the cry of the hart is called, just as [we say] 'roar' for a lion and 'growl' for a bear, and similarly for other animals. 'Brooks' (afikei) — these are the places where water flows with force.

"As the hart" — The hart is thirsty for water by its nature, and besides this it eats poisonous roots and seeks to quench the poison with water; and on account of these two [causes] "it pants after the water brooks," being thirsty for water. "So my soul pants after You, God" — for the revelation of the Divine Presence, prophecy, and the Holy Spirit, as in days of old.

"when will I come and appear before God?" — to make the pilgrimages on the festivals. Here he prophesied concerning the destruction of the Temple. “Why are you downcast?” is stated here three times, corresponding to the three kingdoms destined to curtail the Temple service, and Israel will cry out and be redeemed: the kingdoms of Babylon, Greece, and Edom. "My soul thirsts" — The people of Israel say this in the Babylonian exile.

"Thirsts" — water restores a person in a moment and he lives, and his life returns to him, but bread does not do so. Therefore he likened his longing for the house of Hashem to the thirst of one longing for water; and because human life depends on water, therefore [it says] "to the living God." "When shall I come" — he longs for the coming of the Redeemer. "And appear before God" — this is [the commandment of]: "all your males shall appear" (Exodus 23:17).

"Thirsts" — he did not say "hungers," for a person can go without food for two or three days, but cannot be without water; and when the thirsty one finds water and drinks, his life returns to him. And the thirst of the rational soul for its [true] glory is greater than the thirst of the body for water. "For God" — and afterward he specifies "for the living God," since the gods other than Him are dead [lifeless]. "When shall I come and appear" — just as they used to come to the Land of Israel three times a year, to the Temple.

"My soul thirsts" — I long for the house of God, as a thirsty man longs for water, and I ask: when shall I come to see the face of Hashem in the Temple?

"[My soul] thirsts" — He explains that this longing likewise stems from two factors. First, a natural one: just as the hart thirsts for water by its nature, so "my soul," by its nature, "thirsts for God," because He is "the living God," on whom the life and spirituality of the soul depend, as it is written, "But you who cleave to Hashem your God are all alive today." And on account of this it thirsts, saying, "When shall I come and see the face of God" as in days of old. This second [factor] is an incidental thirst, like the hart in whom the thirst is increased by its food, since it eats the poisonous roots; so too, "my tears have become my bread day and night" — for the bread of the day, which is the morning meal, and the bread of the night, which is the evening meal, are my tears, for I weep morning and evening because "they say to me all day long, Where is your God?" And this bread, which is [made of] tears, further arouses this thirst for the holy waters from the springs of salvation, which is prophecy and the Holy Spirit. That is to say, besides the fact that the soul longs for this by its very nature, its longing is increased by the absence of this light from it, and by its great yearning for its return to it. (And he pictured his tears as bread, for the bread of the soul is the Torah, the sacrifices, and the [Temple] services; and now, since its bread is missing, it is sustained instead by the tears it weeps over this — in which the soul finds some relief, but through this the longing and thirst are increased still further.)

"My tears were my bread" — From here we derive that distress satiates a person, and he does not seek to eat. Similarly, Scripture states regarding Hannah (I Sam. 1:7): “and she wept and did not eat.”

"Have been" — some say: he is thirsty, and his tears, which are water, are like bread to him. And the reason for the tears is the length of the exile, and that he cannot go up on pilgrimage to rejoice. And some say that he weeps and sheds tears in place of his food. "Day and night" — continually, in private and in public. And the sense of "Where is your God" — [is a taunt referring to the fact] that you used to go up three times a year to see His face.

"My tears have been my food" — that he weeps because of the words of his enemies, and the tears are continual for him, day and night, like food — meaning, there is no day on which he does not weep several times. And some explain that he weeps at mealtime. "While they say to me all the day" — in exile they say to me, "Where is your God? If He is the true God and you worship Him, He would save you and bring you out of the exile."

"Have been my..., etc." — the tears of my weeping are to me in place of bread; that is to say, they satisfy me as if I had eaten bread, for tears of weeping prevent eating; and so it is said of Hannah, "and she wept, and did not eat" (I Samuel 1). "While they say" — because my enemies said to me, "Where is your God? If He is God, let Him arise and help you."

"These things I will remember, etc., how I passed on with the throng" — Pasoye in Old French. I remember this, and my soul pours out when I remember the festive pilgrimage, how I would pass on with the throngs of people and walk slowly with them until the House of God. סַךְ is an expression of a number. Another explanation: סַךְ is an expression of a human barrier. Another explanation: סַךְ is an expression of a covering and a booth, meaning covered wagons. סַךְ is an expression relating to צָב (Num. 7:3), “covered wagons” (עגלותצב). Covered like a booth, their name in the language of the Aggadah is סקפסטאות and אסקופיטי. "I walked slowly with them" — I walked slowly with them, as (Shab. 128b): “We may make calves and foals walk (מדדים),” and, “A woman may make her child walk (מדדה). This word serves in place of two words: אדדה עמהם, I walked with them, etay amut semble in Old French, to move together. Menachem (p. 62) associated it as an expression of affection (ידידות), as (Jer. 12:7): “I have delivered My soul’s beloved (ידידות) into the hand of her enemies.” But Dunash (p. 27) interpreted אדדם as an expression of silence (דממה), and likewise (above 37:7): “Wait (דום) for the Lord, etc.” Accordingly, the interpretation of אדדם is: “I will be dumb,” and I was silent until I came to the House of God with shouts of joy, as (above 39:2): “I will guard my mouth [as though with] a muzzle, etc.” and as (above 38:14): “But I am like a deaf man, I do not hear, and like a mute, etc.” דם is the radical of אדדם. "I would walk with them" — , as (Gen. 37:4): “And they could not speak with him in peace,” [equivalent to] לדבר עמו בשלום. "a celebrating multitude" — who were going to celebrate, and on this the liturgical poet (in the morning service of Parashat Shekalim, in the Yotzer of [the prayer] “Ayleh Ezcherah”): “A vast celebrating multitude, flooding like a river.” According to the Midrash Aggadah (Mid. Ps. 42:4), it is Greek, because they call a pool of water “chogegin.”

"These things" — he recalls the former days, when he used to go up on pilgrimage. And the sense of "in the throng" is like "the covering of the Sabbath" (2 Kings 16:18) that was on the Temple Mount. And some say [it means] together with the whole assembly of celebrants, like "sakh," a reckoning/sum. Ibn Labrat said that "eddadem" is a doubled [root] form, like "adom." Would that he had said "yiddom" [he was silent] — but the first radical of a verb is never doubled, and besides, what sense would it make to say "he was silent," when it is followed by "with the voice of joy and thanksgiving"?! What is closer to my view is that it is an alternate form, [meaning] "I proceeded," as if he had said: "I will proceed with them to the house of God" — like: "I will go softly all my years" (Isaiah 38:15); and the word comes from the nif'al construction, in the manner of "and they fought against me without cause" (Psalm 109:3).

"These things" — when I remember the pilgrimage festival, [celebrated] in joy, I pour out my soul within me. "For I passed through the throng" — even though it was their fathers who passed by and experienced that joy; and likewise, "and the Egyptians dealt harshly with us" (Deuteronomy 26:6). "For I passed through the throng" — each one says, when I remember, that I was going up among the number of those who were going up [to Jerusalem]. "I led them" — I proceeded along with them; and the meaning is "I walked along," that is, that we proceeded through our land to go up for the festival, for there was no adversary and no evil encounter along the way, and we went with a voice of song and thanksgiving. "Thanksgiving" — that we were giving thanks and praising along the way, for He led us in safety. "A multitude keeping festival" — for with their sacrifices they were going up to offer sacrifice on the festival; or, alternatively, "keeping festival" means dancing from great joy.

"These things" — the matters stated below I will remember, and because of the sorrow that is upon me, my soul pours itself out and wishes to depart. "How I passed on" — when I remember that I used to travel to Jerusalem three times a year in covered wagons, in the manner of dignitaries, and I would proceed slowly and gently, step by step, until I arrived at the Temple. "A multitude keeping festival" — with the sound of a multitude, rejoicing and dancing.

'With the throng' (basach) — from the language of 'sechach' (covering) and a canopy. 'I led them' (edadem) — an expression of walking slowly and gently; and in the words of our sages, of blessed memory, 'the woman leads her child step by step' (Shabbat 128). 'Multitude' (hamon) — from the language of 'hemyah' (murmuring/roaring). 'Keeping holiday' (choggeg) — an expression of dancing for joy, as in 'eating and drinking and celebrating' (I Samuel 30).

"These things" — Yet another matter is added, which "I remember, and I pour out my soul upon myself" — as if I myself caused all this by not going out to its aid, and my soul weeps and complains against me, for it remembers "that I passed through the thicket" — for in days of old I was quick, running, and eager to go to the house of God, so that even when I needed "to pass through the thicket" and thorns, "I would make my way over them" the whole distance "to the house of God" — I walked over the thorns and briars "with a voice of joy and thanksgiving," not alone but as "a celebrating multitude." And over this [it says] my soul [pours itself out] — my soul pours itself out because I am now negligent in His service and do not give myself over to coming to the house of God, and do not disregard all the obstacles and stumbling-blocks that stand before me on this way.

"are you downcast" — Heb. תשתוחחי, an expression of (below 44:26): “For our soul is cast down (שחה) to the dust.” When שַּׁח is used in the reflexive (מתפעל), the “tav” separates the radicals in the manner of every word whose root begins with “shin.” "Hope" — Wait and look forward to the redemption.

"Why" — he comforts his soul. And the sense of "the salvations of His countenance" follows the pattern of "His own right hand brought salvation to Him" (Psalm 98:1), used figuratively. Or, "salvations" functions as the object together with "His countenance," in the manner of the phrase "the presence of Hashem is their portion," with the word "et" [the direct-object marker] or "im" [with] being omitted.

"Why" — after my soul pours itself out within me when I remember these joys, I return and comfort it, and say to it, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? Hope in God." "The salvation of His countenance" — through the salvations of His countenance, meaning: I will again do as I have done, [trusting] that He will save me and bring me out of the exile.

"Why are you cast down" — as if he comforts his own soul and says to it: You, my soul, why do you go about bowed down, and why do you moan with a wailing voice? Hope in Hashem, for a time will yet come when I shall thank Him for the salvation that will come to me from Him.

'Are you cast down' (tishtochachi) — from the language of bowing down and bending. 'Hope' (hochili) — from the language of 'tochelet' (expectation) and hope.

"Why are you cast down, O my soul" — He answers his soul in reply. Behold, I have heard from you two things: first, being cast down and lowly, as one despairing because the light has grown distant from you; second, "that you moan against me," as if I were guilty of something in that I do not pass through the thicket to the house of God, and therefore you moan and complain against me. In neither of these two things are you correct. Against your moaning against me — the matter does not depend on me, but rather, "hope in God," for salvation depends on Him, at the time when it is His will. And against your being cast down and despairing — do not despair, but rather "hope in God," as one who hopes for a thing assured, "for yet" the time will come when "I shall thank Him" for "the salvations of His countenance," when His Presence returns to you.

"I will remember You from the land of Jordan" — From what You did for us in the Jordan and the peaks of Hermon; after all the provocation with which we provoked You in Shittim, You dried the Jordan for us. "from the young mountain" — From Mount Sinai, which is younger than other mountains; after we provoked You there with the episode of the [Golden] Calf, You forgave our iniquities and went with us. All these I remember in my exile, when You have refrained from doing good for me, and Your decrees are being renewed one after the other.

"My God" — this returns to [the question]: "why are you cast down." And the sense of "from the land of Jordan" — that they used to come to the festivals from across the Jordan, on the eastern side. And the sense of "the Hermons" [is] mountains; also, "from Mizar" is the name of a mountain.

"My God" — meaning: therefore my soul is cast down within me and moans, when I remember that we used to come from the land of Jordan to go up to the Temple, and likewise the people who dwelt on Mount Hermon, and also from the hill Mizar — he mentions the extremities of the Land of Israel from which they would go up for the pilgrimage festival. For Mount Hermon is across the Jordan, to the east, but Mount Mizar cannot be located; perhaps it, too, is across the Jordan, or possibly it was the Zior mentioned among the cities of Judah, which was in the hill country.

"O my God" — as if the soul returns to complain again and says: You, my God, behold my soul is cast down within me, because I remember the good I had from You, when we went to the house of Hashem from the land of Jordan, etc.; and he mentions those places because they were at the far border of the land of Israel.

'Therefore' (al ken) — because of [that]. 'And the Hermons' (vechermonim) — the mountains of Hermon. 'Mizar' (mitz'ar) — this is the name of the mountain.

"My God" — ("Part Two") He begins the second complaint, that now "we have not seen our signs," and the miracles and wonders are absent. And so he says, "My God, my soul is cast down within me" concerning this second matter, for "therefore I remember You from the land of Jordan and the Hermons" — that is, I remember the miracles You performed of old by the Jordan and by the mountains of Hermon, "from the little hill" of the Hermon mountains, which was divided into a great mountain and a small one, and it was on the little mountain that most of the miracles occurred at the time of the war of Canaan.

"Deep calls to deep" — One trouble calls the next one. "to the sound of Your water channels" — (Tes canals in Old French, canaux in modern French) which spray retribution upon me like flooding waters, until all Your breakers and waves have passed over me. “Your breakers” is an expression of the waves of the sea, because the waves of the sea ascend, break, and fall.

"Deep" — following the sense of the passage, he recalls the channels down which the water flowed from the high mountains. And the sense of "deep calls unto deep" — that the waters of the channels joined together below, in the manner of: "and satyr shall call to satyr" (Isaiah 34:14). And the sense is that he used to delight, when he crossed over toward the mountains, [in how] the waters came down like the breakers of the sea and its waves, and would cover him even in the days of summer. And whoever interprets this verse as referring to the exile is not connecting it properly to what precedes and follows it.

"Deep" — this alludes to the troubles of the exile, which are likened to water, as if the troubles were calling to one another to come. "At the voice of Your cataracts" — meaning: my soul is cast down at the voice of Your cataracts; that is, the troubles are drawn upon us in this way, like water pouring down from the roof through a spout, making a sound. Some explain that the clouds are called "cataracts" because they pour forth the rain — the whole being a metaphor for the troubles. "All Your waves and Your billows are gone over me" — they have passed over us; and he says "Your waves and Your billows" because You brought them upon us on account of our sins.

"Deep calls to deep" — that is to say, now the many troubles, like a deep, each one calls to its fellow to come upon me; for before the one has passed, the second comes, and it is as if they call to one another to come. "At the voice of Your cataracts" — and I am prepared to bear the waters that pour from the channels, which make a great sound as they pour, for they are many; and this is a metaphor for the multitude of troubles. "All Your waves and Your billows" — many troubles, like the waves of the sea, pass over me.

'Deep' (tehom) — a place where many waters gather. 'Your cataracts' (tzinorecha) — from the language of a 'tzinnor' [pipe] and a gutter through which water flows. 'Your billows' (mishbarecha) — this is what the waves of the sea are called, because they appear to break the sea and break apart of themselves; similarly, 'at the breakers they are beside themselves' (Job 41).

(Verses 8-9) "Deep" — At that time I continually saw Your wonders, for whenever great troubles came upon me, this was to me a sign and proof that You would perform for me great miracles and wonders. And in his poetic imagery he pictures the time as a raging sea, and the nation of Israel as a ship sailing in the midst of this great sea, and he pictures the troubles that arise as sea-waves and breakers passing over to sink the ship. And he pictures that the depths (tehomot) that rise up in the sea at the time of the storm — they being what stir up waves, breakers, storm, and rage in the sea — receive the commotion from the upper channels (tzinorot), at the sound of their pouring forth a multitude of waters in the heavens; and it is as if the upper channels give forth the voice of Hashem over the depths, and the depths call to the waves and breakers, and the waves call out and respond with a voice of thunder and roar. And he pictures that when these sounds were heard — the sounds of many mighty waters, depths and breakers — he heard that they cried out with their voice and announced at once that the kindness (chesed) of Hashem was ready to come, and that this was a sign that Hashem would command His kindness to bring about miracles, wonders, signs, and marvels. And so he says that he then heard "one deep" "call to" the other "deep," saying, "By day Hashem will command His kindness" — for when the depths rose up "at the voice of Your channels," through the voice and command of the upper channels, by whose waters the waters of the great deep were stirred up, then "deep calls unto deep," and likewise then called out "all Your billows and Your waves that have gone over me" — all of them called out and said that now "the day" would be revealed, and the salvation which "Hashem will command His kindness" [to bring] — meaning, the salvation through a public miracle, which is called by the name "kindness." And the parable is that every trouble that then came upon Israel, to the point that the day grew dark for them and it became night, was a sign to them that at that very moment the light of Hashem would be revealed, and it would become day, and Hashem would command His kindness — for the miracle and the wonder is called by the name "kindness" in the Holy Scriptures, as above (chapters 33 and 36). And he means: "by day" — on the day that would come, His kindness would be revealed; and also "by night" — [meaning] during the night before that day, while the trouble still continued, "His song was with me" — already His song of kindness was with me, for I had already sung the song of kindness and prayed concerning it, "a prayer to the God of my life" — for when the depths and breakers rose up, I knew that the kindness would come after them.

"By day, may the Lord command His kindness" — May the light of the redemption come, and may the Lord command His kindness to us. "and at night" — In the darkness of the exile and the troubles. "may His resting place be with me" — Heb. שירה. May His resting place be in our midst. שּׁירה is an expression of camping, as we translate (II Sam. 17:26): “And Israel encamped,” וּשְּׁרָא. I learned this from the Great Masorah, which associates this [word] with (I Kings 5:12): “And his songs (שירו) were a thousand and five,” in the “aleph-beth” of two words with different meanings (homonyms). This taught [me] that this is not an expression of song, but the Midrash Aggadah does interpret it as an expression of song, interpreting in this manner: Israel says to the Holy One, blessed be He: “We remember what You did for us in Egypt. You commanded us one commandment by day on the eve of the Passover, and we observed it, and at night, You redeemed us and we sang Hallel before You. But now we keep many commandments, yet You do not redeem us. Because of this, I will say to God, my Rock, ‘Why have You forgotten me?’ “

"By day" — he recounts his walking during the day with the celebrants, securely, through the lovingkindness of Hashem; and at night they would sing, like "a band of prophets" (1 Samuel 10:5); and he mentions that the song is [really] a prayer, not [merely] a song, like words of longing. "To the living God" — that He should keep him alive until he sees the house of Hashem.

"By day" — he says: my soul, do not despair of the redemption, for Hashem will yet command His lovingkindness for us and save us. "And in the night His song shall be with me" — moreover, even while we are in the night, which is the exile, we sing to God, may He be blessed, for all the acts of lovingkindness He did with our fathers, and which He does with us every day in the exile. "A prayer to the God of my life" — meaning that we shall pray to the God of our life, that He grant us life until our redeemer comes and we see His salvation; and we shall say in our prayer, "I will say to God my Rock."

"By day Hashem will command" — in the earlier days, when I used to go to the house of Hashem, by day Hashem would command His lovingkindness upon me, and I walked in safety; at night, in my lodging, there was with me song and prayer to Hashem, who guards my life.

'Song' (shirah) — from the language of song (shir).

"in gloom" — Heb. קדר, an expression of blackness, as (Micah 3:6): “and...shall be darkened (וקדר) about them.”

"I will say" — the sense of "to God, my Rock" is that He used to be his Rock formerly. "Why have You forgotten me" — the sense is because of the length of the exile. "Why do I go mourning" — like a mourner who wears garments of mourning.

"I will say to God" — who was formerly my rock and strong tower against the enemies. "Why have You forgotten me" — now, in the exile; and "I go about in mourning" under the oppression of the enemy who oppresses us in the exile. "Why" — the first occurrence has a soft letter (rafeh) and is accented on the last syllable (milra), and the second has a dagesh and is accented on the penultimate syllable (mil'el).

"I will say" — this, when I remember, I say to God my Rock: why have You now forgotten me, and why do I go about in darkness?

'My rock' (sal'i) — my strength. 'Mourning' (koder) — dark and black, as in 'I went about mourning' (above, Psalm 35). 'Under the oppression' (belachatz) — an expression of pressure/distress.

'I will say' — But now that there are waves and breakers, and the voice of loving-kindness is not heard, and there is no miracle or wonder, 'I say to God my Rock: Why have You forgotten me?' — for no miracle is to be found. 'And why do I go about in gloom?' — for two reasons: first, 'through the oppression of the enemy' — through the open, visible oppression; second, this second [reason] — 'through the murder' that is 'in my bones' — this is the hidden, inner murder, which comes through the fact 'that my adversaries taunt me, saying to me all day long, Where is your God?' — meaning, why does He not perform for you wonders as in the days of old.

"With murder in my bones, my oppressors have reproached me" — It seemed to me as though they were killing me, so confined within my bones was that with which my oppressors provoke and reproach me.

"As with a crushing" — when they say to me, "Where is your God," it is to me like murder in my bones; so was this reproach regarded in my eyes.

"As with a crushing in my bones" — for the bones are the foundations of the body. "Crushing" — this is a term for a sword with which one commits murder.

"As with a crushing..., etc." — that is to say, the way my adversaries taunted me, saying "Where is your God?", seems to me as if they had pierced my bones with a sword.

'With a crushing' (beretzach) — that is to say, with a sword, with which they murder.

"my countenance and my God" — The Holy One, the light of my countenance, my God—I still have hope in Him. Why, then, should you stir?

"Why" — the sense of "the salvations of His countenance" is that He is the salvation of my countenance, and He is my God from ancient days — [this is said] in contrast to [the taunt]: "Where is the God of Israel?"

"Why" — he returns to comfort his soul, and says: even though the enemies say, "Where is your God?" "Hope in God" — for He is the true God, and I will yet praise Him for the salvation that will be. "The salvation of my countenance" — meaning: in my lifetime He will bring salvation. "And my God" — and He will truly be my God, and they will not say to me, "Where is your God?"

"Why are you cast down" — as if he returns again to comfort his soul, and says to it: why are you cast down? "For I shall yet praise Him" — because of the salvation that will come to me, for is He not from of old the salvation of my countenance and my God?

'Why' — he answers his own soul: Why are you cast down and despairing, or why do you moan over me, thinking that the matter depends on me? 'Hope in God,' as above, in verse 6.