Psalms · Psalm 73

"A song of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, etc." — Since the topic of this psalm deals with the troubles that befall Israel, he commences it in this manner. And this is the meaning: Although I cry out and am dismayed at Israel’s troubles, I knew that the Holy One, blessed be He, is good to them, and that He brings evil upon them for their own good, in order to give them merit in the life of the world to come.

"A psalm of Asaph; surely [He is] good" — All people who do not truly understand the workings of Hashem complain; and therefore he began "surely good to Israel," for the meaning of "surely" (akh) is that He is not good to the nations of the lands who do not know Him, but only to Israel. "To such as are pure in heart" — not to all [of Israel]. This psalm is similar in theme to the psalm "Hear this, all you peoples" (Psalm 49:2), and the reward of the righteous in the world to come is explained clearly in this psalm.

"A psalm" — This psalm speaks of the perplexity of the people of the world over the prosperity of the wicked and the misfortune of the righteous in this world, and Asaph, this psalmist, speaks either in his own voice or in the voice of every perplexed person. He says, "surely God is good to Israel" — even though they are in exile, God is good to them and will yet preserve their good deeds on their behalf; and likewise He is good "to those who are pure in heart" — who are found among the rest of the nations; even though they suffer evil in this world, it will be good for them in the World to Come. And the meaning of "surely" is: this alone I know for certain — whatever may be, He will yet do good for them.

"Surely God is good," etc. — that is to say, indeed I have gained understanding to know that God is only good to Israel and to the pure of heart among them, but not to the wicked, for their success is in truth not to be counted as good.

'Pure' — clear and clean from the muddiness of sin.

"A psalm of Asaph" — he speaks and debates concerning the tranquility of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous, and gives a satisfactory answer to this. "Surely good" — before he begins to speak of this question, of the wicked man who prospers and the righteous man who suffers, he prefaces by saying that in truth "to Israel, God is only good" — meaning, he is not raising this question as one doubting the governance of Hashem Himself, whether it is good or bad, for the heart of all Israel is steadfast in Hashem, that He is only good. However, this applies only to "the pure of heart" — one whose heart is pure and firm and strong in his faith will say so; not so I, for "but as for me, my feet had almost stumbled" — I began to ponder and to inquire and to investigate the governance of Hashem, so that "my steps had well nigh slipped" — it was close that my steps would slip from the way of blessedness into heresy and unbelief.

"But as for me" — before I laid this to my heart. "my feet had almost turned away" — and my steps swept away to turn away from following the Omnipresent.

"But as for me" — It is possible that this expression is Asaph's own words, or that he speaks in the voice of every discerning person. And "the turning aside of the foot" means turning away from the straight paths, which are the paths of Hashem, in the manner of "my foot has held fast to His step" (Job 23:11); for since the foot walks, he therefore likened the steadfastness of the heart — which a person makes a habit of through walking — [to the foot]. And the word netuyu ("had inclined") is a full form, like chasayu ("they trusted") in "the Rock in whom they trusted" (Deuteronomy 32:37). And ke-ayin ("as nothing") ought properly to mean the same as kim'at ("almost"), and shupkhu ("were poured out") corresponds to netuyu ("had inclined"), just as ashuri ("my steps") corresponds to ragli ("my foot") — for the sense is doubled, as is the way of eloquent, poetic style. Only we have not found ke-ayin [used this way] elsewhere, except regarding al apam ("in their anger") and something that is not. And by way of metaphor he described the "steps" as "poured out like water," in the manner of "I am poured out like water" (Psalm 22:15), because nothing remains in the vessel — just as "his steps were poured out" and he has nothing left with which to walk.

"But as for me" — it is written (ketiv) "נטוי" (singular) but read (qeri) "נטיו" (plural), and it is a passive form, meaning: every perplexed person is inclined toward this. "שפכה" is written (ketiv) with a heh, in the feminine, referring to each single foot; and the read form (qeri) is "שפכו" with a vav, referring to both feet together, which are the "steps" (אשורים). The meaning of the verse is: my feet had almost turned aside from faith when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. And the meaning of "my steps had almost slipped" (literally, "were poured out as nothing") is: I was almost cast down from my faith to the ground — that is, it was as though I stood on almost nothing without falling; the thing that kept me standing was so slight, as if it were nothing, and therefore it says "as nothing."

"But as for me, almost" — before I set this upon my heart, my feet had almost turned aside from the way of Hashem. "As nothing" — for a brief moment, an almost negligible span of time, my steps had nearly poured away from the service of Hashem; and the matter is repeated in what follows, on account of how close it came [to happening].

'My steps' — the feet with which one strides, as in 'his steps shall not slip' (above, Psalms 37).

"For I envied the perverse" — Those who pervert their ways, whose tranquility I would see. "the perverse" — Heb. בהוללים, mixed, as (Isa. 1:22): “your wine is diluted (מהול) with water.”

"For" — behold, the reason for this matter is that he envied the "boastful" (holelim), which is an active-participle form, on the pattern of "ha-sovevim ba-ir" ("those who go about the city," Song of Songs 3:3), from the root of "vayitholel" ("he acted madly").

"At the arrogant" [literally, "revelers"] — these are the wicked, for they occupy themselves with the pleasures of this world, which is folly and foolishness, and in pursuing this they do not care if they commit any evil to satisfy their desire; and I saw them at peace, and therefore I was envious, until my feet had almost slipped.

"In the arrogant" — in the success of the arrogant, for my eyes saw the peace/prosperity of the wicked.

'The arrogant' — an expression of folly, as in 'and the chariots drive madly' (Jeremiah 46:9); and it means the wicked, for a person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of folly has entered him.

"For I envied the boastful" — who prosper in this world, "and I saw the peace of the wicked." And he considers, in the prosperity of the wicked, three things in which they differ from mankind in general, for the multitude of mankind are all disposed to three general evils. First: on account of the constitution of their body, which is weak and feeble, such that decay and diminishment are bound up in its nature through the primal [vital] moisture, which continually diminishes until death comes; but the wicked are not overtaken by this evil.

"For there are no fetters to their death" — Heb. חרצבות, an expression of tying, as (Isa. 58:6): “to undo the fetters (חרצבות) of wickedness,” meaning the locks of the fetters with which they bind the poor. Here, too, there are no pains to their death. Those who die among them die healthy, [strong as] a palace, without pains. But our Rabbis explained חַרְצֻבּוֹת as an abbreviation, meaning that they are not (שאין) frightened (חרדין) or saddened (עצבין) by the day of death (Shab. 31b). Another explanation: that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not delay (מאחר) their desire (צביונם).

"For" — the word chartzubbot ("pangs") is a quadriliteral form, and in the book of Isaiah it says: "loose the bonds (chartzubbot) of wickedness" (Isaiah 58:6); there, "loosen" (pateach) is like "untie" (hatter), and if so, chartzubbot would be like "bundles" (agudot). And the sense [here] is that it would have been fitting for them to be bound in this world so that they would die swiftly. And Rabbi Moshe HaKohen said: there are no "pangs" until their death, but rather they are healthy, as if it were written "but each one of them is healthy." But this is not correct — that the word "ulam" should be a connective particle at the end [of a clause], for it is like "lakhen" (therefore), "akhen" (indeed), "rak" (only), "akh" (but), "bilti" (without), "zulati" (except), "lema'an" (in order that), "ba'avur" (because of) — for such [a use] is not found anywhere in Scripture. And others say that "ulam" is missing a kaf, and the meaning is: each one is healthy "ka-ulam" (like a hall). And some say that it is missing a bet, and the meaning is: "be-ulam" — each one is healthy in his hall. And the reason for mentioning "ulam" (a hall) is: because he dwells in an honored house that has a hall, like the hall (ulam) of the House of Hashem mentioned in Chronicles; or because dwelling in a hall is healthy for the body, because the air there is exposed and yet there is shelter from above. And what seems correct to me: after he mentioned the well-being of the wicked, [now] I see that in their lives, and also in their death, they die without afflictions, illnesses, plagues, or pains — as if their souls had no bond with their bodies. "Ulam" [here, in the sense of "their vigor"] — on the pattern of "tuvam" ("their good"). And the meaning: their strength, which is the generative power that preserves the body, from the same root as "yesh le'el yadi" ("it is in the power of my hand," Genesis 31:29). And so the sense is: they die, in their death, without struggle, and in their lives the power of their constitution is strong and healthy.

"For there are no pangs at their death" — they are so continuously in good fortune, all their days until the day of death, that even at the time of their death they die peacefully, without suffering. For the meaning of "חרצובות" is "bonds/knots," and one who dies in suffering and difficulty is as if he has knots at the parting of life, and those knots are undone only with difficulty; but they die in tranquility, as if there were no bonds at their death. "And their body is sound" [literally, "and their strength is sound"] — that is, their strength is sound. "אולם" is of the same root as in "it is in the power (יש לאל) of my hand." He says: in their lives, the strength of their nature is sound and strong, and in their death they die in tranquility.

"At their death" — at the time their death arrives, they have no illnesses or sufferings, and each one is healthy like a sturdy building.

'Pangs' — bonds and fetters, as in 'to undo the bonds of wickedness' (Isaiah 58:6); that is to say, illnesses and pains. 'And sound' [uvari] — from the language of health (beri'ut). 'Ulam' — a palace.

"For there are no pangs at their death" — there is not found, in the constitution of their nature and body, any hidden weakness in its recesses and hidden places that would lead them to death, for "their body [ulam] is sound" — their vigor and strength are very sound and strong. Second: that all mankind is full of toil and sorrow to find their sustenance and their needs, for man is born to toil, but they, "in the toil of man they are not" — they do not need to toil to find their livelihood, for they are sustained without toil. Third: that mankind encounters misfortunes on account of the general order of nature, from afflictions that operate in the world, such as the afflictions of the seasons, and the changes of the times, and of the celestial arrangement, and of places, and the like — but they, "with [common] man they are not afflicted."

"In the trouble" — because they are wealthy. "And with man" — the sense is repeated [in parallel]; or: when a plague comes in the air that affects everyone alike, they escape the plague, while the righteous do not.

"In the trouble" — in the trouble that other people experience, whose livelihood comes through toil and labor — they are not included among them; rather, without toil they attain their livelihood and their pleasure. And when plagues and illnesses come upon the rest of mankind, they are not afflicted along with them.

"In the trouble of man" — when trouble comes upon people, he is not included among the troubled, and they are not afflicted like the rest of mankind.

"Therefore, they wear pride as a necklace" — Because of this, pride adorns them as a necklace, insofar as it ascends upon his neck. "the robbery that they commit envelopes their hips" — The robbery they commit makes them fat, enveloping their buttocks and hips with thickness of fat and flesh.

"Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck" — from the root of "va-anakim le-gargeroteikha" ("and chains about your neck," Proverbs 1:9), like the form of a golden wreath; and "ya'atof" ("covers") is from the root of "ha-ma'atafot" ("the mantles," Isaiah 3:22). "Shit" [garment] — as in "shit zonah" (the garb of a harlot, Proverbs 7:10) — like "derekh" (a way/manner). And some say that "ya'atof" is like "tefillah le'ani ki ya'atof" ("a prayer of the afflicted, when he is faint," Psalm 102:1). And the sense of "shit" is "pe'ah" (corner/side). And the meaning: violence covers them on every side, as though it were their own possession.

"Therefore" — out of pride they place a chain about their necks and throats, and a garment of violence, and this is [the meaning of] "violence covers them as a garment" — they wrap themselves in the garment of violence and wear it continually, just as a person wraps himself in his garment continually, all day long.

"Their necklace" — pride rises up around his neck like this necklace that encircles the neck. "He wraps himself" — he conceals himself in secret to lie in wait for people, to plot and take violence for himself.

'Anakatmo' [is like a necklace to them] — from the language of 'anak' (a necklace), which is an ornament worn on the neck. 'Covers' — from the language of wrapping and covering. 'A garment' — an expression of placing.

"Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck" — there is around their neck a chain of pride, which "wraps" and covers and conceals "the garment of violence that is theirs" — meaning, that although they have a shameful nakedness of violence that they commit, nevertheless this garment of violence is wrapped and concealed by the chain of pride upon them; meaning, that through their pride and greatness they are not shamed for the violence that they commit.

"Because of their fat, their eyes bulge" — Their eyes bulge because of the abundant fat, for in an emaciated person, the eyes are sunken. "they surpassed the imaginings of their heart" — More than what their heart hopes for and awaits, came to them. In the attainment of their hand, they surpassed the desire of their heart.

"Stand forth" — Rabbi Moshe said: "their eyes" (einemo) — like the appearance of crystal (ke-ein ha-bedolach); from the abundance of fat it "came out" and appeared as a beautiful-looking eye. And some say: from the abundance of their fat, it is as if their eyes protrude, in the manner of "they have eyes but do not see" (Psalm 115:5). And the word "maskiyyot" ("imaginations") — in Rabbi Moshe's opinion, it is like "machshavot" (thoughts), for "sekhvi" is a term for the heart/mind, combining two meanings as one, as in the Targum's rendering of "yitzaf Hashem" (Genesis 31:49) — as though "maskiyyot" means "visions" (mar'ot), as in "and my heart saw much wisdom and knowledge" (Ecclesiastes 1:16), and the meaning would be like "sikhyot ha-chemdah" ("treasured imagery," Isaiah 2:16); or it may be in the sense of "ve-even maskit" ("a carved stone," Leviticus 26:1), which is engraved, and the engravings are the "thoughts." And the meaning of "they have overstepped" — that they have gone beyond what people [normally] imagine.

"Stand forth" — from the abundance of fat, it seems as though their eyes have come out, as if they have no eyes, for by the thickness of the fat of the face the eyes become covered. "They are gone beyond the imaginations of their heart" — we render it (in the Targum) "the watch was withheld," and thus the heart is called "sekhvi" [the watcher], for it looks ahead at things in thought — that is, whatever their heart envisions of the good things of the world that will come to them, more and more comes to them, exceeding what they had imagined.

"Stand forth" — from the abundance of fat it appears as though their eyes protrude, as if they have no eyes, because the eyes are covered by the thickness of the fat of the face. "They have gone beyond" — they found abundant successes, until they exceeded even what had arisen in their heart to hope for and anticipate.

'The imaginations [of their heart]' — an expression of looking/perceiving, as also in 'who gave understanding to the mind (sekhvi)?' (Job 38:36); it refers to the heart, which looks ahead and considers future events and matters of understanding. And it is close to the Aramaic language, for [the place-name] 'Mitzpeh' (Genesis 30) is rendered in the Targum as 'Sekhuta.'

"It comes out" — this refers back to the garment of violence: the garment and nakedness of violence "comes out" and bursts forth "from the fat of their eyes," for their eyes "have passed the imaginations of the heart." He depicts that the eyes of these wicked men are different from the eyes of other flesh-and-blood people, for the eyes of the wicked "pass the imaginations of the heart" — whereas for all [other] people, the imaginations of their heart surpass their eyes, meaning that their heart schemes and sees and covets more than their eyes [actually] see, that is, more than what they already possess, for one who has a maneh [one hundred zuz] seeks two hundred; but these [wicked men], their eyes attain more than their heart covets, for they attain more than their desire, (as was said above at [Psalm] 10, "for the wicked boasts of his soul's desire" [Psalm 10:3]). And the sense of the verse is that although the chain of pride covers the garment and nakedness of their violence, nevertheless their violence comes out and is visible to all from the fat and grease of their eyes (which "pass the imaginations of the heart"), for from the fat of their eyes their violence bursts forth and comes out — that whatever they see with their eyes, even if they did not covet it in their heart [beforehand], they seize and oppress it.

"They consume" — their neighbors. "and speak wickedly about oppression" — To oppress the needy. "they speak about the Most High" — e.g. Pharaoh, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar. [Pharaoh said] (Exod. 5:2): “Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?” [Sennacherib said] (Isa. 36:20), “Who are they among all the gods of the lands...?” [Nebuchadnezzar said] (Isa. 14:14), “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.” That is the meaning of: “They have set their mouth against Heaven.”

"Yamiku" [they scoff/corrupt] — from the root of "hamek besaro" ("his flesh shall rot," Zechariah 14:12); it is a transitive verb whose object is elliptical, as though [it meant] "they corrupt with complete words"; and they speak wicked speech — the oppression and violence they have done — and they do not fear Hashem. And this is the meaning of "they speak from on high (marom)," for there is no "height" over them.

"They scoff" [literally, "they melt/dissolve"] — they cause people to melt away with their evil words. Among roots with a quiescent middle letter (ayin), this form is not found elsewhere in Scripture, but it is found in the words of our Sages; and among doubled roots there is found [the form in] "his flesh shall rot" and others like it. "And in wickedness they utter oppression" — they are not afraid to speak of the oppression they commit, and they do not conceal it, but rather they speak wickedly, openly discussing it. "As if from on high" — meaning, saying that there is no "on high" over them to punish them for this.

"They scoff" — they make people melt away through their deeds, and at all times they speak evil and oppression, and all their thought is set on these things; "from on high they speak" — they speak against the One above, like Pharaoh and Sennacherib and those like them.

'They scoff' — from the language of dissolving and melting.

"They will melt away; they speak from on high" — he depicts a pronouncement going forth from on high, where they speak and decree, saying of these wicked men that it would be fitting "for them to melt away," and to die "by plague" through the "evil" of their "oppression" — so it is spoken on high. But they themselves do not fear the decree of the watchers (irin) that was decreed on high, for on the contrary, "they set their mouth against the heavens" — they put their mouth toward the heavens to proclaim a proclamation the opposite of what was spoken on high; "and their tongue walks through the earth" — meaning, on earth they do not hear the first voice that spoke on high; only their tongue is what walks about and is heard on earth. And they set their mouth against the heavens and proclaim, saying, "therefore" — since what was proclaimed against us on high for evil has not come upon us, for even in heaven there is no power ruling over us to harm us — "therefore His people" (the people of the One on high) "will return here," to listen to our counsel, not to the command of the One on high and His decrees, but to act as we act; and then "waters in full measure will be drained by them" — they will attain the flow of full waters from the springs of success, and not only will they drink all the water, but they will even drain out the very dregs — meaning, that they will empty the cup of success to its very bottom. And the figure is that although, according to the governance of the One on high, it would have been fitting for the wicked to die by plague and by severe illnesses, they in fact prosper, and there is no power in heaven ruling over them to destroy them and bring them to ruin, for their hand is high, as if it were not in Hashem's power to harm them.

"They have set (shatu)" — the doubling of the tav [indicates] that it is from the geminate verbs, meaning that they think the utterances of their mouth are as though they were in the heavens — decrees that cannot be reversed — while the organ that speaks such things is [actually] from the earth; and this is the sense of "and their tongue walks through the earth." And what seems correct to me: that "they have set their mouth in the heavens" means that they speak about Hashem and His angels, and their tongue is like spies who go about in the land to speak and report a hint of slander or blemish, something that is found in the righteous; and the sense of "walks" is as though it goes about to hear slander.

"They have set" — the dagesh stands in place of the quiescent letter that would be in שתו; and my father and teacher, of blessed memory, explained it as a doubled root, whose root is שתת, meaning: their mouth pours forth and runs freely against the heavens — that is, they speak against God, [saying] that He has no knowledge of them. "And their tongue walks through the earth" — meaning, their mouth and their tongue, which walk about on the earth, they set them against the heavens.

"They have set" — they set their mouth to speak against Him who dwells in heaven. "And their tongue" — even though their tongue walks upon the earth beneath the heavens, they are brazen enough to speak against Him who dwells in heaven.

"Therefore, His people will return here" — Since His people sees that the way of the wicked prospers, they will return on the way of the wicked, to adopt their ways. "here" — Heb. הלם, as (Jud. 18: 3): “Who brought you here (הלום)?” [Equivalent to] פֹּה. "and the waters of the full are drain water to them" — And the waters of the full stream—they are words of Torah—are considered by them as water that drains out, and they despise them.

"Therefore" — Rabbi Moshe said: "halom" is a descriptive [participial] form from the root of "va-halmah Sisra" ("and she struck Sisera," Judges 5:26), as though it were written "halum" — with the heh vocalized with a kamatz and a shuruk in the vav — in the manner of "mukeh" and "nagua" (struck, afflicted). "And waters of fullness" — the word "kos" (cup) is elided. "Yimmatzu" ("are drained") — from the root of "u-metzit" (cf. Isaiah 51:17); and the word comes with the accent on the penultimate syllable (mil'eil), because the stress belongs at the beginning of the word, for this is the rule of the language, as in "asah li et ha-chayil ha-zeh" ("made me this wealth," Deuteronomy 8:17). And the mem of "lamo" ("to them") refers back to those mentioned at the beginning of the psalm, namely, "those pure of heart." And the correct view is that it refers back to the word "ammo" ("His people"), for that word is found governing both singular and plural. And in my opinion: that "halom" is like "hinneh" (behold), as in "is the man yet come hither?" (1 Samuel 10:22), for "His people" "return" on account of this that they see; or [the verb] returns from the root of "shovav" (rebellious), or means "yashiv el libo" (he takes it to heart) — but I do not know the reason for this.

"Return" — [the written form is] as if with a yod, meaning "God will bring him back," and the read form is "ישוב" with a vav; he says: His people, who see the prosperity of the wicked, will turn back again and again. "Here" [הלום] — like [in] "come not near here"; meaning, [they will return] to this argument, [to see] whether they can find a counter-argument against it to justify the judgment. "And waters of fullness are drained out by them" — the described [noun] is omitted, meaning: a cup full of the wine of reeling is found for them, relating to matters of drinking and draining — that is, they wring bitter waters into their mouths in this regard.

"Therefore" — because of the abundance of ease of the wicked together with the greatness of their wickedness. "Here" — meaning, "behold," referring to the deeds of those wicked people. "And waters of fullness" — they drain and drink a full cup of poison, meaning, their opinions are drawn very strongly after the deeds of those wicked people.

'Here' — [i.e.] 'hither,' as in 'do not come near hither (halom)' (Exodus 3:5). 'Are drained out' — from the language of sucking/draining (metzitzah). 'By them' — [i.e.] 'to them.'

"And they say, “How does God know”" — How can we say that there is knowledge in the Holy One, blessed be He, and that His Torah is true?

"And they say" — some say [the speakers are] the wicked; but in my opinion, those who say [this] are "His people," and the proof is [the next verse]: "behold, these are the wicked" [v. 12].

"And they say" — this is the claim that they argued all day, [trying] to know what it is. And it says, "how does God know" — the ways of mankind; for is He not a God of faithfulness? If He knows the ways of mankind, how can it go badly for His people who walk in His ways, and well for those who deny Him and for the wicked of the world? And if there is knowledge in the Most High, how can this be?

"How does God know" — the deeds of mankind. "And is there knowledge" — to know everything; and the matter is repeated in different words.

"And they say" — and because of this, human beings mistakenly come to deny [divine] providence, and they argue, saying, "How" is it possible to say "that God knows" all that happens in the lower world? Behold, "these are the wicked," who are indeed notorious for their wickedness, and nevertheless they are "at ease in the world; they have increased in wealth" and prosper. Whereas I, by contrast — although I am righteous — nevertheless "in vain have I kept my heart pure" from sinning even in thought, "and washed my hands in innocence" from committing any sin in deed — yet none of this availed me, for nonetheless "I have been plagued all day long" without any sin or iniquity, "and my rebuke came every morning" — meaning, that although I am afflicted for no reason, nevertheless these afflictions serve me as a moral rebuke every morning, [leading me to think] that there is no suffering without sin, so I search my deeds and add strength in the fear of Hashem — even though the utterly wicked commit great transgressions and prosper.

"Behold these are wicked" — They [are wicked] and transgress His Torah; yet they are tranquil in the world and increase power and wealth. "they are tranquil in the world" — An expression of tranquility. "have increased" — Heb. השגו, have increased. Menachem (p. 72) explains: יָשוּב עַמוֹ הֲלוֹם, the wicked will return to crush (להלם) the people of the Holy One, blessed be He. The first interpretation I learned from the words of Rabbi Meir the son of Isaac, the cantor, may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing.

"Behold" — the sense is that the righteous know the true knowledge that there is a God, exalted beyond human understanding, and that He is wise of heart, knowing the general categories (kelalim), which are constant, while the particulars (peratim), the individual details, change at every moment. So Hashem does not "know" them [the particulars] in the sense that they are not fixed — and so the doubt is in their [the people's] grasp, because they see the wicked, who are at ease forever in body and abundant in wealth, as in "made me this wealth" (Deuteronomy 8:17).

"Behold, such [are the wicked]" — these are the wicked, and they are at ease in the world, and they have increased their possessions and honor.

"Behold, such are" — the wicked, and they have been at ease forever, and have grown great through abundant wealth.

'Increase' — [i.e.] they grew great, as in 'he shall grow great (yisgeh) like a cedar in Lebanon' (below, Psalms 92). 'Riches' — wealth, as in 'though wealth (chayil) increase' (above, Psalms 62).

"But for nought I cleansed my heart" — All this refers back to: “And they say, ‘How does God know?’” They also say, “But for nothing and in vain we keep the commandments of the Holy One, blessed be He, for behold, we are plagued all the days.”

'Surely' — these are the words of the maskil (the wise/enlightened one). The meaning of 'I have cleansed my heart' — that my thought is a true thought and my faith is pure before the Creator; and it is for this that man was created, that his soul, in his lifetime, become pure and shining like the stars. The meaning of 'in the cleanness of my hands' — that he did not do a repulsive or defiling deed, something not fit to be done. And it mentions 'my hands' — because most deeds are done with the hands.

"Surely" — I, who am His servant, in vain have I cleansed my heart, and in vain have I washed my hands in innocence; that is, my heart is pure and my deeds are pure, and yet I am in trouble while they are at ease.

"Surely in vain" — in vain and for nothing I was pure of heart, without any thought of sin, and for nothing I washed my hands to be clean of theft and other transgressions.

"and my chastisement" — appears all day; constantly, from morning to morning, new troubles are renewed.

'And I was plagued' — by the wicked. The yod of 've-tokhachti' ('and my rebuke') is a sign of the object [i.e., the one being rebuked], for the wicked would rebuke him — the opposite of 've-tokhachti lo aviyatam' ('and would have none of my reproof,' Proverbs 1:25), where it is a sign of the subject [the one rebuking]. But in my opinion, he was plagued of his own doing, for bearing the toil of subduing his [evil] inclination, and 'my reproof' refers to my own soul. The meaning of 'every morning' — every morning, like 'new every morning' (Lamentations 3:23).

"For [I have been]" — I, though good, am plagued/afflicted at the hand of the wicked. "All the day" — [means] every day; and likewise "every morning" — continually, every single morning, my rebuke and my chastisement are at their hand.

"And I was" — behold, my good deeds availed only for me to be afflicted at all times, and for chastisements of suffering to come upon me every morning; for behold, the wicked have no lack, while I am stricken and afflicted.

"If I said, “I shall tell it as it is”" — Said Asaph, “If I said in my heart to tell everything as it is, all that His people say about this.” "behold I have made the generation of Your children into traitors" — That is to say that I would make them into traitors and wicked men.

'If' — the words of the psalmist: [that is,] 'if I had said in my heart,' or, 'if I say to others.' 'I will tell' is like '[I will tell] these things,' and the word 'these' is elided — in the manner of 'Hashem, who is good, will pardon' (2 Chronicles 30:18) concerning those who ate the Passover, for it is not written 'because his whole heart turned back to Hezekiah.' 'I would have been faithless to the generation of Your children' — [that is, the children] of Hashem — meaning that there would be no faithfulness of heart within their faith. And behold, the letter bet is missing: [it should be read as] 'behold, among the generation of Your children' — they from whose mouths I received the Torah.

"If I had said" — this is the statement of Asaph, or of any pious person in every generation: if I had said, "I will recount" this claim, as they say — "[to] the generation of Your children, behold, I have betrayed You" — the word "behold" is transposed [out of its expected position]; [the intended sense is] "if I had said, I will recount, [I would be saying] to the generation of Your children, behold, I have betrayed [You]." And there are many similar cases of this in Scripture.

"I will speak thus" — to tell the matter just as it is, meaning, everything there is to have doubts about. "Behold the generation" — behold, such a telling would incite even the children of that generation, who are Your children, meaning, who believe in You — for upon hearing what there is to doubt, I would turn them into traitors; therefore I will not go on speaking further.

"If" — after having posed this great question, he says: when I came to clarify this question, I saw that "if I said I would tell it" and present this question "as" it is, then behold, "I would have betrayed the generation of Your children" — for through this the generation would betray Hashem and come to heresy, and I would be causing the many to sin. And likewise, if "I were to think to know this" — that is, if I would not tell it to the many but only ponder and investigate this inquiry by myself in order to know it — even this "is toil in my eyes"; I would consider this too to be toil and iniquity, since it would appear as though I myself have doubts about the fundamentals of faith.

"And when I ponder" — in my heart. "to know this" — what the manner of the Holy One, blessed be He, is. "So it is iniquity in my eyes" — . This manner appeared to me as iniquity and not justice.

'And when I pondered' — when I thought to know this secret, I was not able to grasp it; this is 'a toil in my eyes.'

'And when I pondered' — Behold, I was afraid to say aloud what [the wicked] say, as they said, 'How does God know?' Instead, it was wearisome in my eyes — meaning, in the eyes of my heart — for I turned this argument over and over and could not find anything in my heart to know what this was. It is written [in the ketiv] with a yod (i.e., 'hi'), referring to the claim and the answer to it; and it is read [in the keri] with a vav (i.e., 'hu'), referring to the matter — but the sense is one and the same.

"And when I pondered" — I would ponder in my thought to know and understand this, because it seemed to me that this matter was toil and not righteous justice.

"Until" — I came "to the sanctuaries of God" — , which are in Jerusalem, and saw what happened to Sennacherib. Then I understood the end of the wicked, that it is to destruction. Then I said, “All the good that comes to them is only slippery places; for the Holy One, blessed be He, makes their way slippery, that it should be easy and smooth, so that they should not put their heart to return to Him, and they should perish.”

'Until' — future [tense] used in place of past, as if he speaks of an ongoing/present time, as I have explained. The meaning of 'the sanctuary of God' — that is, where the priests of Hashem and the sages of Israel were, and they revealed this secret, namely, 'I understood their end.' For man was not brought into this world to enjoy pleasure in it, or to be a king or a rich man, but only that his end be good — and this is the reward of the souls of the righteous.

'Until' — I searched in my heart to know this with great effort and did not find [the answer], until I came, in the thoughts of my heart, to the sanctuaries of God — that is, the world of angels and spirits, for there is the place of the ultimate, enduring reward. For the good of this world does not endure; but in the end — that is, the world of souls — the righteous are tested there. This is what he means by saying, 'I discerned their end.'

"Until I entered" — I did not understand the ways of Hashem until I came to the Sanctuary and to the priests who secluded themselves there in the study of wisdom, and I asked of their mouth, and I learned the words with which they would answer me, and I understood the end of the wicked, that it is not good.

"Until" — since I was perplexed by this question and could neither tell it to others nor investigate it by myself, "I came" in my contemplation "into the sanctuaries of God" — that is, I came to understand the places consecrated to God in which the soul receives its reward and its punishment after death, and I understood that the life of this world is not the final end of man's life and existence, for when the soul sheds its material garments at the time of death, it comes to the sanctuaries of God, and there it will live an eternal life, pleasant and better than this life. Then "I understood their end" — I saw what the end is of the life of these wicked men who prospered in their wickedness; then I saw that their prosperity here is in fact the greatest punishment for them. For indeed, it is "only through the smooth places" that "You set for them" that through this "You cast them down to ruin" — this is comparable to one who digs a pit and a trap to catch an animal as prey, and smooths the path leading to that pit, so that even though, while the animal walks along the smooth path, it seems to it that this is for its own good, easing its walk, in the end it becomes clear that it was precisely through that smoothness that it fell into ruin. So too, it is through the ease and prosperity that he had in this world that he dies an eternal death and falls into Gehinnom. And this is as I explained in Artzot HaShalom [Lands of Peace]: that since it is required by divine justice that the reward of no creature be withheld — so that even one who did evil all his days but performed a single commandment must be given his reward for that commandment — so too it is fitting that a righteous man who committed a single transgression should receive its punishment. And Hashem saw that the eternal, spiritual world in which man lives after his death is far too precious a place in which to pay the wicked man his reward or the righteous man his punishment, for that reward and punishment must necessarily be eternal and true, not temporary and illusory. Therefore He pays the reward of the wicked and the punishment of the righteous here, in the material world — where the prosperity that the wicked man enjoys here, and the suffering of the righteous man, have no true existence in the intellect but only in imagination. For the physical world as a whole is only a world of the senses, dependent upon time and place, so that the good and the evil that bodies feel in it are not good and evil that actually exist, but only apparent ones; and likewise they are not eternal but only temporary; and likewise they affect only the lesser part of man, which is his animal side, and not the essential man himself, which is his soul. And so, through this very smoothness that He made smooth for him in this world, You cast them down to ruin, to eternal destruction. For see now, "how they became a desolation in a moment" — for the moment they die, all their illusory prosperity passes away and ceases, and then "they are consumed" and also "come to an end" through "terrors" and demons — meaning, that no remnant of them remains at their death, for their soul perishes with the destruction of their body, and then it is as though it never existed. And then, "like a dream upon awaking" — just as a dream comes to its end through waking, so too You, Hashem, "when aroused" — when they are aroused and awaken from their sleep — then "You despise their image" — meaning, that the life of this world, and the prosperity or suffering one feels in it, are not true, spiritual life, but only temporary, sensory life. And just as, in a dream, a man may dream that he is being beaten and tormented, or that he is a king of nations and prospering, and even though, in the state of sleep, these sensations have existence in his imagination, since he feels the pain or the pleasure, nevertheless when he awakes, he understands that the sensation he felt in his dream did not correspond to the thing as it truly is, but only as it was in his imagination — for the kingship or the suffering had no existence outside of his imagination. So too, the prosperity or suffering that a man imagines — that he is prospering or being tormented in the days of his fleeting life — are not things that actually exist, for they are borne upon things that do not exist in themselves but only accidentally. For the temporal world as a whole, perceived by our senses, has no essential existence, only an accidental one, as has been explained in philosophy; and time, together with the sensory things that appear within it, changes its state every moment, never standing still, but flowing and passing away. And the soul does not feel the prosperity or the suffering except while it is asleep within this matter, for then it dreams that the body it is clothed in is reigning or being tormented. But "when aroused" — when it is aroused from its sleep and awakens from its dream — then it sees that it has nothing at all in hand from the affairs of this world, and then "You despise their image" — for then the punishment reaches them in their image and their spiritual soul, so that instead of the soul being called "glory," it becomes despised, for it is cut off and descends to destruction.

"Only in slippery places do You set them" — All the goodness that comes to them, for ultimately, You cast them down to ruin.

'Surely' — the wicked in this world are, as it were, enticed by smooth words, and in the end they become ruins, like 'storm and devastation, to nothing' — and [this befalls] one who is not in the way of the wicked, so that they [the wicked] are destroyed at their end. Some say that 'le-mashu'ot' ('to ruin') is from the root of 'the serpent beguiled me' [hishi'ani] (Genesis 3:13), and the meaning is twofold.

'Surely' — What You have appointed for them is this: You have prolonged [their prosperity] in this world in order to cast them down to the world to come. It is like one who walks on a smooth path that appears to him a good road, and in a little while his feet slip and he falls headlong. So too in this world their good fortune does not last long, and even at their death their good fortune does not remain for their children after them. This is what he says in the verse that follows.

"Surely in slippery places" — all their good fortune is only repayment for the small amount of good that they did, so that their path would be made smooth, so that they would stumble quickly and fall into the darkness of troubles, with no merit at all left to protect them.

'You set' — [i.e.] 'You place.' 'To utter ruin' — an expression of darkness/desolation, as in 'yesternight, waste and desolation (sho'ah umeshu'ah)' (Job 30:3).

"by terrors" — By demons.

'How' — the meaning is: 'they are consumed, they are finished,' with respect to their own souls. 'Terrors' — like 'I will make you a terror' [ballahot etenekh] (Ezekiel 26:21), for there is one who returns to nothing and to vanity, and the proof is 'and you are no more' [ve-einekh] (Ezekiel 26:21). 'Like a dream' — which has no truth once the dreamer awakes; so their image will be despised in the city. And the meaning is that they were forgotten, for their memory was forgotten.

'How' — All who see them will be astonished at them and will say, 'How they have become a desolation in a moment!'

"How" — all who see them will be astonished at them and will say, how have they become a desolation in a moment, utterly consumed by terrifying troubles.

'Consumed' — an expression of destruction, as in 'the beasts are consumed (saftah)' (Jeremiah 12). 'Terrors' [ballahot] — it is the inversion [transposed letters] of 'behalot' (terror).

"As a dream without awakening" — As a sleep without end (without awakening), which is an eternal sleep, so did they have (Isa. 37:36): “And an angel of the Lord went forth and slew...of the camp of Assyria.” "O Lord, in the city You will despise their form" — In Jerusalem, with which they dealt evilly, there the form of their image was despised, and they were all burnt.

'As a dream when one awakes' — Behold, they are like a dream: once one awakes, nothing remains of what he saw in the dream. So too the wicked — now you see them in their tranquility, and then they are no more. 'So, when You arouse Yourself, You will despise their image' — My father, of blessed memory, explained that 'be'ir' is like 'be-ha'ir' [when aroused/awakened] — when the dead are aroused, the image of the wicked and their form You will despise, as Scripture says, 'these to everlasting life, and these to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence' (Daniel 12:2). And 'their image' you may interpret, if you wish, as referring to the body, or to the spirit, as in 'in our image, after our likeness' (Genesis 1:26), or to both.

"Like a dream" — just as a dream, once one awakes, passes and vanishes, so too they came to an end suddenly. "In the city" — in a place where they are seen, You will despise their image and their likeness.

'Their semblance' — their likeness/image.

"For my heart was in ferment" — Before I saw this downfall with the holy spirit, my heart was in ferment because the way of the wicked prospered, and my mind was on edge (אשתונן), an expression of a sharpened sword (שנון). When it is reflexive, the “tav” is placed in the middle of the radical, as is the case of every word whose radical commences with “shin.”

'For' — some say that 'yitchametz' ('was in a ferment') is from the root of 'vinegar' [chometz], by way of metaphor: that my heart became like vinegar together with my kidneys, at the time that I was 'pricked' [eshtonan], from the root of 'a sharpened arrow' [chetz shanun]. And Rabbi Moshe explained it in the language of our sages, of blessed memory: 'chimetz et ha-din' [he delayed the judgment].

'For' — Before I understood, my heart was in ferment (mitchametz) over this matter, from the same root as 'vinegar' (chometz) of wine — meaning, I could not find anything sweet and pleasant in my heart by which to find rest from this great confusion. 'And I was pricked in my reins' — the instrumental letter bet is missing; he means: 'and in my reins too' — which give counsel — 'I was pierced' concerning this matter. 'Eshtonan' (I was pierced) — from the same root as 'a sharpened arrow' (chetz shanun); I was pierced together with them [my reins] in my going back and forth over this matter, within myself.

"For my heart was embittered" — for while my heart was still angered over the matter, and while I still sharpened my innermost feelings to ponder it.

'Was in a ferment' — from the language of vinegar (chometz); it is used figuratively to refer to anger. 'Was pricked' — from the language of sharpness and keenness.

"For" — at the time when my heart "would ferment" and become refined, and my thoughts would become purified, and "my kidneys would sharpen themselves" to seek out the correct thought and counsel, then I would see that "I was brutish" in that "I did not know" that "I was like a beast with You" — for the corporeal life in the body and the physical frame is the life of the beast, since the human body is not different from the body of a beast, and this [bodily existence] is not the true essence of man and what distinguishes him from a beast; and the success and the suffering that a person attains in this world are not attained by the man [himself], but rather by the beast in which the essential man dwells — and it [the body] is not the man, but only a house and dwelling-place for him, or his garment, his covering, and his cloak upon his skin.

"But I" — was brutish, and I did not know what this manner was, and I was as a beast with You.

'But I' — at first I was, before You, like a beast, for I did not know the secret of the wicked, until You helped me and the secret was revealed to me — and this is it.

'But I was brutish' — Before I understood this, I was ba'ar (brutish) — that is, a person who has no understanding, like the beast that the Holy One, blessed be He, created. 'I was like a beast before You' — in my serving You, for I did not know whether there was reward or not.

"But I was brutish" — I was still brutish and did not know why the way of the wicked prospered. "Before You" — in the conduct/governance that is Yours, I was like a beast, for I did not understand it.

'Brutish' — foolish and senseless.

"Yet I" — Although I saw all this constantly, I was with You, and I did not move from fear of You. "You grasped my right hand" — to strengthen me in Your fear when my feet are about to turn from Your way, as it is stated above (verse 2): “my feet had almost turned away.”

'Nevertheless I' — the meaning is: 'You have held my right hand,' and so 'my steps did not slip,' as he had earlier mentioned, 'my feet had almost stumbled' [Psalm 73:2].

'Nevertheless I am continually [with You]' — I, being continually with You, cleaving to You and to Your service, occupied with wisdom — You helped me in this matter until I understood what it was. And this is what he then says: 'You hold my right hand' — You helped me and raised me up.

"Nevertheless I am continually with You" — nonetheless, I was always with You and did not move away from You, and it was as though You held my right hand to walk after You.

"But I am continually with You" — but I, in myself, that is, the man — that is, his soul and his intellect, which are the essence of man — "I am continually with You": the essence of man, which is his soul, does not change and is not affected by the accidents of the body, which is his "beast," whether its good things or its bad things, for through all the changes that the body undergoes, "the I" remains existing and unchanging; and it is "continually" enduring in one constant state; and it is "with You," living a true, honorable, godly life above the accidents of time and their vicissitudes, for it clings to Hashem. And "You hold my right hand" — he is alluding to the fact that this "I," which is the essence of man, that is, his soul, has, as it were, two hands: a right hand, by which he overcomes his "beast" and raises his right hand and swears by the life of the world to live an angelic, godly life, separate from the body and its desires; and a left hand, which is the hand that lowers him to eat at a single trough together with his beast and to live the life of the beast — "and a fool's heart is at his left." And "You hold my right hand," so that I do not take refuge beneath the platform, but rather ride upon it, and do not seek after these illusory, changeable successes; but rather, "You guide me with Your counsel" — that is the counsel of Hashem, to cling to Him and to do everything for His name's sake without any bodily motive, but only for the sake of the commandment of Hashem. "And afterward You will take me to glory" — and this counsel will take me "after glory," that is, after the soul, which is called by the name "glory" in the holy writings, for it is the true glory of man — that I should go after glory, not after that which is despised and lowly, namely, the material and its desires.

"You led me" — Heb. תנחני, [like] נחיתני, You led me. "and after[wards], You took me [for] glory" — If the cantillation sign were on כָּבוֹד, its interpretation would be: After You bestowed upon Sennacherib all the glory You had allotted to him, You will take me to You. You have performed wondrous miracles for Israel and have destroyed Sennacherib. Now that the cantillation sign is on ואחר, this is its interpretation: (and afterwards,) You took me to glory; You drew me to You for glory and beauty.

'With Your counsel, You will take me' — the word 'taking' without a stated object refers to the joining of the righteous soul with the beings above, who have no body and never die. This is why, concerning Enoch, it is said: 'And Enoch walked with God' (Genesis 5:24) — that he accustomed his soul to walk with the angels, until Hashem took him. So here the psalmist requests: 'Help me, and guide me, and accustom me to walk in Your counsel,' and after You do me this honor, then 'You will take me' — and similarly: 'for He will take me. Selah' (Psalm 49:16). Or the interpretation of 'and afterward' — after this You will take me, and I will have honor like one of the angels.

'With Your counsel' — Just as You helped me in this and guided me with Your counsel, so guide me always with Your counsel, and teach me all the days of my life. 'And afterward receive me with glory' — meaning: life will depart, and the glory will remain. 'You will take me' — meaning, You will gather my glory to Yourself. And [as for] the word 'achar' ('afterward') — it is not connected to 'kavod' ('glory'); the cantillation (te'amim) separates between them; therefore it is to be understood on its own. 'And afterward' — after my death. 'You will take me' — You will take my glory, which is the light of the soul.

"With Your counsel" — it was as though You led me to walk by Your counsel. "And afterward" — after all this, You will take me with honor, meaning, because I did not move away from You, I attained honor through understanding the matter in its truth.

"For whom do I have in heaven" — [Was there] any angel that I chose for me as a god? I chose only You.

'Whom' — Rabbi Moshe said: the meaning is that all his desire is in heaven, to be with the angels, as if he said, 'All that is mine is in heaven and with You; I have no desire on earth.' Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, of blessed memory, said: 'whom' means 'he whom I seek is in heaven,' in the manner of 'What do you mean by all this camp which I met?' (Genesis 33:8). And according to the Gaon's view, the word 'besides You' is missing after 'in heaven.' But in my opinion, he has no desire in heaven or on earth once his body is lost — that is why what follows [i.e., the next verse, about the body] comes right after this one.

'Whom' — Among those who hold false beliefs, there are those who believe in the sun, or in one of the stars; but I have no desire except in You alone — I have set up no partner for You, neither in heaven nor on earth. 'And on earth' — meaning, among the four elements, for there are those who worship water, and likewise air, and earth.

"Whom have I" — now I see that there is no one in the host of heaven who can do harm or good. "And besides You" — I did not wish to associate with You anyone on earth, for there is none like You.

"Whom have I" — to the point that I would call out to the multitude of my faculties, saying: "Whom have I in heaven?" — which of you belongs to heaven, that is, the heavenly, spiritual faculty that is exalted above time and physicality? To this heavenly faculty found within me I will listen, and it I will seek. "And besides You I desire none on earth" — and as for my being with You, clinging to divinity and spirituality by means of the spiritual, godly soul found within me, "I do not desire earthliness at all," and I despise matter and all earthly successes; rather I look only toward heavenly, blissful, spiritual successes. For behold, "my flesh and my heart fail" — behold, all the powers of the body will fail and come to an end in the end, both my flesh, which is the bodily flesh that is the bearer of these illusory successes, and also my heart, which is the desire and longing for these successes — behold, it too fails and is not eternal, and with their passing away, the successes that are borne upon them also pass away. But "the rock of my heart" — the essential, root rock of my heart, the rock upon which the perfection of my heart stands, that is, the soul, which is the rock and root of man; and likewise "my portion is God" — the divine portion found within me — behold, it does not fail, but stands "forever," and so the happiness that is borne upon it is also eternal and imperishable.

"My flesh...yearn" — My flesh and my heart yearn for You. "yearn" — Heb. כלה, an expression of desire, as (119:81): “My soul yearned (כלתה) for Your salvation.”

'My flesh fails' — this is the body. 'And my heart' — this is the desiring soul [nefesh], which is the faculty of generation/reproduction; but 'the rock of my heart' has the sense of 'strength,' and 'my heart' here is used as in 'after your heart and after your eyes' (Numbers 15:39). And the meaning of 'the rock of my heart' is that which cleaves [to it] and endures forever and will not perish — that is why it comes after this [i.e., after the body's failing].

'Fails' — When my flesh (she'eri) — that is, the flesh — fails, and my heart fails, which is the living soul (nefesh) that is in the heart of every living being — 'The rock of my heart' — does not fail; this is the intellect, which sustains the heart, for the workings of the intellect operate through it. This is 'the rock of my heart and my portion' — that God will be [my portion] forever; for behold, my portion will be forever, because I have cleaved to You, but those who go far from You will perish.

"Fails" — my flesh and my heart long for Hashem. "The rock of my heart" — for God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

'Fails' — an expression of longing/yearning. 'My flesh' — my flesh, as in 'can He prepare flesh (she'er) for His people' (below, Psalms 78).

"who strays from You" — Who separates himself from You.

'For' — in the manner of 'together the fool and the brutish person perish' (Psalm 49:11). 'All who go astray from You' — this is one who departs, in his thought and in his deeds, from the dominion of Hashem.

'You destroy all who go astray from You' — every one who strays from Your ways, You will destroy, so that he will have no portion in You after the death of the body.

"Those who go far from You" — those who are far from You will perish, just as from time immemorial You have cut off all who turn away from You.

'You destroy' — an expression of cutting off, as in 'those who cut me off (matzmitai) are mighty' (above, Psalms 69). 'Those who go astray' — an expression of turning aside; and for this reason an adulteress is called 'zonah,' because she has strayed from the ways of modesty.

"For, behold" — now he concludes the words of the psalm in general terms, saying: behold, the wicked perish for two reasons. (1) That they perish of themselves, on account of their being far from Hashem — hence he says, "those far from You shall perish," for the existence of every existing thing is from Hashem, and in proportion to its distance from Him it has no existence, life, or being. (2) They perish through providence and punishment, for "You have destroyed all who go astray from You" — that You cut him off through providence, on account of his sins.

"Your mission" — Your message; the holy spirit that comes into my heart to say it.

'But I, the nearness of God' — [stated] in contrast to those far from You. The meaning of 'is my good' — for this is the true good. 'Shatti' ('I have made') — the root's tav is missing, in the manner of 'and I will make with them a covenant of peace' (Ezekiel 34:25) — due to the merging of two tavs into one. 'Malakhotekha' ('Your works') — a plural form, whose singular is 'melakhah' ('work'); and from this same root is [the word] 'malakh' ('angel'), a word of the fourth [derived] form, so called because he continually performs the work of Hashem. And when the wise/discerning person becomes wise, and comes to recognize the works of Hashem, and is able to recount them in his heart, or to another, then he will know supernal knowledge — and it is for this that every human being was created.

'But as for me' — The wicked are far off, and therefore they will perish; but as for me, 'the nearness of God is my good' — that through my nearness to You I look forward to a good reward in the [coming] world; and 'in You I have set my refuge' — so that You will teach me to tell of all Your works, that is, all Your deeds, that I may know and be able to relate and understand the wisdom of nature, which is the knowledge of all Your physical works, both lower and upper; and from there I will ascend to the knowledge of Your [higher] deeds, and then I will attain supreme knowledge.

"But as for me, etc." — I have nearness to God, for I draw myself close to Him. "I have made" — that I place my refuge in Hashem. "To tell" — to occupy myself with telling of Your awesome and wondrous deeds, and not to occupy myself with other matters.

'Your works' — from the language of labor (melakhah) and deed (ma'aseh).

"But as for me" — I have existence from my own side: first, for "the nearness of God is good for me," in that through the nearness of God to me I find goodness and happiness; second, from the fact that "I have made Hashem my refuge," in that He watches over me with special providence, and in this I have made my refuge. "To tell of all Your works" — that I will tell only of the angelic and spiritual matters, which are the affairs of the soul — for the soul is the angel of Hashem on earth, to perform His service, and it is like a god in knowing good.