Psalms · Psalm 8

"the gittith" — A musical instrument that came from Gath, where craftsmen were found to make it (Machbereth Menachem p. 60). But our Sages said (Mid. Ps. 8:1): Concerning a nation [Edom] that is destined to be trodden like a winepress, as it is written (in Isaiah 63:3): “A winepress I trod alone.” However, the contents of the psalm do not indicate it.

"For the leader, upon the Gittith. Hashem our Lord" — this psalm was given to the families of Obed-Edom the Gittite, who was of the sons of Levi, just as [other psalms were given] to Jeduthun; or alternatively, it is a melody that begins "HaGittit, glorious," or something similar. And Rabbi Moshe said: that it [the Gittith] is an instrument named after the family of Obed-Edom the Gittite, but we have found no such naming convention elsewhere. And some foolish people say: it refers to the melody of those who tread the winepress.

"For the leader; upon the gittith. A psalm of David" — we have already explained above (Psalms 4:1) that "gittith" is a type of melody. And some say: that David composed and recited it when he was in Gath. And some say (Ibn Ezra): that he gave it to the sons of Obed-Edom the Gittite. And this psalm is praise, glorification, and thanksgiving to God, and a recounting of His mighty deeds.

'HaGittit' — a musical instrument that comes from Gath.

"For the Leader" — here he shall adjudicate lofty matters and philosophize against the philosophers who greatly diminish the standing of man, to the point that they considered it madness to say that man is the choicest of creation and that he is Hashem's inheritance in His world. And they arrived at this with arguments that seem, at the outset of inquiry, to be decisive proofs: for if we observe the multitude of the many and immense spheres that surround the small earthly sphere, the dwelling place of man — which is but a small point in comparison to them, like a drop from a bucket amid the abundant and mighty waters of a river — and how much more so, according to the view of the more recent astronomers, who observe with their instruments, from the observation tower, the multitude of many solar systems surrounding the star Uranus, to the point that even our sun, with its multitude of planets, is counted as nothing against the suns that illuminate its neighbors, which are as numerous as the sand of the sea — [comprising] the fiery river (Nehar Dinur), that is, the Milky Way above our heads. And whoever has eyes and does not look will fail to know that it is far-fetched to say that all these were created for the sake of a small sphere, insignificant in comparison to them — namely, the lowly globe [the earth]. And how much more so for the sake of man, whose existence is negligible against the globe as a whole! And indeed, among our own sages too, some have already expanded and elaborated on this proof (in the Guide [of the Perplexed], part III, and in HaBedarshi's book, Bechinat Olam), and they arrived at this with several arguments: (1) from the standpoint of the multitude of the spheres; (2) from the standpoint of their size; (3) from the standpoint of the fineness of their workmanship; (4) from the standpoint of their location, in that they are high and lofty; (5) from the standpoint of the fact that they endure as individuals, and not merely as a species. And the rhetorician would say: is this the work of a wise craftsman, that he would prepare implements weighing ten thousand talents of silver, in order to make a single iron needle? However, the community of perfect believers, who [hold to] the counsel of the Torah and its ways, cannot deny this; for the testimony of Hashem is faithful, that all the stars were created for the sake of the earth, as it is written, "And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth"; and all the offspring of the earth were created only for the sake of man, who was created last of all of them, for through him and by his means the whole of existence attained its perfection and its ultimate purpose; and it was for his sake that the supreme Wisdom saw fit to bring it into being. And the human race as a whole existed only for the sake of the perfect man, who keeps Hashem's commandments and precepts. And not only that, but the very nature of existence as a whole is subservient to this man: it rises or falls, is enhanced or diminished, or is annulled entirely, according to the deeds of man, whether he keeps Hashem's commandments or rebels against them. And this axis is the foundation of the Torah as a whole, and the foundation of reward and punishment, the blessings and curses found in the Torah — to the point that it was established by the Torah as a firm foundation, that the perfect man alone, and no other, is Hashem's portion in His world. And He demonstrated this in practice when He bared His holy arm with signs and wonders in the days of our going forth from the land of Egypt, and when He descended upon Mount Sinai, and when He caused [His presence] to dwell in a tent among man, in the Sanctuary and the Tabernacle — as though this alone were the dwelling place He desired for Himself; and as though only this land, and this people who keep His commandments, were the treasured possession for whose sake He did all that He did. And therefore He called them by every term of affection: His firstborn son, and His betrothed, His people, and His inheritance. However, how can all this be maintained when the proofs of the philosophers and their arguments stand before us? Regarding this, the Psalmist comes, in this psalm, and arrays against them a philosophical formation, and nullifies their arguments with words fitting to this divine subject, as we shall clarify his answers, one by one, in the exposition of the psalm. And since this inquiry, besides being a principle and foundation of our Torah, is also the foundation of every religion in general — for only by means of it does the individual providence that cleaves to mankind not remain a puzzle to us, and only by means of it do we strike at the very skull of the deniers who say, "Hashem has forsaken the earth," and that "His glory is upon the heavens" — which was the argument of all the nations, worshippers of the sun, who make offerings to the Queen of Heaven — therefore this discourse is exalted, in accordance with the preciousness of the subject discussed in it, and its greatness.

"how mighty is Your name" — more than the strength of the measure of the earthlings. The earthlings did not deserve that You should cause Your Shechinah to rest among them. "for which You should bestow Your majesty upon the heavens" — It is fitting that You bestow it upon the heavens. But You, with Your great humility...

"Hashem, our Lord" — because he says [further on], "You made him rule over the works of Your hands." "How majestic" — a wondrous thing. And the word "tenah" ["is set"] is an infinitive, like "to go down" in "do not fear to go down to Egypt," as if it said, "the setting of Your glory upon the heavens."

"Hashem, our Lord" — that You are the Lord of the created beings, the upper and the lower ones. "How majestic is Your name" — meaning: how majestic You are, for His name is He Himself, and He is His name — the four-letter Name, which is not a descriptive term — and He is "majestic." "In all the earth" — meaning: Your might is seen "in all the earth" — whether in inhabited land, in the wilderness, or in the sea, "in all the earth" Your might is seen; but the great majesty and the immense power are seen in the heavens, for the earth is a small thing compared to the heavens, and it is like a point within a circle. "Whose majesty You have set above the heavens" — the word "tenah" is an infinitive used in place of the past tense "You have given"; for the infinitive is used in place of the past tense, as in "gave birth" (yaldah) and "forsook" (azov) (Jeremiah 14:5) — meaning "and she forsook" — and others like these. And likewise in place of the future and the participle, as we have explained in the Sefer HaMikhlol, in its grammatical section. And the meaning of the verse is thus: "how majestic is Your name in all the earth," and "how majestic" that You have set "Your majesty above the heavens." And the meaning of the word "hod" (majesty) is power and splendor. And "whose majesty You have set above the heavens" may also be explained as giving the reason for "how majestic is Your name in all the earth" — meaning: because You gave power to the beings above to govern the beings below; for the earth and all that is in it, the seas and all that is in them, are all under the governance of the beings above.

"How glorious is Your name" — how greatly have You shown Your strength in all the earth, overseeing and ruling over all. "Whose [majesty] is rehearsed" — because even the splendor of Your Presence is set in the heavens above; and even something weak, if it is above, is accounted strong — how much more so something mighty that is above.

'Tenah' — like 'natata' (You gave); the future form stands in place of the past, and there are many such instances in Scripture.

"Hashem, our Lord" — At the outset he lays down a foundational premise: that the name Hashem is the wisdom and the power through which He was revealed, by means of the existence that He brought into being — on whose account He is called by the name Hashem. (For His essence, in itself, is hidden and concealed from us; and the name by which we designate Him is given from that aspect by which we recognize Him — thus we call Him by the name Havayah [Being], for He is the One who brings-into-being and creates everything that comes-to-be and exists.) Now, "Your name" — this very name — "is majestic only in the earth," meaning: the essential wisdom and power by which we recognize the name Hashem through His creatures is found only in the earth and its offspring — in such a way that it may be said that the divine light, the great light that shone forth upon existence, shone in the earth, and there is the hiding-place of His strength, while the heavens only receive the glow of the light reflected back from the earth, just as the moon receives the light of the sun. This is why it says, "Who has set Your glory upon the heavens" — Your majestic name in the earth gives Your glory to the heavens, for it is through the wisdom and power visible in His work on earth that we recognize His glory in the heavens. Now, besides the fact that this premise is justified for us by the testimony of the Torah — that the governance of the heavens, in respect of rain and light, is entirely dependent on the workings of the earth, so that the earth gives glory to the heavens, the earth being the giver and they the receivers of the glory — it is also established by philosophical inquiry, if we survey the whole of existence with the eye of reason. For the philosophers who pronounced that the heavens and what is in them are more exalted than the earth and what is upon it, looked only at existing things from the perspective of their physical substance; and when they saw that the body of the sun is many thousands of times larger than the body of the terrestrial globe, and with its power draws along mighty bodies — the earth and all the stars that accompany the sun, revolving at its feet — they concluded that the earth is lowly compared to them and small in relation to them. But they did not ask this question wisely, for it is known that no work of a craftsman or designer derives its worth from its physical substance, but rather from the wisdom and understanding by which he produced an instrument for his purpose — this being the form of the workmanship, according to which its value rises or falls. If a skilled craftsman invents a machine, we do not judge the worth of the instrument by the size of its bulk, whether the machine is large or small, but only by the abundance of wisdom and inventiveness which this skilled man applied until he achieved his desired result; and the more that many principles and a multitude of wisdoms, items of knowledge, and inventions were required, all combining together in the making of the instrument, the more the workmanship is to be praised; indeed, it is all the more exalted when this abundance of inventions is gathered into a small instrument of delicate craftsmanship — just as a small watch-face, the size of a lens, containing wondrously fine cylinders and gears, is praised more than one would marvel at the same being accomplished in a large-scale instrument. Now, the revolution of all the stars is built upon a single natural law: the force of attraction shared by all material bodies. And this very law, by which and through which the earth draws to itself the small bodies around it, and by which a stone thrown upward falls back to the earth, is the very same law that draws the large bodies to one another. And according to the laws of motion and mechanics shared by all physical bodies, later researchers have explained the entire workings of the heavens and the revolution of the stars, as is known from their writings — to the point that it may be said that a single wisdom and a single invention, which the Creator placed within the nature of material things generally, is the cause of the movement of the host of heaven and their motions. Likewise, all the simple elements are governed by simple laws — such as air, through the principle of expansion embedded in its nature, by which vapors rise, rain descends, wind subsides, and storm turns to calm — so that the natural scientist finds in all of them a single simple law. But when we look at the composite, how many wisdoms and inventions are found in a single plant, in a single blade of grass growing upon a clod of earth! For besides the fact that the simple laws by which the host of heaven revolves — that is, the force of attraction — and by which rain, downpour, and thunder come about — that is, the force of expansion embedded in the nature of air — are gathered within it, in addition to these laws founded upon the nature of the simple elements, which are the foundations of the composite, the Craftsman in His limitless wisdom invented new and wondrous laws by which the plant is nourished and by which what it absorbs is converted into its own composition — laws so wondrous that the eye of no researcher or philosopher has yet beheld them — hidden within the formative power that is in the plant, by which it reproduces, after its kind, its blossom, its flower, and its seed, to preserve its species. And how much more exalted is the wisdom and the delicacy of workmanship in the creation of the living animal! For besides the fact that all the laws of wisdom that were gathered in the simple and composite things beneath it, up to the plant, are preserved within it, new laws are added to it — wonders at which the intelligent person marvels in every single limb. How many laws of wisdom are gathered in the invention of the faculty of sight! How great are the works of Hashem in this wondrous window that He established in the living creature, by which He causes His great light — which spreads out to the ends of creation — to shine inward into the chambers of the soul! How many laws are uniquely bound up in the refraction of light, in its reflection, in its capture — as is known in the science of optics — and likewise in the workings of the ear, in the workings of the other senses, and in the activity of the soul. And to what degree wisdom and wonder are exalted in the creation of man! For besides the fact that all the laws of wisdom scattered throughout all the works of creation — the simple and the composite and the composites of composites — up to the living soul, are gathered within him, there is added to him the faculty of intellectual speech, the wondrous bond by which two worlds — the physical and the intellectual — are joined, acting upon and being acted upon by each other, a matter that would exhaust any intellect attempting to know how and in what manner these wondrous laws came to be and were established. So that man, by virtue of his form and by virtue of the wonders and the multitude of workmanship and laws of wisdom that came together in his constitution — and especially in that his physical substance is, in itself, extremely weak and feeble, so that when he comes forth from his mother's womb he is an infant and a nursling, weak and lacking strength, small and poor in his physical substance, yet full of sublime wonders in the delicacy of his workmanship in every single limb, and in the joining together of all the limbs, with all the wonders of their workmanship, toward one comprehensive purpose — namely, the sustaining of the body and the soul, for whose sake man came to be — this man is comparable to the focal point in a polished mirror, in which all the scattered rays of light spread over the entire surface of the mirror are gathered together. He is the seal of a design full of wisdom and complete in beauty, in which all the forces of the works of creation, in their totality and in their particulars, are unfolded. So that whenever any intelligent person takes these matters to heart, he cries out together with the divine poet, saying: "Hashem, our Lord, Your name, which testifies to Your wisdom and Your wonders, is majestic only in the earth" — for it is only there that You have spread forth Your great light, which is the image of Your glory and the display of the wonders of Your wisdom. This light was revealed only in the earth; whereas the light that is in the heavens — from the creation of the great and numerous spheres that revolve there, and the laws which You established for their orderly motion — is only splendor and reflected light from the essential light that is visible only in the earth. For — "Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have established strength" — "infants and nursing babes" — this is man, whose physical substance is very weak, so that at the very beginning of his formation he is an infant and a nursling, and of extremely feeble constitution — more so than all the living creatures that preceded him in the order of composition. These infants and nursing babes, despite the weakness of their physical substance — indeed, "out of their mouths You have established strength," meaning: out of the mouths of these infants, that is, the faculty of speech planted in their mouths, on account of which man is called "a speaking living being," by virtue of his intellect and understanding and the intellectual faculties planted and bound up with the faculty of speech — which is the culmination of the wonders and the ultimate goal of the wisdom and marvel that Hashem displayed in His world, in how He bound together a multitude of wisdoms and wondrous laws by the thousands, all united in the creation of this faculty of speech — indeed, out of the mouth of infants and their intellectual speech, "You have established strength" — this is the foundation of strength, for through it the whole of existence attains its completion; in it all the works of creation are gathered together, as though it were the foundation of the entire edifice, its principle and its root, while everything else that is built — from the earth to the multitude of the many spheres that are in the heavens — are only pillars and bases, branches, boughs, and limbs unto this foundation and root, which is the bedrock of creation and the foundation of existence — to the point that through it, You have bared Your mighty arm, "because of Your foes," should there yet be found an enemy and a foe — that is, the heretics who deny the existence of Hashem, who are called enemies, haters, and foes of Hashem in the Holy Scriptures — should there yet be found a denier and a skeptic who does not set his heart to recognize Your existence from existence as a whole, he will necessarily and inevitably be forced to admit that there is a Creator, whenever he reflects, observes, and investigates the matter of man and the multitude of wonders united in his creation. For then the mouth of the skeptic will be stopped, and then "the enemy and avenger are stilled" — he who wishes to deny Your divinity — for even the disputant will be forced to concede that the hand of Hashem made this. (4) "For" — after he has prefaced this introduction, which is the ultimate point and crux of the discussion, he goes on to present also the arguments that would be raised to establish the contrary — arguments seeking to show that the heavens, the multitude of lofty and exalted beings within them, are more precious and more exalted than the human species. And this is for several reasons: (1) By virtue of their location, in that they stand at the height of the universe. Concerning this he says, "when I behold Your heavens" — for the word "shamayim" (heavens) is the dual plural of the word "sham" ("there"), which denotes remoteness. And this argument comprises two aspects: (a) by virtue of position — that the position of these worlds is elevated and lofty above the terrestrial globe, the dwelling-place of man, which is a lowly cavity; (b) by virtue of the vast extent of their quantity in space — their size and their distances, the thickness of the heavenly bodies and the distance between them, which it is impossible to determine the measure of. (The second argument) is by virtue of the beauty of their workmanship and the fineness of their substance — particularly according to the view of the ancients, who held that the substance of the heavens differs from the substance of the earth, and called it "the fifth element." Concerning this he says, "the work of Your fingers" — for there is a difference between "the work of His hands" and "the work of His fingers": "the work of His hands" includes also what is done at His command through an agent, whereas "the work of His fingers" is restricted only to what the craftsman made himself, without any intermediary. And from the beauty of the workmanship and its glory, evident at first glance in the celestial spheres, it appears that these You made with Your own fingers — by Yourself, and attributed to You directly without intermediary — unlike the workmanship of the earth and what is in it, which is inferior by comparison, as though it were merely "the work of Your hand," through the agency of Your emissary, rather than "the work of Your fingers." (Third argument) is by virtue of the permanence and eternity visible in the heavenly bodies, which endure as individuals and are not subject to decay — unlike the produce of the earth and its offspring, all of which endure only as a species, their foundation being cessation, which is in turn the cause of coming-into-being. Concerning this he says, "the moon and stars which You have established" — for the word "konanta" ("established") denotes permanence, strength, and continuance. And upon considering these arguments regarding the excellence and glory found in these higher, celestial beings, I would necessarily conclude, at the very outset of the inquiry, by saying, "what is enosh (frail man), that You are mindful of him" — the word "enosh" denotes diminishment: frail man is very small, both from the smallness of his body and his weakness owing to the lowliness of his place, and from the deficiency of his natural powers — feeble in constitution, weak in composition, with his bonds loosening — all of which is included in the word "enosh." Of what account is he, "that You are mindful of him"? And this corresponds to, and stands against, the two arguments mentioned regarding the excellence of the higher beings, which were summed up in the phrase "Your heavens, the work of Your fingers." "And the son of man" — this term signifies that man is not eternal, does not endure as an individual the way the heavenly bodies do, but is rather "a son of man," born of man, whose species alone endures, not the individual. And of what account is he, "that You think of him" (see the Beur HaMilot, the Explanation of the Words) — this corresponds to, and stands against, what was said, "the moon and stars which You have established."

"Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings You have established strength" — You caused Your Shechinah to rest in the Temple, and You decreed that we thank You. This is strength [that emerges] from the mouth of the Levites and the priests, who are people raised in filth like babes and sucklings. [The word] עוללים is an expression of (Job 16:15) “and sullied my radiance in the dust,” and because of the filth, all infants are called עוללים. "because of Your adversaries" — To inform them that we are Your people. "to put an end to" — the disgrace of the enemy and avenger, who says, “You are no better than the other nations.” But I, when I see Your heavens, etc.,... I wonder in my heart, what is man that You should remember him?

"Out of the mouth of" — Rabbi Moshe said: the meaning of "out of the mouth of babes" is that even if they do not speak with their mouths, they themselves give thanks for Your kindnesses, for You sustain them and cause them to grow and increase in body, in length and in breadth. But correct in my opinion: since man is more honored than all the lower creatures, he [David] spoke thus, for from the time a child begins to speak — and this is the meaning of "out of the mouth of babes" — his constitution then begins to receive the power of the wise soul, until it grasps, through the weighing of its own understanding, the power of its Creator; for the soul grows stronger day after day, and this is the meaning of "You have founded strength." And the meaning of "because of Your adversaries" is to nullify the words of the deniers who say "there is no God"; and this is the meaning of "to still the enemy and the avenger," who are hostile toward those who believe in the Name, whether in speech or in deed.

"Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings You have founded strength" — The first of the wonders that occurs in man after he comes out into the air of the world is nursing. For man must thank the Creator and recognize His power and ability, both from the side of His works that are visible in the heavens and on the earth, and from the constitution of his own body, which was created from a drop of seed that turns into blood, and from there grows little by little until his limbs are completed and he comes out into the air of the world. This has already been mentioned in the psalm "Hashem, You have searched me and known me" (Psalm 139, below). And in this psalm he said: from the very beginning of his coming out into the air of the world, and from his nursing, the wonders of the Creator and His kindness toward man are recognized. Therefore he said "You have founded" — just as the foundation is the beginning of a building, so nursing is the beginning of recognizing the Creator's kindness to man after he comes out into the air of the world, in that the Holy One, blessed be He, made for him an opening in the breasts like the opening of a fine needle — no wider than that, for if it were wider, the milk might flow without any suction and come into his mouth more than needed, until he would choke on it; and if it were narrower than it is, the suction would be too strenuous for the child and his lips would hurt. Rather, everything is by proportion and measure. And He made him more wondrous than the rest of the living creatures, in that He gave his mother breasts in place of understanding, as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said (Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 10a). Therefore he said: "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings You have founded strength" — that man is able to recognize that everything is by deliberate intent, not as the enemies of Hashem say, that everything is by nature and by chance, without the guidance of a guide or deliberate intent. And this is what he said next: "Because of Your adversaries, that You might still the enemy and the avenger" — Even though this kindness is present also in animals and beasts, in man God placed understanding and intellect to recognize the work of God and to thank Him and praise Him for everything, and all [creatures] were created for his benefit; therefore he must contemplate and recognize the work of God and thank Him for everything. And the sage Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra explained (in his own commentary): because man is more honored than all the creatures below, he spoke thus — for from the time the child begins to speak, and this is the meaning of "out of the mouth of babes," then his constitution begins to receive the power of the soul, until it comes to comprehend, through the weighing of its own understanding, the power of its Creator, for the soul grows stronger day after day: and this is the meaning of "You have founded strength." And the meaning of "because of Your adversaries" is to nullify the words of the deniers who say there is no God. And our teacher Moshe HaKohen Ibn Gikatilla explained: "out of the mouth of babes," who do not yet speak with their mouths — they themselves testify to the abundance of Your kindness, for You sustain them and cause them to grow in body, in length and in breadth.

"Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings" — from the mouth of babes, whose [mouths] are sealed shut in their mothers' wombs, and when they are born their mouths open and they nurse continually from their mothers' breasts — from this wonder You have founded a firm foundation for knowing Your strength, for it is a thing that nature does not necessitate. "Because of Your adversaries" — in order to refute Your adversaries, who denied Hashem. "That You might still" — to nullify the words of the enemy and the avenger against those who believe in Hashem.

'Olelim' — even in the mother's womb they are called olelim, as in 'like infants that never saw light' (Job 3:16).

"When" — it is known that there are seven spheres for the [two great] luminaries and the five wandering stars [planets], and the eighth sphere is for the great host [of fixed stars], and the ninth is for the sphere of the constellations, which travels from east to west, and the tenth is the Throne of Glory. Therefore he wrote "the work of Your fingers," for they number ten. And he mentioned the moon and the stars but did not mention the sun, because the eye is unable to see them [the stars] by day, on account of the light of the sun. Some say: that the meaning of "Your glory" refers to the sun, for it is the great creation; and behold, by day only one [sun] is seen, while by night a very great host [of stars] is seen.

"When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have established" — and he did not mention the sun. Some say that he said this psalm at night, at the time when he was gazing at the moon and the stars and understanding the wonders of the Creator. And some say (Ibn Ezra, ad loc.) that by day one sees only the sun alone, but by night one sees a very great host; therefore he did not mention the sun. And some say (ibid., in the name of others) that what he said, "which You have set Your splendor upon the heavens" [verse 2], alludes to the sun, for it is the great creation. And he said "when I behold Your heavens" — that is to say: when I behold the great creations that You have in the world, and I understand the matter of man, I am astonished. And he said:

"When I behold" — from this wonder I perceive with wisdom that the work of Your fingers are Your heavens; even the moon and the stars which You have established — they are all the work of Your hands, and the world is not eternally preexistent.

"What" — it is known that the moon and the eleven stars are each like a point within the circle of the sphere, and the whole earth is like a point that cannot be divided in comparison to the firmament; and a human being is a fraction that does not even amount to a meaningful fraction in comparison to the whole earth. Therefore it says: "what is man, that You are mindful of him" — in a manner of belittlement; and the meaning is: since You have creations greater and more honored than man, how have You set Your heart to give him honor?

"What is man, that You are mindful of him? And the son of man, that You think of him?" — and "what is man" is the opposite of "how majestic is Your name" [verse 2], for the one is for greatness and the other for smallness. He said: "when I behold Your heavens" and the moon and the stars, which are great and intelligent creations — "what is man" that You remembered him and bestowed upon him from the splendor of the supernal intelligences that have no body? For even those [creations] that do have bodies — I see the greatness of their body and their worth, for man is as nothing compared to them! And he said "the work of Your fingers," and he said "which You have established," to refute the deniers who say that the world is eternal; therefore he said "the work of" and "You have established," [meaning] that You created them all anew. And he said "I behold" concerning "Your heavens" — even though only what is close to us is visible to us, [this is] because they are, one facing the other, up to the eighth sphere, which is the sphere of the constellations, and because they all shine, all of them, like a thing inside a glass vessel that is visible from outside. And thus wrote the sage Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra, may his memory be blessed: that he said "Your fingers," for the fingers are ten and the spheres are ten: seven firmaments in which are the seven wandering stars, and the sphere of the constellations, and the ninth sphere above the sphere of the constellations, and the tenth, the Throne of Glory. "What is man, that You are mindful of him? And the son of man, that You think of him?" — this is a doubling of the matter in different words. Or its meaning is: "that You are mindful of him" — that You remembered him at his creation, in that You bestowed some of Your splendor upon him. "And You think of him" — all the days that he lives, You watch over him and over his deeds, to give to each man according to his ways.

"What is man" — he continues to demonstrate that Hashem watches over everything, and says: behold, what is the importance of man, that he should be remembered before Hashem?

'Tifkedenu' — meaning, You remember him; and the matter is repeated in different words.

"Yet You have made him slightly less than the angels, etc." — Heb. מאלהים, which is an expression of angels, for You gave power to Joshua to still the sun and to dry up the Jordan, and to Moses to split the waters of the Sea of Reeds and to ascend to the heavens, and to Elijah to resurrect the dead.

“Yet You have made him a little lower than God” — the angels; and in general, as Daniel said: “the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh” (Daniel 2:11). “And crowned him with glory and honor” — because of the power of the living soul that He breathed into him, which is supernal and is not a body; therefore it does not die.

"Yet You have made him but little lower than the angels" — these are the angels. Because the soul of man is of the constitution of the angels, in that it is not a body, just as they are not bodies. And the deficiency is because it is [embodied] within a body. "And have crowned him with glory and honor" — with the supernal soul that You placed in him. And with it —

"Yet You have made him... lower" — despite all this, in Your providence, You have made him lacking only a little compared to the angels, in the matter of wisdom and knowledge, and You have crowned him with glory and splendor, for he is exalted above every living thing by the faculty of speech.

"Yet You have made him lack" — having mentioned the view of the philosophers and their proofs, which they brought to diminish the stature of man in comparison with the heavenly bodies, he now returns to refute their arguments and to establish the view of the Torah on its foundation. He examines here the stature of man as against the higher beings in terms of his four causes, namely the material, the formal, the efficient, and the final; for by considering all four of these, his stature and his superiority over all existing things will be revealed to us. First, with regard to the material cause: he lays down one premise, that the true definition of man is not as the philosophers defined him — that the definition of man is "a living, speaking being" — but rather that his true definition is "a speaking, living being." But before you can understand these words of mine, you must know what has been established in philosophy: that things which are alike in their differentia but are not alike in their genus do not fall under one genus. For example, the sea-creature that is counted in the sea as a fish (a whale — "Walfish") falls, together with the rest of the fish of the sea, under the genus "fish," and its particular differentia is that it is a fish that bears live young and nurses them. However, the whale and man, although they are alike in this differentia — that both bear live young and nurse them — do not, on this account, fall under one genus, and we cannot say that for the whale and man their common genus is that they bear live young, and their differentia is that this one lives in the sea and that one on dry land — for only what is essential and intrinsic to the definition can be placed under the genus, whereas bearing live young and nursing is not essential to the definition. Rather, we say that man stands in one genus with the higher beings, in that he is like them in this respect: that he is intellectual as they are. Now you may ask: is not this very fact, that he is intellectual, the differentia in his definition, and not the genus? And since he resembles the higher beings only in that he is a speaking, intellectual being like them, while he differs from them in that he is "living" — with the bodily life of an animal, which is his genus — how can he share one genus with them, seeing that his genus is distinct from theirs? Therefore I stated at the outset that the true definition of man is "a speaking being that lives" — I mean that the essential substance and true reality of man is his rational soul. I mean that man, in his essential substance and root, does not belong at all to the lower beings, but only to the higher beings, for the essence and substance of man is his soul and his intellect, and his physical body is merely an accident attached to him, not his essential substance. This accident will separate from him when the dust returns to the earth as it was, while his essential substance, which is his rational soul, will remain and will not change and will not cease to exist, for this is the definition of a substance: that it does not undergo change or destruction. And in respect of his essential substance he is like the higher beings and stands with them in one genus; and the difference between him and the higher beings is only in respect of the accident attached to him, namely that he lives the life of the body and of motion, bound up with time and place — for the essential substance is the genus, and the accident is the differentia. Now, according to how the philosophers defined him — who supposed that man's essential substance and root belong among the dwellers of the lowly realm, and thought that his material body is his root and his essential substance, so that by this he falls into one genus together with the other bodies like himself, and thought that his rational soul is merely an accident attached to him, an accident that distinguishes him from the other living creatures — according to the definition they laid down, the essential definition of man, that is, his particular differentia, is that he possesses an elevated quality; his differentia among the dwellers of the lowly realm is the excellence found in him, namely his soul and his intellect. But according to the premise of the Torah, man's essential substance is such that he belongs among the higher beings and is like them in genus; and if so, his essential definition, that is, his particular differentia, is that he possesses a deficiency — the deficiency found in him being that his soul has been clothed in matter. It is on account of this that he is distinguished from the higher beings, in that he lives a bodily life; this is his particular differentia. This is the meaning of what is written, "Yet You have made him little less than God" — the true definition of man is that his genus is that he is like God and the sons of the higher realm, and his particular differentia is the deficiency that is accidental to him, namely that he possesses [bodily] life, that he possesses a body. Accordingly, the essential matter of man, which is his essential being, is a divine, intellectual, spiritual, eternal thing, to which nothing among all the celestial spheres — whose matter is physical — can be compared. And since the heavenly bodies, in respect of their genus, share their category with all beings possessed of matter, while man shares his category with the divine and spiritual beings, it is clear that they are all counted as nothing before him. (Second argument, from the efficient cause.) The wisdom of the perfect Agent, who is without limit, is discernible in the creation of man in two ways — just as the Ikkarim explains, that the wisdom of an agent is recognized in his work in two respects: either he engraves fine, wondrous engravings, the work of a skilled and thoughtful craftsman, in a precious metal that is by its very nature suited to receive these wondrous designs — like one who engraves ornaments full of grace and beauty in gold, gold being suited to such designs; in which case the value of the vessel is increased not on account of the agent, but on account of the material itself, because the material itself is precious and excellent — or else he engraves such wondrous engravings in wood or in iron, materials that by nature are ill-suited to receive these wondrous designs; in this case the wisdom of the agent is recognized, and the value of the vessel and its glory are increased on account of the sustained craftsmanship invested in it. Now, in the two parts of which man is composed, namely the soul and the body, the wisdom of the Agent is discernible in these two ways. For in the workmanship of the soul, Hashem fashioned wondrous designs in a material that is by its nature suited to receive these wondrous designs, since the soul, in respect of itself and its spirituality, is suited to receive wisdom, understanding, and intellect; and thereby the excellence of the workmanship is recognized on account of the work itself, since the soul in itself is precious and exalted. And in the workmanship of the body, He fashioned wondrous designs out of clods of earth — flesh and bones — which by their nature are ill-suited to receive these precious designs; and thereby the wisdom of the Agent is recognized, and the workmanship is glorified on account of the agent. And concerning these two parts he says, "And You have crowned him with glory and honor" — "glory" (kavod) is attributed to the soul, which is called "glory" in the Holy Scriptures on account of its own inherent glory, in that it is a daughter of God; and "honor" (hadar) is attributed to the body, in respect of the outward splendor of its workmanship, for the definition of hadar is external beauty, and this is what distinguishes it from hod ("majesty") everywhere [in Scripture]. So that the wisdom manifest in the creation of man in his two parts, viewed from this perspective, is more wondrous and more exalted than anything to be found among all the heavenly bodies, whose matter is pure and clear.

“You made him rule over the works of Your hands” — on earth alone, as he will go on to mention. And some say that “all” that “You put under his feet” refers to metals and plants.

"You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands" — the lower creatures. Or its interpretation is: even the upper [creatures] as well. And the dominion is that he understands with his intellect the movement of the spheres and the stars. "You have put all things under his feet" — all the lower [creatures] are beneath him, as it is said (Genesis 9:2), "And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air."

"You have made him to have dominion" — You have given him dominion over all creatures. "Under his feet" — that is to say, subdued before him.

'Shatah' — meaning, You placed (samta).

(Argument 3, from the formal cause) — Behold, the form of man is the form of the world as a whole, to the point that all the wondrous laws found in the whole of creation are all gathered together in man, and for this reason the ancients called him a "small world" [microcosm], which is the parable, image, and imitation of the whole great world — as I explained at length in my commentary on the book of Genesis. Regarding this it says, "You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands" — he is the parable and image of the works of Your hands, so that the worth of all of them compared to man is like the worth of the part compared to the whole, and the particular compared to the general. (Argument 4, from the final cause) — Behold, I have already explained in the portion of Genesis that creation advanced toward the formation of man level by level: from the inanimate to the vegetative, from the vegetative to the animate, from the animate to the rational [speaking being]. And even in this, it did not rise from level to level all at once, but only by means of intermediaries, rungs, and ladders that mediate between the vegetative and the animate; and so too within the animate itself — from the worm to the creeping thing, from the creeping thing to the fish, from the fish to the birds, from the creatures that lay eggs to the creatures whose blood is warm and who give birth to living young, of whose kind man is. And then emerged the crown of creation and the perfection of all existing things, which is man. Now the psalmist looked upon this with an intellectual view from the perspective of the final purpose. Behold, man is the ultimate purpose of the whole of creation, and everything that preceded him is only a means toward reaching this purpose, which is man — so that man appears, from the standpoint of the final purpose, as though he treads upon all of them and they all stand beneath his feet, made ready for his sake. Regarding this it says, "You have put all things under His feet." And he brought proof of this from what is observed: that the more the living creatures draw near to man, the more he makes use of them and derives benefit from them. For the living creatures that were created on the sixth day, all of whose blood is warm and who give birth to living young like man, he makes far more use of them than he does of the living creatures created on the fifth day, which are the birds and the fish. And also among the creatures created on the sixth day, among which there are two kinds — domestic animals (behemah) and beasts of the field (chayto aretz) — behold, the domesticated animals, which are closest to the nature of man, are the ones whose benefit to man is greatest and whose use is easy and constant; not so the wild beasts of the field, which are distant in their nature from man — he does not make use of all of them, nor at every time. Regarding this it says, "flocks and cattle, all of them" — he was precise in the word "all of them," meaning that the sheep and the cattle, he makes use of all of them, always and at every time. But also "the beasts of the field" — he makes use of the wild beasts of the field as well, but not in the same way as with the flocks and cattle. And after them in rank are "the birds of the sky," which are more distant from man, and which were created on the fifth day, after the fish. And after them in rank are the fish of the sea, for if he wishes to make use of the fish of the sea, he must then of necessity be "one who passes through the paths of the seas," and must endanger himself in the seas and rivers until he attains them. In this way it becomes clear that the more the nature of a given species is distant from man — so that its creation therefore came earlier — the more distant is its usefulness and benefit to man. From all this it is clear that all the species created before man were only intermediaries toward man, who is their true purpose, since all of them were created for his sake; and the more a creature drew close to him, the more it drew close to the purpose, and it was a nearer cause to him; and whatever was more distant from him, in proportion to its distance, was also a more distant cause — as though the fish is an intermediary to the bird of the sky, and the bird to the beast of the field, and the beast to the domestic animal, and the domestic animal is the intermediary closest to man. Therefore, the more distant an intermediary is from the purpose, the more distant is its benefit and usefulness. And this is what is depicted in the words "You have put all things under His feet" — as though man stands supreme over all creatures, and the domestic animals stand beneath his feet, and the wild beasts beneath the feet of the domestic animals, and beneath their feet the birds of the sky, and beneath the feet of the winged bird stand the fish — so that all of them together form a chain of intermediaries, gripped and bound to one another, until their [ultimate] purpose, which is man. And from all these proofs, what he laid down at the beginning of the discourse becomes clear and established, namely: "Hashem, our Lord, how mighty is Your name in all the earth" — and this is the opposite of the view of the philosophers, who have not seen the light.

"Flocks and cattle" — Heb. צנה ואלפים [equivalent to] צאן ובקר, like (Deut. 7:13), “the young of your cattle (אלפך).” צנה is an expression of industry, as (in Num. 32:24), “and enclosures for your flocks (לצנאכם)”; oveyledic in Old French, enclosures to pen the small livestock. There are many Aggadic midrashim, but they do not fit the verses.

“Flocks” — he mentioned the flock and the cattle because man needs them for his food and clothing more than for riding horses and donkeys, and afterward he mentioned the beasts of the field. And “sadai” is like “sadeh” (field), in the manner of the phrase “kol atzilei yadai” (all the joints of my hands). And the word “behemot” is an inclusive/general term, not as Yefet said, that “behemah” refers only to that which eats grass. But then what would he make of: “the lion is mightiest among the beasts” (Proverbs 30:30)?!

"Tzeneh va'alafim" (sheep and oxen) — the aleph of "tzo'n" (flock) is missing from the spelling in "tzeneh"; and the heh of "tzeneh" is [here] turned into an aleph, and this is also seen in the word "litzona'achem" (Numbers 32:24). And he said "tzeneh va'alafim" because they are raised together with him and are ready for his work, his food, and his clothing. "Tzo'n" (the flock) is the sheep and the goats. "Alafim" (oxen) are the cattle. And he said "kulam" (all of them), referring to the rest of the animals that are raised together with him, namely the horses, the donkeys, and the camels. And he said "and also the beasts of the field" — these are the wild animals of the field. And he said "and also," because even those that are not raised together with him in a settled place, he rules over them with his intellect and his stratagems. And he said further:

'Tzeneh' — from the language of tzon (flock). 'Va'alafim' — oxen, as in 'the increase of your cattle' (Deuteronomy 20). 'Sadai' — like 'sadeh' (field), with a heh [added].

"The fowl of the heavens, and the fish of the sea" — he says: even over those creatures that do not share the land with him, such as the bird that flies in the air and the fish that swim in the water, he rules over all of them, and hunts them by his stratagems; and further, by his intellect and his stratagems. "Whatever passes through the paths of the seas" — for he builds ships and "passes" through them along "the paths of the seas."

"The fowl of the air" — that flies up into the air of the heavens, and nevertheless man rules over it and hunts it with wisdom. "Whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas" — that is to say, that man, with his wisdom, makes ships, and with them passes through the paths of the seas, and is able to hunt even the fish of the sea.

“Hashem” — said a second time, just as it is proclaimed in every generation, for “the earth stands forever” (Ecclesiastes 1:4).

"Hashem, our Lord, how mighty is Your name in all the earth" — he returns once more to give thanks, now that he has finished telling of the kindness that He did for man and the dominion that He gave him over everything, even though man is small and lowly compared to the great creations above, with whom he shares in intellect; he returns to give thanks and says: "Hashem, our Lord," etc.

"How glorious" — from all this it is seen how very glorious is Your name in all the earth, overseeing and ruling over all.