The Book of Tehilim
Commentary by Rabbi Dovid E. Eidensohn
Chapter One
1A. - Happy
is he [the man] who did not walk with the advice of wicked people. I do not know the perfect English translation for the Hebrew word
of ASHREI אשרי . I tried “secure” and “successful” but
these according to the Roget’s Super Thesaurus connote “secure from fear” and
“successful defeating others”. Happiness also fails in the Thesaurus because it
indicates “joy, gladness, contentment, bliss, delight, jubilation, pleasure, cheer,
high spirits, peace of mind, elation, rapture, euphoria, exuberance, felicity,
ecstasy.” In truth, ASHREI connotes all of these, but secure is involved with a
negative “fear” and successful is involved with “defeating others”. Happiness
has no negative quality so I chose it, although it fails to go beyond the good
feeling one has when happiness happens. But happiness can be a fleeting thing,
and who is happy in the sense of joy and rapture for long moments?
Thus, the correct translation of ASHREI must be an explanation
perhaps with some words of exactly what the Psalmist intended. The Psalmist
intended to convey happiness, secure and successful, but not in their
transitory states and not in their relation to fear and defeating others. It is
a deeper word than all three. It is a word that conveys a sense much deeper
than joy and vastly superior to the kind of happiness that comes along for a
ride and then leaves. It is a word much stronger than secure and much more
positive than successful. When we use joy to define ASHREI but only by
stretching it into a lifetime feeling; when we use “secure” not just as
security from fear of failure and such negative things, but security in locking
our souls to heaven and our minds to Torah; if we also combine “successful” as
defeating others who are wicked, who defy the Torah, and include in successful
the constant war with the Satan and defeating it, we are approaching the
meaning of Ashrei. But I left it as “happy” so as not to create many words to
explain one word. Precisely because the many words won’t do the job either.
ASHREI is a word that conveys a Jew who has a soul linked to heaven and a mind
that knows this world. It is a word that warns us about evil and encourages us
to stay righteous. Until we have a word
that unites this world and the next, and G‑d with our struggles to understand
Torah, we are left with ASHREI!
1B. “who
did not walk with the advice of wicked people” is a past tense. It might seem
more correct and more powerful to say “who does not walk with the advice of
wicked people.” If “did not walk” is a past tense, it allows an understanding
that as of now he no longer refuses to walk with the advice of the wicked,
which is surely not want the Psalmist meant. But the Psalmist realizes that
people who believe in Torah and two worlds and good and evil are constantly
struggling with the Evil Inclination.
There are times when such people who are typical Jewish people win the
fight with the Satan and sometimes they fail. When a Jew fails he repents. Maybe
today he is repenting about what he did yesterday but tomorrow he may go back
to his old ways. This is not ASHREI. This is a sad failure that is not the
glory of the book of Tehilim. The glory of the Book of Tehilim is when the old
evil is completely washed away so that “who did not walk with the advice of
wicked people” connotes a very long period of piety. A sin here or there that
is a rarity in one’s long piety is one thing. But if the sins are frequent,
that is not ASHREI.
1C. “who did not walk with the advice of wicked people.” What is
this about “walking”? And what is this about “advice”? Let it just say “who did
not go in the ways of wicked people’?
The Talmud says, “That which proceeds from an impure thing is
impure. And that which proceeds from a pure thing is pure.” )Bechorose
5b)The advice of the wicked people does not mean that they are wicked in the
sense that they want to harm the righteous. We are talking about people who are
wicked but they are not intent on harming religious people nor do they want
them to do sins. Their advice here can be good advice. Otherwise, the Psalmist
would be talking about double trouble, walking with wicked people and getting
bad advice from them. No, the advice was good advice. Even an evil person, can,
if he so wishes, tell somebody good advice. Many people would say, look, he is
a smart man. His advice is usually sound. Let’s do what he suggests. But the
pious knows that “that which proceeds from the impure is impure.” He doesn’t
want good advice form a wicked person.
Now what is this about “walking”? This means we know somebody who
is not so religious, but he is very smart. He tells us how to go about
something, and we have no fear that he hates us and wants to cause us harm.
Probably, we assume, the advice is solid. On the other hand, he is not so
religious. To go and just accept his advice may be a step away from Torah. So,
the person makes a compromise with the wicked man. He will “walk” doing the
advice of the wicked man. But walking doesn’t mean that he swallows the man
along with his advice. No, his head, his heart, his intellect, have nothing to
do with the wicked. On the other hand, he does follow the advice of the wicked
men, and he convinces himself that he is far removed from the wicked and their wickedness.
He is only “walking” with his feet in the advice of the wicked, but his head,
his soul, his heart, his true self, is not swallowing evil and wickedness. Only
the feet are walking along in the path suggested by the wicked person. And the
wicked person himself did not indicate in any way that he wants to contaminate
the righteous person, who may be a close relative. But that walk can be the
process of “that which proceeds from the impure is impure.” Somehow, this
effects the piety of the good person.
We find in the beginning of the Torah reading called AIKEV a
lengthy discussion by one of the great commentators, the Or HaChaim HaKodosh.
AIKEV means “heel.” The Torah reading of AIKEV begins “and it will be AIKEV”
meaning according to the Or HaChaim when the person’s spirituality is so
perfect that it goes from the head to the heels, a complete tsaddik whose
entire essence is for Torah.
The Book of Tehilim begins with a similar idea. A righteous person
who “walks” according to the “advice” of the wicked, is not completely
connected to HaShem. The feet are impure and that impurity damages the entire
essence of the person who otherwise is righteous. Now he is impure and damaged
because the “heel” or “walking” element in him follows the advice of the wicked,
even if the wicked had no intention of causing him any evil or impurity. “That
which proceeds from the impure is impure.”
“and in the path of the sinners he didn’t stand”. A path is
designed for traffic that is for people to go here and there. “He didn’t stand”
why should he stand when everybody is moving? First he talks about
“Happy is he who did not walk in the advice of the wicked.” Now he
talks about “and in the path of the sinners he didn’t stand.” First he is happy
for not walking in the advice of the wicked and then he is happy for not
standing in the path of the sinners. First he talks about avoiding the
wicked and now he talks about avoiding the sinners. What is the difference
between a person who is wicked or who is a sinner?
Wickedness means just that. Somebody defied G‑d. Sinners can mean
he sinned inadvertently, or it could mean that he deliberately ignored the
obligation to do something important. If somebody refuses the mitsvah of
circumcising his child, that is a serious and deliberate omission. One who was
too tired to wake up and pray in time is a sinner, but it is not so terrible as
one who rejects a very important Torah command deliberately.
We can now understand the phrase “and in the path of the sinners he
didn’t stand.” Stand but now walk. Walk means he walks deliberately there, with
design. He wants the advice of the wicked. That is serious. Now, one stands and
does not walk. Walking is a deliberate act and one that shows that the person
definitely associates with the wicked. One who stands does not go anywhere that
shows his interest in participating with wickedness. He is just standing there.
The sinners walk there, but he does not walk. What then is evil about what he
does? Because the sinners that are walking past him constantly are of two
varieties. Some are just too tired to wake up on time in the morning. And some
just don’t care if they ignore circumcising their child. One who walks
somewhere knows where he is walking and why he is walking. One who just stands
in the crowd as it flows with its varieties past him can absorb many types of
sin, and there are quite a variety from deliberately violating of the most
serious Torah commands, to one who ignores an obligation to do a mitsvah not
because of wickedness but because he is terribly tired and prolongs his siesta
by mistaking when he should wake up. All of them walk past him and he stands
there, knowing that they are passing him constantly with various levels of sin.
When he is finished standing, he has absorbed evil in its many forms from many
people.
In a way, this, the second part of passage one, about one who
stands among the walking sinners, has absorbed more evil than the first sinner,
who walks in the path of the of the advice of the wicked. Sinners on the one
hand, are not described as wicked, and perhaps they are not wicked. They are
human beings who like all human beings have good and bad sides, angels of love
and happiness and evil angels who teach sin. But their mixture of good and evil
does not necessary brand them as evil people, or wicked people. Therefore, the
first part of the passage about the advice of the wicked, is about truly wicked
people whose advice has reached the person who walks where that advice is
located. The second part of the passage about one who stands among the sinners,
is about the rest of humanity who have good and bad moments, and are not
considered basically evil. They are thus higher than the first part of the
passage dealing with people called clearly wicked, on the other hand, the intense
variety of sinners who may not be yet on the level of RESHOIM or really wicked
people, has its own evil part. So many people with so many sins, that wash over
the standing person, has its own dynamic, and its cumulative effect can perhaps
be worse than the one who walks in the advice of the wicked.
“And in the dwelling place of
scorners he did not sit.” The Hebrew phrase מושב לצים
usually means that the scorners dwelled there regularly and met with other
scorners. One who joined this crowd and absorbed scorn is badly damaged,
because scorning is a very powerful evil. Usually a passage of three evil parts
builds higher and higher, beginning with small things and finally concluding
with the worst things. If so, the worst of the three things is sitting along
with the others who are scorners. What can the person sitting there do to avoid
being swept into the evil of the scorners? Essentially, the power of scorning
is such that a person in such a state is surely badly damaged by his sitting
there.
In fact, we may even suggest a reason for the three parts of the
passage. The first two passages were about one learning evil, just as the third
part teaches. However, the first two passages had the advantage of describing a
lower level of evil than the final part. The first level of evil was walking in
the advice of the wicked. A wicked person can perhaps have some useful advice,
it is not always about how to do sins. The person is wicked, but his advice is
not necessarily wicked. But one who walks in the advice of the wicked is
influenced negatively. The second level is one who stands while the sinners
flow around him. Here, too, the level if not pure evil. He is different than
the sinners. That is a saving factor. But the final passage is very serious.
First of all, it deals with a group of scorners who can, more than anyone else,
bring one to despise the righteous and respect the wicked. Second of all, the
individual who wanders into their group and sits with them is acting just as
they do, and this is conducive to his joining their community and becoming like
them, a full-fledged scorner, one of the worst sins.
People could ask, how is it possible for a person to become a
full-fledged member of a group that exists to scorn and make fun of righteous
people? The answer is right in the beginning of the passage. Do a small sin,
just follow the advice of the wicked, advice that may have some saving value,
but it does connect you to the wicked. The next level is to stand among the
flow of sinners, and it rubs off on the one who stands. This kind of influence
can eventually bring a person to a level when he, just based on the relatively
minor sins of the first two parts, can plunge right into the hideous evil of a
house filled with scorners, and he sits with them, meaning, he is one with
them.
Chapter One passage 2: “Because his desire is only with the Torah
of G‑d, and he will study His Torah day and night.” This passage teaches us
that fighting evil directly is a losing battle. As the Chofetz Chaim said, “We
don’t fight darkness by punching it. We fight darkness by creating light.” How
do we escape doing evil? By doing good deeds, meaning, by being involved with
Torah learning day and night. That is the way of light. And that is the way to
escape darkness and evil. Again, to fight evil directly plays into the hands of
evil, because we cannot destroy evil that way. Only by creating light can we
dispel darkness.
When we punch darkness we absorb darkness, despite our best
intentions. When we learn Torah, we absorb holiness from heaven. We are with G‑d
and evil cannot exist there.
“His desire is only with the Torah of G‑d.” Some people enjoy
studying Torah for its wisdom and interesting ideas. They therefore study Torah
not because it is the Torah of G‑d, but because it is interesting to them. The
righteous turns to Torah because it is the Torah of G‑d and it is the venue to
find G‑d.
Again, there is much in the Torah to inspire people in various
ways. But the pious turn to Torah because in Torah learning we connect to G‑d.
“And he will study His Torah day and night.” This is very
troubling. It seems to say that a righteous person studies Torah day and night.
If so, when does he sleep and when does he eat and when does he pray?
Obviously, it does not mean that his entire day and night is spent learning
Torah. It means rather that within each day and each night there is an
established place for Torah learning. Furthermore, ideally, this established
place for Torah learning must not be altered and pushed off. This way the supremacy
of Torah is assured but when the time for learning Torah can be pushed here and
there the Torah learning is denigrated and weakened.
Let us return to our passage and how we have translated it. “His
desire is only with the Torah of G‑d and he will study His Torah day and
night.” Thus we translate “His Torah” meaning G‑d’s Torah. However, Rashi has a
different translation. He translates it as and he will study his Torah day and
night. That is, the passage begins “His desire is only with the Torah of G‑d,
and he will study His Torah day and night.” We thus translated “and he will
study His Torah” meaning what the earlier words of this passage say that it
speaks of the Torah of G‑d. If so, we must translate His Torah not his Torah.
But Rashi disagrees. Rashi says that the meaning of the passage is that
originally the Torah is that of heaven of G‑d. However, one who studies Torah
properly with full desire merits that the Torah of G‑d becomes the Torah of the
learner. Thus we translate not His Torah but his Torah.
Again, Rashi translates the passage “His desire is only with the
Torah of G‑d and he will study his Torah day and night.” Here “his” means the
person who studies Torah properly, who merits that the Torah now belongs to the
learner. This is the purpose of learning Torah which G‑d gave to people so that
they will merit to “own” the Torah as their own.
Chapter One Passage 3: “And he will be as a tree planted upon
flowing water, whose fruit will be given in its proper time. And its leaves
will not dry up, and all that he will do will succeed.” This is an incredible
statement. One devoted to Torah learning merits that “all that he will do will
succeed.” Does that mean that he will never suffer in this world, but just
learn Torah constantly and merit only happiness and success? What person merits
such a life? We know that even great and righteous people have terrible
problems. How can the Psalmist of Tehilim promise all people devoted to learn
Torah that all that they will do will succeed, which seems to indicate a
perfectly happy life. Who in the world merits this?
In the previous generation there were two great saints. In Europe
the greatest saint was the Chofetz Chaim, and in Israel the greatest saint was
Reb Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld. The Chofetz Chaim had a son-in-law who was a great
saint and a major Torah personality, but he died young. When he died the
Chofetz Chaim’s daughter asked her father who such a perfectly righteous person
could die. The Chofetz Chaim answered, “Would you prefer that G‑d destroy half
of the world?” Meaning, that in heaven a decree was made to destroy a huge
number of Jews, and the death of the Chofetz Chaim’s son-in-law saved them.
Is this “all that he will do will succeed”? In this world few if
any people have perfect lives with no problems. But the problems have a reason,
and when people die young and go to the higher world, if they are worthy, great
and happy things await them. In that world, and only there, they will merit to
realize that “all that he will do will succeed.” Furthermore, even in that
world, judging mortals who have evil inclinations and who are rarely perfect,
there may have to be some punishment. But the righteous person suffers and
accepts his punishments which is the general state of human beings who have evil
inclinations and do sin. HaShem will make their arrival in the higher world a
glorious thing and bring them eternal happiness. But in this world, things are
rarely if ever perfect. Living here with true faith that G‑d controls the world
and He thinks only of making people happy, as the great rabbis have taught,
gives us the understanding we need to accept life as it is and trust in the
love G‑d has for all of us.
In Israel the counterpart of the Chofetz Chaim was the Gaon and Tsadik
Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld. He was the Rov of the Jerusalem Orthodox and was
honored by everyone. He was a close disciple of the greatest rabbis of the
time. And yet, he suffered that many of his children died. Despite this, he
always felt that G‑d was loving and close to him. This is the power of Torah. G‑d
is close to the righteous and those who devote themselves to Torah. But the
process of living in a world of evil and punishment is a great trial. Here is
much suffering. The righteous accept heaven’s will and know that in the proper
time they will understand, in this world or the next.
Chapter One passage 4 – “The wicked are
not like that. But they are as the leavings of the grain that is blown away by
the wind.” In what sense are the wicked different from the
righteous? But the righteous are the fine fruit of the tree, and the wicked are
the refuse and leavings of the grain that are not eaten and not turned into
food, but rather are useless to people. It is only a mercy from heaven that
causes this worthless refuse to be blow away by the wind. It has no value to
people.
Chapter One passage 5 – “Therefore, the
wicked will not rise up to succeed when they are judged by heaven, nor will the
sinners merit to be counted among the counsel of the righteous.”
The
wicked will not rise up but the righteous will rise up. Where will the
righteous rise? In the next world, the righteous will find happiness and glory
but in this world there are problems. But the wicked will not rise up to
achieve this world or the next. The wicked will want their deeds to achieve for
them merit in this world and the next, but their deeds are worthless. Their
deeds are the leavings of the grain that is blow away by the wind.
Chapter
One passage 6 – “Because G‑d knows the way of the righteous. And the way of the
wicked will be destroyed.” G‑d knows the way of the righteous. Does He not know
also the way of the wicked? He knows the wicked person’s actions. And He knows
the righteous person’s actions. But the passage only makes sense if we accept
the word “knows” in a different sense than plain knowing. It means not just
knowing, but appreciating.
Rashi
explains “because G‑d knows the way of the righteous” because He knows the way
of the righteous and it is before G‑d to think of it constantly. But the way of
the wicked is hateful for G‑d to look at, and He removes it from before Him.”
Rashi then states that the righteous will succeed when G‑d judges them but the
wicked will fail.
Briefly
and basically the first chapter of Tehilim compares the righteous to the wicked.
The righteous in passage one is praised not for any good deed in of itself, but
because they avoid the path of the wicked. Passage two tells of the toil of the
righteous in Torah constantly. It is this that enables them to escape the influence
of the wicked. Passage three tells of the great glory of the righteous that all
that they do succeeds, and we explained that this refers not to this world but the
Future World. It refers not to the physical happiness of the righteous but to the
glory of being loved and known by G‑d as other passages in this chapter teach. Passage
four compares the success of the righteous with the failing of the wicked whose
deeds are refuse that has no place in heaven. Passage 5 describes the failure of
the wicked to survive G‑d’s Judgment. Passage 6 tells how G‑d constantly notices
the good deeds of the righteous, but the path of the wicked will be destroyed and
ignored by heaven.
Chapter
Two passage one -
