Rashi on the Prophets and Writings

to brighten the youth Heb. על מות לבן. Some interpret על מות לבן, on the death of Absalom, but this interpretation is not plausible because he [David] states: לבן ; he does not state הבן. Others interpret על מות לבן [as referring to] Nabal. Neither is this plausible, to invert the name. Moreover, no mention is made of him in the psalm. (The preceding paragraph does not appear in most editions.) I saw in the Great Masorah that it is one word, judging by the fact that it is compared to (below 48:15): “He will lead us as in youth (על מות).” Menachem and Dunash interpreted what they interpreted, but it does not seem correct to me. I saw in the Pesikta (d’Rav Kahana, p. 25a) that the chapter deals with Amalek and Esau (as in verse 6): You rebuked nations; You destroyed a wicked man. But I say that this song, למנצח על מות לבן, is for the future, when the childhood and the youth of Israel will be brightened; their righteousness will be revealed and their salvation will draw near, that Esau and his seed will be erased, according to our Torah. (The last phrase does not appear in most editions.) על מות means childhood. לבן is like ללבן, to whiten. Menachem interpreted על מות לבן, melodies to teach, and this is its interpretation: To the conductor למנצח, to the conductor, melodies to teach, in which case לבן is equivalent to להבין ולבונן, to understand and to comprehend; על מות, named for a musical instrument called עלמות, as is stated (below 46:1): “on alamoth-shir.” Dunash (p. 15f) interpreted לבן as the name of a man whose name was Labben, who fought with David in those days, and the Psalmist’s statement, “You rebuked nations, You destroyed a wicked man”this wicked man is Labben, who slew innocent people. Although you do not come upon a man named Labben anywhere else but this place, you find the same with other names, which are found in Scripture only once. (This entire account of Dunash’s interpretation does not appear in early mss. Menachem’s interpretation is presented very briefly.)

all your wonders the final redemption, which is equal to all the miracles, as is stated (in Jer. 23: 7): “when they shall no longer say, As the Lord lives, Who brought up, etc.”

my judgment and my cause Heb. משפטי ודיני, words doubled in Scripture, for there is no difference between them, as (in Job 16:19): “my Witness is in heaven, and He Who testifies for me is on high”; (ibid. 40:18), “His limbs are as strong as copper, his bones as a load of iron.” my judgment and my cause in heaven (?). You sat on the throne The throne of judgment.

You rebuked nations [This alludes to Amalek, described in Num. 24:20 as] “Amalek is the first of the nations.” You destroyed a wicked man Esau. You erased their name “For I will surely erase the remembrance of Amalek” (Exod. 17:14).

The enemy has been destroyed for the swords of hatred are perpetually upon him like a sharp sword. Another explanation: חרבות לנצח that enemy, the swords of whose hatred were upon us forever. That is the one concerning whom it is stated (in Amos 1:11): “and kept their fury forever.” Another explanation: חרבות is an expression of destruction, and this is its interpretation: The enemy has been destroyed; his ruins are perpetual. And so it is stated (in Ezek. 35:9): “I will make you perpetual desolations, and your cities shall not be restored.” and You have uprooted the cities “Should Edom say, ‘We are poor, but we will return and build the ruins’? So said the Lord of Hosts: ‘They shall build, but I shall demolish’” (Malachi 1:4). their remembrance is lost at that time.

But the Lord shall sit forever, etc. The Name shall be complete and the throne shall be complete, as it is written כסאו, but before it is erased, it is written (in Exod. 17:16): “For a hand is on the throne (כס) of the Eternal (י-ה).” The throne is lacking [i.e., it is spelled defectively] and the Name is divided [i.e., the final two letters of the Tetragrammaton are missing].

But He judges the world with righteousness, kingdoms with equity Until the coming of the end, He was wont to judge them with clemency according to the equity found in them. He would judge them at night, when they would sleep and commit no sins.

And the Lord shall be a fortress for the crushed Heb. לדך, an expression of crushed, amenuyze in Old French. In the future, when He establishes His throne for judgment, He will be a fortress for Israel, who are crushed. for times of distress lit., for times in distress.

Sing praises to the Lord, Who dwells in Zion When He restores His dwelling to Zion, they will praise Him in this manner.

remembers them The blood that was shed in Israel.

Be gracious to me, O Lord now in exile. You Who raise me up with Your redemption.

Nations have sunk This is the praise that I will tell.

The Lord is known All this is part of the praise: The Lord is known to the creatures; [it is known] that He governs and rules and wreaks vengeance upon His enemies, for He performs justice upon them, “justice” in French. the wicked man stumbles Heb. נוקש, the wicked man stumbles. Let us meditate over this forever. הגיון סלה, lit. a constant meditation. Let us meditate over this forever.

to the grave Said Rabbi Nehemiah: Every word that requires a “lammed” in the beginning, Scripture places a “hey” at the end, e.g. מצרימה, to Egypt (Gen. 12:10); מדברה, to the desert (I Kings 19:15). They asked him: Is it not written: May the wicked return to the grave (לשאולה)? Replied Rabbi Abba bar Zavda: To the lowest level of Sheol. What does it mean that they will return? After they emerge from Gehinnom and stand in judgment and are found guilty, they return to the lowest level of Gehinnom.

For the needy shall not be forgotten forever [i.e.,] Israel, the needy, [shall not be forgotten] from visiting upon them as they [the wicked nations] enslaved them, neither shall the hope of the poor be forgotten to eternity.

Arise, O Lord David was praying before the Holy One, blessed be He, that He rise and hasten to do this. let...have no power [i.e., let] the wicked man [not] enjoy longevity in his greatness. for Your anger Because of the anger with which they angered You in Your sanctuary.

mastery Heb. מורה, mastery and a yoke (Mid. Ps. 9:16). Another explanation: מורה is an expression of hurling, as (in Exod. 15:4), “He hurled (ירה) into the sea.” Others say that מורה is an expression meaning a razor. let the nations know that they are human and not deities, that their might should rule.

You hide in times of distress You hide Your eyes in times of distress.

he pursues Heb. ידלק, he pursues, as (in Gen. 31:36): “that you pursued (דלקת) me?” they are caught The poor are caught in the plots that the wicked devise against them.

For the wicked man boasts This refers to “O Lord, why do You stand from afar,” for now the wicked man boasts that he achieves all the desire of his soul. and the robber congratulates himself for having blasphemed the Lord And the robber praises himself, saying that he has blasphemed the Lord, yet he will have peace. congratulates Heb. בֵּרֵך, like בֵּרַך, an expression of the past tense. You should know [that this is so,] for if it were a noun, the accent would be on the first letter and it would be vowelized with a “pattah” [meaning a “seggol” under the “resh”], but this one is vowelized with a small “kamatz” [i.e., with a “tzereh”] and it is accented below on the “resh.” Do not wonder about בֵּרֵך, that he did not say: בֵּרַך, because many words spelled with a “resh” are vowelized in this manner, e.g. (below 74:18), “an enemy blasphemed (חֵרֵף) the Lord,” and it does not say חֵרַף. blasphemed Heb. נאץ, like חֵרֵף and Menachem interpreted every expression of נאוץ in this manner.

A wicked man at the height of his anger When he is haughty, and he lifts up and holds his face erect, and his anger is at its height. He will not seek All his thoughts tell him, “The Holy One, blessed be He, will not seek anything that I may do because there is no judgment.” there is no God There is no judgment, and there is no judge.

prosper Heb. יחילו, prosper, and similar to this is (in Job 20:21): “therefore shall his goods not prosper (יחיל).” Others explain יחילו like (II Sam. 3:29): “May it rest (יחולו) upon the head of Joab.” Your judgments are far removed from him Your judgments of pains and punishments are removed and distanced from him, for they do not come upon him. All his adversaries he blows at them With a blowing of wind, he blows at them, and they fall before him.

“for all generations I will not be in adversity” Adversity will not befall me throughout my generations.

and guile Heb. ותך, an expression of an evil thought that lodges constantly in his midst.

his eyes spy on Your army The eyes of Esau lurk for Israel, who are Your army. on Your army Heb. לחלכה ; (verse 14), “upon You Your army (חלכה) leaves.” Both of them are in the masorah as words spelled with כה instead of ך, like (Exod. 7:29), “upon you (ובכה) and upon your people”; (Prov. 2:11), “discretion shall guard you (תנצרכה) (Exod. 29:35), “I commanded you (אתכה)”; (I Sam. 1: 26), “who was standing with you (עמכה).” We learn from the masorah that חלכה is like חילך, Your army. But Menachem (p.89) interprets לחלכה יצפנו and so יעזב חלכה like (verse 10), “and helpless ones (חלכאים) shall fall into his power,” a word meaning humble and moaning. Accordingly, כה is [part of] the radical.

He crouches, he bows down So is the habit of the lurker; he crouches and lowers [himself] and makes himself small in order to be inconspicuous. and an army of broken people fall by his signals Heb. חלכאם, an army of broken people. I saw in the great masorah that חלכאים is one of fifteen words that are written as one word and read as two words, as is בגד in the verse (Gen. 30:11) commencing “And Leah said.” Also (in Deut. 33:2), “a fiery Law (אשדת) is to them”; (Isa. 3: 15), “What do you mean (מלכם) that you crush My people?” Also this word means חל כאים, an army of broken people. כאים is an expression of (below 109:16) “and a broken-hearted one (ונכאה לבב) to kill.” If you say that the “nun” is the radical, (Ezek. 13:22) “Because you have broken (הכאות) the heart of the righteous” will prove that [it is not]. We learn that the “nun” of נראה is like the “nun” of (I Sam. 15:9) נמבזה and the “nun” of (Jer. 6:14) נקלה, and so is its interpretation: and...fall by the signals of this wicked man, with his hints and his winks, an expression of (Isa. 41:21) “present your signals (עצמותיכם).” and (ibid. 33:15) “and closes (ועצם) his eyes,” an army of poor people. Another explanation: בעצומיו, by his mighty men. Said Rabbi Simon: This wicked man puts into his “callirus,” meaning army, only mighty men like himself, as it is said (in Dan. 3:20): “And he commanded the mighty warriors who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abed- nego” (Mid. Ps. 10:5). However, Menachem, (p. 89) interprets חלכאים as “poor and weak (וחלך),” the “chaf” being a radical.

Why did a wicked man blaspheme the Holy One, blessed be He? Because he said in his heart that You do not seek.

You saw what he does, and You remain silent. for You So is Your custom, that You look at mischief and provocation. to give with Your power With Your power, You lend a hand to the wicked to prosper with their wickedness. upon You Your army leaves Your people Israel, who are Your army, leave the burden upon You that You should execute justice upon the wicked. Menachem (p. 132) interprets יעזב as an expression of help, as (in Exod. 23:5): “you shall help (עזב תעזב) with him.” He interprets חלכה as an expression of “poor and weak (חלך),” the “chaf” being a radical. You would help the orphan in the early days.

Break the arm of the wicked Esau. but as for the evil one—You will seek his wickedness and not find [it] As for the wicked of Israel, when they see the wicked [of the nations] prospering, their heart inspires them to deal wickedly, but when You break the arm of the wicked, if You were to come [then] to seek the wickedness of the wicked of Israel, You would not find it.

The Lord is King forever and ever after the nations perish from His land.

To judge the orphan To perform judgments for Israel, the orphans, and crushed people. that he no longer continue Ishmael and Esau. to break the weak To crush and break the weak and sick.