Perek 2, part 4. Perek 3, part 1.

Coming back for one minute to pasuk yud in kapitel beis. ועתה מלכים השכילו הוסרו שופטי ארץ. So we saw the Malbim explains that Dovid HaMelech as it were is appealing, is urging that on one of two fronts the melachim should reverse course instead of campaigning על ה' ועל משיחו, either it should be haskilu or it should be hivarsu. What is haskilu? So the Malbim explains השכילו זאת מצד אור השכל וקבלו זאת מאהבה. Or al kol panim, if you're not going to rise to that level, so hivarsu מצד המוסר ויראת העונש. So the haskilu is to do me'ahava and hivarsu miyira. So we see reflected here the very fundamental conception that ahavas Hashem is something that emerges mitoch haseichel. It's not some kind of emotional state which is fueled and by emotion and attained that way, but it's an ahava sichlis. Kayadua, that's how the Rambam depicts it both in Sefer HaMitzvos when he says שנתבונן ונשכיל במצוותיו ובפעוליו עד שנשיגהו ונתענג and something בהשגתו. And that's how he famously defines at the end of perek yud of Hilchos Teshuva,

דבר הידוע וברור שאין אהבת הקדוש ברוך הוא נקשרת בליבו של אדם עד שישגה בה תמיד כראוי ויעזוב כל שבעולם חוץ ממנה כמו שציווה ואמר בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך אלא בדעה שידעהו ועל פי הדעה על פי האהבה.

There's a direct correlation between the deia, the yediyah, and the ahava. So that very fundamental conception is reflected here in the Malbim as well when he says that haskilu refers to acting mitoch ahava. Could be that something that the Malbim doesn't explicitly flesh out for us is so here in pasuk yud, ועתה מלכים השכילו הוסרו שופטי ארץ. So again he identifies two tracks available for the melachim in reversing course. But then in the next two psukim in the balance of the kapitel he says the Dovid HaMelech is only elaborating what the follow-up is to the hivarsu shoftei aretz, right?

או על כל פנים הוסרו מצד המוסר ויראת העונש שעתיד לבוא עליכם ומצד זה עבדו את ה' ביראה ובזה תרוויחו שעל כל פנים תגילו ברעדה ומפרש דבריו נגד מה שאמר עבדו את ה' במה תעבדוהו נשקו בר.

So the next two psukim elaborate what the follow-up is. If they'll have this hisorerus מצד המוסר ויראת העונש, they will be mekuyam the hivarsu, well then this is how it should translate. So why doesn't the kapitel tell us how the haskilu should translate as well? So lichora maybe the answer is that if the change of mind and heart and the reversal of course is rooted in the haskilu, so they'll know what to do already. But when it's rooted in the yira, so yira just says I shouldn't be opposing the Ribbono Shel Olam, but tachlis what should I be doing? Excuse me, what time do you have to be back? I'm sorry? What time do you have to be back? 12:30. I suppose to finish something there. Is 12:30 okay? Okay. Thank you. Maybe that's the pshat, yeah. Okay, let's begin kapeit gimmel. מזמור לדוד בברחו מפני אבשלום בנו. So the Malbim comments just to give us a feel for the structure of this kapeit, he says

במזמור זה נמצא סיבת המעשה במלחמת אבשלום מראש ועד סוף ונחלק לג' חלקים.

There were three parts to this kapeit and each part the end of each part is indicated כל חלק מסיים במילת סלה. Pasuk gimmel, pasuk hei, and at the end of the kapeit in pasuk tes. That's because in the biur hamillos we generally translate selah as forever. I think that's how the Metzudas says here as well. סלה עניינו בכל מקום כמו לעולם. That's what the Metzudas says in pasuk gimmel. But the Malbim says in biur hamillos that selah... where is it? סלה הוא ציון ההפסק בכל מקום. That it indicates as it were, sort of if you're giving dictation and then you say full stop. So that's what the sense of the word of the word selah is.

ה' מה רבו צרי רבים קמים עלי רבים אומרים לנפשי אין ישועתה לו באלקים סלה.

So the way the Malbim reads it again l'shitaso no repetition is it should be understood if we were punctuating it would be ה' מה רבו צרי colon, right? How numerous are my adversaries exclamation point. Right ma doesn't just introduce a question of what but sometimes it introduces an exclamation. מה נורא המקום הזה. Yaakov Avinu was not a question but an exclamation. So ה' מה רבו צרי colon, exclamation point colon, ה' מה רבו צרי in the sense that there are two groups who are opposing me. There's A, rabbim kamim alai and B, רבים אומרים לנפשי אין ישועתה לו באלקים סלה. What are those two groups? So the Malbim explains that there were two camps opposing Dovid in the revolt in the attempt to overthrow Dovid there were two camps. There were some who just opposed Dovid as king and they wanted to install Avshalom in his place. That's rabbim kamim alai. It was a political revolt. But then there was another group who thought him who considered him איש חוטא ובליעל בלתי נושע מה'. They considered him Rachmana Litzlan to be wicked, someone whom HaKadosh Baruch Hu would oppose. So the first group is the rabbim kamim alai and the second group and the second group wanted to actually kill him was the רבים אומרים לנפשי אין ישועתה לו באלקים סלה. V'atah Hashem and then the parallelism continues. So HaKadosh Baruch Hu protects Dovid HaMelech against both.

ואתה ה' מגן בעדי כבודי ומרים ראשי. ואתה ה' מגן בעדי

against the kamim alai so you shielded me HaKadosh Baruch Hu against those who maligned me that you have rejected me so you served as kevodi the source of my Dovid HaMelech lowercase m the source of my kavod u'meirim roshi and you elevated me. Let's see the Malbim on

בנגד האומרים שאין לו ישועה באלהים מצד חטאו אומר אתה כבודי ומרים ראשי שמתייחס כבודו של דוד המלך.

What's the honor, the dignity of Dovid HaMelech who is mitzad nafsho hakedoshah שחל עליה כבוד ה'? So you are the source of my kavod because my kavod is associated with your kavod. So kvodo, the kavod of a person, the person's dignity, the person's standing is a function of nafsho hakedoshah. If you take a look later in, again we know it from Psukei D'zimra, but here in Sefer Tehillim, it's Kapitel Lamed in מזמור שיר חנכת הבית לדוד. The last pasuk here in Kapitel Lamed, למען יזמרך כבוד ולא ידום ה' אלהי לעולם אודך. So that kavod will sing to you Hashem, will sing your praises Hashem and will not be silenced. So what does kavod mean here in this context? So if you take a look, I think all meforshim have the same thing. The Radak says kavod hu hanefesh. Ibn Ezra also has like that. And the Metzudos who generally follows the Radak has like that as well. That kavod here in l'maan yizamercha kavod refers to the nefesh, the neshamah of a person. And lechora the pshat is that the nefesh of a person is referred to as his kavod. Again, what the Malbim seems to be, well it's even more explicit if you take a look in the Baal HaMaor's hakdamah to his sefer, to the Baal HaMaor. So he begins by talking about how the nefesh and neshamah is often referred to in kisvei hakodesh as kavod. לכן שמח לבי ויגל כבודי, the Baal HaMaor gives the example. Or he quotes this pasuk also of l'maan yizamercha kavod. And he says the reason that the neshamah is known as kavod is because the neshamah is atzula, it emanates from the Kisei HaKavod from Hakadosh Baruch Hu's Kisei HaKavod. So just to with the utmost superficiality to indicate a little bit of what that means is that right the Kisei HaKavod then obviously there is no literal throne but the same way in the mashal, in the metaphor, the king sits on his throne. So what's closest to the king is his throne because that's where the what the king is on top and what's most closely associated with him is his throne. So when we speak of the neshamah being hewn from as it were emanating from the Kisei HaKavod, it means that the neshamah comes from the highest place in again highest in the spiritual sense. It's sort of insinuated in the Malbim here as well when the Malbim says my kavod, again Dovid HaMelech speaking, which is mitzad nafsho hakedoshah because it's חל עליה כבוד ה'. Not as pointed as the way the Baal HaMaor explains it but either way the kvodi is my nefesh, right? nafshi hamuchbedes hakedoshah, you are the source of that.

ואתה ה' מגן בעדי כבודי ומרים ראשי. קולי אל ה' אקרא ויענני מהר קדשו סלה.

So the pasuk seems to suggest as it were that Dovid Hamelech is calling out from a distance and and it identifies from where Hakadosh Baruch Hu was responding, right? קולי אל ה' אקרא ויענני מהר קדשו סלה. Says the Malbim what does this mean?

מזכיר בזה מה שסופר בספר שמואל שבעת ברח דוד מפני אבשלום לקחו הכהנים עמו את ארון הברית.

So initially they took the aron with them as Dovid Hamelech fled. ויאמר המלך לצדוק השב את ארון האלהים העיר. No the the aron shouldn't be displaced because I'm because I have to flee.

אם אמצא חן בעיני ה' והראני אתו ואת נוהו. כי בטח לבו

Dovid Hamelech had bitachon שיענהו ה' מרחוק כמו מקרוב. I don't have to be right in front of the aron in order for my tefilla to be accepted so there's no reason for the aron to be displaced by by the merit of Avshalom. veal zeh amar, that's the background to our pasuk,

קולי אל ה' אקרא בכל מקום אשר אהיה והוא יענני מהר קדשו מרחוק כמו מקרוב.

So what what's this idea that that we sort of are identifying Dovid Hamelech is identifying that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is responding mehar kadsho? Hakadosh Baruch Hu is Hakadosh Baruch Hu is everywhere and nowhere. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is incorporeal so he's not he's not he's not not situated in in any place. So what what is the depiction of ויענני מהר קדשו סלה? וביאור מצוה זו כך היא, this is the Rambam at the beginning of Hilchos Tefilla defining what the Deoraissa tefilla is.

וביאור מצוה זו כך היא שיהיה אדם מתפלל ומתחנן בכל יום ומגיד שבחו של הקדוש ברוך הוא ואחר כך שואל צרכיו שהוא צריך להם בבקשה ובתחינה ואחר כך נותן שבח והודיה לה' על הטובה שהשפיע לו כל אחד ואחד כפי כחו.

Shevach, bakasha, hoda'ah.

אם היה רגיל מרבה בתחינה ובקשה ואם היה ערל שפתים ידבר כפי יכלו בכל עת שירצה וכן מנין התפלות כל אחד ואחד כפי יכלתו.

Again this is the Deoraissa tefilla.

יש מתפלל פעם אחת ביום ויש מתפלל פעמים הרבה ועל הכל,

here comes the line which is which we're looking for now. והכל היו מתפללים נכח המקדש בכל מקום שיהיה. Tefilla was always nochach hamikdash. What is bechol makom sheyiheyeh? The Kesef Mishneh has two possibilities, bechol makom sheyiheyeh wherever the person is or wherever the Mikdash was. Until binyan Dovid uShelomo the Mikdash wasn't where it ultimately is and was and is ledoros. Let's assume that havana. והכל היו מתפללים נכח המקדש בכל מקום שיהיה. I think the Rav son of Reb Chaim says you see that nochach hamikdash is a din Deoraissa in tefilla because the Rambam here is outlining what the Deoraissa tefilla is. He's not mentioning any of the Derabbanans about tefilla. So tefilla is nochach hamikdash. The Ramban in last week's sedra did we get to this? We didn't get to this? says that the reason Hakadosh Baruch Hu with tzivui hamishkan begins with vaasu ha'aron rather than describing the Mishkan itself, the krashim and everything, that's only later in the parsha, is that the whole tachlis of the Mishkan was for the hashras hashchina, and the hashras hashchina was concentrated mibain shnei hakruvim over the aron. So the essen of mikdash is the aron. And that's why Hakadosh Baruch Hu isn't doesn't present the tzivui of the Mishkan sort of in a practical fashion but in a conceptual fashion. That and that's why the tzivoi on the aron comes first. So I don't know so maybe the pshat here in the Malbim when the Malbim says that Dovid Hamelech told them no,

השב את ארון אלקים כי בטח לבו שיענהו השם מרחוק כמקרוב

is that Dovid Hamelech says no, I'll daven nochach, I'll daven in the direction of the aron, it doesn't have to be right here. But I'll daven and in that sense that's what it means by ויענני מהר קדשו סלה in the sense that that sort of depiction of the address from which Hakadosh Baruch Hu is answering our tfillos because that's the that's the position that we adopt during during tfillah. אני שכבתי ואישנה הקיצותי כי השם יסמכני. The Malbim again based on what the what's presented in Sefer Shmuel that Achitophel had actually given a very good eitza to Avshalom that there should be a sneak attack at night and they'd be able to catch catch Dovid and his men sleeping and and they could they'd be able to it would be a rout and they'd be able to kill Dovid Hamelech. And Chushai argued against it. And as a result Avshalom didn't follow the eitza of Achitophel. But the emes is if he had the eitza would have been successful. But Hakadosh Baruch Hu orchestrated השם הפיר עצת גוים. So that's what Dovid Hamelech says, ani shachavti vaishana and really it should have been the sleep of death if not for the fact that הקיצותי כי השם יסמכני. And as a result so the only remaining threat is sort of a regular attack.

לא אירא מרבבות עם אשר סביב שתו עלי. קומה השם הושיעני אלקי כי הכית את כל איבי לחי שני רשעים שברת.

So the Malbim comments, Kuma Hashem אתה מציין המלחמה בין עבדי דוד ובין חיל אבשלום. Referring to the the battle the showdown between avdei Dovid and the forces of Avshalom so Dovid Hamelech requests kuma מצד שאתה אלקי בהשגחתך המיוחדת עלי. So what the word Elokai here expresses is is not just Dovid Hamelech's קבלת עול מלכות שמים, Dovid Hamelech's emuna, but what the word Elokai expresses is hashgachascha hamiyuchadas alai, right, the special personal divine providence. How is that expressed by by Elokai? So when Hakadosh Baruch Hu makes the his bris with Avraham Avinu so Hakadosh Baruch Hu says to him להיות לך לאלקים ולזרעך אחריך. So what do you mean lihyos lecha l'Elokim and if Hakadosh Baruch Hu hadn't made the bris with Avraham Avinu so then he's not he's not he's not... and expresses there's going to be a special relationship. Liyot lecha le'Elohim means that my Elokus will be manifest and expressed klapei you in a way that it isn't and won't be expressed klapei others. That's what Liyot lecha le'Elohim means. And that's what that's what it means when we say Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, Elokei Yaakov. It's not only the Ribbono Shel Olam in whom Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov believe, but it means the Ribbono Shel Olam who forged a special relationship with Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. So mimmela that's what the Malbim teitches here, קומה השם הושיעני אלקי, right? In that capacity of Elokai, my my personal God in the sense of hashgachaso hamyuchedes alai and and vanquish vanquish my my enemies. Okay, so maybe we'll we'll leave the the last pasuk in the kapitel for for tomorrow be'ezras Hashem.