Perek 9, part 2

I think we left off here, Kapittel Tes around pasuk Yud-Bet. זמרו לה' ישב ציון הגידו בעמים עלילותיו. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is described as yoshev Tziyon. What is the metaphor of the anthropomorphism of yeshiva when predicated of Hakadosh Baruch Hu? So when a person is either in the sense of sitting or in the sense of dwelling, וישב יעקב בארץ מגורי אביו, it means that a person is there for an extended period of time. A person is standing, so that reflects some kind of transient presence, and if a person is sitting, so that means that there's a more settled and more enduring presence. So yoshev Tziyon means that Hakadosh Baruch Hu always exercises a hashgacha pratis in Tziyon and for its inhabitants for Knesses Yisrael. There is hashgacha, hagidu va'amim alilotav, amongst the nations one should also recount Hakadosh Baruch Hu's actions, but there is a fundamental difference between the hashgacha over Klal Yisrael and the hashgacha over the umos ha'olam. Continuing in pasuk Yud-Gimmel: כי דרש דמים אותם זכר לא שכח צעקת ענוים. The Malbim in the Bi'ur HaMilos suggests that a person that to remember often has זכירה מצוינת אחר השכחה. To remember means to bring back to mind after as it were a period of shikcha, so then there's zechira that a person brings it back to mind. Hakadosh Baruch Hu's hashgacha over the umos ha'olam is not constant, is not perpetual. לא זכרם רק מצד שהוא דורש דמים הנשפכים. Hakadosh Baruch Hu, if injustice has been done, so then Hakadosh Baruch Hu is doreish damim and because of that osam zachar. Ma she-ein kein, by contrast, the anavim referring to the dorshei Hashem, the yodei Hashem, there the hashgacha is tamidus, it's

לא שכח צעקת ענוים. חננני ה' ראה עניי משנאי מרוממי משערי מות.

The same way Hakadosh Baruch Hu has saved me, says Dovid HaMelech from Lavan, so too may he favor me and see the my impoverished state because of how I'm surrounded by sonim and he should elevate me me-sha'arei maves. The imagery of sha'arei maves is a sha'ar is a an entry gate. So sharei moves means that a person is in the state of dire sakana, so that's depicted as being at the at the gates of of moves rachmana litzlan. By saving me leman, this will be for the purpose of asapra kol tehilasecha. My praise for Hakadosh Baruch Hu will be complete. Hakadosh Baruch Hu will have saved me not only from one of my enemies but from all of the enemies and that will position me אספרה כל תהילתיך בשערי בת ציון אגילה בישועתך. The downfall of my enemies was not something that that comes about through natural means. It's not accidental. It's clearly providential as evidenced by the following that טבעו גוים בשחת עשו ברשת זו טמנו נלכדה רגלם. Hashachas, the pit that they prepared for my downfall, hareshas, the trap that they hid, is they became ensnared. Their leg became ensnared in that trap that was a trap over the over the pit that that would trigger the downfall to the pit. So their own handiwork turned against them. Haman is hung על העץ אשר הכין למרדכי. The Gemara in Sotah says and and it's clearly the guiding principle for that's reflected in these psukim as the Malbim expounds is that במידה שאדם מודד בה מודדין לו. Everything that happens, Hakadosh Baruch Hu's hashgacha is middah kineged middah. The omek hadavar of of that of the middah of middah kineged middah is not simply that the punishment is just but that ultimately a person is the cause of his own downfall. Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world in such a way, let's take a moshal from how the the natural physical world functions. The natural physical world, if a person, I don't know, goes engages in dangerous athletic activities and then as a result breaks a leg, some other limb, so we don't view that as just punishment for what he did. We view that as self-inflicted. The cause and effect is self-inflicted. It's not simply, well, you know, that's it's a just it's a just punishment for risk-taking that that a person ends up injured. No, it's it's much more basic and much more fundamental. It's that we don't view it as punishment, it's just natural cause and effect. If a person speeds and and drives at the at a speed where he doesn't have control over the car and as a result crashes, so it's not a just punishment for It's a direct fallout and direct consequence of what the person did. If a person ignores science and smokes and because of that rachmana litzlan comes down with lung disease, again, it's not that it's a just punishment for ignoring medical warning, no, there's a correlation, there's a direct cause and effect on the natural physical level. So the natural physical world is a mirror image of the spiritual world because the same way the neshama animates the body, so the spiritual world animates the physical and natural world, so there's a symmetry between them. So in the spiritual world as well, Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world but just as we see and discern on the natural and physical level that there's cause and effect, that there's natural fallout from what we do, that there are natural consequences to what we do, if I bang my head against the wall and then I have a throbbing headache, so that's not a punishment, that's just a natural consequence of my actions. So there are natural spiritual consequences as well. And that's the pshat that כל מידותיו של הקדוש ברוך הוא is mida k'neged mida, that bamida she'adam moded is modedin lo. Right, it's a physical law also, so with the same force that you bang into the wall, that's the same force that rebounds, that pushes back. So that physical law is a reflection of spiritual law as well. נודע ה' משפט עשה. How is it noda, how is it so clear to us that what Hakadosh Baruch Hu effects is not onesh, but is mishpat, is simple judgment, because befoal kapav, because of the handiwork, with his own handiwork nokesh rasha? Higayon, it's something to meditate upon, says David Hamelech. Even the difference, even the difference that the Malbim has taught here in his explanation of this kapitel between hashgacha over the umos ha'olam and hashgacha over Knesset Yisrael is also mida k'neged mida. One can't turn one's back on Hakadosh Baruch Hu and then have a taina of why Hakadosh Baruch Hu's hashgacha is not more involved. A God in whom one doesn't believe is not, can't be expected to be exercising hashgacha. ישובו רשעים לשאולה כל גוים שכחי אלקים. The same way Lavan was punished, which occasioned this kapitel, so too may that be the case for the other reshaim, the other nations who make themselves, who choose to be oblivious of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. By contrast, כי לא לנצח ישכח אביון תקות ענוים תאבד לעד, as is often the case of psukim the Malbim here explains that the lo of the first clause carries over to the second clause as well. So the meaning, the sense of the pasuk is

כי לא לנצח ישכח אביון ותקות ענוים לא תאבד לעד.

The evyon who's suffering while reshaim, while shochechei Elokim are flourishing, so that's not, it's not going to be that way forever. The hope of anavim for giluy malchus shamayim is not going to be lost forever. קומה ה' אל יעז אנוש ישפטו גוים על פניך. Dovid Hamelech is mispallel that when Hakadosh Baruch Hu does mete out punishment to the reshaim, it should be done in a way that weak mortal man, that's the sense of enosh, can't be emboldened, al yaoz, can't be brazen enough to think that it was his handiwork. It should be clear that it's from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It shouldn't be disguised, it shouldn't be camouflaged as something which could be mistaken for natural occurrence. ישפטו גוים על פניך, I think we had this already that panim of Hakadosh Baruch Hu expresses direct hashgacha. The same way when you look a person in the face, there's a directness. So that's what the יאר ה' פניו אליך when we speak of פני הקדוש ברוך הוא, there's a directness of hashgacha. שיתה ה' מורה להם ידעו גוים אנוש המה סלה. What's the difference, the Malbim explains in the biur hamilos between yira and mora? So the Malbim explains that yira connotes fear. Mora means the object of fear. So שיתה ה' מורה להם, Hakadosh Baruch Hu place, Hakadosh Baruch Hu orchestrate things so that there will be mora lahem meaning that they'll fear You, that there will be an object of their fear. And ידעו גוים אנוש המה סלה, let them have the correct self-awareness that when the reshaim have their downfall, it's not the other enemies who are prevailing. They're enosh, they're weak mortals. And really, in reality, it's יד ה' עשתה זאת. Okay, maybe we'll stop here for today. We'll finish the other half tomorrow.