1. A song of ascents,
א. שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת
In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me.
אֶל ה' בַּצָּרָתָה לִּי קָרָאתִי וַיַּעֲנֵנִי
2. O Lord, save my soul
ב. ה' הַצִּילָה נַפְשִׁי
from false lips, from a deceitful tongue.
מִשְּׂפַת שֶׁקֶר מִלָּשׁוֹן רְמִיָּה
3. What can He give you, and what can He add to you,
ג. מַה יִּתֵּן לְךָ וּמַה יֹּסִיף לָךְ
you deceitful tongue?
לָשׁוֹן רְמִיָּה
4. Sharpened arrows of a mighty man with coals of broom.
ד. חִצֵּי גִבּוֹר שְׁנוּנִים עִם גַּחֲלֵי רְתָמִים
5. Woe is to me
ה. אוֹיָה לִי
for I have sojourned in Meshech; I dwelt among the tents of Kedar.
כִּי גַרְתִּי מֶשֶׁךְ שָׁכַנְתִּי עִם אָהֳלֵי קֵדָר
6. For a long time, my soul dwelt with those who hate peace.
ו. רַבַּת שָׁכְנָה לָּהּ נַפְשִׁי עִם שׂוֹנֵא שָׁלוֹם
7. I am at peace, but when I speak, they are for war.
ז. אֲנִי שָׁלוֹם וְכִי אֲדַבֵּר הֵמָּה לַמִּלְחָמָה
Psalm 120 is sequentially the
first of the songs of ascent. The phrase in this case refers to getting out of
a bad environment. In it King David groans about having sojourned in Meshach
and among the tents of Kadar. Meshach is described by the commentaries as the
land of one of the sons of Yafet. The Meiri brings a source that it is Tuscany
in Italy, under the domain of Edom in the place of their faith i.e. one of the
Papal States. The tents of Kadar are generally understood to be the tents of
the Bedouins under the domain of Ishmael. The references to Edom and Ishmael
are made because most of Israel’s exile is among them.
The Meiri continues that it is
difficult to understand this literally as David talking about himself. However
it’s possible to regard it as a description of David’s wandering from place to
place among the nations but he uses the names Meshach and Kadar to apply to all
of them. The Malbim explains these nations as being savage, hostile, and
oppressive. The word meshach (משך) means “extended” and
the Meiri sees this as a hint of the extended time that David spent in bitter
exile. The Midrash Tehillim asks, “What are the tents of Kadar (קדר)?”
and answers that they blackened their faces like the bottom of a pot (קדרה). He also asks, “What is for I dwelt in
Meshach?” and answers that I dwelt among a people that is drawn (נמשכים)
to hell.
The source of David’s pain is being forced to live among a society of
lying lips and cheating tongues. Rashi explains it is the seed of the evil who
with their mouths trap the creation into their evil exploits. ‘The Meiri
considers them to be the hateful that are cheating him, or the people in the
exile with smooth tongues. Therefore he reckons them as enemies.
The psalm compares these lies and swindles to sharp arrows and burning
coals. The commentaries tend to look at arrows and coals as forms of
defamation. The Midrash Tehillim expounds on “sharp arrows”, that some rasha
will kill a person with his tongue. Just like with an arrow, it is not felt
until it strikes, so too defamation is not recognized until this arrow of a
rasha comes suddenly. Also a person doesn’t know that they are spreading a
rumor to kill or harm him. This is because the person doing it hides in a very
bright place from where he can assassinate him. The commentaries compare
cheating to coals of broom wood because their burning heat on the inside is
concealed by cold ashes on the outside. This is like a charlatan who is very
glib but with a bad burn that is not felt until sometime later. Rashi brings
these ideas but adds that the arrows and coals may be the fate of the liars and
cheats saying the in the end HaKadosh Baruch Hu will decree upon them mighty
arrows with burning coals; arrows from above and hell from below.
David asks them what benefit they will get from these lies and frauds.
The Metsudas David comments that they are not getting any additional
protection. The Malbim comments that they are not profiting from it. Rather it
is like saying to somebody who is always involved with loshen harah (gossip),
“What benefit do you get from this?”
The Meiri comments that David is a man of peace and Rashi comments that
King David is at peace with Meshach and Kadar. In either case, when he talks to
them, they come at him in war. The Malbim sees this as David’s relationship
with his brothers the children of Israel. Sadly they hate peace and they are
worse than Kadar and Meshach. When David talks of peace it is with integrity.
However, when they talk of peace, in their hearts they want to ambush him
because of gratuitous hatred. At least with Kadar and Meshach their evil was
open and he knew to be wary of their malevolence.
Samson Raphael Hirsch comments, “Truth and veracity have departed
from the speech of the peoples, because these virtues have gone from their
life. . . . Israel was sent among the nations to proclaim and champion G-d’s
revealed truth by the spoken word and even more so through its own way of life.
Hence, as a spokesman for the truth, Israel meets with widespread hostility; it
is insulted and expelled from the community of nations as a disturber of the
peace. . . Their speech serves not to express the truth about things, thoughts,
and ideas but, instead to conceal it; every word that is spoken serves the
purposes of deceit. He also says that it is called a song of ascents because it
is about ascending from the depths of misery. Similarly the Meiri seems to be
saying that when a person calls out to G-d, his salvation will be according to
the dread he is suffering and according to his desire for the redemption.
לע"נ
הסבתא טויבע בת יואל לייב ז"ל נלב"ע כה בשבט תשכ"ג
העלון ניתן לקבל בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר
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