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Tehillim 119:16
בְּחֻקֹּתֶיךָ אֶשְׁתַּעֲשָׁע לֹא אֶשְׁכַּח דְּבָרֶךָ
bechukoteicha eshtaasha lo eshkach devarecha
I will delight in Your statutes, I will not forget Your word.

I do not know the reasons for "Your statutes."  Yet is their observance a "delight" to me.  "I will not forget Your word" of admonition that "you shall keep My statutes" (VaYikra 19:19).

Another reading says: "I will occupy myself (eshtaasha) with Your statutes."  Similarly, it says, "At that day shall a man look to (yishe) his Maker" (Yeshayahu 17:7).

Some see this verse as expressing a plea.  David says:  Let me "delight in Your statutes" - let me know the reasons for them; so "I will not forget to keep Your word."

"I will delight in Your statutes."  Similarly, when a king hands over an item for safekeeping, the trustee of that item will be delighted.  His joy will keep him from misplacing it.

"I will delight in your statutes."  The mitzvot are meant to bring a person joy, provided he follows the median path in his observance of the Torah.  For "her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace" (Mishlei 3:17).  Therefore, "I will not forget Your word" in all its wisdom.

Usually, when a person is involved in doing something that he does not understand, he derives no pleasure from his task.  But "I will" also "delight in Your statutes" whose reasons are unknown.  "I will not forget Your word," when You said: A statute have I established and a decree have I decreed.  You are not permitted to transgress My decrees!

Tehillim 119:1 - Tehillim 119:2 - Tehillim 119:3 - Tehillim 119:4 - Tehillim 119:5 - Tehillim 119:6 - Tehillim 119:7 - Tehillim 119:8 - Tehillim 119:9 - Tehillim 119:10 - Tehillim 119:11 - Tehillim 119:12 - Tehillim 119:13 -  Tehillim 119:14 - Tehillim 119:15


-MeAm Lo'ez

Tehillim 119:15
בְּפִקּוּדֶיךָ אָשִׂיחָה וְאַבִּיטָה אֹרְחֹתֶיךָ
befikudeicha asicha veabita orchoteicha
I will meditate in Your precepts, and look at Your paths.

Here, "precepts" are the conceptions derived from the Torah.  "I will meditate in Your precepts, and look at Your paths" of conduct.  Then I will endeavor to walk in your ways.  Even as G-d is merciful, I will endeavor to be merciful (cf. Shemot 33:19, 34:6).

A related reading of asicha is "I will speak," and the corresponding interpretation says: When I speak the precepts of the Torah, I "look at" them with the eye of the intellect in order truly to know them.  I shall not be as one who prattles with his mouth and his heart is not with him (cf. Mishlei 23:7).

The Midrash expounds: "I will meditate in Your precepts."  It is possible to be instructed by the Torah in worldly matters as well.  For instance, from Noach's ark we can infer the (balanced) dimensions of a ship (Bereishit 6).

Tehillim 119:1 - Tehillim 119:2 - Tehillim 119:3 - Tehillim 119:4 - Tehillim 119:5 - Tehillim 119:6 - Tehillim 119:7 - Tehillim 119:8 - Tehillim 119:9 - Tehillim 119:10 - Tehillim 119:11 - Tehillim 119:12 - Tehillim 119:13 - Tehillim 119:14


-MeAm Lo'ez

Tehillim 119:14
בְּדֶרֶךְ עֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ שַׂשְׂתִּי כְּעַל כָּל-הוֹן
bederech edvoteicha sasti keal kol-hon
I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches.

Even when I am only "in the way" towards observing the mitzvot, I rejoice.  I am as one who is on his way to earn a great fortune; this man does not feel the weariness of the journey.

I rejoice and am glad in the observance of "Your testimonies," like a man who rejoices every time he finds treasure.  I do not rejoice at bodily pleasures, but at having in my possession the treasures of the King.

In this world there is no reward for the observance of a mitzvah, since no material reward is equal to the value of any mitzvah.  But there is reward in this world for the preparation to perform a mitzvah, preparations being the tools for the performance of any mitzvah.  Thus David says here: "In the way of Your testimonies I have rejoiced."

When I studied Torah, David says, I despised all wealth and possessions, for I saw Torah as superior to "all riches."  Similarly, our Sages teach:  A man has silver but he has no gold; he has gold but he has no silver, nor fields, nor vineyards.  But in the Torah there is silver and gold, as it says, "The ordinances of HaShem... More to be desired are they than gold, than fine gold" (v19:10, 11).  There are fields and vineyards, as it says, "Your offshoots are an orchard of pomegranates with luscious friuts" (Shir HaShirim 4:13).

That is to say, it is clear to the student of Torah that he has everything.  For the Torah is superior in value to all possessions in the world.


Tehillim 119:1 - Tehillim 119:2 - Tehillim 119:3 - Tehillim 119:4 - Tehillim 119:5 - Tehillim 119:6 - Tehillim 119:7 - Tehillim 119:8 - Tehillim 119:9 - Tehillim 119:10 - Tehillim 119:11 - Tehillim 119:12 - Tehillim 119:13

-MeAm Lo'ez

Tehillim 119:13
בִּשְׂפָתַי סִפַּרְתִּי כֹּל מִשְׁפְּטֵי-פִיךָ
Bisfatai siparti kol mishpetei-ficha
With my lips have I told all the ordinances of Your mouth.

David explains why he pleaded, "teach me Your statutes" (v119:12).  Whereas "with my lips have I told all the ordinances of Your mouth" - I spoke of those mitzvot, the ordinances, whose reasons I knew - now I ask about the "statutes" whose reasons are unknown.

At the outset, David said, "With my whole heart have I sought You" (v119:10).  Here he says that he did not remain content with contemplation alone.  Rather: "With my lips have I told all the ordinances of Your mouth."  He then goes on to speak of his endeavor to understand, as well, the inner substance of the mitzvot.

Another interpretation is based on the meaning of "siparti" as counting.  "With my lips have I counted all the ordinances of Your mouth."  I would count all the words of the Torah and all the mitzvot, to make certain that I missed nothing that required implementation.

Although "I stored" Your ordinances "in my heart" (v119:11), not to forget them (v119:16), "with my lips have I told all the ordinances of Your mouth."  Verbal articulation of what one studies is an aid against forgetfulness.

Tehillim 119:12
Tehillim 119:11
Tehillim 119:10
Tehillim 119:9
Tehillim 119:8
Tehillim 119:7
Tehillim 119:6
Tehillim 119:5
Tehillim 119:4
Tehillim 119:3
Tehillim 119:2
Tehillim 119:1

-MeAm Lo'ez

Tehillim 119:12
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ
Baruch atah HASHEM lamdeni chukeicha
Blessed are You, HASHEM; teach me Your statutes.

"Blessed are You, HaShem," You who are the source of blessings, influences and wisdoms.  "Teach me Your statutes." For these statutes are hidden from our intellect and it is not within our own power to know them completely.

Thus, on the one hand, David pleads for an abundant flow from G-d.  On the other hand he acclaims G-d as the source of blessing.

Chazal (our Sages) infer from here that a blessing must be recited before and after every reading in the Torah.  The need for a prefatory blessing is conveyed by, "Blessed are You, HaShem; teach me Your statutes."  The need for a concluding blessing is conveyed by "And this is th blessing by which Moshe the man of G-d blessed" (Devarim 33:1).  After he recited the Haazinu hymn (ibid. 32), he recited a blessing.


BRACHA LEVATALAH -  (a blessing made in vain)

The Rosh (Berakhot 6:20; see also Shulchan Aruch) writes that if one began unnecessarily saying a blessing, but stopped before saying “Elokeinu Melech Ha-Olam” (our G-d, King of the Universe), he should continue “lamdeini chukekha” (teach me Your statutes), thus completing a verse (Tehillim 119:12). He is then considered to have merely read a Biblical verse.

Furthermore, if one realizes that he has begun reciting an unnecessary blessing before completing the word “Elokeinu” (our G-d), he may continue the verse “Elokei Yisrael avinu mei-olam ve-ad olam” (G-d of Yisrael, our Father, forever and ever) (Tzelach, Berakhot 39b; Kitzur Shulchan Arukh 6:4), thus completing a Biblical verse (Divrei HaYamim Alef 29:10). The Chayei Adam (5:1) adds that in this case, one should still conclude with “baruch shem kavod.”


For clarification:

If you just said "Baruch" or "Baruch Atah" (Blessed or Blessed are You) - just stop there.

If you said "Baruch Atah HaShem" - then you finish with the words "Lamdeini Chukeicha." (Teach me Your statutes. - Tehillim 119:12)

If you started to say  "Elokei" and didn't finish the entire words (Elokeinu) - then you finish with "Elokei Yisrael Avinu me-olam ve-ad olam." (G-d  of Yisrael, our Father, forever and ever. - Divrei HaYamim Alef 29:10)

If you said the word "Elokeinu" - then finish with "Atah anitam, Kel nose' hayitah lahem ve-nokem al alilotam" (You answered them; a forgiving G-d were You to them; but an avenger of their misdeeds. - Tehillim 99:8)

If you said beyond the word "Elokeinu" - then say, "Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto L'Olam Va'ed" (Blessed is the Name of His glorious Kingdom for all eternity. - based on Nechemya 9:5)  This is also said any time the Name of G-d is said in vain. (Yerushalmi Brachot 43b; Orach Chayim 206:6)

Tehillim 119:11
Tehillim 119:10
Tehillim 119:9
Tehillim 119:8
Tehillim 119:7
Tehillim 119:6
Tehillim 119:5
Tehillim 119:4
Tehillim 119:3
Tehillim 119:2
Tehillim 119:1

belibi tzafanti imratecha lemaan lo echeta lach
Your word have I stored in my heart, so that I would not sin against You.

So great was my love for Your commandments (v119:10), that "I stored them in my heart, so that I would not sin against You" by forgetting to observe them.

The Torah conveys that forgetting the mitzvot results in their abrogation; as it says, "Beware that you do not forget HaShem your G-d" (Devarim 8:11).

When I studied, "Your word I stored in my heart."  I also tried to remember the ruling of halachah, "so that I would not sin against You."  If I remembered only the arguments of the discourse, I might come to commit a sin.

A subtle explanation is based on the teaching of the Sefer Charedim that the mitzvah of circumcision also includes a mitzvah pertaining to the heart.  As it says, "And you will circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it will be a sing of the covenant between Me and you" (Bereishit 17:11).  A person should recall (bring up in his heart) every day that he is a bonded servant to the King of the world, and he will not rebel against Him.  That is what David says here, "Your word have I stored in my heart."  This pertains to the commandment of circumcision, as our Sages expound concerning the verse, "I rejoice at Your word" (v119:162).  Hence "I would not sin against You."

A subtle interpretation associates these verse with a different matter.  Our Sages teach: How do we know that when a disciple who sits before his teacher discerns an argument in favor of a poor litigant, he must not keep silent? For it says, "Do not be afraid before any man" (Devarim 1:17).  It also says, however, that one who makes a ruling in Torah law in the presence of his teacher is deserving of death.  Accordingly, the Scripture on the one hand asks, "How shall a youth keep his path pure by observing Your word?" (v119:9).  On the other hand it answers: At times "with my whole heart have I sought You" (v119:10), and at times "your word have I stored in my heart, so that I would not sin."

This also teaches that certain of the hidden things of the world should be kept hidden underneath one's garments.

David attests: Whenever I found something perplexing in any Torah text, due to lack of knowledge on my part, I did not utter what could be construed as startling. Rather, "Your word I stored in my heart."  And I entreated the Almighty for help to clarify His secrets, "so that I would not sin against You" by speaking out.

The Gemara interprets King David's statement as, "I did not rule when doing so would have constituted a sin."

"I have stored."  Mere knowledge of Torah is not enough.  Its words must be meditated upon and kept in the forefront of one's mind.  Only in this way will they produce the salutary effect of refining one's character and conduct, and bringing him closer to G-d.


Tehillim 119:10
Tehillim 119:9
Tehillim 119:8
Tehillim 119:7
Tehillim 119:6
Tehillim 119:5
Tehillim 119:4
Tehillim 119:3
Tehillim 119:2
Tehillim 119:1


MeAm Lo'ez
Sefer Tehillim - The Schottenstein Edition

Tehillim 119:10 bechol libi derashticha al tashgeni mimitzvoteicha
With my whole heart have I sought You; O let me not stray from Your commandments.

"With my whole heart have I sought You" through prayer.  So "let me not stray from Your commandments."  Remove from me the obstacles that can prevent me from observing the commandments.

King David perceives himself as one who tries to be careful about the Torah's commandments, but knows that he is far from perfect and that a terrible danger of failure lies in wait.

This accords with the teachings of our Sages that when one comes to be purified, he is helped to remove the obstacles in his way.

Having said, "Happy are they who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart" (v119:2), King David says about himself, "With my whole heart have I sought You."

King David posed the question, "How shall a youth keep his path pure?"  How shall he remove all obstacles from his path?  He answered, "By observing Your word" (v119:9).  Let him observe the commandments as I have endeavored to observe them.  For as the present verse makes clear, "With my whole heart have I sought You."  I did not seek You halfheartedly.  My sole concern was for the sake of Heaven, and not for my own honor.  Therefore, I plead, "Let me not stray from Your commandments."  Do not let me err in their performance, but help me to understand and to keep them properly.  Similarly, King Shlomo pleaded, "Give therefore Your servant an understanding heart" (Melachim Alef 3:9).

The Midrash says:  The heart of the righteous brings them into Gan Eden, and the heart of the wicked casts them down to Hell.  Thus the Scripture says, "Behold, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry; behold, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty; behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be ashamed; behold, My servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry for sorrow of heart, and will howl for vexation of spirit" (Yeshayahu 65:13, 14).  Similarly, David says to Shlomo, "And you, Shlomo my son, know and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; HaShem searches all hearts" (Divrei HaYamim Alef 28:9)

"With my whole heart have I sought You."  I longed to know the secrets of the Torah and its reasons.  Accordingly, I beseech You, "Let me not stray from Your commandments."  Let me not be as one who gazes upon what is hidden, and is stricken.

"With my whole heart have I sought You; O let me not stray from Your commandments."  It is the way of someone who acts in haste that he will err at times.  I beseech You, therefore: Let no my immense longing for the Torah cause me to fall into error and stumbling.

Tehillim 119:9
Tehillim 119:8
Tehillim 119:7
Tehillim 119:6
Tehillim 119:5
Tehillim 119:4
Tehillim 119:3
Tehillim 119:2
Tehillim 119:1


MeAm Lo'ez
Chazal

Tehillim 119:9 bameh yezakeh naar et archo lishmor kidvarecha
How shall a youth keep his path pure?  by observing Your word.

King David begins with a question concerning education:  "How shall a youth keep his path pure?"  How to educate the youth so that he will keep up "his path" after he matures?  He answers: "By observing Your word."  If he will keep the Torah and observe the mitzvot as You uttered them and You commanded them, he will then utilize this training on his own.  For that which a youth does becomes rooted in him, and he then continues to do the same with ease.  "Train a youth in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Mishlei 22:6).  It is otherwise when the person is educated after he has matured.

That is what it says, "We whose sons are as plants grown up in their youth..." (v144:12).  The young plant can be inclined to any side we may desire.  This is not so for the mature plant.

The term yezakeh connotes to purify and keep lucid, as in, "Her nazirites were more pure than snow" (Eicha / Lam. 4:7).  Thus he says here: "How shall the youth keep his path pure?"  The answer is: "By observing Your word."   A man's path cannot be set pure solely through study, but through deeds.  Just as a father is duty-bound to teach his son knowledge, so it is his duty to train him to act.  Then, the son's path will be pure, provided the son begins in his youth.

That is what Shlomo says, "Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right" (Mishlei 20:11).  The youth will be rid of his childishness, and it will be said of him, "This is not a child."  If that is so the, it will assuredly be so when he is grown up.

The Scripture speaks here of "his path (archo)" in the sense of a winding pathway.  It is difficult to know where one must go on this path simply by following common sense alone.  One must study much in order not to stray.  Accordingly, it says: "How shall a youth keep his path pure?"  The answer is: "By observing Your word."  Through study and observance in one's youth, the "path" becomes a well-trodden way or road (derech).  The grown man can then walk on the road with assurance and reach his destination.  Expressed figuratively, he knows the "way" - when and where - to be merciful and charitable, strict or lenient, and so on.

The Midrash says: Thus are the tzaddik (righteous).  By diligence, watchfulness and investigation, they attain life in the Olam HaBah (World to Come).  Accordingly, David says, "You make me know the path of life" (v16:11); and Moshe says, "Make me know Your way" (Shemot 33:13); and David also says, "Teach me Your way" (v27:11).  It is also written, "Thus says HaShem: 'Stand on the highways, and see, and ask for the old paths where the good way is, and walk upon it'" (Yirmeyahu 6:16).  Behold the road Avraham walked and see the road Nimrod trod.  Which one of them succeeded?  See the road walked by Yaakov and see the road Esav trod.  Which one of them succeeded?  Say, therefore, "How shall a youth keep his path pure? - by observing Your words!"

It makes a difference whether a man hears a command and obeys, or whether a man hears pleasant things, examines them, and then heeds them.  That is what King David says here: "How shall a youth keep his path pure?"  The answer is: "By observing Your word."  That is to say: When he is educated that keeping the mitzvot is a good thing, he keeps them with greater willingness.  For he is inspired to do so deep in his heart.

In Sefer Baal Shem Tov, Parashat Vayigash, there it is mentioned that the Baal Shem Tov once remarked that it was an wondrous segulah (remedy) to say the verse Tehillim 119:9 as a way to break one's anger.

The keruvim (cherubim) also taught about the importance of training one's children.  From the time that they are very little, one must train his children to study Torah and keep the commandments.  This is why the keruvim were in the form of a little boy and a little girl. (Abarbanel)  A parent must teach both his sons and his daughters to keep the Shabbat, to avoid mixing milk and meat, and to recite blessings before eating.  The same is true of all the other commandments of the Torah.  It is thus written, "How shall a child purify his path?  By keeping Your word" (Tehillim 119:9).   Thus if a parent does not correct his child when he sees him playing with fire on the Shabbat, or neglecting to wash his hands in the morning, or eating without a blessing, or before worship, then this bad habit will become fixed, and it will be very difficult to get rid of when the child gets older.  Since the person has acquired bad habits from childhood, he will not avoid things that are forbidden, even when he is a adult.

It is written, "From the mouths of babes and sucklings, You have founded strength" (Tehillim 8:3) .  This teaches that it was through the young children and babies that the Torah was given to Yisrael.  It was the children who were the guarantors of the Torah.  G-d said to Yisrael, "Your oath is not enough for Me to give you the Torah.  You must bring Me a guarantor, to ensure that you will keep it.  It is like anyone taking a loan, who must present a guarantor, so that if he does not pay, the lender has someone from who to collect."  The Benei Yisrael finally presented their children as guarantors.  If a parent does not keep the Torah, he can be punished through his small children.  This is discussed in Parashat Yitro.  This was one reason that G-d commanded us to place the keruvim on the Aron. The keruvim had the forms of a young boy and a young girl, to reach that the children are our guarantors for the Torah.  A person should not violate the Torah that is contained in the Tablets.

The keruvim also taught that the world is sustained primarily through the breath of the young children who are beginning their Torah studies. This is more precious than the Torah studied by older people.  Their breath is perfectly pure, without the taint of sin and evil thoughts.  Children can also study all day long, which is often impossible for older people.

Tehillim 119:8
Tehillim 119:7
Tehillim 119:6
Tehillim 119:5
Tehillim 119:4
Tehillim 119:3
Tehillim 119:2
Tehillim 119:1

Tehillim 119:8  אֶת-חֻקֶּיךָ אֶשְׁמֹר אַל-תַּעַזְבֵנִי עַד-מְאֹד
et-chukeicha eshmor al-taazveni ad meod
I will observe Your statutes; do not forsake me utterly.

"I will observe Your statutes," therefore "do not forsake me utterly."

Although everything is in the hand of Heaven except fear of Heaven, I plead, "Do not forsake me utterly."  Rather give me some help to dispose my heart towards You.  You will help me, for when one comes to be purified, he is helped.

"There is no doubt how hard a person must strive and toil to be able to observe all of G-d’s commandments, for the Evil Urge prevention, the external influences preventing, suffering prevents them and all sorts of stumbling blocks will do all they can to prevent this person from guarding all the Commandments. Therefore, King David sings, that no matter what rises up against them he will do all he can to observe all of G-d’s Statutes.

However, he is not simply stating that he will observe G-d’s commandments, he is saying that he will strive to observe all the Commandments even with his Small Mind so that he will be blessed by G-d to be able to fulfill them with his Great Mind. He understands that the Commandments themselves will transform him from one who approaches G-d with his Small Mind into one who can attach to G-d with his Great Mind, however, the only way he will succeed is if, “do not forsake me.” (Ramchal)

Tehillim 119:7
Tehillim 119:6
Tehillim 119:5
Tehillim 119:4
Tehillim 119:3
Tehillim 119:2
Tehillim 119:1


MeAm Lo'ez
Ramchal

Tehillim 119:7 odcha beisher levav belamdi mishpetei tzidkecha
I will give thanks to You with an upright heart, when I learn Your just ordinances.

Until here King David spoke in praise of the Torah.  From here on it is in praise of the mitzvot (commandments).

"I will give thanks to You with an upright heart," unlike those about whom it says, 'His mouth speaks and Him, but their heart is far from Him' (cf. Yeshayahu 29:13).  Thus we "learn" from "Your just ordinances" that everything depends on intention.  Hence the law of the city of refuge (BaMidbar 35) teaches that one who kills deliberately is executed, and one who kills unwittingly is exiled.

Because I have trained myself to accept "Your just ordinances," therefore "I give thanks to You" both for the good and for the bad, "with an upright heart."  As our Sages have said, one is required to recite the blessing (also for the bad) with gladness.  Thus Hillel once heard a voice of loud lament coming from his city, and he said, "I am certain that these are not my family lamenting."  This is explained to mean that he had educated his family to accept everything with gladness and to not shriek.

Torah is the antidote for the yetzer harah (evil inclination).  Torah study subdues the yetzer harah.

Tehillim 119:6
Tehillim 119:5
Tehillim 119:4
Tehillim 119:3
Tehillim 119:2
Tehillim 119:1

MeAm Lo'ez
Chazal

Tehillim 119:6 az lo evosh behabiti el kol mitzvoteicha
Then I will not be ashamed, when I look at all your commandments.

If I will "observe Your statutes" (v119:5), I will also observe Your ordinances.  As a result, when I open up the Torah and study it closely, "I will not be ashamed" that I did not keep "all Your commandments."

However, when one realizes that some aspect of his behavior is not in accordance with G-d's precepts, he should be filled with great shame for betraying his Creator and Father.  Moreover, he has betrayed himself and fallen short of his true potential.

If I will find a good reason for keeping the statutes, and subject myself to their observance, then I will assuredly "not be ashamed."  I will stand up to the prosecuting angel, "when I look at all Your commandments." For I will behold the reasons for all of them.

If I will keep the mitzvot, "then I will not be ashamed, when I look at all Your commandments."  For instance, if someone steals and then he sees written in the Torah, "You shall not steal!" (Shemot 20:13), he will be ashamed.  Therefore should every man be wary of every evil deed, so as not to be ashamed when he reads the Torah.

It was Rambam's custom to begin each of his works by citing a pasuk (verse). One such example is his introduction to the Mishneh Torah (as well as at the outset of each of the fourteen books that comprise the Mishne Torah). The verse used to introduce the Mishneh Torah is "Az lo evosh b'habiti el kol mitzvotecha" "Then I will not be ashamed, when I look at all Your commandments" (Tehillim 119:6). This verse serves as a "motto" that encapsulates the entire Mishneh Torah.

This verse teaches us that there is a supreme added value to having the Torah in its entirety laid out before us. Thus the Rambam in the Mishneh Torah summarizes the entire Oral Torah. The Midrash describes to us the shame one might feel upon reaching the Gates of Paradise without having learned all the sections of the Torah. By laying out the Oral Torah before us, the Rambam is assisting us in avoiding this very shame. (Rav Y. Steinberger)

Tehillim 119:5
Tehillim 119:4
Tehillim 119:3
Tehillim 119:2
Tehillim 119:1


MeAm Lo'ez
Chazal
Sefer Tehillim - Schottenstein Edition

Tehillim 119:5 achalai yikonu derachai lishmor chukeicha
My hopes: that my ways be directed to observe Your statutes!

"My hopes" - these are my pleas that I place before You: "That my ways be directed" so I should also "observe Your statues" whose reason elude us.

"[These are] my [fervent] prayers (hopes)," I desire nothing else but this. (Ibn Ezra)

Because the reasons for the statutes are not known, ha-satan and the other peoples condemn us.  But I say: "My hopes" and pleas are "that my ways be directed to observe Your statues" as well.

The mitzvah must be made possessions of the soul.  Therefore, I plead and petition that "my ways be directed to observe Your statutes."  Let none of my mundane affairs beset me.  I implore You to protect me from the diversions of the world, so that my heart and being are free "to observe Your statutes."

Let "my ways be directed to observe Your statutes." Let them not be directed towards bodily needs or towards any other diversion.

R’ Shmuel Shmelke Güntzler z”l (1838-1911; rabbi of Oyber-Visheve, Hungary for 45 years) writes: We read in Tehilim (119:5-6), “My prayer is: ‘May my ways be firmly guided to keep Your decrees; then I will not be ashamed when I gaze at all your commandments’.” In these verses, King David is noting the tension between our obligation to try to understand G-d’s Will, on the one hand, and our duty to serve Him as subjects, i.e., not because we understand or approve of His mitzvot but simply because they are His commandments. How can a person evaluate whether he is serving Hashem for the right reason (as a subject) or the wrong reason (because the person has evaluated the mitzvot and decided they make sense to him, in which case he is serving himself, not G-d)?

The answer is that one should look at how he performs those mitzvot that do not seem to be logical. If a person performs the decrees with the same enthusiasm with which he performs the “logical” mitzvot, then he knows that he is behaving as a subject. This is what King David meant: If I am firm in my commitment to Your decrees, then I will not be ashamed when I perform the “logical” commandments. Rather, I will know that those mitzvot, as well, I am performing as a subject and not because they make sense to me. (Meishiv Nefesh)

Tehillim 119:4
Tehillim 119:3
Tehillim 119:2
Tehillim 119:1


MeAm Lo'ez
Chazal

Tehillim 119:4 atah tzivitah fikudeicha lishmor meod
You have ordained Your commands, that we should observe them diligently.

King David now goes on to explain why the Holy One has commanded that we fulfill 613 Mitzvot.   If when we simply "do no wrong," we also "walk in His ways" (v119:3).  Why has the Holy One commanded that we fulfill 613 mitzvot?  The answer is, "You have ordained Your commands, that we should observe them diligently."  When there are many mitzvot to keep, there are always occasions for performing any number of them!

It is "that we should observe them diligently" in order to make them part of our souls.  Thereafter, we will perform them with heart and soul.



Tehillim 119:3
Tehillim 119:2
Tehillim 119:1


MeAm Lo'ez
Chazal

Tehillim 119:3 af lo faalu avlah bidrachav halakhu
Yes, they do no wrong; they walk in His ways.

Those who earnestly follow G-d's precepts receive special Divine assistance to avoid doing any iniquity.

"Those who seek" the Torah "with the whole heart" (v119:2), will merit to "do no wrong" any time.  All their lives they will "walk in His ways."  For the one who comes to purify himself is helped from on high.

"Happy are they whose way is integrity" (v119:1) refers to those who have merited not only to "do no wrong," but also to keep the affirmative mitzvot through actual performance.  Thus it says, "Happy are they who" actually "walk in His ways" (ibid.).  They not only "depart from evil" (v34:15), but "do good" (ibid.).  If, however, they only commit no transgressions and "do no wrong," that is not enough.  It is also necessary that "they" actively "walk in His ways."


Tehillim 119:2
Tehillim 119:1



-MeAm Lo'ez
-Schottenstein Sefer Tehillim

Tehillim 119:2  Ashrei notzrei edotav bechol-lev yidreshuhu
Happy are they who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart.

Throughout this psalm "testimonies" refers to the Torah and mitzvot, which bear testimony to G-d's relationship with the Jewish nation.

Two conditions are required for the proper performance of the mitzvot.  One must actually perform any given mitzvah, and do so with the proper conscious intent.  One without the other amounts to nothing.  Thus the Scripture says here, "Happy are they who keep His testimonies" in fact, and "who seek Him with the whole heart."

"Seek Him with the whole heart."  Our Sages have expounded similarly, "Drink thirstily their words."  One must keep probing in the Torah ever deeper, and also exile oneself to a place of Torah study.

It is further indicated that one "whose way is integrity" (v119:1) merits to possess wisdom, and he expounds the Torah "with the whole heart."  It is otherwise for the one who is not of upright heart.  Thus the present verse in effect explains the previous verse, in that only those are "happy" (ibid. "who seek Him with the whole heart."

The Midrash says, "Happy are they who keep His testimonies."  If you keep the Torah, then the Torah keeps (guards) you.  This it says, "Love her, and she will keep you" (Mishlei 4:6); and it says, "When you walk, she will lead you" (ibid. 6:22)

Tehillim 119:1




- MeAm Lo'ez
- Chazal

Tehillim [Psalms] 119

King David composed this psalm as a prayer for success in matters of the spirit and for completeness in Torah achievement.  He arranged the verse in alphabetical order, eight verses to every letter.  It was also David's intention to strengthen the hand of those who study Torah, to help them persevere and overcome all trials. (MeAm Lo'ez)

Each 176 verses of Tehillim 119 (except verse 122) contains at least one synonym for Torah.  Verse 122 contains the word tov (good) which some explain to refer to Torah as well.

In Sefer Avodat Hakodesh, by the Chida, it is written:  Let everyone strive to complete every week the eight-fold chapter of the Book of Psalms.  This is an auspicious prescription for avoiding all harm and loss.  He lists the verse to be recited on different days, together with the different plsams that follows the present psalm.

On the first day of the week (Sunday):  the verses beginning with the letters א׳ ב׳ ג׳, plus Tehillim 120, 121, 124.

Second day (Monday): the verses beginning with ד׳ ה׳ ו׳, plus Tehillim 122, 123, 124.

Third day (Tuesday): the verses beginning with ז׳ ח׳ ט׳, plus Tehillim 125, 126, 127.

Fourth day (Wednesday): the verses beginning with י׳ כ׳ ל׳, plus Tehillim 128, 129, 130.

Fifth day (Thursday): the verses beginning with מ׳ נ׳ ס׳, plus Tehillim 129, 130, 124.

Sixth day (Friday): the verses beginning with ע׳ פ׳ צ׳, plus Tehillim 131, 132.

Shabbat (7th day - Saturday): the verses beginning with ק׳ ר׳ ש׳ ת׳, plus Tehillim 133, 134.



Tehillim 119:1 Ashrei temimei darech haholchim betorat HASHEM
Happy are they whose way is perfect [integrity] who walk with the Torah of HASHEM.



Yosef Karduner singing "Ashrei Temimei Darech & Likutei Moharan Book 1 Chapter 1"

Translation of song:

Happy are they whose way is perfect [integrity] who walk with the Torah of HASHEM

Know! That through the Torah are received all the prayers and all the requests that we request and pray for.  And the grace and the importance of Yisrael is elevated and soars whatever it is that they need.  Whether in spiritual things or in physical things.

Happy are they whose way is perfect [integrity] who walk with the Torah of HASHEM.

Because now through our great sins, [the] beauty and true importance of Yisrael has fallen.  Because now the main portion of the beauty and the importance is found by them.  But by means of the Torah are raised the beauty and importance of Yisrael.  Because the Torah is called "Let her be as the loving doe and graceful deer."  Because [the Torah] bestows beauty [grace] on all those who learn it.  And through this is received all the prayers and requests.

Happy are they whose way is perfect [integrity] who walk with the Torah of HASHEM.

"Happy are they" who walk in the "way" that brings one to completeness and integrity and not to condemnation; "who walk with the Torah of HaShem."

As our Sages have taught: Anyone whose fear of G-d precedes his wisdom, his wisdom endures.

King David extols the quality of integrity, when he says, "I was upright before Him, and have kept myself from my iniquity" (Shmuel bet 22:24).  For one who conducts himself with integrity does not sin readily.  As David says, When I am upright "before Him" - when I am along with Him, and no other human being sees me - I keep "myself from my iniquity."  This he also says, "I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart" (v101:2)

Similarly, King Shlomo says, "The just man walks with his integrity; happy are his children after him" (Mishlei 20:7).  If his children are happy for his sake, then he is certainly happy.

The Holy One asked of Avraham to be "upright" (Bereishit 17:1).  Similarly, Moshe said to the Benei Yisrael, "You will be upright with HaShem your G-d" (Devarim 18:13).  That is, if you are upright, then you are with HaShem your G-d.

Yisrael is upright and the Torah is upright.  Hence it says here, "Happy are those whose way is integrity."

Shlomo also says, "He who walks with integrity walks surely" (Mishlei 10:9).  The one who walks with integrity, will be informed with the glad tiding that G-d will make his ways successful.  "But he who perverts his ways will be found out" (ibid.).  Generally, whatever has two ways become known in the world.

When one walks with integrity, the Holy One chooses him and his worship.  Thus it says, "He that walks in a way of integrity, he will minister to Me" (v101.6); and it says, "You will be upright with HaShem your G-d" (Devarim 18:13).

When one walks with an upright heart in all his ways, he merits to dwell in the company of the Almighty.  As it says, "Who will sojourn in Your Tent?  Who will dwell upon the mountain of Your Sanctuary?  He that walks uprightly and acts justly, and speaks truth in his heart" (15:1, 2)

Similarly, King David has extolled here those who walk with integrity.


What is Integrity?

A man should utter his words without deceit; he should trade without cheating; and his heart and mouth be the same.  For if a man says one thing with the mouth and another with the heart, not only is he not called upright, he is a flatterer and a liar.  As it says, "Deceit is in the heart of those who imagine evil..." (Mishlei 12:20).

It is of the quality of integrity that a person is charitable towards other people. As it says, "Charity keeps him that is upright in the way" (ibid. 13:6).

When one walks with integrity, the Holy One helps him do his work and He causes him to become upright in all his ways.  As it says, "With the merciful You show Yourself merciful, with the upright man You show Yourself upright" (v18:26).

"Happy are they whose way is integrity."  Their integrity is not a result of their temperament, but it is because they "walk with the Torah of HaShem."

It is not possible to follow the path of integrity unless all of one's deeds are for the sake of Heaven, there are no ulterior motives.

"Integrity" must itself be in accordance with G-d's will.  For it is only from the Torah that we know how and when to act with integrity.  Thus our Sages say, commenting on the verse, "Yaakov was an upright man, dwelling in tents" (Bereishit 25:27):  He ruled his integrity.

When does a man know that his way is upright?  It is when he keeps G-d's commandments even while on the way (road).  It about such people as these that the Scritpure says, "Happy are they  whose way is integrity, who walk with the Torah of HaShem."

Most of the present psalm speak in the second person singular, and only the first three verses are in the remote third person form.  David pleaded and petitioned in prayer that the Holy One favor him with knowledge, understanding and intelligence.  Accordingly, he opened with the first three verses that convey the conditions for granting these three things.  One is Torah study, since an ignorant person cannot have fear of G-d.  The second condition is to "depart from evil and do good" (v34:15).  The third condition is to keep perfecting oneself in Torah study daily through constant acquisition of new knoweldge.

That is the process of walking "with the Torah of HaShem."  A person will not merit to study Torah except if he empties his heart of the empty pursuits of the world and is convinced that this world is only a way-station.  Nor is it possible to fulfill the mitzvot perfectly except by knowing the Torah and the foundation of the commandments.



- MeAm Lo'ez
- Schottenstein Sefer Tehillim
- Stone Edition Tanach