Tehillim 119:32

Tuesday, March 6, 2018 · Posted in , , ,

Tehillim 119:32
דֶּרֶךְ-מִצְוֺתֶיךָ אָרוּץ כִּי תַרְחִיב לִבִּי
derech-mitzvoteicha arutz ki tarchiv libi 
I will run the way of [pursue] Your commandments, for You thus enlarge my heart [broaden my understanding].


If You will grant me the breadth of mind and heart to understand everything, then "I will pursue Your commandments, for You thus broaden my understanding." Figuratively, David Hamelech says: Although running usually constricts the heart, here the opposite will happen. "I will run the way of Your commandments, for You thus enlarge my heart."

If You will not shame me (119:31), "I will run the way of Your commandments, for You thus enlarge my heart." But if one is heavy with fear, his legs do not obey him.

We have learned in the Tractate Avot:

Ben Azzai says, "Run to [perform] a slight mitzvah and flee from [committing] a transgression. For one mitzvah draws another mitzvah after it, and a transgression drags another transgression after it. The reward for a mitzvah is the mitzvah, and the reward for a transgression is the transgression.."
 A person should at all times consider that the particular mitzvah [he has occasion to perfom] is as if running away from him. The yetzer hara hastens it away. He must constantly chase after it, as otherwise he will not reach it.

According to others, David Hamelech says, "I will run" even when "You thus enlarge my heart." That is the difference between the Jewish People and the nations of the world. When they enjoy well-being, they each retire to their vineyards and olive trees. But Klal Yisrael turn their hearts to serving G-d.

Tzaddikim, in general, serve Hashem energetically, and we are encouraged to follow their lead, "I will run the way of Your commandments, for You thus enlarge my heart."

Bamidbar Rabbah 10:5 “The woman (Manoach’s wife) acted with haste and ran”(Shoftim 13:10).

This teaches that all of the tzaddikim’s acts are done with speed. Running is a sign of zeal and eagerness to do something. Never will you see a person running to pay taxes unless he has a profound love for the king or the tax collector.

Rabbi Yehudah gives the following parable:

A man feels ill and goes to the doctor. The doctor doesn't ask if he is eating on a regular basis, because his presence clearly tells the doctor that he is eating enough to sustain himself. The doctor will surely ask if he has an appetite, because an appetite is a sign of good health. So it is with serving Hashem. If you want to know whether you are spiritually healthy, look at how eager you are to do mitzvot.

- Me'am Lo'ez; Rabbi Reuven Semah; Rabbi Yitzchak Hirshfeld


Tehillim 119:31

Tehillim 119:31
דָּבַקְתִּי בְעֵדְוֺתֶיךָ יְהוָה אַל-תְּבִישֵׁנִי
davakti ve'edvoteicha HASHEM al-tevisheni
I cleave to Your testimonies; O HASHEM, do not put me to shame.


Because I always "cleave to Your testimonies," for this reason, "O Hashem, do not put me to shame" on their account. Do not leave me without understanding them and without penetrating to their substance.

Then again, David Hamelech asks that when presented with the opportunity to perform a mitzvah, he should in fact perform it. For if he fails to perform it, that will be shameful to him. as Chazal have taught, "If rains come down on the first night of Sukkot (and one is thus prevented from fulfilling the mitzvah of sitting in the sukkah), this can be compared to a servant whose master poured a container of water in his face. That is what he says here, "I cleave to Your testimonies, O Hashem," so "do not put me to shame."

The Talmud cites Hashem as saying, "I created the yetzer hara, and I created Torah as its antidote" (Kedushin 30b). It is our only defense. However, just holding on to Torah is not enough. We must tie ourselves so tightly to Torah that we can not break loose from it. This is why Moshe repeatedly stressed, "But you who cling to Hashem-you are all alive today" (Devarim 4:4), "to Him you shall cleave," (ibid. 10:20) and "To love Hashem, to listen to His voice and to cleave to Him" (ibid. 30:20).

David Hamelech says, "I cleave to Your testimonies (Tehilim 119:31). To cling and cleave means to be inseparably attached to Torah. Learning Torah and doing mitzvot is of greatest importance, but does not yet result in the necessary fusion. The Talmud says that the single verse that the entire Torah depends on is "Know Hashem in all your ways" (Mishlei 3:6, Berachot 63a). Cleaving and clinging is not accomplished by relating to Hashem just in Torah study and in performance of mitzvot, but in everything we do - eating, sleeping, transacting, socializing. The works of mussar tell us how we can accomplish this. It is this kind of observance of Torah that can save us from the destructive attractions of the yetzer hara.

When you pick up a fruit, think of what borei pri ha'etz means. Hashem designed a tree that would sprout from a tiny seed and produce succulent fruit, and feel gratitude to Hashem.

When you say the beracha "poke'ach ivrim" (open the eyes of the blind) think of the wondrous ability that Hashem instituted within protoplasm that it can have vision, and feel gratitude to Hashem. If we bring Hashem into all our activities, we are cleaving and clinging to Him.

- Me'am Lo'ez, Rabbi Dr. Avraham Twerski

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