Commentaire de citation sur Les Psaumes 2:1

A psalm of David when he fled (mizmor le-David be-vorcho): The Gaon, Rav Saadia, desired to link all the psalms one to another. And he said, after [discussing the verse] "Why do nations assemble?" (Psalm 2:1), that what befell Absalom would [also] befall them [i.e., the rebellious nations of Psalm 2]. However, the commentator does not have the ability [or it is not possible] to link [them all] thus. This psalm [Psalm 3] is written in the First Book [of the five books of Psalms]. Therefore, one should not wonder if we find, in the Fifth Book, the prayer [composed] when he was in the cave (Psalm 142), an event which preceded the incident involving Absalom. And [this] psalm is in the manner of prophecy, in that [David] prophesied he would be victorious, [anticipating the outcome expressed later in verse 5] "and He answered me from His holy mountain." This is like the prayer of Jonah [who confidently declared from the fish's belly, (Jonah 2:8)], "My prayer came in unto You."

Or one utterance: of good reasoning, as next to the verse, "But it was you, a man my equal," is another verse adjacent (Psalms 55:15), "Which together we sweetened counsel." As Achitophel had found David sitting alone and involved in Torah [study]. He said to him, "Why are you studying alone? And has it not already been stated (Jeremiah 50:36), 'A sword is upon the fabricators (badim) and they shall become foolish' (- a sword is upon Torah scholars that sit one by one (bad vebad) and are involved in Torah [study], etc.", and see Berakhot 63b.) And again another time he found him entering his House of Study with an upright posture. He said to him, "And has it not already been stated (Leviticus 19:30), 'and revere My holy place' - that a man should enter there with reverence, so that the fear of Heaven be upon him." And so [too], it states (Psalms 55:15), "in the house of God shall we walk with emotion (beragesh)" - [which is here] an expression of awe and fear. And some say (that [David] went alone into the House of Study and [Achitophel] said to him, "'In the house of God shall we walk beragesh' is it written, since a person is obligated to enter there with a group of people" - and ragesh [here] is an expression of gathering, as in (Psalms 2:1), "Why have the nations gathered"), because it is written (Proverbs 14:28), "In the multitude of people is there splendor for the king."

“They rose to dance” [32:6]. The Israelites danced and made merry. Tanna debe-Eliyahu writes. Rabbi Akiva said: merrymaking and laughter bring a person to many sins and always to sexual licentiousness. This causes laughter and mockery. “Hear the word of the Lord” [Jeremiah, 2:4]. You should hear the words of God who mocks you. The Holy One said to Israel: My children, I sat for nine hundred and sixty-four generations before the world was created and I studied the Torah and thought about it. From the day that the world was created I sit on My throne of Glory and for eight hours a day I study Torah, eight hours a day I judge the whole world, and eight hours I do charitable acts and I feed the whole world. I do not mock or laugh, except for one hour when the nations say: we want to wage war against the Holy One, as the verse says, “why do nations assemble” [Psalms, 2:1]. The nations assemble to wage war with God. Concerning this, it is written, “He who is enthroned in heaven laughs” [Psalms, 2:4]. That is to say, God sits in heaven and laughs and mocks that the nations want to wage war with Him. Another time we find that God laughs concerning the incense. One takes only good smelling spices and one takes devil’s dung along with it, which stinks. Here God laughs. God also laughs when the evildoer schemes against righteous ones, as the verse says, “the wicked man schemes against the righteous” [Psalms, 37:12]. The evildoer wants to do evil to the righteous one. “Then God laughs at him” [Psalms, 37:13]. God laughs at him. Aaron knew well that he would have great merit because he taught Torah to Israel. Aaron went to teach all of Israel. He taught the one who could not pray how to pray. Whoever could not learn, Aaron taught him Torah. It was not said that Aaron alone, but each Israelite who teaches his friend Torah or prayer or reproves him for good, the Holy One gives him a great reward that he can understand the wisdom of the Torah himself.³³Tanna debe-Eliyahu Raba [ed. M. Ish-Shalom], chap. 14.