Commentaire de citation sur Les Psaumes 49:12

And on this, our Sages of blessed memory commented (Berakhot 18a) that “the living know that they will die” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) refers to the righteous, etc., meaning that they know they will die and therefore the remembrance of the day of death is constantly before their eyes, and this saves them from sin. And the dead know nothing refers to the wicked, who even during their lives are called dead, as it is said, And you, O corpse, wicked one, etc., whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end (Ezekiel 21:30). Meaning, the wicked know nothing because the remembrance of the day of death is not before their eyes at all. And this is what it means when it says, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end, meaning, because of the sin regarding his end, for the remembrance of his end was not before his eyes at all. Unlike David, who prayed and said, Lord, make me know my end, etc. (Psalms 39:5), but rather their inner thought is that their houses will last forever (Psalms 49:12). And this is a precious interpretation.

“The end of all flesh has come before Me.” The day of death is called the end of all flesh, it comes before Me and complains that it has no remembrance among all living beings, and no one remembers it. For this reason, the Holy One, Blessed be He, waited seven days of mourning for Methuselah, for the wise see that they will die (Psalms 49:11), and perhaps the living will take to heart that this is the desired purpose of mourning and eulogy. For the one who robs and accumulates wealth unjustly — if he would remember the day of death, that in the midst of his days he will abandon it, he would not steal from others. But certainly he thinks that prosperity is forever, as it is said: Their inner thought is that their houses are forever (Psalms 49:12). And here comes a wonderful explanation of the entire psalm that speaks about those who accumulate wealth and their error. Since I did not come in this composition to elaborate on matters that are not related to the weekly portion, I will not mention it here, but only this verse that says Their inner thought is that their houses are forever, their dwelling places for generation after generation (Psalms 49:12). First it says their houses, and then their dwelling places first it says forever and then “for generation after generation. The correct interpretation of this is that the wicked person who builds for himself in this world a strong building and spacious upper chambers of marble — certainly their inner thought is that their houses will stand forever, meaning their thought is that the house of stone will stand forever. And if you ask what pleasure does he have in this, that the house will stand forever after he will not dwell in it forever — does he not know that his end is death? To this it says their dwelling places for generation after generation (Psalms 49:12) — that he gives himself a peaceful blessing that even if he will not dwell in it, nevertheless his children and grandchildren will dwell in it for generations. And if you say, what profit is there for its owner if his children dwell in it while he dwells in the grave? To this it says They call their lands after their own names (Psalms 49:12) — that he goes in a great error saying that when his children name their sons and daughters after them, then the name of the dead will be called upon his inheritance and will not be cut off, and it seems to him as if he is alive, and the concept of levirate marriage proves this. Because of this error, even the day of death will not return them to proper behavior, therefore the end of all flesh comes and complains before Me, as stated.

With awesome power (Deuteronomy 26:8) - This represents the revelation of the Divine Presence: What is the connection between the phrase “awesome power” and the suggestion that it was a “Divine Revelation?” This interpretation is based on a Midrashic play on words in which the Maggid interprets a word by on switching the order of its letters. The word “Awesome” is “Morah,” מורא. By switching the “Vav” and the “Raysh,” we get “Ma’or,” מאור, which means “light.” The “Morah Gadol,” the awesome power of God is revealed as a great light or a vision! Similarly, in Deuteronomy 4:34 we read, “Has any god ventured to go and take for himself one nation from the midst of another by prodigious acts, by signs...and awesome powers?.” (The Hebrew here is “Moraim Gedolim.”) Onkeles, the Aramaic translation of Bible, interprets this expression to mean “great visions,” from the Aramaic word for “sight.”