Commentaire de citation sur Les Psaumes 91:5

The scene returns to Heaven where once again the Sons of God are in attendance before the Lord. However this time Satan too is in attendance before the Lord. This is because Job is now to be tried with diseases and bodily afflictions—evils of the third class. The harm visited upon Job so far has been in the shape of elemental disasters or acts of aggression, both of which are beyond the victim's control. However, the diseases and bodily afflictions about to be inflicted upon him are usually the result of the victim's own self-indulgence. A righteous person is not protected from elemental disasters or acts of aggression by the direct action of his righteousness on Nature, for righteousness is not a 'natural' cause but a 'providential' one. He is protected from such evils by Providence, which acts by virtue of his righteousness. As it says in the Book of Psalms:
and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come close to you. You will look at it with your eyes, seeing the recompense of the wicked. For you are one for whom 'The Lord is my refuge'; You have made the Most High your habitation. No evil will befall you, nor any calamity come close to your home. For He has charged His angels to guard you wherever you go; to carry you on their hands, lest you strike your foot on a stone (Psalms 91:5-12).
However, a righteous person's immunity from the harm caused by over-indulgence is a natural consequence of his righteous lifestyle. In his case, righteousness is a 'natural' cause, for as a result of it he exercises self-restraint. As it says: The righteous man eats for his soul's satisfaction (Proverbs 13:25). Therefore, by virtue of his nature, Job should be immune from these diseases and bodily afflictions. When Satan destroyed all of Job's possessions, all that was required of God was that He suspend His Providential protection of them; the rest could be left to Satan, the agency of destruction, who would then be free to act. However, in order for Job to suffer diseases and bodily afflictions, a Providential act would be required. It would not be enough for God to remove His protection from Job and leave him to the mercies of the destructive forces of Satan, for his righteous life-style would still afford him a natural protection from physical decay. This further affliction cannot be brought about just by the removal of Providential protection but will require a Providential act to counter Job's natural immunity. Therefore Satan, the agent of extinction and decay, is here 'in attendance before the Lord', for he is unable alone to bring this last disaster upon Job. This time God's direct participation is needed.

And you should not think that given that the soul is within man, or through involvement in Torah, with this he is still from the machinations of the impulse that brings him to sin and he [can] turn and walk [away from it]; because were it so, there would be no [room for] reward and punishment here. To this, it says that darkness is still in the world, but through [the light], man is helped to wage war with it, and to separate it from him, that it not fell him through its plots; and he will recognize that the aspect of doing evil is evil; and this is what it says, "and God separated between the light," which is the soul "and between the darkness," which is the evil impulse; and [about] this, the verse states (Ecclesiastes 10:2), "The heart of a wise man is to his right," which is the place of light, the place of the soul, "and the heart of a fool is to his left," which is the place of the evil impulse; "And He called light, day, and darkness, He called night;" and for this David prayed (Psalms 91:5), that He should save him from the fear of the 'nights.'

the arrows of the bow Heb. רשפי. רִשְׁפֵי is not an expression of sparks of fire, because sparks of fire are not appropriate to a bow. Moreover, this word has no “dagesh,” yet רִשְׁפֵּי does have a “dagesh.” Rather, רִשְׁפֵי is an expression of (Deut. 32:24): “fought by demons (רשף),” which is translated as עוֹף, flying creatures, as (Job 5:7): “but flying creatures fly (רשף) upward.” Similarly (below 78:48): “and their cattle to the flying creatures (לרשפים). to the birds. Similarly, בְּנֵי רֶשֶׁף are flying creatures, demons, who fly upward. This one too is an expression of arrows, which fly, as the matter that is stated (below 91:5): “from an arrow that flies by day.” There He broke the arrows (רִשְׁפֵי) of the bow, the arrows that the bow lets fly, and this entire psalm speaks of the downfall of Sennacherib, for we find no enemy falling in Jerusalem but he.