Midras Mazmur 41:6: Aggadat Bereshit & Midrash Tehillim

Chapter 35: Prophets [1] "And King David was old and advanced in years" (1 Kings 1:1). It is said, "No man has power over the wind to restrain it" (Ecclesiastes 8:8), meaning that there is no one in the world who comes to die and says, 'I will close my mouth, and the spirit will not depart, or my ear or nostril will not breathe,' but he is unable to do so because he does not know from where the spirit comes out. Rather, when his time comes, it blossoms forth and departs from him. Therefore, it is said, "No man has power over the spirit to retain the spirit" (Ecclesiastes 8:8), but "and the dust returns to the earth as it was" (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Rabbi Simon said, "Do not say so, but rather 'the spirit returns to God who gave it'" (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Just as when it was given, it was pure, holy, and worthy, therefore it returns. And Abigail said to David, "But the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life" (1 Samuel 25:29), because David was a righteous man, and it was said of him, "What is this bundle of life?" As if to say, "The Lord God is the true God, the living God, and the everlasting King" (Jeremiah 10:10). "And the lives of your enemies He shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling" (1 Samuel 25:29), scattered in the four corners of the world, and then returns to the hollow of the sling, and the angels scatter it, and it returns again. These are the souls of the wicked. Therefore it is said, "And the lives of your enemies," and it concludes, "no man has power over the spirit to retain the spirit." There is no dominion on the day of death, even for a great man, king, or nobleman, when he dies, he does not die alone, but his glory is with him, as it is said, "For he will take nothing with him when he dies; his glory will not descend after him" (Psalm 49:18). As long as King David the righteous was alive, he was called king, and "Now King David was old and advanced in years" (1 Kings 1:1). And they called him "my lord the king" and wise and angelic, as the woman of Tekoa said to him, "My lord is wise, like the wisdom of an angel of God" (2 Samuel 14:20). Similarly, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest said to Adonijah, "But our lord King David has made Solomon king" (1 Kings 1:43). And Bathsheba said, "May my lord King David live forever" (1 Kings 1:31), and Nathan the prophet said to him, "My lord the king, you have said Adonijah shall be king after me" (1 Kings 1:24). Thus, David had much honor, greatness, and splendor. However, when his time came to die, there is no mention of his being a king, lord, wise man, or angel. Only his name is mentioned, as it says, "David was old and advanced in years" (1 Chronicles 23:1). "David slept with his fathers" (1 Kings 2:10), and "David's days drew near to die" (1 Kings 2:1). Therefore, Solomon said, "There is no authority on the day of death. And there is no discharge in war" (Ecclesiastes 8:8), not like the kings of flesh and blood. Rabbi Aha said in the name of Rabbi Simon, "When the king asks the army commander to conscript troops, the commander comes to take the troops, and they give him much silver and gold, but he takes from them and does not send them, but sends others in their place. However, in death, there is no such thing, and there is no dispatch in war, and the wicked shall not escape their masters" (Ecclesiastes 8:8). "The one who sins shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20). And if you say, "But righteous people do many good deeds and still die," it is not true that wealth helps on the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death (Proverbs 11:4). And the one who does righteousness does not die, but lives forever. It does not say, "Wealth helps on the day of wrath," but "righteousness delivers from death," even though righteous people die in this world. However, in the future, they will live forever and ever, but the wicked will die in this world and the world to come, as it says, "The wicked shall not escape their masters," and "When they are judged, return them to Sheol" (Psalm 9:18). "But concerning the righteous it is said, 'And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.' (Malachi 3:17) David said before the Lord, 'Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.' (Psalm 71:9) When I was young, I went out to war and gave my life for your children, but now that I am old, I have no more strength, and they say, 'How long will this old man live?' As it is said, 'When will he die, and his name perish?' (Psalm 41:6) I ask of you, that even in my old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me.' (Psalm 71:18) The Lord answered him, 'So will I do unto thee, until thy old age, and until thy grey hairs, etc.' (Isaiah 46:4)"

Chapter 38: Prophets [1] "And King David was old, advanced in years (1 Kings 1:1) And Scriptures says, "And those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31). and our Sages said that for thirteen years, David was sick and bedridden, and seven sheep were exchanged under him every day, which exhausted me with groaning; all night I drench my bed with tears, I soak my couch with weeping. (Psalm 6:7) These were the thirteen years that he suffered punishment for the sin he had committed. His enemies said, "When will he die and his name perish?" (Psalm 41:6) Until he begged for mercy from the Holy One, blessed be He, and said before Him, "Master of the Universe, You have kept me alive for the sake of the Temple that Samuel the Prophet entrusted to me. Please grant me life so that I may stand up from this bed and complete the scroll of the construction of the Temple," as it says, "But You, O Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up, that I may repay them." (Psalm 41:11) He was raised from his illness and completed the scroll of the construction of the Temple. As soon as the Holy One, blessed be He, heard his prayer, he stood up from his bed, as it says, "So King David rose to his feet." (I Chronicles 28:2) And where does a person stand? Not on his feet? And what does it mean that he stood on his feet? It means that he was healed and became healthy and stood on his feet after all those years, and he handed them the scroll of the Temple, all in writing, "From the hand of the Lord upon me, He gave me understanding." (1 Chronicles 28:19) And it says, "David also gave Solomon his son the plan of the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, and its inner chambers, and the plan of all that he had in mind." (1 Chronicles 28:11-12) Therefore, it is said, "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." (Isaiah 40:31)"

Another thing - praiseworthy is the intelligent person. Rabbi Yonah said: praiseworthy is the person who is intelligent about his own pleasures. For example, if a wealthy person becomes poor, the intelligent person goes to him and says: "I heard that so-and-so owes you an inheritance, and you owe me money, so when you receive your inheritance, pay me back." This is the mark of an intelligent person. On a day of trouble, the Lord will save him. There is no day of trouble except for the day of death, the day when the soul departs. The Lord said: "What will I do for you on the day of trouble? I will save you." As it is written: "On a day of trouble, the Lord will save him." Another thing - which day is referred to as the day burning like an oven in Malachi 3:19? What is written afterwards in Malachi 3:20? "And for you who fear My Name, a sun of righteousness will shine." What is this sun of righteousness? It is the righteousness that you have done, which will stand for you on that day. It also says in Isaiah 58:10: "And if you offer your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall your light rise in darkness." What is meant by "satisfy the afflicted soul"? Even if you feed this soul with all the delicacies of the world, after an hour it will want to leave and move on. What is meant by "your light will rise in darkness"? And if one falls ill, may God sustain us, as it is said "May God sustain us on a bed of illness" (Psalms 41:4). But is there such a thing as a bed of illness? When a person falls ill on Sunday, what does he do? He needs to pray. The same goes for Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, we say "What did He do?" - this refers to confession (vidui). At that moment, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, "I will make confession before Me like a man who is ill; I will sustain and establish him now." This is why we say "May God sustain us on a bed of illness." And what does it mean that "you turn all his beds in his illness" (Psalms 41:4)? Everything he sinned throughout his life while he was on his feet, God turns into illness for him. This is why it is written, "you turn all his beds." David said, "That is not the case with me; I said, 'Lord, be gracious to me; my foes speak evil of me'" (Psalms 41:6). But did David have enemies? The verse says, "All Israel and Judah loved David" (Samuel I 18:16), and it is said, "David did what was just and right for all his people" (Samuel II 8:15). Rather, who were his enemies? Those who wanted to oppress and exploit others, and he would not allow them to do so. They were his enemies.