מִזְמ֗וֹר לְדָ֫וִ֥ד יְ֭הֹוָה מִי־יָג֣וּר בְּאָהֳלֶ֑ךָ מִֽי־יִ֝שְׁכֹּ֗ן בְּהַ֣ר קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃
Mazmur Daud. Yang Mahakekal, siapakah yang boleh menumpang di dalam kemah-Mu? Siapakah yang boleh berdiam di gunung-Mu yang kudus?
Rabbeinu Bahya
There can be no question that praising the character of a righteous person is the result of a good nature, one that seeks out the good in a person rather than the negative qualities he may have. This is why Solomon describes the time spent extolling the righteous, the virtuous, as better than the time spent eating honey. The reverse is true of someone who praises good qualities he has found in a wicked person. This reflects bad characteristics of the person doing so and if persisted in will lead to the one who thought he had discovered “goodness” in the wicked person praising him altogether, not just a particular good characteristic he had discovered in such a person. It is a psychological truth that a person is apt to extol the virtues of people whose general characteristics he shares, i.e. when you hear who praises whom you know that they are “birds of a feather.” In chapter 28,45 of his Book Proverbs, Solomon is on record as עזבי תורה יהללו רשע, that “praising a wicked person is typical of someone who has abandoned the path of Torah.” The reason is simply that people have a habit of praising those with whom they have the most in common, or מין במינו, in the parlance of our sages. King David already made the same point in Psalms 15,4 when he said: ואת-יראי ה' יכבד, “but who honors those who fear the Lord;” [He had previously spoken about that same person saying that if he considers himself a הולך תמים, living without blame, he would have to display his disdain for the wicked. Ed.]
Radak
out of His holy hill. Selah: – We can interpret (this) of Mount Moriah. And although it was not yet holy, it may be that there was a tradition among them that the Sanctuary would be there. And because of this David, in his flight, ascended the Mount of Olives and from thence worshipped God; for from thence one can see that (holy) place. Or the interpretation of out of His holy hill (may be): from Mount Sion, where the Ark was. Or the interpretation of out of His holy hill (may be) out of heaven, as “Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?” (Ps. 15:1).
Rabbeinu Chananel
ועשו ארון, the ark is a symbol of the righteous and intelligent man who is described as such only if his character qualities reflect the external image he portrays, projects. This is the reason why the ark was encased in gold both from the inside and the outside.
Just as the dimensions of the floor of the ark were two and a half cubits in length and one and a half cubits in width, resulting in a square area of four cubits minus one quarter cubit square, so the righteous person should remain constantly aware that the four elements which make up his physicality should not become the sum total of his existence, but should be augmented liberally by the physical performance of good deeds such as caring for others.
Just as the walls of the ark, when combined, total 12 cubits (when measuring the combined total of the exterior dimensions, 1,5+2,5;+1,5+2,5;+1,5+2,5). [the lid is not part of the measurements. Ed.] The combined lengths of the walls totaled 7.5 cubits, whereas the combined length of the short walls totaled 4.5 cubits. The righteous person is expected to fulfill all the 12 conditions set out in Psalm 15,1 as the necessary qualifications before one is deserving to sojourn in G’d’s holy tent, or on G’d’s holy mountain.
If one wishes to attain a loftier level of relative perfection than that of a “mere” righteous individual, the next step up is becoming a נביא, prophet, or at least acquiring the spiritual level expected of a prophet. This is symbolised by the kapporet above the Ark.
The fact that the entire kapporet was made of pure gold. that it was not merely overlaid with gold, indicates that it symbolised something even purer than the Ark itself. We know that a prophet is considered as כלו צדק, “totally righteous,” from Proverbs 8,8 “all the words of my mouth are with righteousness.” The cherubs above the kapporet are an allusion to the angels, beings on an even higher spiritual level than the prophets. They were spreading their wings heavenward as an allusion of their striving to be near the Shechinah, which is on a higher level spiritually than the angels, seeing that the angels are the throne, (foundation of) ever ready to welcome the attribute כבוד, i.e. the attribute which occupies the throne. This is the meaning of the words in verse 20: אל הכפורת יהיו הכרובים, “the faces of the cherubs will be turned toward the kapporet.” They had to look downwards, towards the lid and were forbidden to gaze at the Shechinah. Above everything is G’d Himself as is written in Samuel II 6,2 אשר נקרא שם שם ה' צב-אות יושב הכרובים עליו, “to which the Name was attached, the name of the Lord of Hosts Enthroned on the cherubs.” Solomon also constructed the cherubs in the Temple out of wood, as is written (Kings I 6,23) “he made in the sanctuary two cherubs out of olive wood.” [these wooden cherubs, ten cubits high, are not to be confused with the cherubs which are an integral part of the lid of the Holy Ark, made of solid gold, and which were in the Holy of Holies. Ed.]
Just as the dimensions of the floor of the ark were two and a half cubits in length and one and a half cubits in width, resulting in a square area of four cubits minus one quarter cubit square, so the righteous person should remain constantly aware that the four elements which make up his physicality should not become the sum total of his existence, but should be augmented liberally by the physical performance of good deeds such as caring for others.
Just as the walls of the ark, when combined, total 12 cubits (when measuring the combined total of the exterior dimensions, 1,5+2,5;+1,5+2,5;+1,5+2,5). [the lid is not part of the measurements. Ed.] The combined lengths of the walls totaled 7.5 cubits, whereas the combined length of the short walls totaled 4.5 cubits. The righteous person is expected to fulfill all the 12 conditions set out in Psalm 15,1 as the necessary qualifications before one is deserving to sojourn in G’d’s holy tent, or on G’d’s holy mountain.
If one wishes to attain a loftier level of relative perfection than that of a “mere” righteous individual, the next step up is becoming a נביא, prophet, or at least acquiring the spiritual level expected of a prophet. This is symbolised by the kapporet above the Ark.
The fact that the entire kapporet was made of pure gold. that it was not merely overlaid with gold, indicates that it symbolised something even purer than the Ark itself. We know that a prophet is considered as כלו צדק, “totally righteous,” from Proverbs 8,8 “all the words of my mouth are with righteousness.” The cherubs above the kapporet are an allusion to the angels, beings on an even higher spiritual level than the prophets. They were spreading their wings heavenward as an allusion of their striving to be near the Shechinah, which is on a higher level spiritually than the angels, seeing that the angels are the throne, (foundation of) ever ready to welcome the attribute כבוד, i.e. the attribute which occupies the throne. This is the meaning of the words in verse 20: אל הכפורת יהיו הכרובים, “the faces of the cherubs will be turned toward the kapporet.” They had to look downwards, towards the lid and were forbidden to gaze at the Shechinah. Above everything is G’d Himself as is written in Samuel II 6,2 אשר נקרא שם שם ה' צב-אות יושב הכרובים עליו, “to which the Name was attached, the name of the Lord of Hosts Enthroned on the cherubs.” Solomon also constructed the cherubs in the Temple out of wood, as is written (Kings I 6,23) “he made in the sanctuary two cherubs out of olive wood.” [these wooden cherubs, ten cubits high, are not to be confused with the cherubs which are an integral part of the lid of the Holy Ark, made of solid gold, and which were in the Holy of Holies. Ed.]