Musar su Proverbi 18:10

We have an allusion to this in Psalms 131. David testifies that though he had certainly attained a measure of understanding about the ways of G–d, this had not been a cause for him to become proud or haughty. In this Psalm the words לא גבה לבי allude to the שלימות הגוף, whereas the following words ולא רמו עיני allude to the שלימות הממון, seeing that it is the eye which is usually the cause of greed for money. The last words ולא הלכתי בגדולות refer to the שלימות הנפש. It means that David did not seek out merits which were beyond his ability to achieve, and when he was granted them he did not boast about such achievements. When our sages report that any halachic ruling made by David was always accepted as final this may have been the reward for his humility.

Before explaining the meaning of the "arks," let me mention a comment by the Zohar on Proverbs 18,10: 13 מגדל עוז שם ה' בו ירוץ צדיק ונשגב, "The name of the Lord is a tower of strength; the righteous runs towards it and is elevated." The "tower" is a reference to the ark, the "righteous" is a reference to Noach. While on the subject, I shall also explain the difference between the word Migdol in Samuel II 22,51, and the alternate reading of the same word as Magdil both in Samuel and in Psalms 18,51. We are in the habit of reciting this verse at the end of saying Grace, and our sages suggested that on weekdays we should recite the version Magdil, whereas on Sabbaths and New Moons we should recite the spelling Migdol. There is a further third spelling, Migdal David in Song of Songs 4,4 כמגדיל דויד צוארך, בנוי לתלפיות, "Your neck is the Tower of David, built as a landmark."

We have explained in our commentary on בראשית, that the letter מ is an allusion to the מלאך המות, angel of death. Keeping this in mind, one may view the moral challenge of the ark i.e. מגדל, to Noach: the hope that he should be man enough when descending from the “מ” of that מגדול to become גדול, morally equivalent to what the last letter in that word גדול represents, and to thereby be able to overcome the power of the angel of death. In other words, he should fulfil the promise inherent in נח איש צדיק תמים, to be not only righteous but "perfect." The ark would then have become equivalent to the ultimate Temple, the מגדל עז, whose glory will outshine that of the previous Temples. He, Noach, would have been the צדיק that is described in Proverbs 18,10 as being elevated.

Then he should recite as he stands by the doorway beside the mezuzah in his tallis and tefillin: “Hear, O Israel, Hashem is our God, Hashem is one. O Unique and Unitary One, unify my heart to love and fear Your great, mighty and awesome Name with all my heart and soul.” Afterwards he should recite the eight verse beginning with the letter hei in Tehillim, Chapter 119 (verses 33-40). Then he should recite Mishlei 18:10, “The name of Hashem is a mighty tower, the righteous man runs into it and is protected.” And Tehillim 122:4: “The tribes of God, as a testimony for Israel to give thanks the Name of Hashem.” You recite eight verses of Tehillim 119 because they begin with the letter hei and end with the letter yud, spelling out the Name Y-h, which is the Name that served as testimony to the purity of the tribes of Israel in Egypt, as it is stated HaReuveiny (Bamidbar 26:7). [That is, when the families of Israel are listed in that passage a hei is appended to the beginning of each name and a yud to the end of each name, indicating that Hashem Himself attested to their purity].