Musar su Salmi 18:78

This is what David himself said later in his words: "Reward me, O G-d, according to my righteousness, according to the purity of my hands repay me" (ibid 18:21) and "the L-rd has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the purity of my hands before His eyes" (ibid 18:25). This refers to this purity and cleanliness which we have mentioned. He then further said: "For by You I run upon a troop... I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them" (Tehilim 18:30). And he himself further stated: "Who will ascend upon the mountain of G-d, who will stand in His Holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart." (Tehilim 24:3).

The sages of blessed memory said David was watchful and cleansed himself completely from all these things. Therefore, he would engage in war with strong trust in G-d requesting "May I pursue my enemies and overtake them, not turning back till I have destroyed them" (Tehilim 18:38), something not asked by Yehoshafat, Asa, and Chizkiyahu since they had not attained such perfect cleanliness (see Midrash Eicha Raba peticha 30).

CLEANLINESS FROM THEFT: We can observe that even though most people are not blatant thieves, literally taking with their hands the possession of their fellow and putting it in their own possessions, nevertheless, most people experience a taste of theft in their business dealings by rationalizing permission to profit through their fellow's loss. They may tell themselves: "Business is different".

For it is not only the explicit and well known deed of theft or oppression which is forbidden but rather anything which may eventually lead to such a deed and cause it is included in the prohibition. On this our sages of blessed memory said (Sanhedrin 81a): "'he did not defile the wife of his fellow' (Yechezkel 18:6) - that he did not encroach upon his fellow's trade".

For it is not only the explicit and well known deed of theft or oppression which is forbidden but rather anything which may eventually lead to such a deed and cause it is included in the prohibition. On this our sages of blessed memory said (Sanhedrin 81a): "'he did not defile the wife of his fellow' (Yechezkel 18:6) - that he did not encroach upon his fellow's trade".

For it is not only the explicit and well known deed of theft or oppression which is forbidden but rather anything which may eventually lead to such a deed and cause it is included in the prohibition. On this our sages of blessed memory said (Sanhedrin 81a): "'he did not defile the wife of his fellow' (Yechezkel 18:6) - that he did not encroach upon his fellow's trade".

For it is not only the explicit and well known deed of theft or oppression which is forbidden but rather anything which may eventually lead to such a deed and cause it is included in the prohibition. On this our sages of blessed memory said (Sanhedrin 81a): "'he did not defile the wife of his fellow' (Yechezkel 18:6) - that he did not encroach upon his fellow's trade".

And if it occurs that he anticipates some loss to himself as a result of this advice, then if he is able to admonish the advisee directly, he should do so. Otherwise, he should withdraw from the matter and not give any advice. In any case, he must not give an advice whose purpose is other than the benefit of the advisee, unless the intent of the advisee is evil, in which case it is certainly a mitzva to deceive him. And scripture already said: "but with a crooked one, You deal crookedly" (Tehilim 18:27), and the story of Chushai the Archite demonstrates it.

Another way of explaining our Psalm may be that David felt the need to apologize for taking credit for his humility, i.e. he apologized שלא גבה לבו, for having his humility become common knowledge. This in itself would rate as a form of boastfulness. He apologized, for not having remained silent, i.e. אם לא שויתי ודממתי נפשי. Whichever may be the case, the subject of this Psalm is the extreme importance of practicing 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."

Although all the patriarchs have been described as the מרכבה, they are all included when Abraham is mentioned; he, being the "father" of them all, represents them also. This is the reason that the first benediction in the daily עמידה prayer concludes with the signature מגן אברהם, "shield of Abraham." The term "shield" is used to describe those who support the מרכבה, namely חסד, גבורה, תפארת. This too is the deeper meaning of the words (15, 1) אנכי מגן לך שכרך הרבה מאד, "I am your shield, your reward is very great." Malki Tzedek, king of Shalem, alludes to something similar in Bereshit (14, 19-20): ויברכהו, ויאמר: ברוך אברם לא-ל עליון קונה שמים וארץ וברוך א-ל עליון אשר מגן צריך בידך. "He blessed him saying: Blessed be Abraham of G–d Most High, Owner of Heaven and Earth. And blessed be G–d Most High, who has delivered your foes into your hand." The Zohar on that verse understands this as a reference to the daily עמידה prayer when we say very similar sounding words in the first benediction. If one examines the composition of that benediction closely one can view the words אלוקי אברהם, אלוקי יצחק, אלוקי יעקב as corresponding to the words ברוך אברהם. The words א-ל עליון גומל חסדים טובים correspond to the words וברוך א-ל עליון. The words קונה הכל corresponds to Malki Tzedek's words קונה שמים וארץ. We find similar wording in the repetition of the Friday night עמידה. Finally, the signature of that first benediction of the daily עמידה is מגן אברהם, corresponding to the last words in Malki Tzedek's blessing אשר מגן צריך בידך. It is true that we also encounter the formula in מגן דוד, "shield of David." The difference is that whereas מגן אברהם includes the other carriers of the מרכבה as we have explained, David is the recipient of the foregoing including the parts of the מרכבה that Abraham comprises, seeing that he, David, personifies מלכות. As such David provides the "fourth leg" of that four- cornered מרכבה that we have described as the מרכבה ארג"מן. At any rate, the significance of the promise to Abraham in 12,2 והיה ברכה, "be a blessing," is that בך חותמים, "they will conclude the benediction using your name," is clear. We shall come back later to the meaning of מגן דוד.

Laban was possessed of עין רע, he was ill-willed, begrudging, he was haughty and greedy. His whole concern in approving the match was to secure personal gain. The Torah is careful to document how Laban was motivated by money when we are told: "As soon as Laban saw the nosering and bracelets on the hands of his sister etc.,… he ran towards the man" (24,30). Laban was a swindler to boot. Realising that Eliezer had come to propose a שידוך, a match, he whispered to Eliezer that in consideration of an appropriate amount of money he would side with him and approve the match. Should Eliezer refuse, he, Laban would oppose the match; he was the most influential member of the household. When the Torah reports that "Laban had heard the words of Rebeccah his sister," this is our clue that he knew that a match was going to be discussed. Eliezer had no option but to promise Laban what he had asked. The reason the Torah does not report all this is because it simply never came to this. Eliezer did not keep his promise, as I shall explain. In his dealings with Laban Eliezer applied the principle of עם עקש תתפתל, "with the perverse you have to be wily" (Psalms 18,27). He did this by making a promise he would not keep. Laban was misled, for he believed that Eliezer would keep his part of the bargain.

Abraham hinted to Lot later that there is an ארץ ישראל העליונה, a spiritual equivalent to the terrestrial land of Israel, as we know from Sanhedrin 90 based on Isaiah 60,21: "Your people are all righteous, they will inherit an eternal land." Abraham hinted to Lot that both he and Lot would qualify for that future and that they would both reside in Heaven close to G–d. Yalkut Shimoni on Psalms 110,1: The Lord said to my lord "sit on my right side while I make your enemies your footstool," quotes Rabbi Yudon saying that in the future G–d will seat the Messiah on His Right and Abraham on His Left, and that Abraham will feel aggrieved at being assigned the left saying "how can my grandson be assigned the right side while I have to be content with the left side?" G–d will placate him saying: "Your grandson sits on My right, whereas I sit on your right side, וענותך תרבני, "and Your providence has made me great" (based on Samuel II 22,36). Thus far the Yalkut.

When they said: "The brother of the master was a swindler," they deliberately referred to him as "brother" instead of saying "Jacob the swindler." Their intent was to make Jacob's trickery appear to have been greater than it was. They referred, for instance, to the time Jacob introduced himself to Rachel as the brother of her father, (the swindler), something which Rashi justifies as Jacob telling Rachel not to worry, that he, Jacob, would be able to cope with devious Laban (Genesis 29,12). Whereas the Romans could see Jacob's trickery as justified in the case of Laban, since Laban had been the first one to use trickery, this could not be said in the case of their Master Esau, who had never tried to cheat Jacob. Jacob cheated Esau out of his birthright as well as out of his blessing; because of this they emphasized that Jacob was both a swindler and a forger.

This fact also explains why the Torah does not commence אלקים ברא בראשית, as this would not have conveyed the idea that He created the ראשית. As far as G–d is concerned, He created something that is not tangible, and that is why the legal rules that apply to tangible property do not apply to Him, and it is perfectly legal for G–d to retain the right of disposal of any part of his Creation. There is no such thing as an absolute ownership of something by any of His creatures. An earthly king is in the habit of announcing plans of what he is going to accomplish etc, before setting out to do so. In other words, he allows his fame to precede him. Not so G–d. He performed first, and only afterwards do we hear who it is that performed all these mighty works. When we read in Deut. 32,4: הצור תמים פעלו וכל דרכיו משפט, "The Rock!-His deeds are perfect, Yea, all His ways are just,” this description is true because He created the "beginning." This is what Rabbi Shimon ben Azzai meant when he said that from the report of the Creation in the Torah we get an idea of G–d's "modesty,” seeing the Torah commences with the letter ב instead of א. (Modesty is mentioned in Psalms 18,36: וענותך תרבני.)