Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Mga Awit 150:5

In this verse Solomon taught us both ethics and manners. On the one hand, a person should endeavor to acquire friends and strive to socialize with them. On occasion he should take his leave before he becomes a burden or intrusion to his friends. It appears that both here as well as elsewhere Solomon counsels us to exercise one’s discretion, to walk the middle path between seclusion and imposing one’s presence on one’s friends all the time.
When friends and companions meet at a central location such meetings are apt to increase mutual friendship and comradeship. This is why Solomon writes in Proverbs 18,24: ”a man who has friends must himself be friendly, some friends cling to one another more than a brother.” Basically, what Solomon is saying is that if someone has the attribute of winning friends, this is proof that he is of a friendly disposition himself. The meaning of the word להתרועע in that verse is “to be praiseworthy.” The word is connected to בצלצלי תרועה, (Psalms 150,5) “cymbals” being two matching instruments. It is presumed that if one is seen to have friends, other people will search out the company of such a person. He is likely to possess two positive virtues: 1) humility, (seeing that people to not flock to keep company with the haughty, the arrogant but they flee the company of such people). 2) He is not shy of contact with other people. When one possesses these two positive attributes one is saved from two major problems which are usually associated with both poverty and material wealth. The poor usually speak in a beseeching manner, whereas the rich usually respond in a harsh manner (Proverbs 18,23). A poor person has reason to be afraid of society, of people; he does not like to have to flatter people because he needs to rely on their goodwill. The damage which results from being materially wealthy is that one tends to brag about one’s wealth. When Solomon wrote the verse we just quoted he actually downgraded both the possession of too much wealth and the lack of sufficient economic means. Both are not character-building but tend to be character-destructive. This is not the only time Solomon has voiced such ideas. We find a similar verse in Proverbs 30,8: “give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with bread allotted to me.” He explains the reason for his request saying: “lest I become so sated that I renounce You and say: ‘who is the Lord?’ then I would become impoverished and steal and profane the name of the Lord.” We find similar sentiments expressed by a famous scholar who said: “excess of material wealth is just as damaging to a person as excess blood.” The meaning of the earlier verse is that the poor man is in the habit of speaking beseechingly as he is in fear of people, lacking self-confidence; the rich man, however, will become pro- gressively more arrogant as his “so called” friends by appearing to agree with him, flattering him, reinforce his own self-esteem. This is why Solomon added immediately: (Proverbs 18,24) “a man who has friends must be friendly;” he is saved from both dangers. 1) The fact that he has friends means he has no need to be afraid of people and does not have to speak beseechingly; 2) the fact that he is of a friendly disposition saves him from becoming arrogant.

his ears will tingle (tinter in French), an expression similar to “cymbals” (מְצִלְתַּיִם) (Neh. 12: 27), “with loud sounding cymbals (בְּצִלְצְלֵי ֹשָמַע)” (Psalms 150:5).

with cymbals Heb. בַּמְצִלְתַּיִם, like (Ps. 150:9): “with loud sounding cymbals (בְּצִלְצְלֵי שָּׁמַע).” They are musical instruments.