Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Mga Awit 147:20

From the beginning of the Book of Proverbs up until here Solomon made it his business to admonish foolish people and adolescents. In fact, he announced his purpose at the very beginning of the Book when he said (1,4) “to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.” Commencing with this verse he switches and admonishes the scholars, the ones who preside in the courts and dispense justice. This is why he said at the beginning of the verse we quoted above גם אלה, meaning that “also these parables” are meant for the wise. What does his admonition consist of? “It is not good to display partiality in judgment.” Solomon condemns partiality as a negative character trait. Why did we need Solomon to tell us this seeing that the Torah (Deut. 1,17) has already written: לא תכירו פנים במשפט, “do not show favoritism in judgment?” Solomon added an additional dimension to what the Torah had said in that the Torah did not mention a specific penalty for judges guilty of showing favoritism. Solomon adds (verse 24) “he who says to the wicked ‘you are righteous’ will be cursed by people, nations will abhor him.” If a judge convicts an innocent person the outrage of the people will be even greater, and he will likely be removed from his position as judge. Seeing that the entire Torah from בראשית until לעיני כל ישראל is inextricably tied to a system of justice Solomon said בל טוב instead of לא טוב parallel to what we say in Psalms 147,20 ומשפטים בל ידעום, “He did not acquaint them with a system of fair justice (the Gentiles).”

לפניהם, “before them.” Rashi sees in this word an exclusion of gentiles, to whom all these ordinances will not apply, even if they would adopt our system of civil law. [Presumably, he felt that otherwise that word is superfluous, as it is obvious that the laws would be addressed to the |sraelites. Ed.] Jews are not allowed to submit their litigation to a gentile court even if the rules of that court are like those of ours. Our author uses a parable to illustrate the point. Imagine that two sick persons go to a physician to have themselves examined. The physician tells one of them to eat, heartily and healthily, whereas he tells the second one to abstain from some of the very foods he had encouraged the first person to eat from heartily. The reason is that not every food is good for everyone. What is good for one patient may be very dangerous for the next patient. When the physician advised the first patient to eat heartily, the reason was that that patient was diagnosed as fatally ill, so that he might as well enjoy the time left for him on earth. The same advice to the second patient would prove very dangerous for him. The same reasoning applies to Jews and gentiles. We read in Ezekiel 20,25 concerning the gentiles that G–d had given them laws and statutes that they could not live by, whereas the laws He gave to the Israelites were designed to be for their benefit. [This verse is extremely difficult, and the reader is advised to read the commentary by Rabbi M.Eisemann in the Art Scroll edition of the Book of Ezekiel. Ed.] Rashi assumes that when the Israelites fail to observe G–d’s laws, they will eventually attribute their hardships to G–d’s laws having been harmful. We are taught in the Torah that the opposite is true. Compare Leviticus 18.5. This is also the reason why we are forbidden to eat all kinds of creeping creatures, as they are injurious to one’s health. These same creatures, if eaten by gentiles, are not harmful to them. This is also the meaning of Psalms 147,19: מגיד דבריו ליעקב, חוקיו ,” ,משפטיו לישראל. לא עשה כן לכל גוי, “He issus His commands to Yaakov, His statutes and rules to Israel; He did not do so for any other nation;” The following is a true story involving the convert Onkelos, a nephew of the Roman Emperor Hadrianus, who when wishing to convert was afraid of the wrath of his uncle the Emperor. He told his uncle that he wished to engage in business, whereupon his uncle asked him if he was short of capital, in which case he was willing to help him out. He told his uncle that he wished to travel and find out which merchandise was both in demand and easy to obtain. His uncle told him to seek out a field which was presently in a recession so that he could invest at low prices and profit when market conditions would improve. As a result, he went to the land of Israel, at that time in a deep depression commercially, and studied Torah from the scholars prior to undergoing circumcision for becoming a convert. He was told that the words of Torah would only reside within him permanently if he circumcised himself first. He followed this advice, circumcised himself and studied a great deal of Torah. When Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua saw him, they noticed that his facial features had undergone a great change. They concluded that this was not Onkelos who had studied the Torah. When he began to ask the scholars questions, they told him that this was the result. When he returned to his uncle the Emperor, the latter asked him what had brought about the change in his facial features. He told him that he had studied the Torah and had himself circumcised. Upon being asked who had advised him to do this, he said: “you have.” He explained that his uncle had told him to acquire merchandise which was in a depression and patiently wait until this merchandise would appreciate in value. He had visited many nations and not found a single one which was in such a state of depression as the Jewish nation, so that he became convinced that their fortunes would improve drastically. He quoted the prophet Isaiah 49,7 who had predicted this already more than five hundred years earlier. The Emperor slapped his face and asked him once more what had prompted him to convert to Judaism. He told him that actually, he had gone to study the Torah, but had been told that the condition for being taught Torah was that he had to be circumcised, just as Yaakov. He quoted Psalms 147,20 where it has been spelled out by the use of the word בל, that only the people of Israel had been endowed with Torah knowledge that could be retained. (Tanchuma, Mishpatim section 5)

ASK THY FATHER — “this alludes to those who understand [the events of former days], and so thine elders [and they will tell thee — for they too, understand the past]. The purport thereof is, as he stated, which the Eternal thy G-d hath allotted them etc.,³⁷Above, 4:19. since for each portion below, [i.e., each nation on earth] there is a [counterpart] portion on high. And the meaning of the expression [He set the borders of the peoples] according to the number of the children of Israel³⁸Verse 8. is that the image of Jacob is inscribed in the Throne of Glory, this being a great secret. And the proof for this is For the portion of the Eternal is His people,³⁹Verse 9. this being a great distinction which He hath not dealt so with any nation.⁴⁰Psalms 147:20. Therefore, he said, Do ye thus requite the Eternal, O foolish people and unwise?⁴¹Verse 6. — a people that has fallen from its distinction because of its foolishness. And the meaning of the expression thy Father that hath gotten thee⁴¹Verse 6. is, that He created you for His honor and taught you, as he explains, as a father does for his son.” Thus far is the language of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra. The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious.⁴²Ecclesiastes 10:12. Ramban thus gives his approbation to Ibn Ezra’s words.
If so, the meaning of Remember the days of old⁴³In Verse 7 before us. is that they apply their hearts to remember the six days of Creation, the good He did them at the time of the formation [of the nations], as he goes on to say When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance etc.³⁸Verse 8. Consider the years of many generations⁴³In Verse 7 before us. — that they contemplate in order to know what was done for them during the generations since the Divine Presence dwelled among them, as he proceeds to tell: He found him in a desert land etc.⁴⁴Verse 10.
Now, Rashi commented: “He found him in a desert land.⁴⁴Verse 10. He found them [the people of Israel] to be faithful to Him in the desert land when they accepted upon themselves His Torah, His Sovereignty, and His yoke — something that the children of Esau and Ishmael did not do. And in the waste, a howling wilderness⁴⁴Verse 10. — a land of drought and desolation, a place of the jackals’ and ostriches’ cry. Even there they continued their faith [in Him] and did not say to Moses, ‘How can we go out into the wilderness?’” But this is not the purport of the chapter, for Scripture [here] reproves Israel, mentioning the favors which G-d did for them — and they requited them [the favors] with evil instead of good.