1 לַמְנַצֵּחַ בִּנְגִינוֹת מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד׃
How did our Sages
look at Psalms? What caught their eyes? What message were they trying to convey
through their interpretation? The question I'm asking is, after analyzing the
poetry based often on what we see, I would like to know how it was seen
thousands of years ago, by Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai, Rabbi Joshua
ben Levi, and others. I would like to analyze psalm four from the perspective
of different midrashic viewpoints, in order to emerge with a spectrum of
midrashic insights and approaches.
Psalm 4
1 For the
(menatze'ach) leader, with instrumental music. A psalm of David.
2 When I call,
answer me, O God my vindicator! You freed me from distress; have mercy on me
and hear my prayer.
3 You men, how
long will my glory be mocked, will you love illusions, have recourse to frauds?
4 Know that the
Lord singles out the faithful for Himself; the Lord will hear when I call to
Him.
5 Tremble and sin
no more, ponder it on your bed and sigh.
6 Offer sacrifices
in righteousness and trust in the Lord.
7 Many say
"Oh, for good days," lift up the light of your countenance Oh Lord.
8 You put joy in
my heart when their grain and wine show increase.
9 Safe and sound,
I lie down and sleep, for You alone, Oh Lord, keep me secure.
Verse 1. “La-menatze'ach”
La-menatzeach is a
title whose meaning is uncertain to us. On the one hand it alludes to some kind
of conductor, on the other the root comes from the Hebrew NTZCH meaning to
conquer. The first midrash found in the Talmud (Pesachim 119a) is as follows:
Rav Kahana said in the name of Rav Yishmael: what is the meaning of the
phrase La-menatze'ach, give praise to the One who is beaten( - conquered -
won), and is [nevertheless] happy. Come and learn that the attributes of God
are different than those of man. When man is beaten he is sad; not so the Lord
who, when beaten, is happy, as it says, (Psalms 106:23) "He would have
destroyed them (the children of Israel) had not Moses His chosen one confronted
Him in the breach to avert His destructive wrath.
This is a classic
midrash. By this I mean that the motivation for the author's interpretation
stems from uncertainty concerning the meaning of a word. The Torah is the
source of the Hebrew language. What do you do when a word in Hebrew cannot be
adequately defined? We could accept that the definition of the word
"La-menatze'ach" revolves around some kind of musical concept[1].
In fact, many words in Tehillim express some kind of musical content. Selah,
Mizmor, Maskil, and others appear throughout David's work, hinting to us that
an important dimension - the musical one - is often missing from our purview.
The author of the
midrash does not relate to the musical aspect of the word, but chooses to focus
on its root. Moreover, the root word of NTZCH in the Bible does not refer to
conquest but rather to eternity. Somewhere along the line the meaning of the
word changed from eternity to victory[2].
The author then takes his modern day meaning of NTZCH, and inserts it into the
words of King David who lived over a thousand years before. In addition to
this, the interpretation given is a radical one--God is beaten, which sounds
blasphemous. God enjoys being beaten sounds all the more uncomfortable.
Clearly the author of the midrash was
intending to be homiletic in his interpretation, teaching us a lesson about how
God's mercy transcends our ability to comprehend. But the freedom with which
this interpretation is offered reflects an attitude that the authors of the
midrash had, and we might conjecture that their audience understood it as well.
Perhaps precisely because the readers of the midrash were attuned to the
homiletic usage, they were able to use their interpretive tools so effectively.
Why is it so
effective? Because only through exaggerated almost inconceivable notions can we
explain a phenomenon relating to God. God is so compassionate that ... or He is
as compassionate as ... What modifiers can we insert in there to emphasize an
idea that transcends our humanness? The answer involves supplying some radical
metaphysical reading which forces us to concede our limited faculties and
search for an answer in the stars.
A second point to
ponder is the inherent relationship between God and His people which is
developed throughout the midrashic literature. One senses that this theological
impossibility of God being overpowered only can take place when the reason for
His surrender is His beloved people. Moses rises to the occasion when God is on
the verge of judgement (destruction) and pleads, thereby forcing God's will.
Such is the power of the righteous individuals before whom God willingly
yields.
Verse 2.
"When I call answer me."
In the Hebrew we
are uncertain if David is asking God to answer him , or if he is telling God
that "when I call You I am answered right away." One way it is a
request (and a rather daring one), the other way it is a testament of praise
and thanks. The midrash in Devarim Raba chapter two has David arguing his case
before the Lord saying:
"When the
nations of the world come before You to pray, You should not heed their
requests for they are insincere. Instead, send them to their gods and they will
not be answered. When the children of Israel call You, however, respond hastily
and answer our prayers, as it says "when I call You, answer me Oh God my
vindicator." Replies God, "by your word, I swear that even before you
call I will answer you, as it says (Isaiah 65:24) "before you call I shall
answer" for I have no other nation except for you ..."
Once again working
with an ambiguity in the text, the author of this midrash reveals the beauty of
the verse by creating a court-style discussion of David before God. Judaism
often pictures God as the judge with his solicitors, the defense attorneys,
etc. Here, the premise of the midrash is most powerful, and it is the dual
interpretation of a prayer or a statement which allows for a dialogue to exist
within the two possibilities. According to one reading, David asks for an
immediate response from God, in the other reading, he declares it.
The midrashic mind asks us to imagine the
middle ground between the request and the declaration. When the children of
Israel are worthy, the Lord answers their prayers even before they ask.
A time will come when the connection between the people and the Lord will be so
strong that the delineation between wanting something and asking from God and
having Him grant it, will become blurred, and the response will come before the
request.
The courthouse motif is used to highlight the
relationship between God and the Jews, but also to stress the Jews' connection
to God in contrast to their surrounding neighbors, the pagans. At the time of
the midrashic literature, paganism was rampant, sectarianism was on the rise
and it seemed that monotheism was losing the battle. Thus, the midrash
emphasizes the uniqueness of the Jewish people who call to God exclusively and
who will be answered as opposed to the non-Jewish nations who call to God only
to hedge their bets, since they pray to a multitude of other gods as well.
Their prayers will go unheeded. In this circumstance, the midrash consoles,
comforts and offers hope.
Verse 5. “Tremble
and sin no more…”
The midrash becomes legal (halacha) when a
specific juridical act is learned from these words. In Talmud Berakhot 4b we
find this statement:
"Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said, even though one has recited the evening
prayer of keriat Shema (Mishna Berakhot 1:1) it is a mitzvah to recite it again
at nighttime. Rabbi Yose said, what verse teaches this law to us? Tremble and
sin no more…."
A glimpse at the
wealth of midrashim on this short psalm gives us a sense of the magnitude of
the rabbinic mind. Indeed, two thousand years ago, without television, without
any of the distractions of modern day existence, a talmid chakham or scholar,
sat all day and pondered the word of God. He became a sage due to the complete
devotion of his life to the purpose of fulfilling God's will.
We have seen a
selection of classic midrashim: a radical reading, a typical drama, a legal
extrapolation. There are many more types which we can find on this psalm or on
many other biblical verses. We might have thought that the words of the ancient
rabbis are conservative and archaic compared to our modern senses and liberal
interpretations; in fact, the opposite is true. The authors of the midrash were
intent on catching our eyes and sparking an idea, sometimes a radical one. They
did not fear a backlash, because they aimed the most effective way of
communicating and elevating the word of God. Let us have the strength to follow
in their footsteps.
[1] See Ibn
Ezra Psalms 4:1
[2] A gradual and understandable
development; Israel is eternal through continuous victories over their
enemies...
