Close To Torah

In life we are granted freewill. Some people choose wisely and follow the path of Hashem by making for themselves a life of truth and spirituality. Others choose the path of rebellion by turning their backs to truth and against Hashem. This psalm paints the stark contrast between the true servant of Hashem versus the one who defies Him. Whereas David proclaims himself to be a dedicated “eved Hashem, servant of God,” he is up against the greatest villain of all times, the Yetzer Harah, evil inclination, which is discussed in this psalm (Radak). Other commentaries state that the villain discussed here is Goliath. What is the deeper meaning?

David Versus Goliath

The name Goliath itself has come to signify something large, insurmountable and mammoth. Indeed, the Jews were challenged by Goliath who was the leader of the Philistim army which had begun to defeat them (see I Samuel, Chapter 17). The Jews were terrified for their lives and were terribly intimidated by Goliath. David arrived on the scene and saw the powerful Goliath standing strong and armed with every modern weapon known to them at the time. David thought to himself, “who can overcome this man? But when David heard Goliath blaspheming Hashem, he said, “now I can defeat him for he has no fear of Heaven (Midrash Socher Tov on this psalm, verse 2).” David went and with the help of Hashem he killed Goliath with a precise shot that penetrated Goliath’s only weak spot. David saved the Jewish nation. How was David so sure that he would win?

Old Battle

Chazal tell us that Dovid and Goliath were descendants of Rus and Arpah respectively. The battle that they waged was a continuation of those two women’s departure from one another. Rus chose a life of truth and grasped onto her mother-in-law Naomi whereas Arpah returned back to Moav to live a decadent life of perversion. Rus converted to Judaism, married Boaz and became the mother of Oved, who begot Yishai who had King David. Her life was one of dedication to Hashem and she was greatly rewarded. Arpah acted inappropriately when she turned home and became the mother of many illegitimate children including Goliath. When David took on Goliath this was a manifestation of good versus evil, or truth versus falsehood. Truth had to prevail.

Ongoing Battle

Chazal say (Sotah 42b) that when Goliath announced his threats and curses against God and the Jews he did so in a way that the Jews would hear him at a very specific time. He carried it out every morning and evening at the exact time that the Jews recited the Shema of the morning and evening for forty days straight. Just as Moshe accepted the Torah by going up to Sinai for forty days, so too Goliath’s goal was to undermine that very Torah and to pull the Jews away from their service of Hashem. Just as the Yetzer Harah, so too Goliath wished to undermine the service of Hashem. David showed that when one dedicated himself to Hashem and to live a life of truth nothing can stand in his way.

 Print

Categories: Uncategorized Tags: