Psalm 92 — Are We All Buffoons and Fools?
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SharePsalm 92 is one of the easiest Psalms to understand in terms of vocabulary and language, but one of the hardest in terms of content. It starts off simple enough praising Gd for creation. But then it says "A buffoon doesn't know and a fool cannot comprehend when evil flourishes..." Seemingly, the Psalm is saying that it is only the fool who doesn't know, but we see evildoers end in destruction, while the righteous flourish in peace. Except we don't see that at all. Is the message here so simplistic and wrong?
(א) מִזְמ֥וֹר שִׁ֗יר לְי֣וֹם הַשַּׁבָּֽת׃ (ב) ט֗וֹב לְהֹד֥וֹת לַיהֹוָ֑ה וּלְזַמֵּ֖ר לְשִׁמְךָ֣ עֶלְיֽוֹן׃ (ג) לְהַגִּ֣יד בַּבֹּ֣קֶר חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ וֶ֝אֱמ֥וּנָתְךָ֗ בַּלֵּילֽוֹת׃ (ד) עֲֽלֵי־עָ֭שׂוֹר וַעֲלֵי־נָ֑בֶל עֲלֵ֖י הִגָּי֣וֹן בְּכִנּֽוֹר׃ (ה) כִּ֤י שִׂמַּחְתַּ֣נִי יְהֹוָ֣ה בְּפׇעֳלֶ֑ךָ בְּֽמַעֲשֵׂ֖י יָדֶ֣יךָ אֲרַנֵּֽן׃ (ו) מַה־גָּדְל֣וּ מַעֲשֶׂ֣יךָ יְהֹוָ֑ה מְ֝אֹ֗ד עָמְק֥וּ מַחְשְׁבֹתֶֽיךָ׃ (ז) אִֽישׁ־בַּ֭עַר לֹ֣א יֵדָ֑ע וּ֝כְסִ֗יל לֹא־יָבִ֥ין אֶת־זֹֽאת׃ (ח) בִּפְרֹ֤חַ רְשָׁעִ֨ים ׀ כְּמ֥וֹ־עֵ֗שֶׂב וַ֭יָּצִיצוּ כׇּל־פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן לְהִשָּׁמְדָ֥ם עֲדֵי־עַֽד׃ (ט) וְאַתָּ֥ה מָר֗וֹם לְעֹלָ֥ם יְהֹוָֽה׃ (י) כִּ֤י הִנֵּ֪ה אֹיְבֶ֡יךָ יְֽהֹוָ֗ה כִּֽי־הִנֵּ֣ה אֹיְבֶ֣יךָ יֹאבֵ֑דוּ יִ֝תְפָּרְד֗וּ כׇּל־פֹּ֥עֲלֵי אָֽוֶן׃ (יא) וַתָּ֣רֶם כִּרְאֵ֣ים קַרְנִ֑י בַּ֝לֹּתִ֗י בְּשֶׁ֣מֶן רַעֲנָֽן׃ (יב) וַתַּבֵּ֥ט עֵינִ֗י בְּשׁ֫וּרָ֥י בַּקָּמִ֖ים עָלַ֥י מְרֵעִ֗ים תִּשְׁמַ֥עְנָה אׇזְנָֽי׃ (יג) צַ֭דִּיק כַּתָּמָ֣ר יִפְרָ֑ח כְּאֶ֖רֶז בַּלְּבָנ֣וֹן יִשְׂגֶּֽה׃ (יד) שְׁ֭תוּלִים בְּבֵ֣ית יְהֹוָ֑ה בְּחַצְר֖וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣ינוּ יַפְרִֽיחוּ׃ (טו) ע֭וֹד יְנוּב֣וּן בְּשֵׂיבָ֑ה דְּשֵׁנִ֖ים וְֽרַעֲנַנִּ֣ים יִהְיֽוּ׃ (טז) לְ֭הַגִּיד כִּֽי־יָשָׁ֣ר יְהֹוָ֑ה צ֝וּרִ֗י וְֽלֹא־[עַוְלָ֥תָה] (עלתה) בּֽוֹ׃ {פ}
(1) A psalm. A song; for the sabbath day. (2) It is good to praise the LORD, to sing hymns to Your name, O Most High, (3) To proclaim Your steadfast love at daybreak, Your faithfulness each night (4) With a ten-stringed harp, with voice and lyre together. (5) You have gladdened me by Your deeds, O LORD; I shout for joy at Your handiwork. (6) How great are Your works, O LORD, how very subtle Or “profound.” Your designs! (7) A brutish man cannot know, a fool cannot understand this: (8) though the wicked sprout like grass, though all evildoers blossom, it is only that they may be destroyed forever. (9) But You are exalted, O LORD, for all time. (10) Surely, Your enemies, O LORD, surely, Your enemies perish; all evildoers are scattered. (11) You raise my horn high like that of a wild ox; I am soaked in freshening oil. (12) I shall see the defeat of my watchful foes, hear of the downfall of the wicked who beset me. (13) The righteous bloom like a date-palm; they thrive like a cedar in Lebanon; (14) planted in the house of the LORD, they flourish in the courts of our God. (15) In old age they still produce fruit; they are full of sap and freshness, (16) attesting that the LORD is upright, my rock, in whom there is no wrong.
(א) מזמור שיר. של לוים (נביאים): (ב) ליום השבת. שאומרי' אותו בשבתות והוא מדבר בענין העולם הבא שכולו שבת: (א) להגיד בבקר חסדך. בעת הגאולה: (ב) ואמונתך בלילות. ובעוד צרת הגלות להאמין בך שתשמור הבטחתך כל זה נאה וטוב:
(1) A song with musical accompaniment of the Levites. (2) for the Sabbath day that they would recite on Sabbaths, and it deals with the world to come, which is entirely Sabbath. (1) To declare in the morning Your kindness At the time of the Redemption. (2) and Your faith at night And during the distress of the exile, to believe in You that You will keep Your promise, all this is splendid and good.
(א) איש בער לא ידע. את האמור למטה: (א) בפרח רשעים כמו עשב. אינם יודעי' שהפרחת' אינה אלא להשמידם עדי עד שמשלם לשונאיו על פניהם להאבידם:
(1) A boorish man does not know What is stated below. (1) When the wicked flourish like grass they do not know that their flourishing is only to destroy them to eternity, for He recompenses His enemies to their face to destroy them.
רדק על תהלים צב ז-ח גרסת מקראות גדולות הכתראיש בער - זה הפסוק קשור למעלה ממנו או למטה ממנו. למעלה פירושו כך: סמך למה שאמר "עמקו מחשבותיך" (לעיל , ו); אמר: כל איש - בער וכסיל הוא, שלא ידע ולהיבין זאת - מה שאמר, לדעת פעלך. ואם למטה ממנו , יתפרש כך: איש בער לא ידע - "בפרוח רשעים כמו עשב" (להלן , ח) , כלומר , שיצליחו בעולם הזה; אבל החכמים ידעו , כי "להשמדם עדי עד" (שם) , כלומר , שלא יהיה להם חלק לעולם הבא , שהוא "עדי עד". וההצלחה הוא שְכַר מעט מעשים טובים שעשו בעולם הזה: משלם להם האל שכרם בעולם הזה , כדי שיאבדו בעולם הבא בשכר מעשיהם הרעים , שהם רבים; וכן אמר משה רבינו עליו השלום: "ומשלם לשונאיו אל פניו להאבידו" (דב' ז , י).
ויש לפרשו גם כן שיהיה דבק למטה ופירושו כטעם הראשון , שכל איש - בער וכסיל לָדַעַת הצלחת הרשעים בעולם הזה וצרת הצדיקים בעולם הזה; כי אעפ"י שאמר "להשמידם עדי עד"(להלן , ח) , ואמר משה רבינו "להאבידו" (דב' ז , י) , עוד נשארו שאלות קשות בזה הענין. ורבותינו ז"ל אמרו (ראה ברכות ז , א), כי גם משה רבינו לא ידעם; ואמרו: שלש שאלות שאל משה רבינו להקדוש ברוך הוא , שתים נתן לו ואחת לא נתן לו; וזאת היא שלא נתן לו: מפני מה צדיק וטוב לו , צדיק ורע לו? רשע וטוב לו , רשע ורע לו? אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא: "וחנותי את אשר אחון" (שמ' לג , יט) - אע"פ שאינו הגון; "ורחמתי את אשר ארחם" (שם) - אע"פ שאינו הגון. וזהו ממעשי האל שאמר עליהם: "מה גדלו" ,מה "עמקו" (לעיל , ו).
Radak on Verses 7 and 8A Boorish Man This verse is is possibly connected to the previous verse or possibly to the one after it. If connected to the verse above, then the interpretation is thusly: Connecting to what was just said How deep are your thoughts, all people are too foolish and silly to comprehend or understand Your ways. But if the verse is connected to what is below, then the meaning is A boorish man doesn't know why the wicked sprout like grass, which is to say he doesn't know why the wicked are successful in this world. But the wise people do know this. For the success of the wicked is only in order to destroy them for all time, which is to say to deny them any portion of the World to Come. That success now is only the reward for the tiny amount of merits they acquired in This World. For Gd doles out that reward in This World in order to wipe them out in the World to Come, when they are given recompense for all their many bad ways. This is what Moses Our Teacher said "Who pays to His Enemies to their face to destroy them".But there are there are those who say that the verse "A boorish does not know" is indeed connected to verse below it: "When the wicked sprout like grass", but nonetheless, the meaning is like the first interpretation, that all people are ignorant and foolish when it comes to understanding the success of the wicked in This World, and the troubles of the righteous in This World. For even though it say "To wipe them out forever" and even though Moses Our Teacher said "To destroy them", nonetheless difficult questions remain on this topic. Our Sages tell us that even Our Teacher Moses did not understand the reasons. "Three things Moses asked The Holy One, Blessed is He, and he was granted the answers to two, but this is the question he was not given the answer to, 'Why is it that sometimes a righteous man given is good, but sometimes a righteous man is given bad? Yet sometimes a wicked man is given good, and sometimes a wicked man is given bad?' Gd replied "I will favor whom I favor (Exodus 32) - even when he is not worthy. I will have mercy upon whom I have mercy - even when he is not worthy." (See Bavli Berachot 7) Such are the ways of Gd, which are too great and deep.
Erich Zeisl — Letter to Josef Fredenthal about Requiem Ebraico"I wrote this piece dedicated to the memory of my loving father and the other countless victims of the Jewish tragedy in Europe. . . . [W]ith a heart full of tears [Jews] hold on to God and do not cease to thank Him and do not cease to hope. This is the message and the consolation which I found in the 92nd Psalm. . . I conceived the work as a requiem and it was generally accepted and liked that way. The Jews need a requiem, so let's try to give it to them. . . I wrote it from my heart and therefore it will find its way to their hearts."
אִילּוּ נֶאֱמַר אֶרֶז וְלֹא נֶאֱמַר תָּמָר – הָיִיתִי אוֹמֵר: מָה אֶרֶז אֵין עוֹשֶׂה פֵּירוֹת, אַף צַדִּיק אֵין עוֹשֶׂה פֵּירוֹת; לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר תָּמָר. וְאִם נֶאֱמַר תָּמָר וְלֹא נֶאֱמַר אֶרֶז, הָיִיתִי אוֹמֵר: מָה תָּמָר אֵין גִּזְעוֹ מַחְלִיף, אַף צַדִּיק אֵין גִּזְעוֹ מַחְלִיף; לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר אֶרֶז! אֶלָּא הָכָא בְּמַאי עָסְקִינַן – בִּשְׁאָר מִינֵי אֲרָזִים, כִּדְרַבָּה בַּר רַב הוּנָא; דְּאָמַר רַבָּה בַּר רַב הוּנָא, אָמְרִי בֵּי רַב: עֲשָׂרָה מִינֵי אֲרָזִים הֵן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״אֶתֵּן בַּמִּדְבָּר אֶרֶז, שִׁטָּה, וַהֲדַס; וְעֵץ שָׁמֶן אָשִׂים וְגוֹ׳״. ״אֶרֶז״ – אַרְזָא. ״שִׁיטָּה״ – תּוּרְנִיתָא. ״הֲדַס״ – אַסָּא. ״עֵץ שֶׁמֶן״ – אֲפַרְסְמָא. ״בְּרוֹשׁ״ – בְּרָתֵי. ״תִּדְהָר״ – שָׁאגָא. ״וּתְאַשּׁוּר״ – שׁוּרְבִּינָא.
Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Lulyani explains: Had the verse stated only “cedar” and had not stated “palm tree,” I would have said that just as a cedar does not produce fruit, so too, a righteous person does not produce fruit, i.e., he will have no reward in the World-to-Come. Therefore, it is stated: “Palm tree,” which is a fruit-bearing tree. And had the verse stated only “palm tree” and had not stated “cedar,” I would have said that just as with regard to a palm tree its trunk does not replenish itself after being cut down, so too, in the case of a righteous person, his trunk does not replenish itself, i.e., he will be unable to recover from misfortune. Therefore, it is stated: “Cedar,” to indicate that just as the trunk of the cedar replenishes itself, so too, the righteous will thrive again. This demonstrates that the trunk of a cedar does grow again. The Gemara answers: Rather, with what are we are dealing here? We are dealing with other types of cedars, as the trunks of certain species do not grow back after the tree is felled. This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabba bar Rav Huna. As Rabba bar Rav Huna says that they say in the school of Rav: There are ten types of cedars; as it is stated: “I will place in the wilderness the cedar [erez], the acacia tree [shitta], and the myrtle [hadas] and the pine tree [etz shemen]; I will set in the desert the juniper [berosh], the teak [tidhar], and the cypress [te’ashur] all together” (Isaiah 41:19). The Gemara elaborates: Erez means cedar; shitta means acacia tree [tornita]; hadas is the myrtle; etz shemen is the balsam tree; berosh means juniper [berati]; tidhar is the teak [shaga]; and te’ashur is the cypress [shurbina].
רציפות מזמורי צב, צג, צד — אברהם יעקב ברור
The Interconnection Between Psalms 92, 93, 94Abraham Jacob Brawer
(ז) וַ֭יֹּ֣אמְרוּ לֹ֣א יִרְאֶה־יָּ֑הּ וְלֹא־יָ֝בִ֗ין אֱלֹהֵ֥י יַעֲקֹֽב׃ (ח) בִּ֭ינוּ בֹּעֲרִ֣ים בָּעָ֑ם וּ֝כְסִילִ֗ים מָתַ֥י תַּשְׂכִּֽילוּ׃ (ט) הֲנֹ֣טַֽע אֹ֭זֶן הֲלֹ֣א יִשְׁמָ֑ע אִֽם־יֹ֥צֵֽר עַ֝֗יִן הֲלֹ֣א יַבִּֽיט׃
(7) thinking, “The LORD does not see it,the God of Jacob does not pay heed.” (8) Take heed, you most brutish people;fools, when will you get wisdom? (9) Shall He who implants the ear not hear,He who forms the eye not see?
(א) כי הנה אויביך - פעמים כי שמע המשכיל מה שקרה לרשעים, גם ראה כן בימיו פעמים רבות, כי אויבי השם סופם לאבדון.
The language is doubled. For the discerning person understands what happens to the wicked. He even sees that happens many times in his lifetime. Because all enemies of Gd will ultimately end in desolation.
(א) עוד - והזקנים מהם שגבר עליהם היבושת עבודת השם תדשנם, כדרך: ולא נס לחה.
But those who become elderly, when age would overcome them, they are invigorated through the Worship of Gd, as (with Moses) "His vigor never left him".