In the Balance - Psalm 62

Robert Alter:

1) For the lead player, on Jeduthun, a David Psalm

2) Only in God is my being quiet. / From Him is my rescue.

3) Only He is my rock and my rescue. / I shall not stumble at all. [fortress]

4) How long will you demolish a man - commit murder, each one of you - / like a leaning wall, / a shaky fence?

5) Only from His high place they schemed to shake him. / They took pleasure in lies. / With their mouths they blessed / and inwardly cursed. / Selah

6) Only in God be quiet, my being, / for from Him is my hope.

7) Only He is my rock and my rescue, / my fortress - I shall not stumble.

8) From God is my rescue and glory, / my strength's rock and my shelter in God.

9) Trust in Him at all times, O people. / Pour out your hearts before Him. / God is our shelter. - Selah

10) Only great - humankind, / the sons of man are a lie. / On the scales all together / they weigh less than a breath.

11) Do not trust in oppression / and of theft have no illusions. /Though it bear fruit of wealth, / set your heart not upon it.

12) One thing God has spoken, / two things I have heard: / that strength is but God's, /

13) and Yours, Master, is kindness. / For you requite a man by his deeds.

(1) For the leader; on Jeduthun. A psalm of David. (2) Truly my soul waits quietly for God; my deliverance comes from God. (3) Truly God is my rock and deliverance, my haven; I shall never be shaken. (4) How long will all of you attack a person, to crush them, as though they were a leaning wall, a tottering fence? (5) They lay plans to topple them from their rank; they delight in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, while inwardly they curse. Selah. (6) Truly, wait quietly for God, O my soul, for my hope comes from God. (7) God is my rock and deliverance, my haven; I shall not be shaken. (8) I rely on God, my deliverance and glory, my rock of strength; in God is my refuge. (9) Trust in God at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before God; God is our refuge. Selah. (10) People are mere breath; mortals, illusion; placed on a scale all together, they weigh even less than a breath. (11) Do not trust in violence, or put false hopes in robbery; if force bears fruit pay it no mind. (12) One thing God has spoken; two things have I heard: that might belongs to God, (13) and faithfulness is Yours, O Lord, to reward each person according to their deeds.

All love that depends on a something, [when the] thing ceases, [the] love ceases; and [all love] that does not depend on anything, will never cease. What is an example of love that depended on a something? Such was the love of Amnon for Tamar. And what is an example of love that did not depend on anything? Such was the love of David and Jonathan.

were they to be put on a scale If they came to go up on a scale, they and their vanities would be equal. This is the simple meaning, but midrashically, it is interpreted as concerning couples (Lev. Rabbah 29:8).

(18) God יהוה said, “It is not good for the Human to be alone; I will make a fitting counterpart for him.”

§ Apropos the discussion with regard to the mitzva to have children, the Gemara cites statements about marriage in general. Rabbi Tanḥum said that Rabbi Ḥanilai said: Any man who does not have a wife is left without joy, without blessing, without goodness. He proceeds to quote verses to support each part of his statement. He is without joy, as it is written: “And you shall rejoice, you and your household” (Deuteronomy 14:26), which indicates that a man is in a joyful state only when he is with his household, i.e., his wife. He is without blessing, as it is written: “To cause a blessing to rest in your house” (Ezekiel 44:30), which indicates that blessing comes through one’s house, i.e., one’s wife. He is without goodness, as it is written: “It is not good that man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18), i.e., without a wife.

(27) And God created humankind in the divine image,creating it in the image of God—creating them male and female.

זכר ונקבה ברא אותם MALE AND FEMALE CREATED HE THEM — And further on (Genesis 2:21) it is said: “and He took one of his ribs etc.” (The two passages appear to be contradictory.) But according to a Midrashic explanation, He created him at first with two faces, and afterwards He divided him. But the real sense of the verse is: here it tells you that both of them were created on the sixth day, but it does not explain to you how their creation took place; this it explains to you in another place (Genesis Rabbah 8:1 and see Eruvin 18a) .

בצלם אלוקים, when the word אלוקים appears as a description, i.e. in the nature of an adjective, it refers to creatures who are spiritual in their essence, not just that they possess spiritual potential. Such beings are devoid of such physical matter, are totally disembodied. This is what makes them basically infinite. This is the reason why such an adjective, attribute, is applied to G’d as well as to His angels. The term is also used in connection with judges, i.e. describing the predominating intellectual function they must perform if their decisions are to reflect true justice. Whereas it is an undisputed fact that the human intellect operates without direct dependence on any part of the body, that it does not age along with the remainder of the body it inhabits, but, on the contrary, sometimes improves while the body ages and becomes barely able to sustain the soul which inhabits it, and while it is also a fact that exercise of the intellect does not result in fatigue, etc, it is still not called אלוקים, something divine, but only צלם אלוקים, “something which mirrors something divine.” Until this intellect has acquired חכמה, i.e. a reverence for G’d and love for Him, its Creator, it is completely imperfect. It follows that it is man’s task to perfect his G’d given intelligence by acquiring the knowledge and insights which can be provided only by the study of Torah and by the practice of the laws of the Torah. If man, i.e. religiously atheistic intellectuals, do not use their intellect in the manner G’d meant for them to use it, it actually becomes a negative asset, a hindrance, so that in the end it turns out to be completely vain, as pointed out in Psalms 49,21 אדם ביקר ולא יבין נמשל כבהמות ידמו, “if man does not understand the divine gift his intellect represents he is comparable to the beasts which perish.” This entire lesson is condensed in the two words בצלם אלוקים.

(21) So God יהוה cast a deep sleep upon the Human; and, while he slept, [God] took one of his sides*sides Heb. ṣela‘ot, trad. “ribs.” Cf. 1 Kings 6.34; Exod. 25.12; 26.20, 26–27, 35; 30.4. and closed up the flesh at that site. (22) And God יהוה fashioned the side that had been taken from the Human into a woman, bringing her to the Human.

One of these utterances is this: “Adam and Eve were at first created as one being, having their backs united: they were then separated, and one half was removed and brought before Adam as Eve.” The term mi-ẓal‘otav (lit. “of his ribs”) signifies “of his sides.” The meaning of the word is proved by referring to ẓel‘a, “the side” of the tabernacle (Exod. 26:20), which Onkelos renders setar (“side”), and so also mi-ẓal‘otav is rendered by him “mi-sitrohi” (of his sides). Note also how clearly it has been stated that Adam and Eve were two in some respects, and yet they remained one, according to the words, “Bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (Gen. 2:23). The unity of the two is proved by the fact that both have the same name, for she is called ishshah (woman), because she was taken out of ish (man), also by the words, “And shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh” (ii. 24). How great is the ignorance of those who do not see that all this necessarily includes some [other] idea [besides the literal meaning of the words]. This is now clear.

(33) When strangers reside with you in your land, you shall not wrong them. (34) The strangers who reside with you shall be to you as your citizens; you shall love each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I יהוה am your God.

(1) Now the Human knew*knew Heb. yada‘, often in a sexual sense. his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gained*gained Echoing the Heb. wordplay: qanithi, connected with “Cain”; lit. “created, acquired.” a person*a person Or “someone new.” Lit. “a participant whose involvement defines the depicted situation.” Unlike “man” in contemporary English, Heb. ’ish can include infants in its denotative scope, as here and in Isa. 66.13. NJPS “male child”; trad. “man.” Cf. note at Num. 30.4 and see the Dictionary under ’ish. with the help of*with the help of Or “as did”; precise force of Heb. ’et uncertain. יהוה.” (2) She then bore his brother Abel. Abel became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of the soil. (3) In the course of time, Cain brought an offering to יהוה from the fruit of the soil; (4) and Abel, for his part, brought the choicest of the firstlings of his flock. יהוה paid heed to Abel and his offering, (5) but to Cain and his offering [God] paid no heed. Cain was much distressed and his face fell. (6) And יהוה said to Cain, “Why are you distressed, And why is your face fallen? (7) *Meaning of verse uncertain. Surely, if you do right, There is uplift. But if you do not do right Sin crouches at the door; Its urge is toward you, Yet you can be its master.” (8) Cain said to his brother Abel …*… Ancient versions, including the Targum, read “Come, let us go out into the field.” and when they were in the field, Cain set upon his brother Abel and killed him. (9) יהוה said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (10) “What have you done? Hark, your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground! (11) Therefore, you shall be more cursed than the ground,*more cursed than the ground See 3.17. which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. (12) If you till the soil, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You shall become a ceaseless wanderer on earth.” (13) Cain said to יהוה, “My punishment is too great to bear! (14) Since You have banished me this day from the soil, and I must avoid Your presence and become a restless wanderer on earth—anyone who meets me may kill me!” (15) יהוה said to him, “I promise, if anyone kills Cain, sevenfold vengeance shall be exacted.” And יהוה put a mark on Cain, lest anyone who met him should kill him. ... (26) And to Seth, in turn, a son was born, and he named him Enosh. It was then that יהוה began to be invoked by name.

(2) Utter futility!—said Koheleth—Utter futility! All is futile!

Vanity of. הֲבֵל is punctuated with a chataph patach, because it is in the construct state; i.e., the vanity of the vanities. Seven vanities [are mentioned], corresponding to the seven days of creation.

"Vanity of vanities! All is vain! What is the end of man with all his toil under the sun? Generations go, generations come, and the earth-development marches ever to a hidden future; Here rises fortune's sun, there it sinks, e'en while rising, and to its place of setting its course is turned; Rises to midday strength — turns to midnight gloom — Thus circles the day, and in its circling turns again to its beginning. All nation-streams rush to the sea of death, but the sea is not filled; to the spot where the streams are born. They return again to follow anew. All words are powerless, man can not speak, The eyes can not see enough, the ear not fully hear; What was is what shall be, what was produced is what shall be produced; All new is nought under the sun. If thou speakest, "behold, this is new!" verily, in the ages of the past, it came into being. There is no remembrance of the former ones, Forsooth, of the latest there will be no remembrance. Would I devote my heart to search

(8) They heard the sound of God יהוה moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day; and the Human and his wife hid from God יהוה among the trees of the garden.

(20) [God] said: I will hide My countenance from them,And see how they fare in the end.For they are a treacherous breed,Children with no loyalty in them.