אזמרה לאלקי בעודי

"and judge every person as meritorious:" Its subject is when there is a person whom you do not about him if he is righteous or if he is wicked and you see him doing an act or saying something and if you interpret it one way it will be good and if you interpret in another way it will be bad - [in this case,] take it to the good and do not think bad about it. But if the man is known to be famously righteous and of good deeds; and an action of his is seen that all of its aspects indicate that it is a bad deed and a person can only determine it to be good with great stretching and a distant possibility, it is fit that you take it that it is good, since there is some aspect of a possibility that it is good. And it is not permissible for you to suspect him; and about this did they say (Shabbat 97a), "The body of anyone who suspects proper ones will be struck." And so [too] when it is an evildoer and his deeds are famous, and afterwords we see him that he does a deed, all of the indications about which are that it is good but there is an aspect of a distant possibility that it is bad; it is fit to guard oneself from him and not to believe that it is good, since there is a possibility for the bad. And about this is it stated (Proverbs 26:25), (Also) "Though he be fair-spoken do not trust him, etc." But when he is not known and the deed is indeterminate towards one of the two extremes; according to the ways of piety, one must judge a person as meritorious towards whichever extreme of the two extremes [would be the case].

"Do not befriend an evildoer": in [any] type of friendship and companionship, so that you will not learn from his deeds. And we have already elucidated in the previous chapters that a man learns from the vices [found] in the company of evildoers. And he said [further] if you sin or you see that one sin, do not be confident and say that God, may He be blessed, will only punish him in the world to come; and do not despair of quick vengeance from Him for this sin.

"and judge every person as meritorious": when the matter is hanging in the balance and there is no way to decide it in this way or that way. For example, a man from whose actions we do not know if he is righteous or wicked, who preforms an act that is possible to judge favorably and possible to judge unfavorably, it is pious to judge him favorably. But it is permissible to judge a man who is established to be evil unfavorably. As they only stated (Shabbat 97), “one who suspects righteous people is afflicted on his body” - [and so] it is implied [from this] that one who suspects evildoers is not afflicted.

"Distance [yourself] from a bad neighbor": That you not learn from his actions. And also, that you should not be struck with him in his downfall, for 'woe is to the evildoer, woe is to his neighbor.'

"do not befriend an evildoer": As thus stated the sages, "Anyone who clings to evildoers - even though he does not act like them - gets retribution similar to them. To what is this matter like? To one who enters the house of a tanner - even though he doesn't take anything with him, nonetheless, he absorbed the foul smell and brings it out with him."

"and do not despair of punishment": That you should not say, "the actions of this evildoer are succeeding - I will go and cling to him, since fortune is smiling at him." Therefore, it states, "do not despair of punishment," meaning to say, know that punishment will come upon him quickly, as his calamity will come suddenly.

"and judge every person as meritorious": This is speaking about a person about whom we do not know if he is righteous or if he is evil; or if we know that he is a moderate person, sometimes doing evil and sometimes doing good. And if he does something that can make us judge him unfavorably and [also] judge him favorably in our understanding - or even if, (towards) according to what appears, it leans more towards the side of guilt - if he can judge him favorably from one aspect of the matter, he should say, "His intentions were good." But these words are not [applicable] to the completely righteous or the completely evil. As with the righteous person, even with an action that is completely evil and leans toward guilt in every aspect, we should judge him favorably and say, "'It was a mistake that came out from the hand of the ruler,' and behold he regretted and observed [it] and [already] requested forgiveness." And it is like the sages, may their memory be blessed, said (Berakhot 19a), "If you see a Torah scholar who sinned at night, do not ruminate about him during the day, lest he has repented. 'Lest' comes into your mind? But rather, I will say he certainly repented." The explanation of "'Lest' comes into your mind?" is that since he is a Torah scholar and up until now, no corrupt thing has come to his hand; he certainly repented right away. You behold [from here that] one should never judge the perfectly righteous person unfavorably. And about him there is no reason to say, "judge every person as meritorious." And he also did not speak about the completely evil person. Even if his actions are completely good and it is not evident to be concerned about him regarding an angle of iniquity, a person should judge him unfavorably and say, "He did it on the surface 'and his inside is not like his outside.'" And it is like it is stated (Proverbs 26:25), "Though he be fair-spoken do not trust him, for seven abominations are in his heart." And so [too] wrote Rambam, may his memory be blessed. And about this Shlomo stated in his wisdom (Proverbs 21:12), "The righteous one observes the house of the wicked man; he subverts the wicked to the bad." He meant to say, people think that because the righteous do not know how to do evil, [hence] they do not recognize they ways of the evil - as they do not understand those that do it. And the matter is not like this, as 'the righteous one observes the house of the wicked,' and knows and recognizes and monitors the evil of his ways more than other people who know [about it], but don't pay attention to it. "He subverts the wicked to the bad" - when the righteous person sees the action of the evildoers which appear to be in a good path, he subverts it and pushes it towards his judgment to say that he has done wrong - since he did not intend [to do] a commandment, but rather to place himself among those assumed to be good.

Nitai of Arbel says: "Distance [yourself] from a bad neighbor": He said it to renters of houses and purchasers of slaves. As when a person first asks about the house and the tightness of the place, he should ask about the neighbors - if they are evil, he should distance himself from them, and he should come close to the good ones.

"do not befriend an evildoer": As it [brings] a great punishment, which has nothing like it. Since if he transgress a great sin, he did one sin; but this one has a portion in all of the sins that the evildoer does. And it comes out that he does many great and huge sins. And [even] if his hands are tied and he does not benefit from them, woe to the evildoer and woe to his neighbor - as 'he sins and his neighbor is flogged.' As so is it explained in The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan 30:3, "Anyone who clings to evildoers - even though he does not do like their deeds - takes recompense like them; and one who clings to the righteous - even though he does not do like their deeds - takes recompense like them." And about this it is stated (II Chronicles 20:37), "“As you have made a partnership, etc., the Lord will break up your work.”

"and do not despair": He made these two things adjacent and said, "do not befriend an evildoer," because you need not despair from punishment. And do not say in your heart, "He is still standing in tranquility and times [are good] for him - I will befriend him and when his good fortune changes, I will distance myself from him." And you cannot [do this], as you will not know what [each new] day will bring, and his time will come in an instant, and you will be taken with him; when he begins to fall, he and all of his friends will fall. And also do not say, "I will show him love outwardly, but I will not love him in my heart." As it is also evil for you to flatter him, since it is a sin to flatter evildoers in this world. And about this matter Shlomo stated (Proverbs 24:21-22), "Fear the Lord, my son, and the king, and do not mix with changers. For their time comes suddenly; the doom of both, who can foreknow?" The explanation is that he made adjacent the fear of the Lord (my son, and the king) to the fear of a flesh and blood king as a metaphor relating the fear of the body [from] that which is perceived by the eye with the fear of the soul [from] that which is invisible. And he said when you see that the king hates all those who love his enemies and that he metes out bad to him, asks who is it that filled his heart to love the enemy of the king, and does to him [the same thing] that he does to his enemy; [know that] so [too] the Holy One, blessed be He, does to all those who mix with the changers - that is to say, those that change the Torah and the commandments. As [the word] 'change' here is transitive, as in (Job 29:22), "After my word, [things] were not changed." And when the changers are struck, their friends will also be collected with them - 'Should one give aid to the wicked and befriend those who hate the Lord? For this, it shall be upon you.' "As his time comes suddenly" and you will not be able to escape for your life. "And the doom of both, who can foreknow," meaning to say, the doom of the king's hater and the doom of the hater of the Holy One, blessed be He. Who knows when it will come to them, and [so] no man can be careful to befriend them and to save his [own] life.

Of David.

Do not be vexed by evil men;
do not be incensed by wrongdoers; for they soon wither like grass,
like verdure fade away. Trust in the LORD and do good,
abide in the land and remain loyal. Seek the favor of the LORD,
and He will grant you the desires of your heart. Leave all to the LORD;
trust in Him; He will do it. He will cause your vindication to shine forth like the light,
the justice of your case, like the noonday sun. Be patient and wait for the LORD,
do not be vexed by the prospering man
who carries out his schemes.
Give up anger, abandon fury,
do not be vexed;
it can only do harm. For evil men will be cut off,
but those who look to the LORD—
they shall inherit the land. A little longer and there will be no wicked man;
you will look at where he was—
he will be gone. But the lowly shall inherit the land,
and delight in abundant well-being. The wicked man schemes against the righteous,
and gnashes his teeth at him. The Lord laughs at him,
for He knows that his day will come. The wicked draw their swords, bend their bows,
to bring down the lowly and needy,
to slaughter upright men.^-b Their swords shall pierce their own hearts,
and their bows shall be broken. Better the little that the righteous man has
than the great abundance of the wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the LORD is the support of the righteous. The LORD is concerned for the needs of the blameless;
their portion lasts forever; they shall not come to grief in bad times;
in famine, they shall eat their fill. But the wicked shall perish,
and the enemies of the LORD shall be consumed,
like meadow grass consumed in smoke. The wicked man borrows and does not repay;
the righteous is generous and keeps giving. Those blessed by Him shall inherit the land,
but those cursed by Him shall be cut off. The steps of a man are made firm by the LORD,
when He delights in his way. Though he stumbles, he does not fall down,
for the LORD gives him support. I have been young and am now old,
but I have never seen a righteous man abandoned,
or his children seeking bread. He is always generous, and lends,
and his children are held blessed. Shun evil and do good,
and you shall abide forever. For the LORD loves what is right,
He does not abandon His faithful ones.
They are preserved forever,
while the children of the wicked will be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land,
and abide forever in it. The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is right. The teaching of his God is in his heart;
his feet do not slip. The wicked watches for the righteous,
seeking to put him to death; the LORD will not abandon him to his power;
He will not let him be condemned in judgment. Look to the LORD and keep to His way,
and He will raise you high that you may inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. I saw a wicked man, powerful,
well-rooted like a robust native tree. Suddenly he vanished and was gone;
I sought him, but he was not to be found. Mark the blameless, note the upright,
for there is a future for the man of integrity. But transgressors shall be utterly destroyed,
the future of the wicked shall be cut off. The deliverance of the righteous comes from the LORD,
their stronghold in time of trouble. The LORD helps them and rescues them,
rescues them from the wicked and delivers them,
for they seek refuge in Him.

Do not compete with the evildoers He reproves Israel that they should not compete with the success of the evildoers to do as their deeds, as (in Jer. 12:5): “how will you compete (תתחרה) with horses,” to run as they run, a atir in Old French, to compete.

and be nourished by faith You will eat and be sustained from the reward of [your] faith, that you believed in the Holy One, blessed be He, to rely on Him and do good.

So shall you delight in the Lord Enjoy delights by being supported by the Holy One, blessed be He.

A short while longer When you wait a little longer, you will see that the wicked man is not here.

and you shall look at his place and you shall look at the place where he was, and he is not there, because he has died and has perished.

The few of the righteous are better The few men who go to the aid of the righteous are better.

than the multitude of many wicked men Amraphel and his allies initiated a war in the world for the purpose of capturing Lot and provoking Abraham, but the few who were with Abraham succeeded and wiped out all those armies.

as long as I exist Heb. בעודי.

ויקרא אל משה AND [THE LORD] CALLED UNTO MOSES — All oral communications of the Lord to Moses whether they are introduced by דבר or by אמר or by צו were preceded by a call (to prepare him for the forthcoming address) (cf Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Chapter 1 1-2). It is a way of expressing affection, the mode used by the ministering angels when addressing each other, as it is said (Isaiah 6:3) “And one called unto another [and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts]”. To the prophets of the nations of the world, however, God revealed himself in a manner which Scripture describes by an expression ordinarily used for denoting events of a casual character and of uncleanness, as it is said, (Numbers 23:4) “and God happened to meet (ויקר) Balaam” (the term ויקר, from the root ,קרה, is connected with מִקְרֶה which denotes “chance”, “occurrence”, and has also the meaning of “uncleanness”, by analogy with Deuteronomy 23:11: ‎לא יהיה טהור מקרה לילה) (cf. Bereishit Rabbah 52:5).

ויקרא אל משה AND HE CALLED UNTO MOSES — This implies that the Voice went on and reached his (Moses’s) ears only but all the other Israelites did not hear it). One might think that for the subsections there was also such a call! It, however, states, “[And the Lord called unto Moses] and spake (וידבר) [to him]”, thus intimating that a דבור, a complete section had (was preceded by) a call (e. g., in our text chapters 1—4), but not the subsections. And what purpose did these subsections serve (i. e., why are the larger sections broken up into smaller ones)? To give Moses an interval for reflection between one division and another and between one subject and another — something which is all the more necessary for an ordinary man receiving instruction from an ordinary man (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Chapter 1 9).

I am black but comely, etc. You, my friends, let me not be light in your eyes. Even if my husband has left me because of my blackness, for I am black because of the tanning of the sun, but I am comely with the shape of beautiful limbs. Though I am black like the tents of Keidar, which are blackened because of the rains, for they are always spread out in the wilderness, I am easily cleansed to become like the curtains of Shlomo. The allegory is: The congregation of Yisroel says to the nations, “I am black in my deeds [i.e., sins], but I am comely by virtue of the deeds of my ancestors, and even some of my deeds are comely. If I bear the iniquity of the [golden] calf, I can offset it with the merit of the acceptance of the Torah.” [Scripture] calls the nations, “the daughters בְּנוֹת of Yerusholayim” because it is destined to become the metropolis for them all, as Yechezkeil prophesied, “I will give them to you as surrounding villages לְבָנוֹת,” and similarly, “Ekron, and its suburbs וּבְנֹתֶיהָ.”

Do not look upon me. Do not look upon me disrespectfully, as in, “for they had gazed [disrespectfully] upon the Ark of Adonoy.”

That I am so black. For my blackness and my ugliness are not from my mother’s womb, but from the sun’s tanning, for that blackness can easily be whitened by staying in the shade.

My mother’s sons were incensed against me. These are the Egyptians among whom I grew up, and they went up with me in the mixed multitude. They were incensed against me with their enticement and their persuasion until they made me—

keeper of the vineyards. And there the sun tanned me and I became black; i.e., they made me a worshiper of other gods, but my own vineyard [i.e., my God], which was mine from my forefathers, I did not keep. We find in Scripture that leaders are called with the expression of ‘vineyards,’ as it is stated, “And I will give to her her vineyards כְּרָמֶיהָ from there,” which the Targum renders as, “And I will appoint for her her leaders.” And similarly, “he does not turn by the way of the vineyards.”

Tell me, you whom my soul loves. The Holy Spirit now repeatedly compares her to sheep that is endeared to the shepherd. The congregation of Yisroel says to Him, as a woman to her husband, “Tell me, You Whom my soul loves, where do You pasture Your flock [i.e., Bnei Yisroel] among these wolves in whose midst they are? And where will You rest them at noon, in this exile, which is a distressful time for them, like noon, which is a distressful time for the flock?”

For why should I flit about. And if you ask, “What does it concern You?” It is not complimentary for You that I should be like a mourner, who veils herself over the lip, weeping for my sheep.

Around the flocks of your companions. Near the flocks of the other shepherds, who pasture flocks as You do; i.e., among the flocks of the nations, who rely on other deities, and who have kings and princes leading them.

If you do not know. This is the shepherd’s reply, “If you do not know where you should go to pasture your sheep, you, O fairest of women, for the shepherd has ceased leading them—

Go forth in the footsteps of the sheep. Look at the footsteps, the way that the sheep went, and the footsteps are discernible;” traces in O.F. There are many similar instances [of עקב in Scripture, “and Your footsteps וְעִקְּבוֹתֶיךָ were not known,” [and] “your steps עֲקֵבָיִךְ were cut off,” [and] “And it will return on its heel עָקֵב,” [meaning] that they will return in their tracks. You go on that path. And pasture your kids

near the dwellings of the shepherds. Among the dwellings of the other shepherds whom you are near. This is the allegory: If you do not know, My assembly and My congregation, O fairest of women, among other nations, where you should pasture and be saved from the hand of those who oppress you, to be among them, and not have your children perish, ponder the ways of your early ancestors, who accepted My Torah and kept My ordinance and My commandments, and go in their ways. As a reward for this, you will pasture your kids near the princes of the nations. And similarly Yirmiyahu said, “Set up markers for yourself ... set your heart to the path, etc.”

While the king was at his table. The congregation of Yisroel replies and says, “All this is true. You bestowed good upon me, but I repaid You with evil, for while the King was still at the table of His wedding banquet...”

My spikenard gave out its fragrance. This expression is instead of [saying], “gave forth its stench.” When the Divine Presence was still at Sinai, I sinned with the [golden] calf; Scripture describes it with an expression of love, “gave out its fragrance,” and it did not write, “stank,” or “became putrid,” because Scripture speaks euphemistically. (See Rashi in Maseches Shabbos, Chapter “Rabbi Akiva” who states the reason for not writing “stank” or “ became putrid” is because of love. However according to the Tosafists explanation there, the reason that “gave out” is written instead of “abandoned its fragrance,” is because of love. However, it is not written, “stank,” or “ became putrid,” even without that reason, but because of euphemism.)

A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me. My beloved has become to me as one who has a bundle of myrrh in his bosom, and he said to him, “Here, [take] this bundle, which will give a more fragrant aroma than the first one that you lost.” So, was the Holy One, Blessed Is He, appeased by Yisroel for the incident of the [golden] calf and found them an atonement for their iniquity and said, “Donate to the Tabernacle, and let the gold of the Tabernacle atone for the gold of the calf.”

Between my breasts he shall lie. Even though I betrayed Him, He said He would dwell there.

Between my breasts. Between the two staves of the Ark.

Behold, you are comely, my beloved. I was ashamed of my going astray, but He encouraged me with appeasing words, saying, “I have forgiven because of your words.” And you are most fair, for your eyes are like doves; i.e., a bride whose eyes are ugly, her entire body requires examination, but she whose eyes are beautiful, her body requires no examination. The allegorical meaning is: I forgave you for your iniquity, and behold you are fair with “Let us do,” and you are fair with “Let us hear;” fair with the deeds of your forefathers and fair with your own deeds, because —

Your eyes are like doves. There are righteous among you who clung to Me like a dove, that once it recognizes its mate, does not allow him to mate with another. Similarly, “and all the sons of Leivi gathered around him,” and they did not err with the [golden] calf. Another explanation [of הִנָּךְ יָפָה, behold, you are beautiful through the construction of the Tabernacle, as it is stated, “and behold, they had done it, etc. And Moshe blessed them;” he praised them for that.

You are handsome, my beloved, most handsome. The beauty is not mine, but Yours; You are the handsome one.

Most handsome. For You overlooked my transgressions and caused Your Shechinah to rest in our midst. This is the praise of the descent of the fire, “and all the people saw and shouted for joy.”

Indeed our bed is fresh. Through your pleasantness, behold our couch is fresh with our sons and daughters, all of whom gather unto You here, as it is said, “and the assembly was gathered, etc.” The Tabernacle is called a bed, as it is stated, “Behold the bed of Shlomo,” and similarly, the [Beis] Hamikdosh is called a bed, as it is said concerning Yo’ash, “in the bed chamber” which was in the “House of God,” because they are the source of Yisroel’s fruitfulness and procreation.

החזן – one who teaches young children.

מהיכן התינוקות קורין – from where should they begin to read, for with a bit of investigation such as this, we do not make a decree lest he tilt it, and the young children read before their teacher by the light of the candle since their fear of their teacher is upon them.

אבל הוא לא יקרא – the entire portion, because his fear of them is not upon him, and their guarding is not considered guarding, and for this reason also, there is an opinion that a woman who guards for her husband, her guarding is not [considered] guarding, for fear of her is not upon him.