We continue with Pesukei Bitachon, and we are now starting אות ג , according to the list of the Maharal.
Tehilim 41,10
גַּם־אִ֤ישׁ שְׁלוֹמִ֨י ׀ אֲשֶׁר־.
בָּטַ֣חְתִּי ב֭וֹ אוֹכֵ֣ל לַחְמִ֑י הִגְדִּ֖יל עָלַ֣י עָקֵֽב
Also, the man that I was at peace with, that I relied on, that ate my bread (simply this means we ate bread together, but it’s deeper than that) has increased histrickery upon me.
The Malbim explains the background: In the olden days, the most common way of assassinating a king was through poisoning his food. Therefore, the person that served him the food would taste it first to show that he didn't poison it, because he wouldn't kill himself.
So, David Hamelech says that Even the man that I was at peace with, that I relied, even he came to ambush me. He came to assassinate me.
There’s an l important lesson here, about not relying on people. David Hamelech is saying, גַּם־אִ֤ישׁ שְׁלוֹמִ֨י ׀ אֲשֶׁר־.
בָּטַ֣חְתִּ
The only One to rely on is God, because even the most reliable of people might be ambushing you. The Gemara in Sanhedrin 7A quotes a saying that people used to say, “ The man that I relied on, he broke his fist and got up.”
The Gemara says this refers to our pasuk, that sometimes the people that we rely on, that we think are going to take care of us, break their fists. Meaning they don't do what they said they were going to do and they end up working against us. The Midrash Tehilim says that David HaMelech was actually learning a lesson. People would visit him and say in their mouths, “God should have mercy on you,” and they would pray for him. “But in their hearts, they were out to ambush me.”
Therefore, the Midrash Tehilim says that David Hamelech ends off saying איני נותן את דבריהם בלבי אלא אני בוטח בך /I'm not going to pay attention to what anybody says to me. I'm relying on You because I know there is no one to rely on, even those people that I relied on.
This is reminiscent of something I learned in Mirrer Yeshiva (so it must be kosher). In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, just as Julius is about to be assassinated by his good friend, Brutus, he says, “Et Tu, Brute,” which means, ‘Even you, Brutus? You’re out to get me too?’ This is similar to David Hamelech telling us, Even the man I relied on, that I thought I could count on, was out to get to me.
The Chida, in his sefer Petach Eyanim (Sanhedrin7A), offers a deeper explanation: In this world, the one we rely on is the Sitra Ahera/ the negative forces. People rely on their cunning. Sometimes they’ll do a deal that might not be so straight. They sort of ‘sell their soul to the devil,’ and count on the devil. He makes promises and he'll come through, but we don't realize that the one that we relied on will end up backstabbing us.
The ultimate back stabber is the Yetzer Hara. He looks like he's your friend, but he is your ultimate enemy. Eventually, he will prosecute against us. This goes back to the original sin, when we had a choice between the snake and God, and we believed the snake. We bought into the snake saying, “No, the tree is good for you.” We relied on him. He was a good salesman. David Hamelech was actually a gilgul of Adam HaRishon. (David Hamelech’s 70 years came from Adam HaRishon’s 1000. Adam lived 930 years and David for lived 70) and he learns his lesson, ‘The one that I relied on, the one that I counted on, he back stabbed me.’ Who's the one to rely on? Who's the one that will take care of you? Hashem.
Have a wonderful day.