Today we continue with chapter 23 in tehilim, pasuk ג,
נַפְשִׁי יְשׁוֹבֵב
He restores my soul
יַנְחֵנִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי צֶדֶק
He leads me on paths of righteousness
לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ
for His name
That is the English translation of the pasuk.
We will now try to get a deeper understanding of these words.
The Radak says that the word יְשׁוֹבֵב, here translated as “restores” can also be explained as שובה בנחת- tranquil and calm
So, according to the Radak, David HaMelech is saying,
Just like a good shepherd makes sure not to push his sheep too hard, and treats them softly and gently, so too, God always deals with me in a soft and gentle way. He directs me on the right path. Just like a good shepherd doesn’t bounce around from mountain to mountain, God also deals with me in that way.
All of this is למען שמו, not because I deserve it, but rather, for His name.
What does, “for His name” mean?
The Ibn Ezra says that it is
למען ספר שמו בכל הארץ
In order that I will spread His name throughout the land
כי הוא רועה טוב ורחמן אין כמוהו
Because He is a good, merciful Shepherd and there is no one like Him.
So God will deal with us in a soft and tranquil way, even when we don’t deserve it, because we will ultimately use that as an opportunity to praise Hashem.
This is one of the sources for the concept of making a Seudat Hodaya - a party of thanks, because when we do so, there is an aspect of למען שמו praising His name
Thus, there is a segula that when a person is in trouble, he says, “When I get out of this, I will make a Seudat Hodaya,” which is similar to saying, “When I get out of this, I will say Nishmat.”
The Pri Sadik, in Parashat Lech Lecha, offers a different explanation. He says that the pasuk says,
ואעש למען שמי
I’ll do it for My name,
לבלתי החל לעיני הגוים
so there won’t be a chillul Hashem/ desecration of Hashem’s name,
amongst the goyim
When Jewish people suffer, it is not good for God’s name.
When things don’t look good for us, they don’t look good for Him.
Therefore David דוד HaMelech says, “I understand that I might not be worthy, but if things don’t go well for me, it will be a chillul Hashem.”
Imagine a man who gives a lot of money to Sedaka and then his business goes under. Or imagine a person who learns a lot of Torah, and then things don’t go right for him. People might say, “This is what happens to a righteous man?!?”
This will cause a chillul Hashem, so therefore, David HaMelech says, “I know that you’re not doing it because I necessarily deserve it, but rather, since people look at me in a certain way, do it in order to avoid a chillul Hashem.
David HaMelech says this in Hallel as well:
לא לנו ה׳, לא לנו
Not for us,
כי לשמך תן כבוד
but so Your name should have glory.
So that the goyim shouldn’t say,
איה נא אלקיהם, Where is their God now?”
According to this explanation, David HaMelech is saying, “That is why Hashem should direct me in the right path now; in order to avoid a chillul Hashem.”
Thus far, these explanations all define the word ישובב as “to treat me in a nice, soft-touch way.”
But there’s another explanation. The word ישובב can also mean “in a wild way.”
According to this that definition, David HaMelech is saying, “Sometimes Hashem causes me to go off the regular path.”
A שובב is a person who doesn’t stay in one spot. He goes from right to left to right again. So sometimes, it may look like God is taking us off the trodden path, but in the end, יַנְחֵנִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי צֶדֶק
He leads me on paths of righteousness
The word used here for “path” “מעגל
also means “circle״
Sometimes God takes me around in a circle, but in the end, He will bring me to the right place.
And finally, Rav Shamshon Rafael Hirsch says that
נַפְשִׁי יְשׁוֹבֵב
He restores my soul means that sometimes God treats me in a way that seems like, as we said, “He’s bouncing me around,” and sometimes He treats me in a soft way. But it is always for the same goal, which is, למען שמו for His name.
Sometimes, if a person has it too good, then he disconnects from God.
So God bounces him around a little bit, to bring him to reconnect.
But sometimes, if a person gets bounced around too much, that might a cause him to disconnect, so Hashem goes back to the softer touch.
Hashem is always dealing with us in different ways, but it is always in order to get us to the final goal of
למען שמו connecting to Him.
We have just learned three different explanations of what למען שמו means:
1- I am not worthy, but I will praise God for it, so do it in order to make a Kiddush Hashem.
2-It won’t look good for God if things go wrong
3- God acts in different ways with us, but always for the purpose of getting us to connect with Him. Depending on where we are holding, God uses different approaches with us in order to get us to reconnect.
Have a wonderful day.