TEHILLIM LIGHT

Commentaries

Mizmor 023, Verse 001

מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד יְהֹוָ֥ה רֹ֝עִ֗י לֹ֣א אֶחְסָֽר

mizmor ledovid ʾadoonoy roʿiy loʾ ʾechsor

A song of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall want for nothing.

MIDRASH TEHILLIM

1.....(23.3)
These words are to be considered in the light of the verse:
"For the Lord, your God, has blessed you in all the work of your hand; He knows of your walking through this great desert; these forty years that the Lord your God has been with you, you have lacked nothing." (Devarim - Deuteronomy 2:7)
A.
Rabbi Jacob said that Scripture states the above to prevent thinking that God will bless even him who sits in idleness, implying that when the man work, he is blessed, but when he does not work, he is not blessed.
B.
[NOTE:
The laast words in the above quote - "...you have LACKED NOTHING" in hebrew - "...HASARTA DAVAR".
The last word DAVAR has a connotation - "A THING", so it is posible to say -"... you have lacked a thing", or like here - "...lacked nothing"
BUT
the word DAVAR in hebrew also means -"a WORD"
]
Rabbi Simeon son of Yohai said, You have lacked only the Word, means that they lacked nothing in the wilderness but words of Prophecy. In all the years in the desert there was no divine speech with Moshe. Only after it is said: "So it was, when all the men of war finished dying from among the people," (Devarim - Deuteronomy 2:16), Moshe declared: "that the Lord spoke to me saying," (Devarim - Deuteronomy 2:17), as if to say, Only then was there again divine speech with me.
Rabbi Johanan said, You have lacked only the word, that is, words of repentance; as Scripture says: "Take words with yourselves and return to the Lord." (Hoshea - Hosea 14:3)

RASHI

1.
A song of David
The Rabbis said, Wherever it says: “A song of David,” he would play [his musical instrument] and afterwards the Shechinah would rest on him. It is a song to bring the holy spirit upon David. And, wherever it says: “Of David, a song,” the Shechinah rested on him [first] and then he recited a song.
2.
The Lord is my shepherd:
In this desert where I am going, [therefore] I am confident that I will lack nothing.

Rabbi HIRSCH

1.
This psalm expresses the most intimate relationship of the individual man with God and gives us a strikingly clear insight into David's soul. "The LORD is my shepherd, therefore I suffer no want. I do not miss what I do not have. I do not feel its lack, since it is God, my shepherd, Who has seen fit to withhold it from me. He shows me His love by denying me that which I desire but which, were I to have it, would cause me harm.”

WORDS