TEHILLIM LIGHT

Commentaries

Mizmor 026, Verse 006

אֶרְחַ֣ץ בְּנִקָּי֣וֹן כַּפָּ֑י וַאֲסֹבְבָ֖ה אֶת־מִזְבַּחֲךָ֣ יְהֹוָֽה

Erchatz benikkoyon kappai va'asovevoh es-mizbachacho adonai

I wash my hands in purity, and walk around Your altar, O LORD,

MIDRASH TEHILLIM

1.....(26.5)
This verse is to be read in light of what is taugh in a Mishna, on each of the first seven days of Sukkot men circled the Altar once, reciting: "Please, O LORD, save now!" (Tehillim 118:25).
And with what did they circled the Altar?
It is said: "And you shall take for yourselves on the first day, the fruit of the hadar tree, date palm fronds, a branch of a braided tree, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God" (Vayikra - Leviticus 23:40)
I wash my hands in purity implied that the festive wreath must be got through purchase, not through robbery, for in a Mishna we are tought, A fastive wreath must be innocent of violence or robbery, lest the advocate turn accuser.

Rabbi HIRSCH

1.
One must not enter the House of the LORD and join the congregation around His altar if one's hands are sullied by selfishness , ill-gotten gains and moral inadequacy. “I first wash my hands in purity (KAPPAI is the hand grasping a possession) before joining the others in encompassing God's altar. My life must first be such that nothing I call 'my own' may tacitly denounce me for still possessing it, or for possessing it only because I have failed to render due obedience to the commandments of justice and mercy."

WORDS