Monday, June 18, 2018

Why Does Dovid Want His Enemies To Fall?

In the zchus of all of our donors!!! Still almost 3k short of our goal. So far today zero donors. Yesterday - one. It CAN'T be. Thousands come?! Be a partner. Be a HERO. Be a superstar. Be more like Hashem [even though you are already VERY holy!!]. Thanks:-)


בְּשׁוּב אוֹיְבַי אָחוֹר יִכָּשְׁלוּ וְיֹאבְדוּ מִפָּנֶיךָ.


When my enemies draw backward, they stumble and are destroyed from before You. [Tehillim 9, 4] 

Why does Dovid want the evil people to fall? Not for his own personal satisfaction, as we saw in the previous pasuk, that when the evil fall אשמחה אעלצה בך אזמרה שמך עליון - I will rejoice and exult with you I will sing to your name most high. It is not about my victory but Yours. Now Dovid says that all he cares about [in this context] is that the evil people realize that they have strayed from Hashem and are destroyed from before Him. The purpose of evil is when it is destroyed. That is why he says that he is happy when his enemies realize that they have no more chance, they draw backward and stumble and are destroyed from before you

In the words of Rav Yaakov Moshe ztz"l:

כל מגמתי באבידת הרשעים שידעו ויכירו שהם נכשלים ונאבדים מפניך, וממילא זהו שלימותם בהכירם את מילוי תפקידם ע"י הכשלתם. ואמנם גם זה רק כשכבר אפס תקוה שישובו בחייהם מפני שכבר שבו כל כך לאחור עד שאין עוד תקוה למו אז כל רצוני שעכ"פ יכשלו ויאבדו מפניך. בשוב אויבי אחור יכשלו ויאבדו מפניך. 

It is also interesting to note that the these enemies first draw backward during the war - one fall. And after that once again they stumble and are destroyed. This is clearly not a case of pure chance, it MUST BE "before you", a case of Divine intervention.

As the Malbim says: 

"בשוב", אחר "ששב אויבי אחור" ופנה עורף במלחמה, מה שאחר כך "יכשלו ויאבדו" שנית, זה לא היה דבר מקרי רק "מפניך", שידך עשתה זאת: 

See also Alshich.