13:6As for me, I trusted in Your kindness; my heart will rejoice: the meaning of gil, rejoicing, is gladness over a good thing one never hoped for, and good news that comes suddenly. Accordingly he says: although “I trusted in Your kindness,” so that the salvation is nothing new to me, since I trusted in it, still “my heart will rejoice in Your salvation,” like one glad over a thing he did not hope for. For I trusted only in Your kindness, that You would do it for me out of kindness, not as reward, for I am not worthy of it; and now “I will sing to Hashem, for He has dealt kindly with me” as reward: in His goodness He counted it for me as though I were worthy of it through my deeds; and this is a new gladness, which I did not hope for.

20:2–6He will answer you: (verse 2) He explains that there are several differences between the salvation of Hashem and the salvation of a man. (1) That “Hashem will answer you” Himself, not through a messenger. (2) That He will not delay in saving him, but will answer him at once, “on the day of trouble.” (3) “The Name of the G-d of Yaakov will set you on high”: His Name alone, called upon you, will make you something lofty and very strong. (verse 3) “He will send your help from the Sanctuary”: (4) that He will not save you through help from the kings of the nations; only from your own holiness will the salvation come, and Tziyon will be only a support to the salvation. That is, your men who go out from Tziyon to war will be only a support, for the main help will come through the holiness of your deeds. (verse 4) “He will remember”: (5) one who is saved by a man of flesh and blood, and brings him a gift so that he will save him, is paid no reward by him for the gift he brought him, for the gift is spent in exchange for the salvation; but Hashem “will remember all your offerings,” to pay you reward for them, and will remember the richness of your burnt offerings. (verse 5) “He will grant”: (6) even the way by which you are saved will be according to the counsel you yourself gave, and according to the desire of your heart; not like flesh and blood, who saves according to his own counsel and according to the wish of the heart of the one who saves. (verse 6) “We will sing for joy”: (7) for one who is saved by a man of flesh and blood, it is no glory to him, and he will not sing for joy to glory in it, for it shows the weakness of his strength; but one who is saved by Hashem will sing for joy and glory “in your salvation,” for by this “we raise our banner in the Name of our G-d,” and all the peoples of the earth will see that the Name of Hashem is called upon our banner, and they will fear us (Devarim 28:10). (8) That along with saving you from this trouble of yours, He will also “fulfill all your requests,” in other matters too; as he said, “This poor man called, and Hashem heard, and saved him from all his troubles” (Tehillim 34:7).

20:10Hashem, save: this pasuk gives the subject of the whole psalm: on the day we call, the King will answer us, “Hashem, save”: when we called in tefillah for King David, King David answered [us], saying, “Hashem, save!” That is: I do not trust in an army or in strength, but only in the salvation of Hashem; for so it was, that Hashem alone saved him.

22:5–6Surely “our fathers trusted in You,” and by this they gained two things. (1) “They trusted”: through this they were secure, and found rest in their soul from the greatness of their trust. (2) “And You rescued them”: through this they were truly saved. “To You”: he explains these two benefits that they gained from the trust. (1) The goal they gained from the trust (corresponding to what it says, “and You rescued them”): for “they cried out to You and were saved.” And this goal is higher than [that of] one who trusts in flesh, which will not save at every time; but they were saved every time they cried out. A man of flesh and blood is not always near to the one who trusts [in him], but You, every time they cried out, were at their side to hear their cry. (2) The worth of the trust in itself (corresponding to what it says, “they trusted”): for “they trusted in You and were not put to shame.” For one who trusts in flesh is ashamed of the trust, in that he lowers himself to a man of flesh and blood like himself; but their trust in You was an honor to them.

25:2My G-d: (in the matter of his bodily needs) in all my affairs, “I have trusted in You,” and therefore I ask, “do not let me be put to shame”; as though the goal of his request were not to obtain his needs, but only to obtain [the fulfillment of] the trust: that he not be ashamed of his trust in Hashem when it proves a failing spring to him. And for the sake of this goal I ask, “do not let my enemies rejoice over me,” for by this would come a desecration of Hashem’s Name.

25:3Also: by this it will come about “that also none who hope to You will be put to shame,” which is not so if my trust is not fulfilled; and so too, through this, “those who betray without cause will be put to shame.” According to this, the goal for me is not obtaining the thing trusted for, but only the upholding of the trust itself, so that the honor of Hashem will grow.

27:14Hope: according to what he said, that in the merit of the emunah with which he believed in Hashem’s promise he was saved from his enemies, for he hoped to Hashem that he would again see the goodness of Hashem (Tehillim 27:13); accordingly he says, and commands, “to hope to Hashem.” And he explains that hope to Hashem differs from hope to a man of flesh and blood in two things. (1) In hope to another, surely “drawn-out hope makes the heart sick” (Mishlei 13:12); but through hoping to Hashem, “be strong, and let your heart take courage”: it gives strength and courage of heart. (2) In hoping to another, the hope is not a goal in itself; the goal of the hoping is only that he find what he seeks. And if so, the goal of the hoping is that he no longer hope: that is, that he attain what he hoped for and no longer need to hope. But hoping to Hashem is a goal in itself, so much so that the goal of the hoping is that his heart grow strong and he hope again. Of this it says, “Hope, be strong, and hope to Hashem.”

31:25Be strong: and if so, “be strong, and let your heart take courage, all who hope to Hashem,” for your hope will not return empty.

32:10Many: only “to the wicked” are there “many pains”: many things are pains to him. The wicked man is pained when he falls ill, when he is hungry, and so in all kinds of suffering. But “one who trusts in Hashem” is not pained in all these, for these pains are, for him, “kindness [that] will surround him”: they are for his protection, as [the bridle is] for the wild beast, that it not turn from the way and not come near to harm him. Therefore “be glad in Hashem and rejoice,” you “tzaddikim,” and you “upright in heart, sing for joy” (Tehillim 32:11), for all that He does is for your good and your success.

37:4Delight in Hashem: let your delight be a matter of the soul, in Hashem; unlike the evildoers, whose soul is grieved, for the one who could restore their soul is far from them. (5) The evildoers never find what their heart asks for: one who has a hundred wants two hundred. But one who trusts in Hashem, “He will give you what your heart asks for.”

37:5Turn over: (6) One who does not trust does not know the means and the ways by which he will find his food, and he must seek many ways; but you, “turn over to Hashem” even “your way, and trust in Him that He will do it,” and will prepare also the way by which you will reach your destination.

37:7–8Wait: he adds that even at a time when you do not find your livelihood and your food, even so do not compete; only “wait for Hashem, and wait expectantly for Him”: make yourself one who waits expectantly and hopes for Him. “Do not compete,” even then, “with one whose way prospers.” That is: there is a wicked man whose way prospers by fortune, and there is one who prospers because he makes schemes and deep plans, and by this obtains his affairs and his needs. Even so, do not compete; only “refrain from anger”: although success is far from you, have no anger over this against Hashem. And also “forsake wrath,” which is the inner anger in the heart. “And do not compete” in any way, for your competing will be “only to do evil” to you. For it is better for you to be poor and trusting than to be rich and not trusting; for “the end of a matter is better than its beginning” (Koheles 7:8), and then the difference will be seen between the evildoers and those who trust in Hashem.

37:34Hope: after he has explained the matters of the one who trusts, and the benefit of bitachon for both worlds; and since sometimes the tzaddik does not succeed in this world, so that He may do good to him in his end, and he not be kept from the happiness of the World to Come, he says, “Hope to Hashem,” for everything is for your good. “And keep His way”: wait on His way, for it will lead you to the lands of eternal life, to a life better than these. And if you did not inherit the lower, lowly land, “He will raise you up to inherit” another “land,” which stands at the height of the world: the land of eternal life, where “you will see the wicked cut off,” how their soul is cut off from among their people in the World to Come.

40:4He put a new song in my mouth: for the song that people sing to Hashem over a natural salvation is an old song, since nature was created and has stood from long ago; but a miraculous salvation is a new deed, and the song they sing over it is a new song. And he explains: “a song of praise to our G-d”: for the Name G-d, when it comes joined to Yisrael [as “our G-d”], points to His hashgachah pratis, and to the closeness and the bond He has with those who fear Him and think of His Name. “Many will see and be in awe”: that is, through His saving me by a miracle they will gain three things. (1) From the course of nature they would learn only to give honor to His Name as the Creator of all; but awe takes hold in the soul only when one knows that it is in His power to change nature and to do all that He wishes, for then they will be in awe of His punishment and His reward. Of this he said, “they will see and be in awe.” (2) The recognition by which they recognize Him through His deeds, ordered according to nature, only the wise, who investigate by reason and study, will attain; but through the miracle “many will see,” for this they will see with the eye, not with the mind alone. And also, “many will see”: even the common people, who are not learned, will see the miracle with their own eyes and recognize the power of Hashem. (3) The course of nature does not bring them to trust in Him; on the contrary, through it they strive to choose natural means by which they will succeed and be helped, and they trust in the means they prepare. But when they see that the eye of Hashem is on those who fear Him, by a miracle, they “will trust in Hashem,” and not in nature, in their strength, in the might of their hand, or in their wisdom.

40:5Fortunate: the fortune of the man is if he “has made Hashem his trust.” That is: there is one who trusts in Hashem that He will save him through natural means. Such a man, although he trusts in Hashem, Hashem is not his trust; that is, the thing through which he hopes to attain what he trusts for is not Hashem. For he trusts in Hashem that He will save him through his business or his effort, and that is his trust, through which he hopes for help from Hashem; so Hashem is not his trust. Not so the man who makes no effort at all, but makes Hashem also his trust; that is, that He will choose for him also the means of his salvation (as it says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, and Hashem will be his trust” (Yirmiyahu 17:7), as I explained there). “And has not turned to the arrogant”: that is, that with his trust in Hashem to fulfill his request, he does not turn to [its coming] through natural means, or through people, who are “arrogant, and stray after lies.” Arrogance is raising one’s spirit beyond one’s strength, and a lie is a thing that does not last; and these are the two lacks in trust in man: there is no substance in them, and no endurance, as is said in many places.

46:2G-d [is] for us: that is, our trust in Hashem has three levels. (1) That He is “our refuge and strength.” (2) That He is not only a refuge in a time of peace, for He is also “a help in troubles,” in a time of trouble. (3) That one need not search for Him much and wait for His help, for He is “very easily found,” and near to those who call Him.

46:3Therefore we will not be afraid when the earth is changed: from its place; and at the time when “the mountains topple into the depths of the sea”; although “its waters roar and churn up mud,” the waters of the river that he will mention soon, and although the mountains quake at the river’s swelling, with all this we will not be afraid.

52:10And I am like “a flourishing olive tree,” which is rooted in one place: so I am rooted “in the house of G-d”; not like Doeg, who sat then, detained in the house of Hashem, while his root was planted in a place of impurity. And just as the olive tree is always flourishing and its leaf does not wither, so “I trust in G-d’s kindness forever and ever.” For the good that comes to a person by way of his deeds and his merits is not sure to last forever, for it will change as his deeds change; but the good that comes from G-d’s kindness, not by judgment according to good deeds, will last forever, for the kindness of Hashem does not change. And David received his kingship by way of kindness, as will be explained at length in chapter 89.

62:9Trust in Him, people: you, the people, trust in Hashem; for trust in Hashem has an advantage over trust in anything else. (1) One who trusts in something else, in people and the like, cannot trust in it at all times, for in a bad time it cannot save him; but in Hashem “trust at all times.” (2) In trusting people, you cannot reveal to them all the hidden things of your heart, for there are things one is ashamed to reveal to people; but before Hashem “pour out your hearts,” revealing all the hidden things of the heart. (3) “G-d is our refuge”: in a man one only trusts, but in Hashem one finds refuge, as it says, “It is better to take refuge in Hashem than to trust in man” (Tehillim 118:8), as I explained there. “Selah”: the end of the matter.

112:7Of bad news: even if he hears bad news, “he will not be afraid.” It could be that he would fear, either because his heart is not firm, and he fears because of his sins or his bad ways, in which he wronged people and they will take revenge on him; but he, “his heart is firm.” Or that he fears the mishaps of the times and the evil of the stars; but he is “trusting in Hashem” that He will change his fortune for the good.

112:8Leans: and if he fears his enemies, that they will do him harm, in this too “his heart leans; he will not be afraid,” for his heart leans on his righteousness; so much so that not only will he not fear that they will do him harm, but he will even “see” his vengeance “on his enemies.”

115:10–11House of Aharon: (verses 10–11) He explains that the greater the trust and the level of the one who trusts, the greater the help and the protection. So the House of Aharon, whose level and trust are greater than the House of Yisrael’s, “He is their help and their shield” with a particular help, beyond the House of Yisrael. And so those who fear Hashem, whose level is greater than the House of Aharon’s, since they serve by their own choice in a greater holiness: their help will be greater in particular.

118:8–9It is better: (verses 8–9) From this it is clear “that it is good to take refuge in Hashem.” That is: one who trusts in a man trusts in him, and has still not found refuge in him, for taking refuge means that he already shelters in his shade. But trust in Hashem is itself refuge, for in his trust he already finds in Him a refuge and strength. And of this it says, “that it is better to take refuge in Hashem than to trust in man,” since in a man there is only trust, not refuge. And he explains that trust in a man is not good for two reasons. (1) Because there is doubt whether he will do what is asked of him; and this is in an ordinary man. And even if he trusts in noblemen, since it is the nobleman’s way to give freely and to help, even so “it is better to take refuge in Hashem” also than trust “in noblemen,” for the second reason: although the nobleman would freely help him, it may be that it is not in his power to help.

125:1A song of ascents: he explains that reason requires that kindness surround the one who trusts in Hashem. “Those who trust in Hashem” must find in Him a refuge and strength, and they are like “Har Tziyon, which is never moved,” since it is set firm on the mountains and hills around it, “and it stays in place forever.”

131:1A song of ascents: he explains how he relies on Hashem in all his affairs. “Hashem, my heart was not proud”: pride of heart means going past the limit in one’s wants and longings, whether in amount or in kind. For example, one who wants to be like one of the angels on high goes past the limit of longing in kind; one who wants strength beyond the limit goes past the limit of longing in amount. “And my eyes were not raised”: raised eyes mean going past the limit in the reasoning mind, if he thinks his grasp is without limit, and judges with his mind in divine matters, which are above the mind of man. These two stand for the practical mind and the reasoning mind: the practical mind has its source in the heart, and the reasoning mind has its source in the eyes, since the foundation of all understanding is the examination and the experience a person gains through the senses. And he added that also in bringing things into action, “I did not involve myself in things too great and too wondrous for me”: great in amount, and wondrous in kind.

131:2Truly: that is, he likens himself in all his affairs to a child weaned from milk. Just as the weaned child places all his trust on his mother, that she will sustain him and lead him, so “I have made my soul like a weaned child with his mother”: I trusted only in Hashem, who grants understanding in matters of thought, and who leads me in matters of action. And just as the weaned child does not rely on himself at all, and knows that his strength is too short to do anything, so “my soul within me is like a weaned child”: for I know that on my own I am weak-handed and without strength. For this he said it twice, “I have made [like]” and “quieted,” and he explains: “I have made” my soul like a weaned child with his mother, and “quieted” [it] like the weaned child within me; that is, my soul is silent, like the weaned child who is silent and has no word on his tongue without his mother. And he explains who the mother is:

131:3Let Yisrael hope to Hashem, who teaches them and leads them as a mother her children; and not like a weaned child, who looks to his mother only in his childhood, for Yisrael will hope to Him “from now and forever.”

146:3Do not trust in noblemen: accordingly he commands not to trust in noblemen. Although the way and the wish of the nobleman is to do good, still one should not trust in him, for two reasons. (1) “In a human being, who has no power to save”: since he is a human being, the power to save is not his, for his strength is not in himself, and it may be that he cannot save. (2) That even if he can save, surely

146:4His spirit leaves: it may be that his spirit will leave him and the body return to its earth, as it says, “And the dust returns to the earth, and the spirit returns, etc.” (Koheles 12:7); and on that day surely “his plans are lost.” And trust must be in something everlasting, not in something that ceases. But

146:5Fortunate is the one whose help is the G-d of Yaakov: for Yaakov trusted in Hashem, who said to him, “Here I am with you, and I will guard you wherever you go” (Bereishis 28:15). And then “his hope” and his trust are “in Hashem,” and He has salvation.

147:11Desires: only “Hashem desires those who fear Him,” who make no effort at all; only they “hope for His kindness,” that He will provide them their food out of His great kindness.