This psalm contains many prayers about David’s troubles and his enemies Doeg and Ahithophel. It also contains many descriptions of G-d’s praise. Every individual, according to Chabad, can offer this psalm in need. David touches on many of the Jews’ fears and ailments in Psalm 86. He focuses his attention on the soul, not on the material. As the soul rises higher and higher, everything else automatically falls into place. This Psalm is recited on weekdays (when Tanchnun is said – Tachnun is the confessional prayer that is added to the daily prayers and during the month of Nissan it is omitted because Jews omit Tachnun on special days. There are also some Psalms that are omitted on the days that Jews omit Tachnun.).
- Text Psalm 86
- Hebrew text of Psalm 86 – תהילים פו
- Listen to Psalm 86
- Explanation of Psalm 86 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
- Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 86
- Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
- Psalm 1 to 92
Text Psalm 86
A prayer from David. O Lord, incline Your ear; answer me, for I am poor and needy. Take heed to my soul, for I am a pious man; save Your servant – You, my G-d – who trusts in You. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call on You every day. Let the soul of Your servant rejoice, for before You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
….O G-d, willful transgressors have risen against me and a company of mighty ones have sought my life and they have not placed You before themselves. But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful G-d, slow to anger and of much kindness and truth. Turn to me and have mercy on me; give Your power to Your servant, and save the son of Your handmaid. Give me a sign for good, and let my enemies see it, and let me be ashamed, for You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Hebrew text of Psalm 86 – תהילים פו
Prayer to David, O Lord, incline your ear to me, for I am
poor and destitute: {b} Save my soul, for I am a follower of mine; save your servant, O God, who trusts in you: {c} O Lord, for to You I will call all the day
: E} For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving and abundant in mercy to all who call you: {8} There is none like you in God, my Lord, and there is none like your
works:{9} All the nations that you have made shall come And let them bow down before you, O Lord, and honor your name: For you are great, and you do wonders, O God alone:
My heart is united to see your name: {12} I love you, Lord God, with all my heart and I will treasure your name forever: {13} because your mercy is great Upon me, and save my soul from Saul, thou hast said:
{Yid} O God, the tyrants have risen up against me, a band of tyrants, seek my life, and thy name is not against them: Merciful and gracious God, long-suffering and abundant in mercy and truth: {16} turn to me and be gracious to me, give your strength to your servant and savior to the son of your mother:
{17} Do with me a sign for good, and they will hate me and be ashamed, for you, Jehovah, have helped me and comforted me:
Listen to Psalm 86
Listen to Psalm 86 in Hebrew.
Explanation of Psalm 86 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
King David calls Psalm 86 a prayer. He touches on many fears and ailments of the Jews.
David calls himself both poor and needy. Need is an additional burden on top of poverty. David asks G-d for help. He requests HaShem to deliver him from the madness of the material world which is a mirage. The material world hinders devotion to G-d. David says he is lost and asks G-d for mercy, even though he realizes he does not deserve it. His heart is twisted and infected.
David requests G-d to grant him joy so that his soul rises higher and higher. That is the only space that matters to the soul. Thus all Jews must ask G‑d for holy joy. David does not ask for material gain, but everything for the soul. When the soul is full of heavenly love, everything else will find its place.
The Jews need HaShem’s kindness. G‑d listens to the voice of every supplication. He suffers with the Jews in times of need and exile.
G-d’s works are unique. He does not act as man thinks he will. Man cannot tell G-d how to rule the world. Jews must learn through the Torah who G-d is and who they themselves are. That learning must always continue. Jews cannot stop and think they know enough. They have to keep asking questions.
Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 86
Per verse the commentary of Rashi, the Jewish Bible commentator who lived from 1040-1105. Rashi is considered the teacher of teachers. All traditional Jews regard Rashi as an authority on the Jewish Bible and Talmud. Hence it is important to record his commentary on the Psalms. Rashi uses new Hebrew supplemented with Old French words. His language is sometimes somewhat oracularly short. For further explanation it is wise to consult an orthodox Jewish rabbi.
Verse 2
Take heed to my soul, for I am a godly man; save Your servant – You, my G-d – who trusts in You.
for I am a devout man : that I may hear my insults and my shame, and that I may take vengeance; yet I remain silent. So it is in Aggadath Tehillim (Midrash Psalm 86:1). Another explanation: Our Sages explained in Berachoth (4a): [David said:] ,Am I not a pious man, when all the kings of the East and the West sit in their glory, and I, my hands are defiled with blood, with the sackcloth and with the afterbirth?
Verse 3
Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I call upon You all the days
: All the days of the exile, which is day for the wicked and night for the righteous. It is said this way explained in Aggadath Tehillim (Midrash Psalm 86:2).
Verse 4
Let the soul of Your servant rejoice, for before You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
I lift up my soul : I send my heart.
Verse 8
There is none like it You among the godly, O Lord, neither are there any like Your works,
like Your works : Who sets the heavenly beings before the earthlings.
Verse 10
For You are great and do wonders, You, O G-d, alone.
For You art great and dost wonders, You, O G‑d, alone : Before the angels were created, heaven and earth were made. Therefore all nations will glorify Your name.
Verse 13
For Your kindness is great toward me, and You have rescued my soul from the depths of the grave.
from the deepest depths of the grave : It is customary for adulterers to be placed in the depths of the grave, and from there You rescued me, for Nathan the prophet said to me (II Samuel 12:13), “And the Lord has sin removed.,
Verse 1 4
O G-d, willful transgressors have risen against me, and a company of mighty ones have sought my life, and they have not set You before themselves.
willful transgressors have risen against me : Doeg and Ahithophel.
and they did not set You before themselves : They remembered not what they saw, that Samuel anointed me at Your command.
Verse 16
Turn to me and be gracious to me; give Your power to Your servant, and save the son of Your handmaid.
the son of Your handmaid : The son of the handmaid humbles himself more before his master than the slave whom he bought with money, because the son of the handmaid was born in the house and grew up in the bosom of his master.
Verse 17
Give me a sign for good, and let my enemies see it, and let me be ashamed, for You, O Lord, have helped and comforted me.
Give me a sign for good : so it may be clear to others that You have forgiven me.
and let mine enemies see it : the sign, and be ashamed. But the Holy One, blessed be He, did not listen to him during his lifetime to grant the sign. Instead, [it came] in the lifetime of his son Solomon when the gates held together and were not opened until he said (2 Chronicles 6:42), Turn not away the face of Your anointed; remember the kind deeds of Your servant David.
Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
What does King David mean by the soul rising ever higher? In Parsha Shemini, Leviticus 9:111:47, the ever higher ascension of the soul is discussed through the account of the two eldest sons of Aharon Nadav and Avihu who offered an incense offering to G-d and had to do so with death. pay for it.
Chassidut explains that the ultimate goal is to influence the animal soul as well. If Jews focus only on the Divine soul without transforming the animal soul, this can lead them down the wrong path.
The Divine soul is aware of the fact that it is bound to G-d, is one with Him. The self-consciousness of the animal soul obscures this consciousness of the Divine soul. However, that can be changed by drinking wine under the right conditions. Secrets then emerge. The most ultimate secret is the unity of the Divine soul with G-d. Wine is also a metaphor for the inner dimension of the Torah, the study of which also helps the Divine soul manifest in consciousness.
In Parsha Shemini it is said that the sons of the high priest Aharon drank wine to open their minds and reveal their Divine souls. They also metaphorically ‘drank’ wine so that they gained deep insights into the inner dimension of the Torah. This is how they felt they became one with G-d. In this way they knew what G-d wanted even before He revealed it. For that reason they offered an incense offering without G-d commanding it. Their father Aharon had done everything G-d had commanded him but had stopped at the level where commandments became unnecessary. The sanctification of the Tabernacle and the establishment of unity with G-d required an extraterrestrial fire. The incense of Nadav and Avihu fulfilled this requirement and therefore generated a fire from G‑d that surpassed the fire that descended through Aaron’s sacrificial service and imbued the Tabernacle with holiness rather than merely manifesting holiness in it. Nadav and Avihu were killed by fire because G-d had not commanded the sacrifice.
However, it was not a punishment from G-d. They died the same way Moses and Aaron would die, namely by the Divine kiss.
Yet Jews should not imitate the example of Nadav and Avihu. The goal is not to die and give up the Divine mission, but to allow the soul to rise higher and higher to levels of Divine consciousness and to bring this consciousness to the world, transforming the world into a dwelling’ for G‑d where people are aware of G‑d.
After the incident of Nadav and Avihu, G-d forbade drinking wine to intoxicate.
Psalm 1 to 92
Would you like to read more Psalms with a Jewish interpretation? Go to: Psalms 1 through 92.