Zohar on Tehillim 35 - A Prayer for One's Enemies
This is the prayer of a person betrayed by his friends, whose supporters became his enemies. David composed this prayer while hiding from King Shaul, after being slandered, declared an enemy of the king, and pursued throughout the land. - «Be an enemy to my enemies, and fight those who fight me». - «Be an enemy—to prevent the war from beginning, so that it will not come to war. But if it has already begun, - fight those who fight me» . (Tefilat David) - «Bar the way of my pursuers» - King David did not wish death upon his enemies; he asked for salvation. (Eretz Chaim) - «Their way will be dark and slippery» - these are two misfortunes, and the third is that «the angel of the L-rd will pursue them». - «All my bones say» - from this verse it is taught that during prayer a person should not remain motionless. It is customary during the prayer of the «Amidah» to sway the entire body to the rhythm of its verses. (Beit Aharon) - «They repay me evil for good, bringing irreparable loss to my soul» - the fact that people repay good with evil makes one question whether it is worthwhile to do good. But this doubt leads to the destruction of the soul. (Shaarei Chaim) - «When they were ill, I dressed in sackcloth» - Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi said: a person is obligated to pray that sinners repent and be spared Gehinnom, as it is stated: «When they were ill»... « Rabbi said: “A person is forbidden to pray for the destruction of sinners, for if the Almighty had destroyed Abraham's father, Terah, when he was an idolater, there would have been no Abraham, no Tribes of Israel, no King David and no Anointed King, the Torah would not have been given, and all the righteous and prophets would never have appeared in the world.”. (compiled by the website based on the Zohar HaKadosh, edited by Rav Tzvi Nisan Zon, Bereishit 105a)
Zohar on Tehillim 35 - A Prayer for One's Enemies
Was this helpful?
100% of readers found this article helpful (45 votes).
Please note: some articles on our site contain the holy Names of the Almighty. If you print these articles, they may not be thrown away or destroyed. Please handle printed copies with care and respect.
Tags: Zohar on Tehillim, Prayer for Enemies, Psalm 35, Tehillim 35
