Tehillim 110—and the Secret of David HaMelech's Five Stones

Tehillim 110—and the Secret of David HaMelech's Five Stones

Tehillim 110:2 “Mateh uzekha yishlach Hashem miTziyon”— (The L-rd will send the staff of His might from Zion). David HaMelech composed this psalm after defeating Goliath. David went into battle against Goliath with the Name of the Most High. Goliath blasphemed the Jewish G-d for 40 days. The Talmud (tractate Sotah, 42b) says that Goliath challenged G-d to battle. He relied on his own strength—the strength of a mighty warrior more than three meters tall. David said to Goliath: “You come against me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come against you with the Name of the L-rd of Hosts, the G-d of the ranks of Israel, Whom you have blasphemed.” (I Samuel 17:45) David took a sling and five smooth stones from the river. It is stated in the Zohar HaKadosh (Ekev, 272a) that the secret of David's sling lies in the prayer “Shema Yisrael.” The first five words—“Hear, O Israel! The L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One!” (Devarim 6:4)—are the secret of the five stones David took (“our G-d” is one word in Hebrew). The sixth word, “One,” alludes to the miracle that occurred at the moment David placed the five stones in the sling: they became one stone. With this stone, David pierced the bronze helmet—which was itself a miracle—and the stone lodged in Goliath's forehead. Why the forehead? As a symbol of the fact that Goliath did not understand that “the L-rd is One”—that He alone is the source of all power. Why was Goliath not overcome for 40 days? It was in the merit of his mother Orpah, who had performed a kindness by accompanying the righteous Naomi for 40 days as she returned to the Land of Israel. Orpah's Four Tears The story of Naomi and her daughters-in-law is well known. After her two sons and her husband died in the land of Moab, she decided to return home, to Israel. Her daughters-in-law also wished to accompany her. But Naomi insisted that they return to their parents, and one of them—Orpah—gave in. Four tears fell from Orpah's eyes at their parting. The Talmud says that Hashem rewarded her for this: she had four sons. One of them was Goliath. Why was Goliath killed after 40 days? Because David confronted him with the power of the Torah that Moshe Rabbeinu received over 40 days on Mount Sinai. This is the secret of David's five stones, corresponding to the Five Books of the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu and the five books of Tehillim praising the Most High, whom Goliath had blasphemed. The Sages teach that David's battle with Goliath is connected to the final war of Gog and Magog, through which Mashiach, the son of David, will be revealed. David went into battle with a staff: “The L-rd will send the staff of His might from Zion.” The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Bamidbar, 763) says that the words “the staff of His might” contain an allusion to the staff of Mashiach, which will be revealed at the end of days. This is the very staff that belonged to the forefather Yaakov, to Yehudah, to Moshe, and to King David. In the future, it will be given to Mashiach, and with its help he will wage war against his enemies. The second chapter of the Book of Daniel tells how the Babylonian king Nevuchadnetzar saw an idol in a dream. At the end of the dream, a stone thrown by no human hand struck the idol's feet, and the idol was destroyed. The Midrash Tanchuma (Parashat Terumah) says that the thrown stone is the King Mashiach, and that the revelation of Mashiach brings the four exiles of the Jewish people to an end. So too, in David's duel with Goliath, it is the thrown stone that decides the battle. The greatest Kabbalist, Rabbi Natan Neta Shapira, writes in his book Megaleh Amukot that in the spelling of the name “Goliath”—גלית—(Golyat), two letters “vav” appear to be omitted (in the shortened spelling). If they are restored, the word “Galuyot” גלויות—(exiles) is formed. It was as though all the evil of the four kingdoms and the four exiles of the Jewish people had been embodied in Goliath. David fought this evil then; in the future, Mashiach, the son of David, will do so. (Based on the book David's Candle by Moshe Abramovich)