Psalms for Our Times: Rashi Counters Christological Readings

It is becoming increasingly accepted that Rashi reacted polemically to Christian beliefs and Bible interpretation,^[1] and that, throughout his commentaries, he was implicitly refuting the Christian claim that God had rejected Israel. He thus made the Bible a vehicle for upholding the faith of the Jewish people in their dark exile in Christian Europe. As Avraham Grossman puts it, the great sage of Troyes “actualized” the text of Scripture: that is to say, he read the biblical text as being directly relevant to the situation of the Jewish people of his time.^[2] This endeavor is particularly evident in Rashi’s commentary on the Psalms.

David Not the Messiah: Psalm 2

Rashi’s commentary on Psalm 2^[3] begins by noting a Christian interpretation, as we can see in an early manuscript from the Moscow State library. The censors, however, changed it to be a reference to a rabbinic interpretation:

^{רש"י תהלים ב:א} רבים מתלמידי ישו (צנזורה: "רבותינו") דרשו את העניין על מלך המשיח.

^{Rashi Psalms 2:1} Many of the students of Jesus (censor: “Our rabbis”) interpreted this matter about the king Messiah.^[4]

As Robert Harris has shown, it would not have been unusual for Rashi, following a midrashic trend, to interpret some psalms about the future King Messiah.^[5] For example, on Psalms 43:3, Rashi comments:

^{רש"י תהלים מג:ג} "שלח אורך ואמתך"—מלך המשיח שנדמה לאור שנאמר (תהילים קלב:יז): "ערכתי נר למשיחי", ואליהו הנביא שהוא אמיתי נביא נאמן:

^{Rashi Psalms 43:3} “Send Your light and Your truth”—[that is,] the King Messiah, who is compared to light, as it is stated (Psalms 132:17): “I have set up a lamp for my anointed” and Elijah the prophet, who is true [hence, “Your truth”], a faithful prophet.

Here Rashi adopts a midrashic reading of the psalmist’s supplication as a reference to the future Messiah.^[6]

In Psalm 2, however, Rashi avoided such an interpretation because he was aware that Christian interpretation identified “his anointed one” in this psalm with Jesus Christ (lit. “the anointed one”). Already in the Acts of the Apostles, after the high priests release Peter and John from arrest, the two apostles return to their fellow followers of Jesus, who quote two verses from this Psalm:

^{Acts 4:24} When they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, ^4:25 it is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant (Ps 2:10):

‘Why did the gentiles rage and the peoples imagine vain things? ^4:26 The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers have gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.’

Then they interpret the passage to be about Jesus:

^{Acts 4:27} For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, ^4:28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.”

Rashi sought to undercut the Christological interpretive approach by taking David himself, the presumed author of the psalm,^[7] to be its subject:

^{רש"י תהלים ב:א} ולפי משמעו ולתשובת המינין נכון לפותרו על עצמו לעיניין שנאמר: "וישמעו פלשתים כי משחו ישראל את דוד למלך עליהם" (שמואל ב ה:יז) ויקבצו פלשתים את מחניהם^[8] ונפלו בידו. ועליהם אמר: "למה רגשו ונתקבצו גוים."

^{Rashi Ps 2:1} But according to its literal sense (mashma‘)^[9] and as a rebuttal of (“answer to”; teshuvah) the minim (heretics, i.e., Christians) it is [more] accurate to interpret it about David himself. As it is said, “the Philistines heard that Israel anointed David as King” (2 Samuel 5:17), so the Philistines gathered their armies and they fell into his hand. And about them he says (Ps 2:1) “why do the nations rage and gather.”

Rashi brings evidence from the narrative in 2 Samuel that “His anointed one” is best interpreted according to the “literal sense,” i.e., within its historical context about David himself, rather than prophetically about some other “anointed one” in the future.

A Prophecy of Exile: Psalm 22

In his endeavor to counter Christian exegesis, Rashi does more than look for historical context. Rather, he transforms Psalms from a book about King David’s personal supplications into a source of religious guidance and solace to his coreligionists in their time of despair. In Rashi’s opinion, King David wrote the psalms prophetically about Israel בגלות “in exile”—the exile of his own time.

A good example of how Rashi works is connected to the famous verse with which Psalm 22 opens:

^{תהלים כב:ב} אֵלִי אֵלִי לָמָה עֲזַבְתָּנִי רָחוֹק מִישׁוּעָתִי דִּבְרֵי שַׁאֲגָתִי. ^כב:ג אֱ‍לֹהַי אֶקְרָא יוֹמָם וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה וְלַיְלָה וְלֹא דוּמִיָּה לִי.

^{Ps 22:2} My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? ^22:3 My God, I cry by day, but You answer not; by night, and I have no respite.

The Gospel of Mark, followed by the Gospel of Matthew (27:46) which used Mark as a source, depicts Jesus saying this opening verse in Aramaic on the cross, as his final words:

^{Mark 15:34} At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (שׁבקתני) which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (NRSV)^[10]

Upon this verse, Rashi comments:

^{רש"י תהלים כב:ב} עתידה ללכת בגולה ואמר דוד תפלה זו על העתיד... ^כב:ג ...אני קוראה לך מיום אל יום ואינך עונה.

^{Rashi Ps 22:2} She [the nation of Israel] will go into exile; and so, David uttered this prayer for the future… ^22:3 [when the Jewish people will say:] “I cry out to You every day, but you do not answer!”

Among Rashi’s Christian neighbors, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” was a verse loaded with religious significance about Jesus. Indeed, the entire Psalm was interpreted in the New Testament in reference to the Passion of Christ.^[11] When seen in this context, we can appreciate the statement that Rashi is making by positing King David’s intention for the verse to be used by the Jewish people in their dark exile to express their supplication to God.^[12]

Yedutun, Suffering Persecution for Torah: Psalm 39

Tradition attributes the book of Psalms to King David, but some of the individual psalms have superscriptions attributing them to other authors. Thus, in addition to David, the Talmud lists ten authors whose work David included in the collection, one of whom is named Yedutun:

^{בבלי בבא בתרא יד: [המבורג 165]} דוד כתב ספר תלים על ידי עשרה זקנים על ידי אדם הראשון (ו)על ידי מלכי צדק ועל ידי אברהם ועל ידי משה ועל ידי הימן ועל ידי ידותון ועל ידי אסף ועל ידי שלשה בני קרח

^{b. Bava Batra 14b} David wrote the book of Psalms by the hands of ten elders: by the hands of Adam, Melchizedek, Abraham, Moses, Heiman, Yedutun, Asaph,^[13] and the three sons of Korah.

In his commentary on the passage, Rashi explains that some of the more obscure individuals, including Yedutun, were contemporaries of David:

^{רש"י בבא בתרא יד:} "על ידי עשרה זקנים"—כתב בו דברים שאמרו זקנים הללו שהיו לפניו ויש שהיו בימיו כגון אסף והימן וידותון מן הלוים המשוררים.

^{Rashi Bava Batra 14b} “By the hands of ten elders”—[David] wrote in it things that these elders had said who were before him, and some were in his days like Asaph and Heiman and Yedutun of the Levite singers.

In his introduction to the Psalms, however, Rashi cites a debate about whether Yedutun is indeed the name of a person or if it has a different meaning:

^{רש"י הקדמה לתהלים} וחלוקין על ידותון: י[ש] א[ומרים] אדם היה כמ[ו] שכ[תוב] בד[ברי] ה[ימים], וי[ש] א[ומרים] אין ידותון שבספר זה אלא ע[ל] ש[ם] הדתות והדינים של גזירות שעברו עליו ועל ישראל.

^{Rashi Intro to Psalms} Concerning “Yedutun,” there is a dispute. Some say that Yedutun was a man, as is written in Chronicles. Others maintain that Yedutun mentioned in this Book means nothing else but the edicts (דתות) and laws of the decrees that were passed over him [King David] and over Israel.^[14]

Yedutun is mentioned in the introductory verse of Psalm 39:

^{תהלים לט:א} לַמְנַצֵּחַ (לידיתון) [לִידוּתוּן] מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד.

^{Ps 39:1} For the leader; by Yedutun (or “with a yedutun” or “concerning yedutun”). A psalm of David.

Rashi offers three explanations for the term in his gloss on the verse:

^{רש"י תהלים לט:א} "לידותון" – שם אדם אחד מן המשוררים (דברי הימים ב ה:יב) וגם כלי שיר היה שם ששמו ידותון. ומדרש אגדה: על הדתות ועל הדינין והגזירות של צרה הנגזרות על ישראל.

^{Rashi Psalms 39:1} “For Yedutun”—The name of one of the [Levitical] singers (2 Chron 5:12). Also, there was a musical instrument that was called a yedutun. According to the Midrash Aggadah: concerning the edicts (דתות) and concerning the distressing laws and decrees decreed upon Israel.

Rashi then elucidates the next verses of the psalm based on the Midrash Aggadah of yedutun as edicts:

^{תהלים לט:ב} אָמַרְתִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה דְרָכַי מֵחֲטוֹא בִלְשׁוֹנִי אֶשְׁמְרָה לְפִי מַחְסוֹם בְּעֹד רָשָׁע לְנֶגְדִּי.

^{Ps 39:2} I resolved I would watch my step lest I offend by my speech. I would keep my mouth muzzled while the wicked man was in my presence.

Though the psalmist speaks in the singular form, Rashi interprets the words as uttered by the collective Jewish people, who maintain their loyalty to God’s laws despite persecution:

^{רש"י תהלים לט:ב} "אמרתי אשמרה דרכי וגו'" – אנחנו היה בלבנו לשמור את עצמנו על כל הצרות הבאות עלינו שלא נהרהר ונדבר קשה אחר מדת הדין אף על פי שהרשעים לנגדנו המצירים לנו.

^{Rashi Psalms 39:2} “I said, ‘I will guard my ways, etc.’” – As for us, with all the troubles that come upon us, we had in mind to watch ourselves, neither to criticize nor speak harshly of the Divine Attribute of Justice, even though the wicked who oppress us are before us.

The Psalmist continues with his personal experience of silence and pain:

^{תהלים לט:ג} נֶאֱלַמְתִּי דוּמִיָּה הֶחֱשֵׁיתִי מִטּוֹב וּכְאֵבִי נֶעְכָּר.

^{Ps 39:3} I was struck dumb, silent (lit. “silent from good”), I was very still while my pain was intense.

Rashi interprets the verse as the Jewish people being silent from Torah study in fear of the persecutors:

^{רש"י לט:ג} ונאלמנו דומייה ימים רבים, גם החשינו מטוב אפילו מדברי תורה מפני יראתם ומתוך כך כאיבנו נעכר –  ונבהל.

^{Rashi Ps 39:3} : We were struck dumb, we were silent even “from good” – even from words of Torah, because of our fear of them (i.e., the oppressors). And that caused our pain to be intense and we were frightened.

The psalmist continues with how difficult the situation has become, and thus calls out to YHWH to ask how long he will have to live and suffer:

^{תהלים לט:ד} חַם לִבִּי בְּקִרְבִּי בַּהֲגִיגִי תִבְעַר אֵשׁ דִּבַּרְתִּי בִּלְשׁוֹנִי. ^לט:ה הוֹדִיעֵנִי יְ־הוָה קִצִּי וּמִדַּת יָמַי מַה הִיא אֵדְעָה מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי.

^{Ps 39:4} My mind was in a rage, my thoughts were all aflame; I spoke out: ^39:5 Tell me, O YHWH, what my term is (lit. “what is my end”), what is the measure of my days; I would know how fleeting my life is.

Rashi reads these verses as collective Israel asking to know when the end of days will come, and their suffering come to end:

^{רש"י תהלים לט:ד} וכששתקנו חם לבנו בקרבנו ובהגיון לבנו בוער בנו כמו אש והוא גורם לנו שאנו מדברים בלשוננו לפניך ^לט:ה וזו היא שאנו מדברים הודיענו י"י קיצנו עד מתי נהיה בצרה ונדע מתי נהיה אנחנו חדלים ממנה.

^{Rashi Ps 39:4} When we were silent, our heart was hot within us and in the thought of our heart it burns in us like fire. That causes us to speak with our tongue to You, ^39:5 and this is what we say: “O Lord, let us know our end.” How long will we be in distress? Let us know when we will be over it!

By utilizing the midrashic reading of yedutun as “edicts,” Rashi is able to turn a psalm about personal suffering into a reflection on the fear and trepidation that gripped the Jews in his time—and indeed throughout their dark exile as a hated minority in Christian Europe.

God’s Eternal Commitment: Psalm 77

For Rashi, the Psalms provided the Jews of his time with the religious-literary means to express their despair and even their doubts about God’s eternal commitment to them, as we have seen in his commentary on Psalm 39. We find this as well in Psalm 77, where, paraphrasing the psalmist’s laments, Rashi writes:

^{רש"י תהלים עז:ה} ...בלילה זה של גלות תמיד עיניי נדבקות כאדם נרדם מאוֺטֵם לב בצרות שאני רואה... ^עז:ח ואני תמיה הלעולמים יזנח ^עז:ט ...שמא כלה לנצח חסדו.

^{Rashi Ps 77:5} In this night of exile I close my eyes, fainting from a weakened heart from calamities I witness…. ^77:8 And I wonder: Will he neglect [us] forever? ^77:9 …perhaps His kindness has ended?”^[15]

This theme of despair is not uncommon in the Ashkenazic piyyutim, the liturgical poetry added to the communal prayers, especially during special occasions and holidays.^[16] Rashi, however, reads in into the biblical text, by construing the words of the Psalms as being said by the Jewish people of his troubled times, what Avraham Grossman refers to as “actualization.”

Tackling Converting Out: Psalm 84

In light of their impoverishment and persecution, it is understandable that some Jews actually did succumb to the temptation to convert to Christianity. Rashi addresses this crisis as well in his gloss on those who pass through Emek Habakha, “the Valley of Crying”:

^{תהלים פד:ז} עֹבְרֵי בְּעֵמֶק הַבָּכָא מַעְיָן יְשִׁיתוּהוּ גַּם בְּרָכוֹת יַעְטֶה מוֹרֶה.

^{Ps 84:7} They pass through the Valley of Bakha (“Crying”), regarding it as a place of springs, as if the early rain had covered it with blessing.

Rashi understands the first part of the verse as referring to Jews who converted to Christianity and suffer the consequences:

^{רש"י תהלים פד:ז} אותם העוברים על דתך והנם בעמקה של גהנם בבכי ויללה.

^{Rashi Ps 84:7} …those who violated Your law, and they are in the depths of Gehenna, crying and wailing.

But, Rashi continues, these Jews will eventually recognize their errors and confess:

יפה דן אותנו ואמת דינו...

He punished us appropriately and His judgment was correct…

By contrast, the psalmist himself remains steadfast, saying:

^{תהלים פד:יא} כִּי טוֹב יוֹם בַּחֲצֵרֶיךָ מֵאָלֶף בָּחַרְתִּי הִסְתּוֹפֵף בְּבֵית אֱלֹהַי מִדּוּר בְּאָהֳלֵי רֶשַׁע.

^{Ps 84:11} I would rather stand at the threshold of God’s house than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Rashi interprets this verse as the psalmist speaking for those who remained in “God’s house,” namely Judaism, understanding “the tents of the wicked” as a reference to Christianity, using the coded language of “Esau”:

^{רש"י תהלים פד:יא} ... מלהיות דר בשלוה באהלי עשו הרשע להדבק בהם

^{Rashi Ps 84:11} …rather than dwell in peace in the tents of the wicked Esau, to assimilate among [lit. to stick to] them.^[17]

Rashi’s Jewish readers would have immediately understood his references to the temptation to convert, to rescue themselves from their predicament among a hated minority and “dwell in peace.”

Why the Psalms?

Rashi’s use of his Psalms commentary to respond to specific Christological readings and, more broadly, to buttress Jewish faith and morale may be connected to the place the book held among his Christian neighbors. Psalms was the most beloved and commented-on book of the Old Testament in medieval Latin Christendom (akin to the Torah for Jews), as it was believed to have been composed prophetically, dealing primarily with Christ and the Church.^[18]

Traditional patristic commentaries extracted this meaning of the Psalms exclusively through allegorical or “mystical” (“mysterious”) interpretation, akin to midrashic works like Shocher Tov, the medieval midrash on Psalms. In Rashi's day, however, there was a dramatic new development with the innovative and influential exegetical work of St. Bruno the Carthusian (1030-1101).^[19] In his substantial commentary on Psalms,^[20] Bruno harnessed the language arts of Classical learning applied to secular poetry, in what was referred to as enarratio poetarum (“interpreting the poets”), to discover the intentions of the biblical authors,^[21] whom he saw as inspired by the “Holy Spirit.” On Psalm 19, for example, Bruno writes:

Foreseeing the preachers who will be sent by God for the instruction of the Church, and foreseeing too that, by their wondrous office, the Law will be expounded through the Holy Spirit for the instruction of their successors, making it immaculate and holy, the Prophet [David], in his joy, intends, through the activity of the Holy Spirit, to prophesy all of these future events as though they were happening in the present.^[22]

Bruno at times takes note of the literal sense; but that is not his focus. Rather, he selected among the patristic commentaries those most suited to the language and sequence of the verses. “In Bruno’s exegesis,” writes Andrew Kraebel, “allegorical meaning is part of the human author’s intention, inhering, as with any other literary device, in the words that David has written.”^[23] As Bruno writes in his prologue to the Psalms:

The intention of this work is shown to be various through the diversity of its individual titles. For [David] sometimes intends to prophesy of the Incarnation, the Nativity, the Passion, the Resurrection, and the other acts of Christ, and at other times of the salvation of the good and the damnation of the wicked.^[24]

To quote Kraebel again, “the carefully articulated place of allegory in Bruno’s commentary on the text of the Psalms reinforces and is of a piece with his grammatical or poetic hermeneutic: the Psalmist was a prophetic poet who worked carefully to insinuate into his verse his knowledge of future salvation history.”^[25]

Rashi’s Use of Psalms

As I argued in my “Rashi’s Revolutionary Commentary Deviates from Midrash, Why?” (TheTorah, 2024), we must consider the possibility that Bruno’s work in refining the traditional Christian allegorical mode of Bible exegesis according to the methods of enarratio poetarum could have come to Rashi’s attention and prompted him to produce a Jewish response—a critical selection of midrashic interpretation that adheres to the sequence and language of the biblical text.^[26] In Psalms, however, to which Bruno’s work was especially focused, Rashi did more than simply use a Jewish version of the method.

Perhaps because of the dominance of the Psalms in his Christian religious milieu, Rashi felt a special need to demonstrate its unique message to the Jewish people. To do this, he would resort to various approaches depending on what the context called for, which can be seen in the short survey above.

In Psalm 2, Rashi interpreted in a literary historical fashion, to counter a Jesus-as-Messiah interpretation with that of King David as God’s anointed. Psalm 22 becomes a prophecy about Israel’s future as opposed to one about Jesus on the cross. Psalms 39 and 77 become the Jewish people’s laments over feeling abandoned. And Psalm 84 becomes mourning for Jews who go through Gehenna, “the valley of tears,” as a result of their conversion to Christianity under pressure, and solidarity with those who brave a continued Jewish life rather than seek solace in the Christian “tents of Esau.”