Surrounded by Bees

קיח.

בו יסופר גודל הבטחון שהיה לדוד והרבה תהלות להש”י שקיים לנו מה שהבטיח אותנו:

This psalm relates the great bitachon King Dovid had in Hashem,
and many praises to Hashem for fulfilling what He promised to us

10. All the nations surrounded me, but in the Name of the L-rd I will cut them down.		י. כָּל־גּוֹיִ֥ם סְבָב֑וּנִי בְּשֵׁ֥ם ה’ כִּ֣י אֲמִילַֽם:
All the nations surrounded me: This speaks about the war of Gog and Magog, when all the nations will be there, as it is said (Zech. 14:2): “And I shall gather all the nations to Jerusalem to wage war.”		כָּל גּוֹיִם סְבָבוּנִי. מְדַבֵּר בְּמִלְחֲמוֹת גּוֹג וּמָגוֹג שֶׁכָּל הַגּוֹיִם יִהְיוּ שָׂם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְאָסַפְתִּי אֶת כָּל הַגּוֹיִם אֶל יְרוּשָׁלַיִם לַמִּלְחָמָה (זכרי’ י”ד):
I will cut them down: Heb. אמילם, I shall cut them off, an expression of (above 90:6): “it is cut off (ימולל) and withers.”		אֲמִילַם. אַכְרִיתָ[ם]. לָשׁוֹן יְמוֹלֵל וְיָבֵשׁ (לעיל צא, ו):
11. They surrounded me, they encompassed me, but in the Name of the L-rd I will cut them down.		יא. סַבּ֥וּנִי גַם־סְבָב֑וּנִי בְּשֵׁ֥ם ה’ כִּ֣י אֲמִילַֽם:
12. They surrounded me like bees, yet they shall be extinguished like fiery thorns; in the Name of the L-rd I will cut them down.		יב. סַבּ֚וּנִי כִדְבֹרִ֗ים דֹּ֖֣עֲכוּ כְּאֵ֣שׁ קוֹצִ֑ים בְּשֵׁ֥ם ה’ כִּ֣י אֲמִילַֽם:
They shall be extinguished like fiery thorns: Every expression of דעיכה coincides with an expression of springing and skipping. It hastens to spring and skip from its place. Therefore, it fits with an expression of fire or with an expression of water, like (Iyov 6:17): “they jump (נדעכו) from their place.” Similarly (Iyov 17:1), “my days flicker (נזעכו).”; similarly (Iyov 18:6), “and his candle that is over him shall go out (ידעך),” in the way that the flame springs from the wick and ascends upward when it is extinguished.		דֹּעֲכוּ כְּאֵשׁ קוֹצִים. כָּל לְשׁוֹן דְּעִיכָה נוֹפֵל עַל לְשׁוֹן קְפִיצָה וְנִתּוּר, מְמַהֵר לִהְיוֹת נִתַּר וְנִתַּק מִמְּקוֹמוֹ. עַל כֵּן הוּא נוֹפֵל עַל לְשׁוֹן אֵשׁ וְעַל לְשׁוֹן מַיִם כְּמוֹ נִדְעֲכוּ מִמְּקוֹמָם (איוב ו’, יז) וְכֵן יְמֵי יָמַי נִזְעָכוּ (שם יז, א) וְכֵן נֵרוֹ עָלָיו יִדְעַךְ (שם יח, ו) כְּדֶרֶךְ שַׁלְהֶבֶת הֲנִתֶּקֶת מִן הַפְּתִילָה וְעוֹלָה לְמַעְלָה כְּשֶׁהִיא כָּבָה:

No Remains

Radak explains that the passuk doesn’t just say that they will be burned, rather they will be burned like thorns. This is to say that nothing will be left of them, not even coals that are left over when wood is burned.

How to Chase Away Bees?

The Mezritcher Magid explains that just as a person uses smoke to chase away bees from the beehive, in order to get to the honey, so too, a Jew who wants to chase away his Machshavos Zaros (unwanted thoughts) needs two things, just like the smoke that has two shades, black and white: love and fear of Hashem. (Magid D’varav l’Yaakov ch. 208, p. 102)

d’voirim b’teilim

The Alter Rebbe writes that the bees (d’voirim in Hebrew) referr to d’varim b’teilim – idle talk. Just like a bee produces sweet honey, so too a person may very much enjoy delving into a leisurely conversation of idle talk, but a bee can also sting — the consequences of such talk are dangerous and painful… (Mamarei Admor Hazakein Haktzarim p. 425)

“neither your honey nor your sting”

How did the famed Chassid and Mashpia, Reb Chanoch Hendel Kugel make his way to Lubavitch?

He was once sitting in shul and watching an elder Chassid davening for hours. As the Chassid reached the passuk in Hallel סבוני כדבורים, his emotion and passion reached tremdous heights.

When he concluded, Reb Hendel approached him and asked, “what about this passuk made you so exited?”

The Chassid explained: “The Yetzer Hara is like a bee which produces sweet honey; he won’t tell you right away to perform Aveiros, first, he will get you to do Miztvos and learn Torah which is as sweet as honey (see Hayom Yom 23 sivan). But then he will start stinging.’ He’ll ‘take you for a ride’ with his infamous shrewdness. 

“We, therefore, tell the Yetzer Hara, like we tell a bee, ‘Lo miduvshech v’lo mieiuktzeich — we want neither your honey nor your sting. Just leave us alone.”

“Where did you hear this?” Reb Hendel, who was an exceptionally emotional character, asked. He was directed to Lubavitch and the rest is history. ■