If you will follow my decrees and observe my commandments and perform them...
The Midrash brings this Passuk and expounds on it as follows.
אם בחקתי תלכו. הדא הוא דכתיב, חשבתי דרכי ואשיבה רגלי אל עדתך. אמר דוד, רבונו של עולם בכל יום ויום היתי מחשב ואומר, למקום פלוני ולבית דירה פלונית אני הולך, והיו רגלי מביאות אותי לבתי כנסיות ולבתי מדרשות. הדא הוא דכתיב, חשבתי דרכי ואשיבה רגלי אל עדתך.
– ‘If you will follow my decrees’. This [i.e. the Passuk that says אם בחקתי תלכו which literally translate as, ‘If you will go in my decrees’, and doesn’t use the more grammatically correct words of, ‘If you will observe my decrees’] is to be understood in light of that which is written, ‘I considered my ways and I returned my feet to your testimonies’. In this Passuk Dovid Hamelech was saying as follows. “Master of the Universe! Each and every day I would plan and say to myself, “I am going to this place and to that residence”, but my feet would lead me to the Shul and Bais Midrash” [i.e. because Dovid was so accustomed to walking to Shul and Bais Midrash, his feet would lead him there, out of habit, even when he set out to go elsewhere]. Thus it is written, ‘I considered my ways and I returned my feet to your testimonies’. The Midrash is telling us that when the Torah says, ‘If you will go in my decrees’, it is indicating that Hashem wants the Jewish people to habituate themselves to the study of Torah to such a degree that they will instinctively go the Shul and Bais Midrash, where Hashem’s decrees are studied.
The Yifai To’ar asks on this Midrash; firstly, was this an act of madness, where Dovid Hamelech would start going in one direction and his feet would forcefully lead him in another direction? Secondly, why indeed did Dovid consider going to various places and residences instead of going to Shul and Bais Midrash to learn Torah?
The Gemara in Brochos
The Gemara in Brochos (ד ע"א) discuses a request that Dovid made of Hashem.
לדוד שמרה נפשי כי חסיד אני, וכו' כך אמר דוד לפני הקב"ה, רבש"ע לא חסיד אני שכל מלכי מזרח ומערב ישנים עד שלש שעות ואני חצות לילה אקום להודות לך וכו' שכל מלכי מזרח ומערב יושבים אגודות אגודות בכבודם ואני ידי מלוכלכות בדם וכו'
– Dovid says in Tehillim, ‘Guard my soul, for a devout man I am’... This is what Dovid said before Hashem: “Am I not devout, for all the other kings of the East and the West sleep until three hours into the day, but as for me ‘at midnight I arise to give thanks to you’... for all the other kings of the East and the West sit among their company in their glory, but as for me...”.
The Iyun Yaakov asks on this Gemara; how can it be that Dovid would want to receive his compensation for being devout in this world, rather than reap the obviously much greater reward in the world to come? He thus explains Dovid’s intention as follows. Because of the great stress and strain that running a kingdom puts on its ruler, all kings would unwind by sleeping late, and by relaxing and enjoying themselves with their friends. Dovid, on the other hand, didn’t waste his time in relaxation and enjoyment, and thus didn’t get the opportunity to unwind, and therefore requested of Hashem that he be protected from collapsing under the great stress and pressure that he would be under.
Explanation of Dovid's Actions
We can explain that, out of concern for his health due to the strain that ruling a kingdom may carry, Dovid did originally intend to go ahead and relax, just like the other kings, as the Torah (דברים ד' ט"ו) explicitly commands us, ונשמרתם מאד לנפשותיכם – And you shall take great care of your souls. Dovid thus felt it necessary to go to various places instead of going to learn Torah in order to relax his mind, but he would subsequently realize that he can indeed go learn Torah with no need to be concerned about his health, for the Gemara in Brochos (ה ע"א) teaches us that כל העוסק בתורה יסורין בדלין הימנו – Anyone who engages in Torah study, afflictions keep away from him.
We can now understand the phenomenon that occurred to Dovid, as he described in Tehillim. Originally, Dovid would resolve to go to various places of pleasure so that he can relax and take care of his health. But he would then realize that if, alternatively, he would go learn Torah, there would nonetheless be no need to be concerned for his health, for the Torah itself would protect him, and as a result he would subconsciously turn his feet to direct him to Shul and Bais Midrash to learn Torah.
זרע שמשון פרשת בחוקותי אות א
