עֵֽדֹתֶ֨יךָ | נֶֽאֶמְנ֬וּ מְאֹ֗ד לְבֵֽיתְךָ֥ נָֽאֲוָה־קֹ֑דֶשׁ ה׳ לְאֹ֣רֶךְ יָמִֽים:
If you took a survey and asked people to explain this pasuk, I think most people would say something along the lines of Rashi or the Metzudos:
Rashi translates נָֽאֲוָה (Teh 93:5) as referring to the "dwelling place" of Hashem, similar to what we say every day in az yashir נָחִ֥יתָ בְחַסְדְּךָ֖ עַם־ז֣וּ גּאָ֑לְתָּ נֵהַ֥לְתָּ בְעָזְּךָ֖ אֶל־נְוֵ֥ה קָדְשֶֽׁךָ:
Metzudas David explains נָֽאֲוָה to mean a place of beauty, like the term hidur mitzvah, or, to again borrow a pasul from az yashir, זֶ֤ה קלִי֙ וְאַנְוֵ֔הוּ, the source Chazal use for the mitzvah of hidur (see Targum that explains pshat in that phrase as a dwelling).
Radak has an original spin with a great message: ויש לפרש נאוה – תאוה וחשק, כלומר שכל אדם יתאוה ויחשוק לביתך שהוא קדש לאורך ימים Hashem's dwelling place is a place we should desire to want to go to. You shouldn't have to twist arms to get people to come to shul or the beis medrash.
Nafka minah between the explanations is not just the translation, but also where you put the comma. According to Rashi and the Metzudos, the comma is agter the word kodesh -- Hashem has a holy dwelling place. According to Radak, the comma is after נָֽאֲוָה, and קֹ֑דֶשׁ goes together with אורך ימים, it is holy for eternity. I have never heard anyone read the pasuk that way, probably because everyone assumes the Rashi/Metzudah meaning.
The trop, which has an esnachta on the word קדש, supports Rashi or Metzudas Dovid's reading. Which is why people read it that way. The Redak's pshat does not seem to fit with the trop, for the reason you give.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you can make much of a case from the trop in Tehillim. A random example: לִפְנֵ֤י ה׳ כִּ֬י בָ֗א כִּ֥י בָא֮ לִשְׁפֹּ֢ט הָ֫אָ֥רֶץ. There is an asnachta on lishpot -- do you think the pause belongs there and not after the word ha'aretz?
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