(Lev. 14:34:) WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND OF CANAAN…, AND WHEN I PUT A PLAGUE OF LEPROSY IN A HOUSE OF THE LAND YOU POSSESS . This text is related (to Ps. 73:1): BUT (akh) [GOD] IS GOOD TO ISRAEL. Could it mean to all Israel ? The text reads (ibid., cont.): TO THE PURE IN HEART.⁴¹ [Similarly you say on the matter (in Lam. 3:25): THE LORD IS GOOD TO THOSE WHO TRUST IN HIM. Could it mean to all? The text reads (ibid., cont.:) TO THE SOUL THAT SEEKS HIM. Similarly you say on the matter (in Nahum 1:7): THE LORD IS GOOD, A SHELTER IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE. Could it mean to all? The text reads (ibid., cont.): AND HE KNOWS THOSE WHO SEEK REFUGE IN HIM. Similarly you say on the subject (in Ps. 145:9): THE LORD IS GOOD TO ALL. Could it mean to all? The text reads (ibid., cont.): AND HIS MERCY IS UPON ALL HIS WORKS. Similarly you say on the matter (in Ps. 84:6 [5]): BLESSED IS THE ONE WHOSE STRENGTH IS IN YOU. Could it mean to all? The text reads (ibid., cont.): IN WHOSE HEART ARE THE HIGHWAYS. These are the ones in whose hearts lie the pathways of the Law. Similarly on the matter (there is Ps. 125:4): DO GOOD, O LORD, TO THE GOOD. Could it mean to all? The text reads (ibid., cont.): AND FOR THOSE WHO ARE UPRIGHT IN THEIR HEARTS. Similarly on the matter (there is Ps. 145:18): THE LORD IS NEAR TO ALL WHO CALL TO HIM. Could it mean to all? The text reads (ibid., cont.): TO ALL WHO CALL TO HIM IN TRUTH. Similarly you say on the matter (in Micah 7:18): WHO IS A GOD LIKE YOU THAT FORGIVES INIQUITY, AND PASSES OVER THE TRANSGRESSION. Could it mean for all? The text reads (ibid., cont.): FOR THE REMNANT OF HIS HERITAGE. Therefore (in Ps. 73:1): GOD IS TRULY GOOD TO ISRAEL, TO THE PURE IN HEART. It does not say: "God is good to Israel"; instead it reads : BUT (akh) GOD IS GOOD TO ISRAEL . BUT (akh) implies a limitation.⁴². (Buber), Gen. 1:8, and the parallels listed there. The afflictions which he brought upon them are good. Good for what? FOR THE PURE IN HEART, to purify their heart today for the world to come. It is therefore stated (in Ps. 73:1): BUT (akh) GOD IS GOOD TO ISRAEL , TO THE PURE IN HEART. (Ibid., vs. 3:) FOR I WAS ENVIOUS OF THOSE WHO RAGE (holelim) WHEN I SAW THE PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED. I saw their well-being, and I was envious. I.e., I was envious of those who commit profane acts continuously (halalim halalim),⁴³ in Ps. 73:3, as coming from the same root as halalim by changing the h from the he in the Psalm to a het. as stated (in Job 15:20): A WICKED PERSON ACTS PROFANELY (metholel)⁴⁴ as equivalent to the het used here in Job and in addition interprets the whole word as coming from the root HLL. In the biblical text of Job 15:20, metholel comes from the root HYL and means “writhe in torment.” ALL HIS DAYS. (Ps. 73:3:) THE PROSPERITY (shalom) OF THE WICKED: they dwell in quiet and tranquility. (Job 21:9:) THEIR HOUSES ARE SECURE (shalom), WITHOUT FEAR, NOR IS THE ROD OF GOD UPON THEM. (Ps. 73:4:) FOR THERE ARE NO PANGS AT THEIR DEATH, AND THEIR BODY ('WLM) IS SOUND. What pangs? You were not brought down to nothing,⁴⁵, Pss., 808, which has a slightly different verb and can be translated: “You were anxious for nothing.” nor were you chained to suffering. (Ibid.:) AND THEIR BODY ('WLM) IS HEALTHY; therefore, they are as sound as the vestibule ('WLM) (of the Temple).

footnotes: ⁴¹ Lev. R. 17:1; Lam. R. 3:25 (9): M. Pss. 4:5. ⁴² See above, Tanh ⁴³ The midrash interprets holelim ⁴⁴ Again the midrash interprets the Psalmist’s he ⁴⁵ Cf. the parallel in Yalqut Shim‘oni

Another interpretation (of Ps. 73:4): AND THEIR BODY ('WLM) IS SOUND, in that they are as sound as the one who bears the world ('WLM). Ps. 73:7:) THEIR EYES STAND OUT FROM FATNESS; THEY HAVE PASSED BEYOND THE IMAGINATIONS OF THEIR HEART.]