תהלים, פרק קכ״ט, פסוק ז׳

The imagery of grass sprouting on rooftops paints a vivid picture of a meager, useless crop that yields neither fruit nor blessing. This bleak scene stands in sharp contrast to the familiar, joyful image of an abundant harvest where workers return happily from the fields carrying heavy sheaves [אבן עזרא]. During a normal harvest, a worker grabs a large, thick bunch of stalks all at once. In this desolate scene, however, the stalks are so few, short, and scattered that the harvester cannot even fill a single hand [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ, מלבי״ם]. Following the harvester is the gatherer, whose job is to collect the cut stalks and bind them into sheaves [רד״ק, אבן עזרא, מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The primary approach among commentators is that this gatherer would typically fold up the hem of his coat to carry the collected stalks [רש״י, מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ, אבן עזרא], though some suggest he used a dedicated container [מלבי״ם]. Regardless of the method, the yield is so pitifully sparse that the gatherer cannot fill his garment or his vessel, as the crop never reached a stage where it could be properly harvested [רד״ק, מצודת דוד].

Beyond the agricultural description, commentators uncover a deep symbolic layer. One approach views this sparse, scattered crop as a metaphor for the wicked. Just as the flimsy grass cannot be gathered into a unified bundle, wicked individuals—even during moments of temporary success and tranquility—remain fractured and completely incapable of uniting [מלבי״ם]. Taking a different perspective, another interpretation applies this tragic imagery to the Israelites just before the destruction of their homeland. Their prosperity had dwindled so drastically that they resembled this pathetic, empty harvest. Seeing them at such a low point, the enemies of Zion were filled with such deep hatred that they refused to offer even a basic greeting of peace [אלשיך].