תהלים, פרק כ״ב, פסוק ח׳

The pain of isolation reaches its peak when a person becomes a public target for mockery. Surrounded by onlookers, the sufferer experiences profound humiliation as everyone nearby joins in the contempt. On a national level, this deeply personal suffering mirrors the experience of the Israelites during their exile, where they endure the ridicule of the nations around them [רד״ק].

This intense humiliation is expressed through two distinct physical actions. First, the onlookers use their mouths to attack. The primary approach among commentators is that the mockers open their lips to send forth words of shame and disrespect [רש״י, מצודת ציון, מלבי״ם, רד״ק, מאירי, מצודת דוד]. However, the assault is not always fully verbal. Instead of forming clear sentences, the attackers might simply make sounds of disgust, mutter under their breath, or contort their faces into expressions of pure disdain [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The second physical expression of this cruelty is the shaking of the head. This motion serves as a clear sign of absolute contempt and rejection [מצודת דוד, מאירי]. At times, this gesture is even more sinister, performed with a mask of fake pity and hypocritical sympathy for the sufferer's misery [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The specific order of these actions reveals a fascinating psychological picture of the attackers. Under normal circumstances, a person who looks down on someone else might begin with a quiet shake of the head before escalating to verbal insults. In this case, however, the hatred is so intense and blunt that the mockers skip the silent judgment entirely. They launch immediately into hurtful speech and only shake their heads afterward. Another perspective suggests that this sequence exposes a layer of deception. The attackers first open their lips to offer fake greetings of peace, giving mere lip service to politeness. Yet, a moment later, they shake their heads, stripping away the polite mask and exposing their true desire to mock and degrade [אלשיך].