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David called himself pious (Psalms 86:2):

The Talmud questions this (Brachot 4a):

27:11). וְדָוִד מִי קָרֵי לְנַפְשֵׁיהּ ״חָסִיד״? וְהָכְתִיב ״לוּלֵא הֶאֱמַנְתִּי לִרְאוֹת בְּטוּב ה׳ בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים״, וְתָנָא מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי: לָמָּה נָקוּד עַל ״לוּלֵא״? — אָמַר דָּוִד לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא: רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, מוּבְטָח אֲנִי בְּךָ שֶׁאַתָּה מְשַׁלֵּם שָׂכָר טוֹב לַצַּדִּיקִים לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא, אֲבָל אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ אִם יֵשׁ לִי חֵלֶק בֵּינֵיהֶם אִם לָאו?! With regard to David’s statement, “Keep my soul, for I am pious,” the Gemara asks: Did David call himself pious? Isn’t it written: “If I had not [luleh] believed to look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalms 27:13). The dots that appear over the word luleh in the text indicate doubt and uncertainty of his piety, and whether he was deserving of a place in the land of the living (see Avot DeRabbi Natan 34). In the name of Rabbi Yosei, it was taught in a Tosefta: Why do dots appear over the word luleh, as if there are some reservations? Because David said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe. I have every confidence in You that You grant an excellent reward to the righteous in the World-to-Come since God’s ultimate goodness is manifest in the land of eternal life, but I still harbor uncertainty with regard to myself, and I do not know whether or not I definitely have a portion among them. In any case, apparently David was uncertain whether or not he deserved to receive a portion of God’s reward for the righteous; how, then, could he characterize himself as pious?

The answer:

שֶׁמָּא יִגְרוֹם הַחֵטְא. The Gemarra responds: His concern does not prove anything, as King David knew that he was pious. He was simply concerned lest a transgression that he might commit in the future will cause him to lose his opportunity to look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

What's the Chiddush? It is generally known that if one sins he or she might potentially lose his/her heaven. Duh! Why the need for the dots on the word? Even if the verse would state - לוּלֵא הֶאֱמַנְתִּי לִרְאוֹת בְּטוּב ה׳ בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים - without dots, I would realize that David, the greatest Chassid of all time, certainly knew that with a future still in front of him he could not be assured of his place in heaven. Do you mean to tell me that without the dots I would have thought that David was certain that his past and current Chassid status was going to guarantee him heaven?!

GratefulD
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  • I think this question may relate to the question of whether or not Dovid had a classical existence as a person at all (i.e. he only lived because Adam donated 70 years to him). – The GRAPKE Mar 03 '24 at 12:48
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    I know many people who are convinced in their infallibility. I find the humility to be quite the chiddush. – אילפא Mar 03 '24 at 13:03
  • Note in our version of Tanach there are dots above and below this word – Double AA Mar 03 '24 at 15:56
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    The Gemara also says (Yoma 38b, bottom) that Hashem protects the חסיד from sinning. So without the dots, we might well say that David could depend on that for a guarantee that he'd have a place בארץ החיים. – Meir Mar 04 '24 at 15:42
  • @ Meir. Thank you! Based on that Gemara -
    (אָמַר) רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: כֵּיוָן שֶׁיָּצְאוּ רוֹב שְׁנוֹתָיו שֶׁל אָדָם וְלֹא חָטָא — שׁוּב אֵינוֹ חוֹטֵא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״רַגְלֵי חֲסִידָיו יִשְׁמוֹר״, דְּבֵי רַבִּי שֵׁילָא אָמְרִי: כֵּיוָן שֶׁבָּאָה לְיָדוֹ דְּבַר עֲבֵירָה פַּעַם רִאשׁוֹנָה וּשְׁנִיָּה וְאֵינוֹ חוֹטֵא — שׁוּב אֵינוֹ חוֹטֵא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״רַגְלֵי חֲסִידָיו יִשְׁמוֹר״- I wonder why David was worried about his heaven - why would שמא יגרום החםא effect one who cannot sin in the future?     – GratefulD Mar 05 '24 at 11:04

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