One of the hardest verses to understand in Tanach is found in Psalms 37:25
I was young now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread
How is one to read this verse without images in their mind that contradict the simple meaning of the verse?
In To Heal a Fractured World, Jonathan Sacks provides an explanation that he believes originated with Rav Joseph Soloveitchik.
The Hebrew word for the verb seen is Raiti. According to this explanation, the verb seen [Raiti] should be read in the same manner that it is found in Megillat Esther. There, (Esther 8:6) we find Esther pleading with Achashveirosh, and she says
How can I bear to see [Raiti] disaster fall upon my people?
"To see" here means to stand still and watch. Thus the verse from Psalms should be read as
I was young now I am old, yet I have never stood still and watched while the righteous were forsaken or their children begging for bread
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