Wednesday, September 13, 2017

The Power Of A Good Davening

לזכות ידי"נ הר"ר יאיר הילמן שליט"א אשתו וכל אשר לו
Let us learn a perek of tehillim [13]:

א לַֽ֜מְנַצֵּ֗חַ מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד:ב עַד־אָ֣נָה יְ֖הֹוָה תִּשְׁכָּחֵ֣נִי נֶ֑צַח עַד־אָ֓נָה | תַּסְתִּ֖יר אֶת־פָּנֶ֣יךָ מִמֶּֽנִּי:ג עַד־אָ֨נָה אָשִׁ֪ית עֵצ֡וֹת בְּנַפְשִׁ֗י יָג֣וֹן בִּלְבָבִ֣י יוֹמָ֑ם עַד־אָ֓נָה | יָר֖וּם אֹֽיְבִ֣י עָלָֽי:ד הַבִּ֣יטָֽה עֲ֖נֵנִי יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֑י הָאִ֥ירָה עֵ֜ינַ֗י פֶּן־אִישַׁ֥ן הַמָּֽוֶת:ה פֶּן־יֹאמַ֣ר אֹֽיְבִ֣י יְכָלְתִּ֑יו צָרַ֥י יָ֜גִ֗ילוּ כִּ֣י אֶמּֽוֹט:ו וַֽאֲנִ֚י | בְּחַסְדְּךָ֣ בָטַחְתִּי֘ יָגֵ֪ל לִבִּ֗י בִּישֽׁוּעָ֫תֶ֥ךָ אָשִׁ֥ירָה לַֽיהֹוָ֑ה כִּ֖י גָמַ֥ל עָלָֽי:

1 To the conductor, a song of David.
2 How long, Hashem? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
3 How long will I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart by day; how long will my enemy have the upper hand over me?
4 Look and answer me, O Hashem my God; enlighten my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death.
5 Lest my enemy say, "I have overwhelmed him"; my adversaries will rejoice when I totter.
6 But I trusted in Your loving-kindness, my heart will rejoice in Your salvation; I will sing to the Hashem for He has bestowed [it] upon me.

The author [Dovid Hamelech] is in a ROUGH situation. He keeps saying עד אנה - HOW LONG!!! He is suffering. But then in the last pasuk he says ואני בחסדך בטחתי יגל לבי בישועתך אשירה לה' כי גמל עלי - But I trusted in Your loving-kindness, My heart will rejoice at your salvation I will sing to Hashem for he has bestowed it upon me. 

What suddenly changed? First he felt that things were HOPELESS and then suddenly he "was holding" by singing to Hashem for his salvation??

In the Daas Mikra [known by many as the "Daat Mikra"] he presents numerous possibilities:





My favorite is the last possibility: After davening he felt sure that the salvation was definitely to come in the future. Davening gives you renewed hope.

It is also important to contrast the intensity of the suffering that we find expressed in most of the perek to the great level of rejoicing we find at the end. From despair to rejoicing and even song. The greater the pain - the greater the joy at having been saved.

It is worthwhile noting the vort of the Brisker Rov: He says that one should have bitachon even before being saved and even be happy. However, the אשירה, actually singing and saying Hallel, is only כי גמל עלי - after the actual salvation.