We are now studying perek עג, pasuk כח of tehilim.
(73,28)
וַאֲנִי קִרְבַת אֱלֹקים לִי־טוֹב שַׁתִּי בַּאדֹנָי ה מַחְסִי לְסַפֵּר כׇּל־מַלְאֲכוֹתֶיךָ
But as for me, Hashem’s nearness is my good. I have placed my refuge in Hashem, my God, to recount all of Your works
David HaMelech is contrasting himself with people that stray from God. He’s saying that for himself, the only thing that he considers good is closeness to Hashem. Mesilat Yesharim quotes this pasuk when discussing the realization of why we are here in the world, and he says that when a person looks closer, he’ll realize,
, כִּי הַשְּׁלֵמוּת הָאֲמִתִּי הוּא רַק הַדְּבֵקוּת בּוֹ
יִתְבָּרֵךְ,
וְהוּא מַה שֶּׁהָיָה דָוִד הַמֶּלֶך
אוֹמֵר (תהלים עג, כח ),
וַאֲנִי קִרְבַת אֱלֹקים לִי־טוֹב
“The only true perfection (in this world) is cleaving and clinging to Hashem. As David HaMelech said, ‘Closeness to God, that is what is good for me.’”
כִּי רַק זֶה הוּא הַטּוֹב וכל זוּלַת זֶה
שֶׁיַּחְשְׁבוּהוּ בְּנֵי הָאָדָם לְטוֹב אֵינוֹ אֶלָּא הֶבֶל וְשָׁוְא נִתְעֶה
Because that is the only good
And anything else that people think is good, is only hot air and falsehood.
The only real good is being connected to Hashem, and that connection happens in this world and the next.
As it says, ובו תדבק Cleave to Him”
As we have mentioned in the past, the Meshech Chochma says that cleaving to Hashem can be fulfilled in this world, through Bitachon.
When a person relies on Hashem, he is cleaving to Hashem.
David HaMelech is saying, “I realize that I am accomplishing something. There is a goodness, just in the Bitachon, regardless of the outcome.”
In other words, Bitachon is really an end in itself.
Of course we know that Bitachon is a means to an end; we rely on Hashem to get what we want.
But we must also realize that Bitachon is really an end in itself, and in fact, the opposite is true- The problem is a means to get to Bitachon.
David HaMelech realizes that the ultimate perfection is קרבת האלקים closeness to Hashem.
That is Tov. Tov means good, worthwhile and lasting. As Hashem created the world, every step of the way, He said it was Tov, or Tov Meod, very good. Tov means worthwhile, some thing worth investing in. And that is the ultimate good of קִרְבַת אֱלֹקים closeness to Hashem.
שַׁתִּי ׀ בַּאדֹנָי ה’
מַחְסִי
Therefore, he says, because I realize that,
I put my refuge in God. I run to God because I am running to the ultimate Tov.
When I have a challenge, I realize that it causes me to run and be enveloped by that ultimate Tov.
לְסַפֵּר
So that I can recount
כׇּל־מַלְאֲכוֹתֶיךָ
all of Your handiwork.
(The word for handiwork מלאכותיך can also mean messenger)
David HaMelech is saying that he wants to understand what his purpose here is, what his mission is. And he realizes that life’s challenges will get him there. He realizes that through life, he will be able to fulfill his mission, by overcoming his challenges with his Bitachon.
There is a story told about a great rabbi, Rav Michoel Ber Weissmandl.
There is a book written about him called, “The Unheeded Call.”
He was a Hungarian rabbi who ultimately escaped Nazi Germany, came to America and try to save other Jews. But the people did not listen to him. They did not believe what he was describing.
While still in Europe, he jumped off the train on the way to the concentration camp, and as he jumped off, somehow this pasuk came to his mind:
וַאֲנִי ׀ קִרְבַת אֱלֹקים לִי־טוֹב
But as for me, Hashem’s nearness is my good.
In the most trying of circumstances, while jumping out of a cattle car on the way to a concentration camp, he realized that the ultimate good is connecting to Hashem.
He was then able to continue with the rest of the pasuk, לְסַפֵּר
כׇּל־מַלְאֲכוֹתֶיךָ
To recount Hashem’s handiwork
He continued on, raised a family, and built a Yeshiva in America. He was able to survive the most trying situation, by realizing these important words of David HaMelech.
וַאֲנִי ׀ קִרְבַת אֱלֹקים לִי־טוֹב
But as for me, Hashem’s nearness is my good.
He realized that the only good is closeness to Hashem, and that is what we have when we have Bitachon. May we all be zoche/merit to truly understand this message of David HaMelech.