We continue with hiddushim of Bitachon from Rav Chaim Kanievsky on Tehilim. In chapter 66, pasuk 3, David Hamelech says,
אִמְר֣וּ לֵ֭אלֹהִים מַה־נּוֹרָ֣א מַעֲשֶׂ֑יךָ בְּרֹ֥ב עֻ֝זְּךָ֗ יְֽכַחֲשׁ֖וּ לְךָ֣ אֹיְבֶֽיךָ׃
We're going to say to God, ‘How awesome are Your acts and Your great strength. Your enemies will deny that they ever sinned against You.’
They will realize how strong You are and they’ll deny everything when they’re put on trial. They'll try to deny everything because they'll realize they're going to be punished.
That's the simple explanation.
Rav Chaim Kanievsky brings quotes a Midrash Raba in Esther, 10,15 where it says that ‘How awesome is God,’ means “How awesome are Your tactics that You do to humble the enemies in a most wondrous way? Those that are supposed to be killed will cause the others to be killed. Those who are supposed to be hung will cause their hangers to be hung. Those who were pushed in the sea will end up causing those that pushed them to go in the sea. Those that were burnt will cause the others to be burnt. And those who be thrown for lions, they cause the others to be thrown into the lions.”
What does that mean?
Rav Chaim Kanievsky explains that in history, we see that when the enemies of the Jews try to destroy them, the very area that they tried to destroy them with bounces back on them.
-One of the first cases of this was Moshe Rabbenu. It says that he called his son Eliezer to remind himself that God saved him from the sword of Paroah. What does that mean?They wanted to kill Moshe because it was reported to Paroah that he killed an Egyptian taskmaster, but when the executioner hit Moshe Rabbenu’s neck with his sword, God made a miracle that turned Moshe’s neck into marble, and the knife bounced back and killed the executioner.
-An example of The ones that want to hang will be hung, is Haman.
He prepared the large pole to hang Mordechai on, but instead, he was hung on it.
-Those that are drowning people in the ocean refers to the Egyptians that started off by drowning the Jewish children. In the end, they drowned in the sea.
-Those that are being burnt refers to Hanania, Mishael and Azaria. Nevuchadnezzar made a very large furnace and they were thrown inside. When the executioners saw that they were still walking around inside, they leaned over to see what was going on, the fire jumped out and they were burnt.
Similarly, when the lions did not eat Daniel,
they said, “Oh, maybe they're not hungry.” So they threw the executioners in, and the lions, showing that they really were hungry, and ate the executioners.
This is what Ma Norah Ma’asecha/How awesome are God's actions means. And the perek continues, in pasuk ה and says,
לְכ֣וּ וּ֭רְאוּ מִפְעֲל֣וֹת אֱלֹהִ֑ים נוֹרָ֥א עֲ֝לִילָ֗ה עַל־בְּנֵ֥י אָדָֽם׃
Go and see the works of God, Norah/awesome are His causes.
Again, the word Norah/awesome is used.
As we've said many times, these two words, Norah Alilah are the source for the Ibn Ezra’s piyut, which Sephardic communities say in Ne’Ilah- “El Norah Alilah, God Who is awesome in His causes,” which means that one of the most wondrous things about Hashem’s actions is that we don't see them happening in a direct fashion. Hashem makes things happen in an indirect way, which is Norah Alilah.
The pesukim continue describing how throughout the Galut, Hashem used this system of His Norah. David Hamelech is telling us this, says the Seforno, so that we, who are currently in the exile, should realize how Hashem works. There will come a time when whatever our enemies are doing or have done to us will bounce back.
We might not see it immediately, like when the sword hit Moshe Rabbenu’s neck and bounced back, but similar to Mitzrayim, where it took many years until those that drowned the Jewish babies were drowned themselves, eventually we will all say,
מַה־נּוֹרָ֣א מַעֲשֶׂ֑יךָ
How awesome are Your deeds?
נורא עלילה על בני אדם
For sure, we see how God makes things happen in roundabout ways, and eventually whatever His decree is comes to be.
Have a wonderful day.