Today we will discuss Tehilim perek נה, pasuk כג
הַשְׁלֵ֤ךְ עַל־ה׳ יְהָבְךָ֮ וְה֢וּא יְכַ֫לְכְּלֶ֥ךָ
לֹא־יִתֵּ֖ן לְעוֹלָ֥ם מ֗וֹט לַצַּדִּֽיק
Cast upon Hashem your burden, And He will sustain you
He will never allow the faltering of the righteous.
There are two halves to this pasuk. The first is,
“Throw your load on God and he will sustain you.” The second part is, “God will never allow the righteous to falter.”
We will begin with the first part-
Cast upon Hashem your burden.
This is either Hashem talking to David HaMelech, or David HaMelech talking to the Jewish people, saying that whenever you have a problem, don’t walk around with the problem on your back. Take the load off your back, and give it to Hashem.
The Magid of Dubno has a beautiful mashal for this:
A weary man was once walking on the road, carrying a large pack. A wagon passed by and the driver offered him a lift which he easily accepted.
After traveling for a while, the wagon driver noticed that his passenger still had his heavy load on his shoulders, even though there was plenty of empty space in the wagon for him to put it down. When the driver asked him why, the poor man explained that while he appreciated the wagon driver‘s kindness very much, he felt that it was enough that wagon was carrying him- He didn’t think it was proper that the wagon driver should also have to bother carrying his load too.
The wagon driver exclaimed, “Fool! Don’t you realize that if I am carrying you, I can carry your load as well?!“
The nimshal is obvious. Many people believe in Hashem, that He generously provides life and health. But they don’t think that they can bother Hashem with their finances as well. What they fail to realize is that Hashem, who gives us life, gives us parnasa as well. That is why, regarding this pasuk, the midrash says that sustenance is dependent on God.
Don’t just rely on God for life. Throw the burden of your parnasa, or any burden for that matter, on Him as well.
This is a beautiful thought. When you have a problem, it doesn’t have to weigh you down. Do what you have to do, but don’t let it weigh you down. Throw your load on Hashem, And when you do that, וְה֢וּא יְכַ֫לְכְּלֶ֥ךָ
He will sustain you.
The other half of the pasuk is simply continuation of this: God will not let the righteous filter. He will take care of you. Give Him your load.
But the Derash Moshe has a different explanation.
לֹא־יִתֵּ֖ן לְעוֹלָ֥ם מ֗וֹט לַצַּדִּֽיק
He will never allow the faltering of the righteous
The word for faltering, מוט Mot, can also mean pole
לֹא־יִתֵּ֖ן לְעוֹלָ֥ם מ֗וֹט לַצַּדִּֽיק
God would never give a pole to the sadik.
What does that mean?
In the old days and in some still-developing countries, people would put a pole across their backs to help them carry bags that were tied onto each end.
According to this translation, the pasuk is saying,
God will not put the righteous man into a situation that forces him to be weighed down.
God gives us situations that we can overcome. The way that we overcome them is to take that heavy load, and put it on Hashem.
This is not only a bitachon concept, It’s also a mental exercise.
I once heard somebody suggest that a person should take all of his challenges, and mentally write each of them down on balloons. Then hold all of the balloons together and let them go off into the wind.
That is a nice soothing exercise, and it is really what David HaMelech is telling us in this pasuk. All your loads and worries are weighing you down. Take them, mentally and emotionally, and let go of them. Drop them. You don’t have to walk around with them. You have to do your hishtadlut, and to do what you have to do- that’s very nice in the morning.
But when you go to sleep at night, and you are tossing and turning because you can’t sleep, from all of your worries, that is the time to let it all go. Drop them all. You are on the wagon. He is carrying you anyway. Just let go of your packages. Let go of your worries.
Let go of all the things that are weighing you down.
הַשְׁלֵ֤ךְ עַל־ה׳ יְהָבְךָ֮
Have a wonderful day.