Today we will discuss a pasuk from a famous mizmor of Tehilim (91) that starts…
יֹשֵׁב בְּסֵתֶר עֶלְיוֹן בְּצֵל שַׁדַּי יִתְלוֹנָן
David HaMelech is saying that We are in the shadow of Hashem, and that He is watching over us
Today we will focus on the second pasuk of his mizmor:
אֹמַר לַה׳ מַחְסִי וּמְצוּדָתִי אֱלֹקי אֶבְטַח־בּוֹ
I will say to Hashem
You are my refuge; You are my tower,
my God that I will rely on.
The Midrash in Yalkut Shemoni explains that David HaMelech says, Whenever I have a problem, I run to the tower of God.
In his mind, David HaMelech has this fortress of refuge that he runs to. When fugitives are fleeing, they look for a place to run. They might run to the embassy, which is a safe zone. In David HaMelech’s mind, he always has that safe spot, which is the fortress of God. It’s invisible, but it is a place that you can run to, in your mind. Close your eyes for a moment and think of any problem that you have, and imagine that there is a safe place called, God’s fortress, which is totally protected. No one can touch or affect you there.
This is how David HaMelech goes through life-with all his enemies and all his challenges, he knows that he can just run away to the safe fortress of Bitachon.
But commentaries say that it is not enough to just think it. That is why it says, אֹמַר לַה׳
I say to Hashem”
Saying it is what saves us and protect us. It creates a shade and supervision.
The more this is on our minds, the more Hashem’s supervision is upon us. So we have to get into the habit of saying,
אֹמַר לַה׳ מַחְסִי וּמְצוּדָתִי אֱלֹקי אֶבְטַח־בּוֹ
I will tell God, You are my refuge and you are my fortress. My God, that will I rely on
Don’t just think it, but say it.
As Rabbi Miller used to say, you are supposed to say the words, “I love you Hashem.” He’d say to lock the door and not let anyone hear you or they’d think you’re crazy.
So lock the door and say the following words,
“מַחְסִי וּמְצוּדָתִי אֱלֹקי אֶבְטַח־בּוֹ
You are my refuge and my fortress, my God that I will rely on.
And while doing so, close your eyes for a moment, and imagine it.
The Gemara describes this mizmor as
שיר של פגעים
“Shir Shel Pegaim
The song that protects us from tragedy.”
This is a powerful mizmor, built on concept of feeling protected.
The Sefer Ikarim tells us that there are levels of God’s Hashgacha/supervision, depending on how connected a person is. The general populace, the people at large, might be at a challenge, they might be in Galut because they are not yet fit. But that does not stop the individual from creating a special Hashgacha on Himself, to watch over and protect himself. This is the level of the righteous people that say to Hashem, “You are my fortress, and You are my protection.”
There is even a higher level, which is mentioned later in the mizmor, which says
כי בי חשק
This person is totally enthralled and consumed by Hashem, He is alway on his mind.
And Hashem says, וַאֲפַלְּטֵהוּ
And I will save him
There is a higher level of אֲשַׂגְּבֵהוּ כִּי־יָדַע שְׁמִי׃
I will save him because he knows My name
There are levels up on levels of connection that we can have with Hashem. But the first level is this basic understanding that Hashem can create a fortress, a refuge for the individual.
The Kedushat Levi makes a beautiful point-
Why does it say אלקי אבטח בו
The God that I will have bitachon in ?
Shouldn’t it say, “The God that I did have bitachon in?”
He explains that sometimes a person should realize that the reason Hashem brought the challenge to begin with was to cause that
אבטח בו
you will have bitachon in the future Hashem gave you the challenge so that you will rely on Him in the future. Hashem wants us to connect to Him. Hashem wants us to exercise our bitachon muscles. Therefore, He put us in situations so that we will have Bitachon in Him.
There is a similar pasuk that we say in Hallel, “The goyim surround me but in the name of God, I will cut them down.”
We have to realize that Hashem put us in this situation as an opportunity to exercise our Bitachon.
So we have to get ourselves used to the habit of the words,
מַחְסִי וּמְצוּדָתִי
“God is my refuge, God is my fortress”
… and He put me in this situation an order that I should bring out those feelings.