Our next pasuk is pasuk כ״א in perek כה
תֹּם־וָיֹ֥שֶׁר יִצְּר֑וּנִי כִּ֝֗י קִוִּיתִֽיךָ
My simplicity and my straightness should protect me, because I’m hoping to You
The word תם tam means simplicity in faith, without any questions.
The word ישר yashar means straight - without making calculations
David HaMelech says, “The fact that I was a Tamim- I was simple in my faith, and I didn’t make a calculation, that should protect me because I hoped to You.
The commentaries explain that when a person goes with temimut (with simple faith) and yashrut / straightness, when they rely on Hashem with simple faith, don’t make calculations, and do exactly what they are supposed to do, it sometimes looks like things will not necessarily work out for them. if you don’t cut any corners, and you do everything by the letter of the law, sometimes it may look like good guys finish last.
But David HaMelech says here, “Because I did what’s right, and I’m hoping to You, even though technically it really shouldn’t work out (it seems harder that way, because my hands are tied), since I am hoping to You, those obstacles should be overcome.
Something that recently happened to somebody I know is a good example of this principle, but we need a little introduction first:
Lately, many Gedolim have spoken out very strongly about the dangers of technology. Aside from the spiritual dangers, there are social, emotional, and mental health dangers as well. So, following the advice and suggestions of these Gedolim, that are pleading with us to opt for a simple talk and text phone, there are a lot people that are no longer using smart phones.
The hero of our story is one such a man, who decided to give up his smart phone. One of the things that he really liked about his smart phone was Waze.
As his car does not have a GPS system, he bought himself a separate navigation system that he kept in his glove compartment, but it got stolen. So now he was Wazeless, and GPS-less. Then, not long ago, he had to go somewhere, so he asked a friend that does have Waze, for directions. Waze gave him a different route than the usual, which was obviously intended to avoid traffic, and so he took that “faster” route.
He followed those directions, but ended up sitting in a lot traffic.
Then he accidentally made a wrong turn. He sat there thinking about how here he was, trying to do the right thing, not knowing where he was going, without any navigation, and now he had made a wrong turn. He felt like he was really suffering. He decided to make a U-turn and go back to where he came from. As he did, he asked Hashem to help him out. He said, “Please Hashem, I am trying to be a good guy. I am following the rules. I don’t have my smart phone, I’m stuck here, and I don’t know how to get out of this traffic. Please help me.”
And sure enough, right after he made that U-turn to get back onto the road, he saw a fire truck heading to the scene of the accident, which seemed to be about 2 miles ahead. Because of his U-turn, he ended up right behind the fire truck, so he just continued to follow behind it, and he was able to avoid all the traffic, up until the scene of the accident. Then, he continued onto the open road.
He thought to himself that had he had the Waze directing him, he would not have made that U-turn, and he would have been stuck in the same traffic as everybody else. But he did make the wrong turn, and had to make a U-turn, and there was the angel of God that appeared as a fire truck, to cut through all the traffic and get him to where he would not have gotten, even with the Waze.
This, of course, does not mean that everyone should give up all their navigation devices.
The point of the story is that a man was trying to do the right thing, when doing the right thing looked like it would backfire. But he hoped to Hashem, invoking this principle of David HaMelech, and it worked. His Bitachon worked.
This is just a small, trivial example to bring out the point.
There are a lot a people that are, Lo Alenu, going through fertility treatments.
Sometimes, to follow the letter of the law halachically, in fertility treatments, it may seem like a couple is losing out on the most progressive of treatments (and this is why there many great organizations with Mashgichim directing couples on what is and isn’t permissible).
It almost seems like it’s unfair, that Halacha is stopping them from a treatment. It may seem, to a couple in such a situation, Lo Alenu, that they won’t have a child a soon as they should , because they are following halacha.
But the couple should say,
תֹּם־וָיֹ֥שֶׁר יִצְּר֑וּנִי כִּ֝֗י קִוִּיתִֽיךָ
My simplicity and my straightness should protect me, because I’m hoping to You
This can apply to young girl as well, who is dressing modestly, when it seems like her modest clothing might not make her as attractive as someone else. There are endless examples that we can imagine, but the point is that this is a powerful pasuk of Bitachon.
תֹּם־וָיֹ֥שֶׁר יִצְּר֑וּנִי כִּ֝֗י קִוִּיתִֽיךָ
My simplicity and my uprightness should protect me, because I hope to You
Have a wonderful day.