The pasuk that we will study today (chapter 55, verse 24), doesn’t initially sound like a pasuk about bitachon, except for the last three words:
וְאַתָּ֤ה אֱלֹקים ׀ תּוֹרִדֵ֬ם ׀ לִבְאֵ֬ר שַׁ֗חַת אַנְשֵׁ֤י דָמִ֣ים וּ֭מִרְמָה לֹא־יֶחֱצ֣וּ יְמֵיהֶ֑ם וַ֝אֲנִ֗י אֶבְטַח־בָּֽךְ
And You Hashem, will lower them into the well of destruction- these men of bloodshed and deceit-
They shall not live out half their days,
וַ֝אֲנִ֗י אֶבְטַח־בָּֽךְ
But as for me, I will rely on You
In the first half of the pasuk, David HaMelech is talking about the wicked people who were trying to destroy him, namely two men named Doeg and Ahitofel. They were very wicked people and the Gemarah says that they have no portion in the World to Come. David HaMelech knew about them, and said that although he relied on Hashem and cast his burdens upon Hashem, when it came to those wicked people, they are far removed from Hashem or any Bitachon, and therefore they will not survive.
That is the simple explanation of this pasuk.
The added point is that these wicked people live “half their days,” simply as a punishment for their wickedness.
But some of the rabbis explain that they live half their days because, based on a pasuk in Mishleh, “The years of the wicked are shortened,” because they are constantly desiring and chasing things that they cannot get. The rat-race and the heartache cause them to the shorter lives. David HaMelech says,
וַ֝אֲנִ֗י אֶבְטַח־בָּֽךְ
As for me, I rely on You
and for all my desires and all my wants, I don’t have any heartache.
When one has Bitachon, he is not in a constant state of worry and stress.
As we know, both modern and ancient science tell us that worry and stress kills. People get sick from worry and stress, people get heart ache from worry and stress.
David HaMelech contrasts himself with the Reshaim/wicked people that live shorter lives, due to their worry and stress and their constant chasing of the end of the rainbow, because they never have enough. He contrasts himself to them by saying,
וַ֝אֲנִ֗י אֶבְטַח־בָּֽךְ
and I rely on You, and therefore, I avoid all of that heartache and worry that causes people to live shortened lives.
Rabbi Azariah Pijou has another explanation of this pasuk, which is a Hiddush, based on the words לֹא־יֶחֱצ֣וּ יְמֵיהֶ֑ם
They won’t live half their lives.
He says that the word “half” can refer to the Benoni/ the one in the middle. As we get closer to the month of Elul and the high holidays, we hear about the three groups from people: the complete Sadik, the absolute wicked, and the Benoni.
He says that David HaMelech is talking about people that either consider themselves totally righteous (they don’t think they’ve sinned at all, so they don’t feel the need to repent), or they consider themselves 100% wicked, and therefore they give up hope of ever fixing themselves.
David HaMelech says that he puts himself in the middle, and that’s where we are all supposed to put ourselves. We shouldn’t think that we are so bad that there is no hope for us, and we shouldn’t think that we are so good that there is nothing to fix. We should think that we are somewhere in between. Therefore, David HaMelech is saying, I need Your mercy, because I want to reach perfection. I rely on You to help me get there, because I am not on the extreme of either end.
Therefore, I need Your help, and I am relying on You to get me there, religiously.
This is another way of reading this pasuk- with the religious approach.
וַ֝אֲנִ֗י אֶבְטַח־בָּֽךְ
And I will rely on You.
This is important, as we get to the high holiday season. We have to realize that we should not put ourselves in either extreme group. Where we are, we don’t know, but how we look at ourselves is very important. If you look at yourself as good, and you don’t worry about what’s coming, that is not a good approach.
On the opposite extreme, the approach that you feel like you’re so stuck and deep into whatever it is you’re doing that you’ll never change, is not a good approach either.
The right approach is to understand that you have lackings, but know that with Hashem’s help you will be able to fix them. Know that you aren’t the best, nor are you the worst, but that you are somewhere in between, and you are relying on Hashem, who will be able to help you get to perfection.
This is the way we are supposed to think all year round, but especially so as we get close to Rosh Hodesh Elul. This coming Shabbat, we will announce the new month, and we have to start keeping this in our minds.
Have a wonderful day.