We are now on the fifth pasuk of Malchiyot in the Musaf of Rosh Hashanah.
This pasuk should be familiar to anyone who prays Shaharit. We say it on Fridays:
ה׳ מָלָךְ֮ גֵּא֢וּת לָ֫בֵ֥שׁ לָבֵ֣שׁ ה׳ עֹ֣ז הִתְאַזָּ֑ר אַף־תִּכּ֥וֹן תֵּ֝בֵ֗ל בַּל־תִּמּֽוֹט
Hashem is King,
He cloaks Himself in grandeur
Hashem dons Himself with might
(Hashem is, so to say, wearing a belt of strength)
And He makes sure that the world will remain firm and not falter
So Hashem is King, He clothes Himself in grandeur, he wears strength, girds himself, and He keeps the world going.
As mentioned above, we say this pasuk on Fridays, because when Adam HaRishon opened his eyes and saw this beautiful world, he said this pasuk- He said Hashem is King.
On Rosh Hashanah, we are supposed to imagine that we, too, are Adam HaRishon, opening our eyes on the first morning, at looking at this beautiful world that He created for us. He is the King, and we accept Him as King.
גֵּא֢וּת לָ֫בֵ֥שׁ
He cloaks Himself in grandeur
The Hebrew word for grandeur גאות- Ge’ut, has the same root as גאוה Ga’avah/ Arrogance. But the Ramban explains that Ga’avah is only bad because it’s false. How can you take credit for something that you did not do? You pound your chest for “your” accomplishments, when it is God that made it happen. The only One that has a right, so to say, to be “proud,” is God.
גֵּא֢וּת לָ֫בֵ֥שׁ
He cloaks Himself in grandeur means.
It’s not His essence, but rather the “outside” of Him. As if to say that God has a certain pride in the creation that He made, and rightfully so.
Furthermore,
ה׳ עֹ֣ז הִתְאַזָּ֑ר
God girds Himself with strength. This means that at times, God “goes to war.” This refers to the Middat HaDin/ Justice in the world. But even while God’s justice is going on , אַף־תִּכּ֥וֹן תֵּ֝בֵ֗ל בַּל־תִּמּֽוֹט
He makes sure that the world does not falter.
The midrash explains that when a flesh-and-blood king goes to war, he ignores the economy. All the money goes to the war effort, so they have to start rationing food and services.
But Hashem does not work like that. Hashem is capable of going to war, and, at the same time, making sure that the world continues to run.
With this pasuk, we are recognizing God‘s ability as King . And it’s not only in the general world, but, as the sefarim explain, it’s also when Hashem is judging an individual. When a person is going through a hard time, it doesn’t mean that, at the same time, God’s kindness is not also mixed in.
These are all the wonderful ways of our great King.
When we say this pasuk on Rosh Hashanah, we are supposed to have these feelings.. We should have feelings of humility because God does everything, and we should have appreciation that even in times when Hashem is judging us, and there is justice in the world, at the same time God‘s kindness is there.
The Midrash Pesikta Rabati
(chapter 37), says that the term ה׳ מָלָךְ֮ גֵּא֢וּת לָ֫בֵ֥שׁ
Hashem is King, He cloaks Himself in grandeur, specifically refers to Keriat Yam Suf. We say, in Az Yashir, כי גאה גאה
God was arrogant above the arrogant- He showed the arrogant Egyptians Who was really in charge.
There are certain events that bring about Emunah, and we have to be aware of them.
Keriat Yam Suf is one such an event.
This is the second time, at least, that we refer to something that occurred with Keriat Yam Suf. The first reference was in our first pasuk, Hashem Yimloch LeOlam Va’ed. Keriat Yam Suf was an event that invokes certain lessons, and these pesukim should be said with emotion.
This second lesson is that Hashem showed His power over the arrogant.
He showed them who was really in charge.
Our final point from this pasuk is something Ramban says in the Igeret HaRamban (it is also found in the Otsar Midrashim, pg 492)
It says that one who is arrogant is like he is stealing Hashem’s cloak. Since the pasuk says that God is King and He cloaks Himself in grandeur, when someone else decides to be proud and grand, and takes credit for what he does, he is, so to say, stealing Hashem’s clock.
Our job, on Rosh Hashanah, is to coronate the King and realize who is really in charge.