Today's class is dedicated Leilui Nishmat Mrs. Emy Missry ah, Chana bat Gilsom
Today's song is the song of the deer. He sings a pasuk form Tehilim 59,17:
וַאֲנִי אָשִׁיר עֻזֶּךָ וַאֲרַנֵּן לַבֹּקֶר חַסְדֶּךָ כִּי הָיִיתָ מִשְׂגָּב לִי וּמָנוֹס בְּיוֹם צַר לִי: (תהילים נט יז)
As for me, I shall sing a song of Your might, and I will rejoice before dawn in Your kindness. For You have been my stronghold, and a refuge in the day of my distress.
To understand this pasuk we need to consider the context of this chapter in Tehilim. David was on the run, and Shaul had guards watching him to prevent him from escaping.
The Alshech points out how Hashem protected him- Hashem caused Shaul to handle this affair in a very inefficient manner. He should have given immediate orders for the men to break into David's house and kill him. By waiting outside all night, Shaul's men not only allowed David to escape, but also enabled him to gain a substantial head-start in his flight. As they surrounded the house, he snuck out and escaped. That's why David, at the end, is singing this song. He is rejoicing before dawn because when dawn begins to break he sees that his escape from Shaul's men the night before was successful. So, this is David's song of escape, running away and not looking back.
What does this have to do with our deer? It's obvious, say all the commentaries.
The Chida says the deer runs away and he's saved. That is God's gift to the deer. Therefore, he's always singing this song of David. I'm always being chased and surrounded and I escape. To add to the challenge of the deer, it has a very nice look. People like to skin him for his hide, and his meat tastes good. Hunters enjoy hunting deer along with dogs who come along for the chase. There are all kinds of traps and ways to catch deer, which represents the Jewish people, or David in this story. He escapes time and time again and sings the song to God, who is his Protection and his Savior, Who allowed him to be saved.
The sefer Birkat Hashir adds another point. The deer is very fast. And sometimes when you're fast, you use your abilities and talents to chase others. But the deer is what we call a nirdaf. He is chased but not a chaser. It says God loves the one that's being chased. He likes the underdog. The deer just used his legs to get away. He doesn't take the opportunity to seek vengeance, to get back at the ones that's chasing him. He's happy with a little bit. He does his thing and relies on Hashem to give him what he should get. That is another lesson of the deer, avoiding confrontation.
Another beautiful thought within this pasuk, brought down by the sefer Yashir Moshe, saus the pasuk says, וַאֲנִי
אָשִׁיר עֻזֶּךָ וַאֲרַנֵּן לַבֹּקֶר חַסְדֶּךָ כִּי הָיִיתָ מִשְׂגָּב לִי וּמָנוֹס בְּיוֹם צַר לִי: (תהילים נט יז)
I'm going to sing about Your strength. And I will sing in the morning your Hessed
That means that at night, before the morning, וַאֲנִי אָשִׁיר עֻזֶּךָI will sing the song of Your strength. So even before the morning has come, which symbolizes salvation, he sings, God is my strength. I'm thinking about God's strength even though I haven't yet seen it happen and come through for me.
And our final point is an unbelievable one. The letters צבי standfor
צדיק באמנתו יהיה /The righteous one lives with his Emunah, a pasuk from Habakuk 2,4. Living Emunah- That is the deer who's constantly running, has no fighting power, just has the the power to run. And he's living with his Emuna and sings his songs of Bitachon.
Wonder of wonders.