Today we will study Tehilim chapter 115 pasuk ט
יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּטַח בַּה׳ עֶזְרָם וּמָגִנָּם הוּא
The Jewish people rely on God
He is their help and their shield
Who is “their” referring to?
Simply, as the Radak says, this refers to the previous generations of Jewish people. In other words, “Rely on Hashem because you have seen in previous generations that He has helped the Jewish people,” even though though the goyim said, in a previous pasuk, אַיֵּה־נָא אֱלֹקיהֶם
Where is the Jewish God? We don’t see Him. He is hidden from our eyes.
You might make the mistake of thinking this way, but he proof, and reason for relying on God is His past performance.
We have seen that He helped and saved previous generations. Therefore, it is befitting for you, Yisrael, to rely on God because of His previous and past success.
That is the simple way of reading this pasuk, and it’s the way I learned it. But of course, anytime we delve into something, we see more depth, and I benefit from this as much as everyone reading this.
The Alshech says that the goyim are saying,
“Hey where is the Jewish G-d? The goyim are successful, the idol worshippers are successful…”
To which David HaMelech says, Don’t worry about it . Rely on Hashem, because look how He is helping the goyim. Look how successful they are in their endeavors. And these aren’t the best of people.
Then, the Alshech says, “Say to yourself, If that is the way God treats the sinners, for the little bit of good that they did, rewarding them in this world with peace and serenity, imagine what is waiting for us? Imagine how much Hashem is going to help us? Therefore, rely on Him.”
The Kol Eliyahu says the same thing. He quotes the famous Gemara in Masechet Makot, in which Rabban Gamliel, Rav Elazar Ben Azarya, Rabi Yehoshua and Rabi Akiva are walking and hear the noise of Rome partying and enjoying. All the rabbis, aside from Rabi Akiva, cried, while Rabi Akiva laughed. They asked him why he was laughing and he asked them why they were crying.
They answered that they were crying because of what they were hearing - these people had destroyed the Bet HaMikdash and now they’re were enjoying and prospering…
(We can say this about many nations. They were oppressors of the Jewish people and look at their success and prosperity)
Rabbi Akiva answered that this was why he was laughing…
If this is what happens to the sinners, imagine what will happens to us!
Rabbi Akiva had a different way of looking at things. He had a different lens, and a different way of framing everything. He looked at it a positive way
And that is what David HaMelech is saying here.
Don’t get upset by the fact that you see the nations of the world being successful.
עֶזְרָם
He’s helping them,
וּמָגִנָּם
He is shielding them!
And if that is what He does for them, imagine what He will do for us!
This is a whole new way of reading this pasuk.
The Vilna Gaon says this, in his commentary on Purim:
If you walk into the beautiful, palatial home of a sinner…. Maybe a beautiful hotel in a far away land… and these aren’t the best of people, you might wonder at how they are prospering and enjoying life… but you are supposed to think to yourself, “If this is the way they are enjoying life, if these are the houses they have, imagine what my house will look like in Olam Haba…Imagine what I’m creating with my reliance on Hashem…not necessarily in this world, but in the next.”
This is a new way of reading the pasuk,
עֶזְרָם וּמָגִנָּם הוּא
He is their help and their shield