אודך כי עניתני (תהלים קיח, כא)

We continue our series on explaining the Pesukim (verses) of Tehillim (Psalms). Today we will study a Pasuk (verse) in Perek (chapter), Kuf Yud Het (118), Pasuk Chaf Alef (21). David HaMelech (King David) says, “Odecha ki anitani, vatehi li lishu'ah.” Which means, “Odecha ki anitani.” I thank you, for you have answered me, for you have answered my prayers. “Vatehi li lishu'ah,” and you have become my salvation.

David HaMelech in this Pasuk is praising Hashem for answering his Tefillot (prayers) and for bringing upon David a redemption and a salvation. David HaMelech is teaching us here that when Hashem answers a person’s prayers, it is an obligation on that person to thank Hashem for answering his prayers. It’s not just about praying to Hashem in times of need; a person must also thank Hashem after that time of need, when he is answered. And that’s what David HaMelech is teaching us here: “Odecha ki anitani.” I thank you, Hashem. “Vatehi li lishu'ah,” and you have brought upon me a salvation.

However, there are those who learn this Pasuk differently. They say the word anitani in this Pasuk does not mean that you answered me. They say the word anitani comes from the word inui, from the word “to afflict and to bring suffering.” They say David HaMelech is saying, “Odecha ki anitani.” I thank you, Hashem, for bringing troubles and suffering upon me. “Vatehi li lishu'ah”: that suffering, that problem, turned out to be for my best, turned out to be my salvation.

And the Midrash (rabbinic teaching) goes on to explain what this means. How do we understand this interpretation? The Midrash talks about a person who was preparing to travel on a journey in a caravan. Right before he was about to get on the caravan, as the people were waiting to travel, a scorpion poisoned him, and he began to be gripped by a fever. He was unable to travel on the caravan. He felt sick and didn’t feel healthy, and he felt he needed to go back home immediately. As he was going back home, he looked up at Hashem and said, “Borei Olam (Creator of the world), you know how important this trip was to me. You know how much I prepared for this journey. Why, Hashem? Why did this have to happen moments before I went on this caravan? Something like this had to happen to me to hold me back from traveling. Why, Hashem? What did I commit to deserve this?”

The Midrash tells us he went home disappointed. But a few days later, the man received word that the caravan that had left without him had been destroyed in the wilderness, and everyone in it had died and perished. He immediately raised his voice to Hashem, stood up, and said, “I thank you, Hashem, for you have caused me the suffering. And thus, because of that, you brought my salvation.”

And this is what the Midrash says David HaMelech is telling us here: There are times in life when Borei Olam brings suffering and difficulty upon a person. A few days later, sometimes a few weeks later, or sometimes even a few years later, he will look back and say, “That exact day that Hashem brought that problem or that suffering upon me—look how it was for my best today. Look how, years later, I see that what Hashem did was for my best.” And he stands up and says, “I thank you, Hashem, that you afflicted me. I thank you, Hashem, for bringing that suffering upon me. I thank you, Hashem, for causing me to be fired from that job. Because look what it brought to me. I thank you, Hashem, for the suffering that you brought upon me. Because in the end I realized that that exact suffering, that precise problem that I went through, was exactly what brought me the salvation. In the end I realized that it was for my best.”

So in this Pasuk, David HaMelech taught us two important things. According to the first interpretation, David HaMelech teaches us, “Odecha Ki Anitani”: I thank you, Hashem, for answering my prayers and for bringing my salvation. This teaches us that just as we pray to Hashem in times of need, we must also remember to thank Hashem after He answers our Tefillot and gives us what we needed. The second interpretation is that I thank you, Hashem, “Ki Anitani,” for the actual issue, for the problem, for the suffering. That suffering, in the end, turned out to be for the healing of the soul.

We many times go through issues in life and through difficulties and just like that person who stood up in the Midrash, raised his voice and says, “HaKadosh Baruch Hu (The Holy One, blessed be He), why do I deserve this? Why did this have to happen to me?” Only a few days later was he able to see that the answer to that exact question—the question he had asked Hashem—became very clear. The Borei Olam was preparing for yourself, Hashem was preparing for you a salvation. “Odecha Ki Anitani.” I thank you, Hashem, for what you have brought upon me, for the suffering and the affliction, because in the end I saw that “Vatehi Li Lishu'ah”: it was for my benefit; it was a salvation. Have a wonderful day.