BS’D
Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of Rafael David ben Ella. He is the father of young children and needs all our ongoing tefillos. May he merit a complete healing, refuat hanefesh v’refuat haguf amongst all of those in Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering b’karov, b’rachamim, Amen!
In perek 42 of Tehillim, a vivid image of a lonely man who lives with emuna is portrayed. His soul thirsts for Hashem. Although he is steeped in difficulty he still desires to continuously cling to his steadfast trust in Hashem’s compassion. Dovid HaMelech ztk’l describes his feeling of abandonment, “… when will I come and appear before Hashem?” (passuk 3). He describes in passuk 5 the joyful memories when the Klal elatedly went up to the temple and could readily feel Hashem’s presence.
However, he now experiences such intense distance, cast as it were into an emotional exile. His anguish is so vividly felt. Nevertheless, he doesn’t abandon his emuna. This lesson can easily be applied to many of us who endure hardships since we too can empathize with such emotions, the sense of feeling fragile, alone and confused, even abandoned c”v by Hashem.
In passuk 8, water is illustrated as a destructive force far different than initially described in the beginning of this perek as a source of nourishment for the deer. Here, the water sweeps over Dovid HaMelech and causes him to be lost. His inner voice as if yells out, “Where are you Hashem? I am frightened and need you.”
Yet at the end of this perek, Dovid HaMelech regains his strength and states confidently … “I will yet praise Him.” This hints to us the best possible response to distressful events in our lives. We must pour our hearts out in honesty, without reservation and not deny our pain, although at the same time not question Hashem’s master plan.
Rather, just as Dovid allows himself to experience human pain and suffering, he also broadcasts confidently that he does not give up hope. Why? “…. Ki od (yet)” there is a future that has yet to be openly revealed. The exile will end and all be clear. “I will yet praise Him”, meaning in spite of my current pain, weakness and overwhelming sadness of present-day, I am assured that all is good and I will merit seeing it, B’H, b’rachamim, b’karov, Amen!
