Tehillim 27 | "The Lord is My Light and My Salvation"

This psalm is associated with the month of Elul and the Days of Awe, and speaks of one’s relationship with God, trust in God, and a plea for salvation. In the attached article, Rav Elchanan Samet shows that the psalm is divided into two distinct sections (verses 1–6 and verses 7–13), which only when taken together, reveal the psalm’s full meaning. At the beginning of the psalm, the poet expresses confidence and unwavering trust in God, while staying calm and peaceful: “Should an army besiege me, my heart would not fear” (27:3). His sole request is for the continuity of that relationship: “One thing I ask of the Lord ; this alone I seek: to live in the Lord's house all the days of my life” (27:4). This section ends on a triumphant and joyful note: “Now my head is high above the enemies around me – I will sacrifice in His tent with shouts of joy; I will sing and chant praises to the Lord” (27:6). The second part opens with a cry out to God: “Hear my voice, Lord, when I call; show me grace and answer me” (27:7). It comes from a place of distance, as if the poet feels that God is no longer with him: “Do not hide Your face from me; do not turn Your servant away in anger” (27:9). The section closes with a statement of faith that gives the poet strength to endure: “Where it not for my faith that I will see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living…” (27:13). The poet isn't able to finish his sentence, as if to say: 'If I wouldn't have had that faith…'.

These two parts reflect two distinct spiritual states in a person’s relationship with God. There are times of closeness, when we feel God's light upon us and His nearness is palpable. And there are times when God seems distant, hidden, and we feel as though we have been abandoned. The psalm’s structure shows that this is not a prosses in which a person first searches (Part II) and then finds (Part I), but rather two emotional and movements that can live within a person side by side, and sometimes even on the same day. The psalm concludes with a verse directed at the reader, offering encouragement that no matter what state one is in, near or far: “Hope in the Lord; be strong and brave of heart, and hope in the Lord” (27:14). This message is deeply fitting for the Days of Awe, a time when feelings of uplifting closeness and feeling of guilt and distance often intermingle.