Pesukei D’Zimrah-God Empowering Us to Empower Him
“Render might to the Lord, Whose majesty hovers over Israel and Whose might is in the clouds. You are awesome, Lord, from Your sanctuaries, Lord of Israel; it is He Who grants might and power to the people, blessed is the Lord (Psalms 68:35–36).” Rabbi Eleazar discoursed on the verse, “And there was a day when the sons of the Lord came to stand before God, and Satan came also among them (Job 1:6).” This “day,” was Rosh Hashanah, on which the Holy One sits in judgment on the world. “The sons of the Lord,” are the supernal beings who are appointed to watch the actions of mankind. The expression, “to stand before God,” is parallel to the verse, “All the hosts of heaven standing by In one His right hand and on His left (I Kings 22:19).” But in this verse it has a more special significance, to make manifest the love of the Holy One for Israel.
For these messengers who are appointed to watch over the works of men roaming here and there throughout the world, gathering up the deeds of all creatures so that on Rosh Hashanah, the day of judgment, they may stand before God with their burden of accusations.
Yet of all the peoples of the earth, it is only Israel, whose works are examined by them carefully and in detail, for the Children of Israel are the Holy One’s children in a particular sense, and when their works are not according to the Divine purpose, they actually weaken the power of the Holy One Himself, but when they do His will they, as it were, increase His power and might, “Render might to the Lord (Psalms 68:35–36).” [Zohar II, 32b]
Application for the Tenth of Tevet:
God has empowered us to the extent that we can actually empower Him. The only reason that the Jews in besieged Jerusalem were defeated was that they had “weakened” God’s presence in the world. It is therefore our responsibility, especially as we approach the Tenth of Tevet to focus our efforts on empowering God’s Presence in the world. Use this verse to remind yourself of this important objective.