Nishmas Day 22 - Rabbi Schlomo Bochner | Hashem, Just Tell Me When
עַד הֵנָּה עֲזָרוּנוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ —
Until now, Your mercy has helped us.
וְלֹא עֲזָבוּנוּ חֲסָדֶיךָ —
Your kindness has not forsaken us.
וְאַל תִּטְּשֵׁנוּ ה׳ אֱלֹקֵינוּ לָנֶצַח —
And may You not abandon us, Hashem our G-d, forever.
This line of Nishmas can be divided into two parts.
The first two phrases are הודאה — gratitude for the past, the last phrase is a בקשה — a request for the future.
Yet if the last phrase is a בקשה, what gives us the confidence to ask that Hashem continue to be there for us
לָנֶצַח—forever?
In the words of Rabbi Schlomo Bochner:
“I had a patient, a big talmid chacham, who once told me the way he would daven. He didn’t ask if Hashem would help him. He knew his yeshua would come.
His tefillah was: ‘Hashem, I know You’re going to help me. Just tell me when. If I only knew that, it would be so much easier to bear.’”
There are certain struggles that carry the burden of “forever.” When a couple is waiting for a child, or when someone is navigating shidduchim, the pain isn’t just about what is lacking in the present. It’s the fear that maybe things will never change.
וְאַל תִּטְּשֵׁנוּ ה׳ אֱלֹקֵינוּ לָנֶצַח — We not asking that Hashem help us for eternity.
We’re asking that the struggle not feel eternal, that we should see the light at the end of the tunnel.
