Let’s dive into one particularly powerful passage, a meditation on Psalm 27:1, "The Lord is my light and my help; whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; whom should I dread?"
This verse, seemingly simple, is actually incredibly rich. The Midrash Tehillim unpacks it layer by layer, drawing parallels to the Exodus story, that foundational narrative of Jewish liberation. It suggests that the "light" mentioned in the verse is the light that illuminated the night for the Israelites at the Sea of Reeds (Yam Suf), as we read in Exodus 14:20, "...and it lit up the night..." God was their light, their guide, in the darkest of moments. And the "help"? That was God's intervention at the sea, the miraculous splitting that allowed them to escape Pharaoh's clutches. Remember Exodus 14:13? "...Stand by, and witness the deliverance which the Lord will work for you..."
But what about the fear? Moses, ever the leader, tells the people, "Have no fear!" (Exodus 14:13). Why? Because God is their stronghold, their strength, as celebrated in Exodus 15:2. And who should they dread? Those who inspire terror are ultimately powerless against God's might. Exodus 15:16 tells us, "Terror and dread descend upon them..." – referring to the Egyptians.
The Midrash doesn't stop there. It connects the Psalm to the very real threat the Israelites faced. "When evil men assail me," the Psalm says, and the Midrash immediately thinks of Pharaoh's approach (Exodus 14:10). Pharaoh, with his desire to "devour my flesh," echoing the boast in Exodus 15:9, "...My desire shall have its fill of them..."
Here, R’ Shmuel bar Nachmani offers a powerful insight: the wicked often pronounce their own judgment. Pharaoh, in his arrogance, declares, "I will pursue, I will overtake... I will divide the spoil" (Exodus 15:9). Notice it's "I will divide," not "we will divide." His hubris becomes his downfall. It is he, and his army, who stumble and fall, as Psalm 136:15 reminds us: "Who hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Reeds..."
With the Egyptians defeated, Israel can finally say, "Should an army besiege me... my heart would have no fear." This confidence, the Midrash argues, comes from the Torah itself. The word "this" in "because of this would I be confident" alludes to the Torah. As Deuteronomy 4:44 states, "This is the Teaching..."
The Rabbis even connect this Psalm to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the High Holy Days. "My light" refers to Rosh Hashanah, the day of judgment, a new beginning. "And my help" refers to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when we seek forgiveness and reconciliation. They see the "evil men" as the idolaters, the nations who accuse Israel before God, claiming, "these are idolaters and those are idolaters as well!"
The Midrash then makes a fascinating numerical observation. The numerical value (gematria) of the Hebrew word hasatan, "the accuser," is 364. This implies that the accuser has authority to make accusations every day of the year except on Yom Kippur (and Rosh Hashanah). This is why Israel can proclaim fearlessly, "Should an army besiege me… my heart would have no fear."
Finally, R’ Levi suggests that our confidence stems from the "bequest" in the Torah, the instructions for entering the Sanctuary in Leviticus 16:3: "Thus only shall Aaron enter the Shrine..." In other words, our faith in God's laws, in the established order, gives us strength.
So, what does all this mean for us today? The Midrash Tehillim invites us to see our own struggles through the lens of the Exodus story. To recognize that even in the face of overwhelming odds, with enemies closing in, we are not alone. God is our light, our help, our stronghold. And by connecting to the Torah, by remembering the lessons of our past, we can find the courage to face whatever challenges lie ahead. Can we truly say, like the Psalmist, "Whom should I fear?"