First Pasuk

לְדָוִד ה’ אוֹרִי וְיִשְׁעִי מִמִּי אִירָא ה’ מָעוֹז חַיַּי מִמִּי אֶפְחָד:

A song of Dovid. Hashem is my light and my salvation, from whom should I fear. Hashem is the fortress of my life, from whom should I have trepidation.

Clearly Dovid HaMelech found himself in a dark place, a place from which he needed to be saved. He felt unprotected and fearful. Suddenly, he found Hashem and all the darkness, all the vulnerability, all the fear went away. 

What happened?

I have written extensively on my Kabbalistic Koncepts blog about the symbolism of the name of יקוק. The world as we perceive it is a disjointed and fragmented place. There is conflict and dissension on every level.Within and without ourselves. This is the Void, the Darkness created by Hashem as the very center-point of creation in which fear and vulnerability would be given free reign.

But this is also, and primarily, an opportunity. An opportunity to see beyond the chaos and find the unifying force that gives existence to the apparent chaos. When we find that force, represented by the name יקוק, the darkness falls away, the fears are gone and there is no more vulnerability.

Ellul, leading to Rosh Hashanah is the time to reinvigorate our relationship with Hashem. That relationship has gotten lost as we have allowed ourselves to get lost in the Void over the course of the year. The first step to getting out out the Void is refocusing our attention on what our goal is and where our salvation lies.

ה' אורי וישעי, focus on the unifying singular force of Hashem and I will find myself in the light and invulnerable.