Twice each day throughout Elul and continuing through the Days of Awe, Psalm 27 is recited. Its opening declaration sets the tone for the entire season: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” The psalm moves with striking honesty from serene confidence to desperate petition—“Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud… Hide not Your face from me”—and concludes with the quiet resolve, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
Classical Jewish interpretation links the two key nouns of the first verse to the two High Holy Days. “My light” points to Rosh Hashanah, the day when the light of judgment shines and the books are opened. “My salvation” points to Yom Kippur, the day of covering, cleansing, and deliverance. The longing “to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” and “to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord” becomes the deepest desire of every heart that is returning to God.
For the House of Israel the psalm functions as a national prayer. In the long night of exile the people cry out for the restoration of the divine presence and the return to Zion. The answer is already contained in the psalm’s confidence: the Lord Himself is light and salvation. The prophets take up the same theme: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1). “The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory” (Isaiah 60:19).
Yeshua takes the language of light and applies it to Himself: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). In Him the yeshu‘ah—the salvation—of the Lord is revealed. Paul can therefore write that the God who said “Let light shine out of darkness” has shone in our hearts “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Messiah Yeshua” (2 Corinthians 4:6). The restoration of Israel and the enlightenment of the nations meet in the same Messiah. The light that shines on Zion is destined to become a light to the nations (Isaiah 49:6), and those nations in turn are called to walk in the light of the Lord (Isaiah 2:5).
Practice for Day 7:
Pray Psalm 27 aloud, inserting your own name and the collective name of the people of Israel into the petitions. Ask for light in every area of confusion or fear, and for the full salvation that includes the return of the scattered tribes and the dwelling of God’s presence in the midst of a restored Jerusalem. Let the final verse—“Wait for the Lord”—become a posture of patient, courageous hope.
