The pasuk states (Tehillim 118:5): “From the straits I called Hashem; Hashem answered me with a vast expanse (bamerchavkah).” Sefer Tiferes Shlomo explains that when a person encounters a difficult time, when one feels trapped in a narrow place, all he wants is to get out and escape. Hashem, however, goes further than that and gives him “merchav Kah”. He places His holy name of “Kah” upon the person. This is as is stated (Bamidbor 26:5) that the camps of Klal Yisroel began to be called by Hashem’s name (for example, the camp of Chanoch began to be called “Hachanochi”, with Hashem’s name surrounding them – with a hei in the beginning and a yud at the end) only after the story of Pinchos.
We can learn a lesson from this about the great kindness of Hashem. When a person cries out to Him from the depths of his heart to save him from a difficulty, he does even more than that. He both sends His salvation for this trouble and provides a protection for the future.
In this vein, Rav Meir of Premishlan zy”a explains the verse (Devarim 28:5): “Boruch ta’anecha u’misharasecha. (Blessed will be your basket and your kneading bowl)”, as follows: “Boruch ta’anecha” – we ask Hashem to bless us by giving us what we “tainoh” (ask for), and we further ask Him to give us “misharaecha”, what is left over, meaning what we haven’t asked for because we don’t even know that we should be asking for it. And He fulfills both prayers.
