When the Ground Moves and No One Can Help
The ground is shaking. The water is rising. The wind is tearing through everything you thought was solid. In this moment, every plan you made, every wall you built, every system you trusted feels paper-thin. Nature has its own timetable, and you are not in charge of it.
Not because the words are magic. Because they point your heart to the One who holds the whole world steady when nothing else does.
Kapitel 93 of Tehillim was composed by Dovid HaMelech b’ruach hakodesh. In five short pesukim, Dovid describes Hashem as the One who wears majesty like a garment, who set the world on its foundations, and whose power dwarfs the roaring seas. This is the kapitel to say when creation itself seems to be coming apart. These words were placed into the world for every generation that would face forces beyond human control, so that a Yid standing before the fury of nature would have the language to declare: Hashem is above all of it.
Before You Say This Kapitel
You may not have quiet. You may not have a siddur. You may be crouched under a doorframe or huddled in a shelter. None of that matters. Hashem is listening to you right now, wherever you are. Speak to Him simply:
Master of the Universe, Hashem reigns, He is robed in majesty, and Your great nature terrifies us. The earth quakes, the waters rise, and we are powerless. Your throne is established from of old. Protect us from nature’s fury, and bring us out safely. God of Meir, answer me.
If giving tzedakah, add:
In the merit of the tzedakah I give in the merit of Rabbi Meir, whose zechus brought rescue in a time of danger, so may You save us. Ribbono Shel Olam, I care for Your children. Please care for us.
Kapitel 93: The Full Prayer
יְהֹוָה מָלָךְ גֵּאוּת לָבֵשׁ לָבֵשׁ יְהֹוָה עֹז הִתְאַזָּר אַף־תִּכּוֹן תֵּבֵל בַּל־תִּמּוֹט׃
נָכוֹן כִּסְאֲךָ מֵאָז מֵעוֹלָם אָתָּה׃
נָשְׂאוּ נְהָרוֹת יְהֹוָה נָשְׂאוּ נְהָרוֹת קוֹלָם יִשְׂאוּ נְהָרוֹת דׇּכְיָם׃
מִקֹּלוֹת מַיִם רַבִּים אַדִּירִים מִשְׁבְּרֵי־יָם אַדִּיר בַּמָּרוֹם יְהֹוָה׃
עֵדֹתֶיךָ נֶאֶמְנוּ מְאֹד לְבֵיתְךָ נַאֲוָה־קֹדֶשׁ יְהֹוָה לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים׃
Hashem moloch geius loveish loveish Hashem oiz his-azzor af-tikkoin teiveil bal-timmoit.
Nochoin kis’acho mei-oz mei-oilom otto.
Nos’u n’hoirois Hashem nos’u n’hoirois koilom yis’u n’hoirois doch-yom.
Mikkoilois mayim rabbim addirim mishb’rei-yom addir bammoiroim Hashem.
Eidoisecho ne’emnu m’oid l’veisecho na’avo-koidesh Hashem l’oirech yomim.
Hashem malach ge’ut lavesh lavesh Hashem oz hit’azzar af-tikkon tevel bal-timmot.
Nachon kis’acha me-az me-olam ata.
Nas’u neharot Hashem nas’u neharot kolam yis’u neharot dochyam.
Mikkolot mayim rabbim addirim mishberei-yam addir bammarom Hashem.
Edotecha ne’emnu me’od le-veitecha na’ava-kodesh Hashem le-orech yamim.
Hashem is sovereign, and robed in grandeur; Hashem is robed, and girded with strength. The world stands firm; it cannot be shaken.
Your throne stands firm from of old; from eternity You have existed.
The ocean sounds, O Hashem, the ocean sounds its thunder, the ocean sounds its pounding.
Above the thunder of the mighty waters, more majestic than the breakers of the sea is Hashem, majestic on high.
Your decrees are indeed enduring; holiness befits Your house, O Hashem, for all times.
Kapitel 93 is recited every Erev Shabbos and on many occasions when we affirm Hashem’s kingship over creation. Five pesukim. In the time it takes to read them, you have turned your heart from the chaos around you to the One who holds it all together.
What These Words Mean for You
Hashem moloch geius loveish “Hashem is sovereign, and robed in grandeur.”
The shoresh of moloch is מ-ל-כ, to reign. And geius comes from גאה, to rise up, to be exalted.
Dovid opens the kapitel by telling us something we desperately need to hear when the world is falling apart: Hashem is wearing majesty like a garment. He is not scrambling. He is not reacting. He reigns. Right now, as the storm rages or the ground moves beneath your feet, Hashem is robed in sovereignty. That image, a King who wears His power calmly, is the first thing Dovid wants to put into your heart. Af tikkoin teiveil bal timmoit “The world stands firm; it cannot be shaken.”
The word tikkoin comes from the shoresh כ-ו-נ, meaning to establish, to set in place. Bal timmoit means it will not collapse. This passuk is almost startling to say during an earthquake or a flood, because everything around you feels like it is collapsing.
But that is exactly why Dovid wrote it. The physical world may shake. Trees fall, walls crack, water swallows the shore. And yet Dovid tells us: at its root, the world Hashem created stands. The Gemara in Berachos (54a) teaches that upon seeing earthquakes, storms, or other upheavals of nature, one says: Baruch she’kocho u’gvuraso malei olam, “Blessed is He whose power and might fill the world.” Even the storm itself is held by Hashem. A related tefillah that speaks to this same yearning is the jewish prayer for good weather.
Nochoin kis’acho mei-oz “Your throne stands firm from of old.”
The word nochoin shares the same shoresh as tikkoin above, כ-ו-נ, established, firm. And mei-oz, from then, from the very beginning.
This is a passuk of emunah in its purest form. You are in the middle of something terrifying. The ground is shaking, the water is rising, and everything around you is temporary. But Hashem’s throne, His sovereignty, does not move. It was established before time and it endures through every upheaval. When you say these words, you are telling Hashem: I know You were here before this disaster, and You will be here after it. Addir bammoiroim Hashem “Hashem, majestic on high.”
The shoresh of addir is א-ד-ר, mighty, majestic. The kapitel spends a full passuk describing the roar of the ocean, the thunder of the waters, the crashing waves.
And then, in three words, Dovid puts it all in perspective: addir bammoiroim Hashem. Kapitel 46 itself declares that even if the earth gives way and mountains topple into the sea, Hashem remains our refuge. The sea roars, and Hashem is mightier. The rivers pound, and Hashem towers above them. This is what these words do for you in the middle of danger. They do not deny it. They place you under something stronger than it.
How to Say This Prayer
Say this kapitel wherever you are. Standing, sitting, crouching in a shelter. Hashem does not need you in a shul with a siddur open. He needs your heart open. If you cannot read the Hebrew, use the transliteration or say it in English. Hashem hears you in every language.
Before you begin, even for just a moment, set your kavanah. You might say quietly in your own words: “Hashem, I feel powerless right now. The forces around me are terrifying. I am turning to You because only You control the wind, the water, the earth. Please protect me and my loved ones. Calm the storm around us, and bring us out safely.”
If you can, give tzedakah alongside your tefillah. The machzor teaches that teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah together avert harsh decrees — pairing your kapitel with an act of chesed unites davening and giving as one. When you pair this kapitel with an act of chesed in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, you bring both together. Your davening and your giving, rising as one.
After the kapitel, you may say: Elokah d’Meir aneni!
Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness
The Gemara in Avodah Zarah (18a-18b) tells the story of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness and Bruria’s sister. She was imprisoned by the Romans. Rabbi Meir bribed the guard and taught him to say “Eloka d’Meir aneni!” — “God of Meir, answer me!” — if he was ever in danger. When the guard asked for proof, Rabbi Meir said the words and nearby dogs that had been ready to attack turned away. The guard was convinced and released her based on the power of these words.
When we say a prayer during natural disaster and give tzedakah in Rabbi Meir’s zechus, we are asking Hashem to hear us in the combined merit of a great tzaddik and our own act of chesed. His zechus speaks precisely to this moment, when the forces around you are beyond human control. Many who daven for this also find strength in the prayer when neighbors cause distress.
Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities was founded in 1799 and supports talmidei chachamim and families in need in Eretz Yisrael. The scholars at Rabbi Meir’s grave in Tiberias daven by name for those who reach out. When you give tzedakah for the poor of Eretz Yisrael in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, your act of caring for others rises together with your plea for protection.
Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Kapitel 93 of Tehillim declares Hashem’s sovereignty over all creation, over the roaring seas, the shaking earth, and every force of nature. Its five pesukim place you under Hashem’s protection at the moment you need it most. Saying it alongside giving tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness adds the power of chesed to your tefillah. The prayer for release from unjust confinement touches on a similar longing and is worth saying alongside this tefillah. Yes. You can say Kapitel 93 wherever you are, in whatever position you are in. Hashem does not need you standing at a shtender. He needs your heart. If you cannot read Hebrew, use the English or transliteration. If you cannot read at all, speak to Hashem in your own words. Rabbi Meir was one of the greatest Tannaim. The Gemara ( Avodah Zarah 18a-18b ) records that he taught the guard to say ‘Elaha d’Meir aneni!’ and Bruria’s sister was rescued from captivity. Giving tzedakah in his zechus is asking Hashem to hear our tefillah in the combined merit of this tzaddik and our own act of chesed. Say it as soon as danger threatens. Before, during, or after. There is no wrong time. Some say it when the weather warnings come in. Others say it in the shelter while the storm is overhead. You can also say it after the danger has passed, thanking Hashem for bringing you through. God of Meir, answer me.” These are the words Rabbi Meir said to the guard when danger came. Generations of Yidden have said them at moments of real danger, trusting that Hashem hears the tefillah offered in the zechus of this great tzaddik.
A Brachah for Safety
That alone, the turning toward Hashem when the world feels like it is falling apart, is already a tefillah.
May Hashem protect you and your loved ones from harm. May He calm the waters, steady the ground, and bring you through this safely. May you look back on this day and know that Hashem was with you in the middle of it. And may the fear you carry right now be replaced, soon, with the quiet relief of someone who was held by Hashem through the storm.
You can submit a prayer request to the scholars at Rabbi Meir’s grave in Tiberias at no cost. They will daven for your safety by name through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. And if you would like to give tzedakah in Rabbi Meir’s zechus as well, your kindness will rise together with your prayer.
