Redeeming God – So To Speak

The Gemara in Berakhos 8a says:
What is the meaning of the verse: But as for me, let my prayer be made unto Thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time (Tehillim 69:14)? When is the time acceptable? When the congregation prays… R. Aha son of R. Hanina says: [You learn it] from here: Behold, God despiseth not the mighty (Iyov 36:5). And it is further written: He hath redeemed my soul in peace so that none came nigh me; for they were many with me (Tehillim 55:19)…R. Nathan says: The Holy One, blessed be He, says: If a man occupies himself with the study of the Torah and with works of charity and prays with the congregation, I account it to him as if he had redeemed Me and My children from among the nations of the world.

What does it mean to say HKBH is redeemed? Does He need redemption? Redemption from what?

Rav Dovid Cohen in his Gemara shiur cited Midrash Eichah Rabbah (Pesichta 34. See Tosafos, Ani Vaho, Sukkah 45a) to explain this Kabbalistic idea that HKBH, k’va’yakhol, shadows the Bnei Yisrael:

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Jer. 40:1). What was that word? God said to Jeremiah, ‘If you remain here, I will go with them into captivity, and if you go with them, I will remain here.’ He spoke before Him, ‘Sovereign of the Universe, if I go with them, what good can I do for them? So let their King, their Creator, go with them, for He can do them much good.’ Hence it is written, After that Nevuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go ' Being bound in chains’: R. Aha said: If it is possible to say so, both He and Jeremiah were bound in chains. As a parallel it is written, I was among the captives means I (Ezekiel) and He were among the captives (Ezek. 1:1).

HKBH is with us in galus and when we perform mitzvos i.e. Torah study, gemilus chasadim and tefillah b’tzibur, that bring about redemption, we not only bring redemption for Bnei Yisrael but also for HKBH who is with us in chains, so to speak. As the pasuk says, Hashem tzilekha ‘al yad yeminekha, The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade (like a shadow) upon your right hand (Tehillim 121:5).