We are now in the pesukim of Yirmiyah chapter 17 (pesukim 5-9) where Yirmiyah, in the name of God, blesses and curses people that have, or do not have bitachon.
We will study these few pesukim in English (directly from Artscroll):
Thus said Hashem, accursed is the man who trusts in people, and makes flesh and blood his strength, and turns his heart away from Hashem. He will be like a lone tree in the desert, and will not see when goodness comes, and dwells in parched lands in the wilderness in salty uninhabited land.
(That is all referring to the man that is accursed)
Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, and Hashem will be his security. He will be like a tree planted in water, which spreads out its roots along a brook, and does not see when heat comes; whose foliage is ever-fresh. It will not worry in a year of drought, it will not stop producing fruit.
These are the curses and blessings, for the man who has bitachon, and who does not have.
We read this haftara of blessing and curses for bitachon for Parashat Bechukotai, before Shavuot.
The Ramban has a beautiful thought on this, in his sefer Emunah and Bitachon, chapter 17.
He points out that there are eight blessings in these pesukim, and eight curses.
The first of the blessings is
בָּרוּךְ הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר יִבְטַח בַּה׳
The one who relies on Hashem is blessed.
The second blessing is that
וְהָיָה ה׳ מִבְטַחוֹ׃
God will be his security.
The third blessing is
וְהָיָה כְּעֵץ ׀ שָׁתוּל עַל־מַיִם
He is like a tree on the water
The fourth:
וְעַל־יוּבַל יְשַׁלַּח שׇׁרָשָׁיו
His roots come out in a brook
The fifth:
וְלֹא (ירא) [יִרְאֶה] כִּי־יָבֹא חֹם
He is not worried about the environment ( the heat)
The sixth:
וְהָיָה עָלֵהוּ רַעֲנָן
His leaves are always moist
The seventh:
וּבִשְׁנַת בַּצֹּרֶת לֹא יִדְאָג
He isn’t worried about drout ( or inflation)
And the eighth blessing is:
וְלֹא יָמִישׁ מֵעֲשׂוֹת פֶּרִי׃
He continues to bear fruit.
These are the eight blessings for the Baal bitachon.
The opposite, are the eight curses
אָרוּר הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר יִבְטַח בָּאָדָם
1-Cursed is the one who relies on man
וְשָׂם בָּשָׂר זְרֹעוֹ
2-(Because he doesn’t have bitachon), he will have to rely on people
And he hopes for their goodness be he’s not hoping for God’s goodness
וּמִן־ה׳ יָסוּר לִבּוֹ
3-he removes his heart from God.
I thought this was something that he did, but actually it is a punishment. This means that his prayers are not heard. He will cry out to God and not be answered, and he will despair from God’s mercy. So even though he may pray ( as there are no atheists in the fox hole), he is not a Baal bitachon, so it will not work. Thus, he will despair, and further distance himself from God.
וְהָיָה כְּעַרְעָר בָּעֲרָבָה
4-He is like a cactus tree
וְלֹא יִרְאֶה כִּי־יָבוֹא טוֹב
5-When good comes, he won’t see it.
וְשָׁכַן חֲרֵרִים בַּמִּדְבָּר
6- He dwells in parched lands, in the wilderness
אֶרֶץ מְלֵחָה
7- In salty land (where nothing can grow)
וְלֹא תֵשֵׁב
8-An uninhabited land
The Ramban’s big Hiddush is that these eight blessings and curses correspond to eight times that Hashem’s name is mentioned in the Ten Commandments.
So all the blessings, and, Has V’Shalom, the opposite, are rooted in the blessings of bitachon that come in the Aseret HaDibrot.
What do they have to with each other?
The Sefer Mitzvot Katzar answers with a beautiful thought. He says that the source for Bitachon, and the source for that after 120 years, they ask V’Sipita Yeshua/ if you looked forward to God’s salvation (Not just salvation in a general way, but in any event individual way as well) is because Hassan says, “Anochi Hashem Elokecha… I am Hashem your God who took you out of Egypt.
Which is to say,
If I took you out of Egypt, I can do anything. Rely on Me hope to Me and count on Me”
The Gaon of Vilna says that the entire Torah is included in that Anochi Hashem Elokecha … who took you out of Egypt.
And that whole pasuk is in the word Anochi/ I am
All you need to know is, “I am Hashem” and all of that is in the אAleph of Anochi.
There is only One God.
That is Kol HaTorah Kula
So all of the blessings and all of the curses are rooted in the eight times that Hashem’s name is mentioned in the Ten Commandments.
Then, at the Het HaEgel, we did not rely on God. We used a middleman- the Egel, and the tablets were broken.
These are unbelievable thoughts from the Ramban in his sefer Emuna and Bitachon, on our Pesukei Bitachon.
Have a wonderful day.