We are discussing the seventh advantage of the Baal Bitachon over the alchemist.
The Hovot HaLevavot says:
והבוטח בה' לא ייבצר ממנו מזונו בכל עת ובכל מקום עד סוף ימיו,
The Baal Bitachon will not lack sustenance at all times and in any place, until the end of his days.
That’s a very hefty promise.
The truth is, though, that if you pay attention to your Bircat Hamazon, you’ll see that we are stating our belief in this promise in the very first beracha:
We say Hashem gives mezonot/food to all flesh for His kindness endures forever...
נותן לחם לכל בשר כי לכולם חסדו
We then say,
ובטובו הגדול תמיד לא חסר לנו ,ואל יחסר לנו מזון תמיד לעולם ועד
In His great goodness, forever, we have never lacked, and the future we will not lack food forever and ever.
We’re realizing- Not only did you give me food today; you will forever give me food.
You have a big table set for everyone. כי הוא אל זן ומפרנס לכל
As it says in the next line:
Your table is set for everyone. ושלחנו ערוך לכל
פותח את ידך ומשביע לכל חי רצון
Open your hands and satisfy the desire of every living being.
When we stop and consider our words, it’s clear we are making a statement of Bitachon in our Bircat hamazon.
There’s a beautiful story that illustrates this.
There was a man named Shimon, who seemed like a simple Jew. During Succot one year, when they were able to hear each other in their Succahs, his two neighbors noticed that that Shimon said Bircat Hamazon very, very slowly. It seemed unusual for a simple man.
They decided to ask him about it.
He explained that as a child of 11 in prewar Europe, Rav Meir Shapiro (the originator of daf yomi) tested him and his class, and was pleased with the results. He told them he would share a secret with them as a reward. He opened the Sefer Hinuch and read to them that Hashem promises us that if you say Bircat Hamazon with understanding, word by word, you will have plenty of food to eat and you’ll be protected your whole life.
The young Shimon took the rabbi’s words to heart and started saying his Bircat Hamazon this way, even missing some of his recess at times because he was saying Bircat hamazon so slowly and with concentration.
A little later, World War II broke out. Young Shimon was rounded up and placed in line for “selection.” The man behind him in line advised him to tell the Nazis he was a cook, and that the man behind him was his assistant. He did just that and they were both placed on kitchen duty. He saw that the promise of the slow Bircat Hamazon was coming true. He had continued to say it slowly and he worked in the kitchen surrounded by food. He was so well fed that one day a German found him to be too healthy, told him that Jews should not have so much flesh on their bones, and took him outside. The Nazi told him that only if he was able to dig a trench 6 ft deep by 6 ft wide could he come back into the kitchen. He handed him a small shovel and left. It seemed an impossible task. The ground was frozen. He’d never be able to dig such a large hole with the tiny shovel.
Just then a truck full of Nazi soldiers drove by and started pelting him with vegetables, taunting him and throwing food at him. He looked to Shamayim and thanked Hashem- even here, outside in the cold, the promise was working-he was still getting food.
Not long after that, a truck of Polish soldiers passed by. They saw the vegetables and assumed Shimon was in charge of them. They asked him if they could have some. Thinking fast, he told them they could, but only if they helped dig the hole. The four soldiers jumped off the truck and helped dig the hole so they could get some of the food (another version is : they had a truck they were able to use for that purpose). Again, Shimon saw the promise come true. When he returned to the kitchen, the German officer who had sent him outside went to check Shimon’s work. The Nazi couldn’t believe what he saw. He said to Shimon, “I know now that your G-d watches over you.” Even a Nazi in the concentration camps was able to see this .
Shimon told his neighbors that he worked in the kitchen until end of war, and that he continued to say Bircat Hamazon slowly until that very day. He kept his promise and so did Hashem.
It is well known that when people went to Rav Shach for a yeshua, he told them to say Bircat Hamazon from a siddur.
It’s not magic- Bircat Hamazon is Bitachon. The words we read testify that Hashem will feed us always. We say Hashem gave me and he will always give me.
This is the Baal Bitachon’s guarantee from Hashem.