We continue with the seventh and last of the prerequisites for the one we rely on, which is that His kindness is forever. Therefore, regardless of how much we deserve it or not, we can still rely on Hashem because his kindness is forever.
The Hovot HaLevavot proves it from a pasuk in tehilim:
(תהלים קלו כה):נותן לחם לכל בשר ,כי לעולם חסדו
G-d gives bread to all flesh, because His kindness is forever
There we have it: כי לעולם חסדו-Hashem’s kindness is forever.
This is from perek 136 in Tehilim where David HaMelech says, 26 times, that ״כי לעולם חסדו“Hashem’s kindness is forever”.
This refers to the 26 generations that weren’t deserving, from Adam until Matan Torah
(Ten generations from Adam to Noach, another ten from Noach to Abraham, and six from Abraham to Moshe Rabbenu)
There is a rule that says, אם אין תורה אין קמח -If there’s no Torah there’s no flour.
The source of our sustenance is the Torah. Thus, before the Torah was given, the entire world survived solely on Hashem’s hessed. Although they weren’t yet deserving, they were supported and satiated on Hashem’s hessed for thousands of years. The number twenty-six is significant in that it’s the gematria of Hashem’s name of kindness that sustains the world.
This pasuk is the proof: Even the דור המבול- the generation of the flood, and the דור הפלגה- The Generation of the Tower, who were not worthy to survive, were fed every day, because Hashem’s kindness is forever.
This perek of Tehilim that lists the 26 kindnesses of Hashem is referred to as the “Hallel Hagadol- The Great Hallel, in Gemarah Pesachin (118a).
Why? Rav Yochanan says that it’s because G-d is Gadol/Great in the fact that He personally cares for every creature in the world from the largest beast to the smallest insect. That’s Hashem’s gadlut/greatness.
גדול Gadol here refers to G-d.
Every day we say in our prayers:
גדול Gadol, Great
גבור Gibor, Strong
נורא Norah, Awesome
These are the three terms the Torah uses to describe G-d. We can’t fathom beyond that. G-d is great, strong and awesome. We know about that from Abraham,Yitzhak and Yaakov.
These three principles are taught based on our tefillot: In the Amidah we say:
אלקי אברהם G-d of Avraham
אלקי יצחק G-d of Yitzhak
אלקי יעקב G-d of Yaakov
These principles also align with the next portion,
גומל חסדים רבים
קונה הכל
וזוכר חסדי אבות
Gadol (Great) doesn’t mean large in size. It means the One that is constantly bestowing kindness on a lesser being. The Gadol is the Source of all bounty and blessing bestowed upon the Katan- the recipient (not to be confused with small)
Thus the sun and moon are referred to as מאור הגדול great luminary אור הקטן small luminary , respectively, because they are the source and recipient of light.
G-d is The Source, and this Perek 136 is called Hallel HaGaddol/The Great Hallel- because Hashem is the Gadol.
The greatest thing we can say about G-d is
לכל בשר נתן לחם
He gives bread to all flesh. In the after-blessing of Boreh Nefashot, we say:
בורא נפשות רבות וחסורנן
G-d created many souls, with their lackings.
Why with their lackings? Why create us needy? Because Hashem built into us that we’d need Him, so He is constantly bestowing food upon us in the most wondrous ways.
Hashem is the ultimate מטיב (One Who does Good) forever. When we sit down to eat bread, we must appreciate how it’s given to us from kindness.
The Mehilta says, How great is the power of a piece of bread!
נותן לחם לכל בשר Hashem gives bread to all flesh
The Hida writes that כל בשר All flesh means both the righteous and the wicked. As such, the manna came down even after the sin of the Golden Calf. We see that Hashem continued to bestow us with kindness even after that great sin.
(As an important aside, it is interesting to note that the Midrash Talpiot writes that after Korach’s rebellion, the manna did cease to fall. It would seem that getting along with others is prerequisite for bringing down the blessing.)
Nevertheless, the point here is to remember -כי לעולם חסדו
Hashem is kind to all