It’s the day after Tisha B’Av, so we will share a bitachon thought related to the stage we now move into, the stage of Nechama/comfort. In Masechet Gittin, the Gemara tells us about the horrible destruction of the city of Beitar. Literally, millions of people were killed. And the Gemara tells us, in another place, that not only were they killed, but they were not allowed to be buried.
Beitar was cordoned off for seven years and no one was allowed to bury the bodies. After those seven years, the original Caesar died and the new emperor allowed for their burial. So there they were, going into Beitar, after seven years of no one going near the bodies. You would assume they’d need hazmat suits, that there would be terrible decay and odor. But miraculously, all the bodies remained just as they were on the day they died.
None of them decayed, none of them rotted. And they got their proper burial. And on that day, the rabbis of Yavneh, the yeshiva of the day, enacted a Takana, to institute a new blessing into Birkat Hamazon, the fourth blessing, HaTov UMetiv. The first blessing is from Moshe Rabbenu when the manna came down in the desert. The second one was made by Yehoshua, the third one by David and Shlomo.
This fourth one was made by the people of Yavneh.
Rav Yitzhak Isaac Scher, son-in-law of the Alter of Slobodka asks a question. He says, there are a lot of miracles that happened to the Jewish people. What made the miracle of the bodies not rotting so significant that we have to remember it for eternity? (I don't know how many people think of the dead bodies of Beitar when they say HaTov UMetiv, but maybe now we will).
And he explains as follows:
This was a low point in Jewish history. Bar Kochba’s last stand was Beitar. They thought maybe they'd have some chance of overturning the Roman Empire, but they were wiped out. And at this low point, they saw a miracle. Seemingly, God had forsaken them, and yet here God made a miracle, watching over these dead bodies. At that point, they realized that even when God punishes you, He’s still taking care of you at the same time.
That, the rabbis decided, was something to remember forever.
In Birkat Hamazon, we say, V’Tivneh Yerushalayim Irach, Bimhera Beyamenu/ We want Yerushalayim build soon, but it's not being built, and we're still here. So what do we have to keep us going? That's the blessing of HaTov UMetiv.
We start off the blessing with
HaEl Avinu. El means powerful, strong One that gives us parnasa.
El, is a term of strength, but strength for giving parnasa and goodness.
Avinu/ God's our Father,
Malkenu/ our King
(We use that same term, Avinu Malkenu on the high holidays)
Adirenu/the strong One.
Borenu/Our Creator
Goalenu/Our Redeemer
Kedoshenu, Kedosh Yaakov, He's the holy One and Yaakov was holy too.
(*See below)
Ro’Enu, Ro’eh Yisrael
He’s our shepherd, shepherd of Yisrael
(Yaakov had two names. Yaakov and Yisrael).
What exactly does that mean, and what is the significance of shepherding, specifically in HaTov UMetiv?
The Midrash tells us, Yaakov Avinu never said a word in vain, except the one time when the brothers wanted to go back to Egypt for the second time and take Binyamin along. Shimon was still there, and Yehuda was trying to convince Yaakov Avinu that he should send Binyamin. The pasuk says, “Vayomer Yisrael/Yisrael says, ‘Why did you do bad for me?’” Why'd you tell this Viceroy that you have another brother? Why'd you do bad for me? And that was the one word that Yaakov said improperly. And God said, “I'm trying to make his son the king and he's complaining?!”
It’s not fathomable to us. He had the bloodstained coat. How was he supposed to think that Yosef was still alive? But regardless, on Yaakov’s Avinu’s level, that was a complaint. Yet, Rav Matityahu Salomon says, that Yaakov Avinu fixed it on the last day of his life, when blessing his children. He said to Yosef’s children, “God who's my shepherd.. etc” and he blessed him. He used the term God, who's my Shepherd, and the word shepherd , Ro’eh here is written without a Vav. It could be read as Ra’ah /God's justice, Who seemingly does evil to me. Yaakov Avinu makes this declaration that what seems to be Ra’ah/evil is really Roeh/it's God shepherding me.
And that's what we're saying in this blessing: Remember the lesson of Roenu Ro’eh Yisrael. Even when it seems to be Ra’ah/bad, it's really the Ro’eh.
Hamelech/ the King
HaTov/He does good,
VHametiv Lakol, as it says Tov Hashem Lakol.
Sh’Bechol Yom V ‘Yom/Every single day,
Hu Hetiv Lanu/ He did good for us in the past,
Hu Metiv Lanu/He does good for us presently
Hu Yetiv Lanu/He will do good in the future
Hu Gemalanu, Hu Gomelenu, Hu Yigmelenu…
La’ad
And then we end with the words Chen, Chessed, V’Rachamim/Grace Kindness, Mercy,
Revach/ a lot
Hatzolah Vchol Tov…
These words are almost identical to the beginning of when we start with the words HaEl Hazan Otanu… VChen VChesed VRevach Vrahami m Rabim ..These were said by Moshe Rabbenu when the manna was coming down, when the wellspring was giving them water, when the cloud was ahead of them.
And yet we use the same terminology when we're staring at millions of bodies that have been lying around for seven years. Because we realize it's the same Hatov Umetiv.
That's the takeaway from Tisha B’Av. That's the Nechama/comfort.
And that's why we have this fourth beracha of HaTov Umetiv.
Let's focus on it and take the lesson.
(*Yaakov symbolized Torah, which is called Torah Kedosha.
Additionally, the first three blessings of the Amida correspond to the Avot.
Magen Abraham corresponds to Avraham Avinu, Mehayeh Metim corresponds to Yitzhak who's soul left and came back by the Akeda which represents the resurrection of the dead. And finally, Yaakov is the one of Kedusha, and therefore he gets V’Atah Kadosh)