The Gemarah Yerushalmi in Berachot gives a list of rabbis who say in the name of Rav Yochanan,
לעולם אל יהא הפסוק הזה זז מתוך פיך
These words should never leave your mouth:
ה׳ צבאות עמנו משב לנו אלקי יעקב סלה. (תהלים מו)
The G-d of the hosts is with us, a protection for us, the G-d of Yaakov.
And also,
ה׳ צבאות אשרי אדם בוטח בך
Hashem, G-d of the hosts, Fortunate is the one who relies on Him
We should always have the words of these two pesukim on our mouths.
What’s the significance of them?
The commentary Yafeh Mareh, (quoted by the Etz Yosef, in his commentary on the En yaacov) says: The first pasuk tells us that G-d is the G-d of all the worlds, but He’s watching over and protecting us. He asks why the pasuk uses the words אלוהי יעקב the G-d of Yaakov.
He explains that Yaakov Avinu was saved, in his life, from many challenging situations. So, we want to invoke the power of Yaakov.
Yaakov Avinu is referred to as the father of Bitachon, and we often use the terminology “G-d of Yaakov” quite often in our tefillot. For example we say אשרי שאל יעקב בעזרו
The G-d of Yaakov is there to help.
We also say in the Lamnaseach of our Shaharit, after Ashrei, before Ubah Letzion,
ישגבך אליה יעקב סלה
The same משגב, to protect is used in the context of the G-d of Yaakov.
May the name of Yaakov strengthen you.
There’s something about Yaakov Avinu that singles him out as the father of Bitachon.
Yaakov Avinu went through many challenges in his lifetime and he was protected. So we want to invoke that power and Bitachon of Yaakov Avinu to protect us.
G-d is the G-d of hosts ה׳ אלקי צבאות, He is the G-d of billions and billions of galaxies but - עמנו He’s with US!
He protects us and strengthens us, like He did with Yaakov Avinu.
Yaakov is the one of the Avot that we invoke in the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim.
“Arami oved Avi” Lavan the Arami put our father, Yaakov to work
We use Yaakov’s lifetime as the exemplar at the beginning of our lesson. All his trials and tribulations had a happy ending.
The second Pasuk,
ה׳ צבאות אשרי אדם בוטח בך
Hashem, G-d of the hosts, Fortunate is the one who relies on Him
The Sefer Yefeh Mareh says that this means that all of the happiness, success and fortune comes from bitachon. That’s why we say “Fortunate is the one that relies on Him.”
Bitachon is enough of a merit, even for one who has no merits. Bitachon can be his merit.
So, we must remember those pesukim, says this sefer, and awaken ourselves to rely on Hashem and we won’t see bad.
Rav Bloch, from Monsey, has a novel approach to this. He says, in his chapter Bitachon Al Acherim (Bitachon for Others), that you can use your Bitachon/ reliance for other people. How so?
Normally, when someone is in trouble, we can pray for them. But we know Bitachon is more powerful than prayer.
One of the sources for this is Keriyat Yam Suf, when G-d told Moshe Rabbenu that it wasn’t the time to pray, that the Jewish people should forge ahead, and in the merit of their Bitachon the sea would split.
Similarly, when Yaakov Avinu crossed Jordan with his stick, Rashi says that he used his staff to cause the River to split.
So Yaakov Avinu had the power to split the Sea with his Bitachon.
Prayer and Bitachon are two levels.
When Rachel Imenu complained to Yaakov to give her children, Yaakov replied with the response, “Am I in the place of G-d, to hold back children?”
Does that mean that he didn’t want to pray for her? Of course, he did! She was his beloved wife. So, what exactly was the give-and-take here?
Rav Bloch explains that she was saying that she was relying on Hashem, but someone else could rely for her as well.
If someone is on a respirator, Lo Alenu, and they can’t rely on Hashem at the time, can we rely on Hashem for them?
Rav Bloch explains that Rachel Imenu was asking Yaakov, “If you feel my pain like it’s your pain you can tell Hashem, “I can’t handle it that Rachel doesn’t have children. It’s my problem.”
The lesson for us is that when your friend’s problem is your problem, you can use your bitachon for your friend.
But, says Rav Bloch, you can have bitachon for others, only when you feel that their problem is your problem.
When you feel that their problem is 100% your problem, then you can use your bitachon for your friend. This requires us to love our friends like we love ourselves, and it requires a feeling of oneness, an achdut with Klal Yisrael.
Therefore, during the trying times, more than anything else, we need to feel that we are a part of the Sibbur/ congregation
We can’t just think, “I’m under 60 and healthy, so I’ll be okay.”
We must feel the Tzarot/ troubles of Klal Yisrael like they’re our own, and then we can use Yaakov Avinu’s power of Bitachon.
I’m sure that in the end, it worked, and he brought Rachel her children.
Finally, there is a prayer at the end of this Yerushalmi that is not so well known:
יהי רצון מלפניך ה אלוקינו ואליה אבותינו שתצילנו משעות החצופות הקשות הרעות היוצאות מתרגשות לבא לעולם
It should be Hashem’s will that we should be helped in these brazen times-in these times chutzpah ( what a chutzpah this coronavirus has- it effected the whole world!), in these difficult times that are leaving and coming to the world.
Save us from these difficult times.
Bezrat Hashem, Hashem will hear our prayers AND our Bitachon, and bring Yeshuot and Refuot to all those that need them. Amen.