Morning Blessings: Rav Schwab on Prayer: Adon Olam: True Trust

The 14th of Adar is the Yahrtzeit of Rav Shimon (ben Yehuda) Schwab (1908-1995). “And with my spirit, my body, God is with me, I shall not fear.” I ask God that my trust in Him, my personal relationship with Him, shall be so secure that I will not have any fears. The real proof of one having achieved becoming a Truster, a Botei’ach, is that one is unafraid. One cannot talk of being a Botei’ach if he is fearful in the face of danger.

In Shemonah Esrei, and the blessing of “The Righteous,” we say, “and give goodly reward to all who trust in Your Name in truth.” We ask God to reward those who “trust in Your Name in truth.” “Truly” trusting in God means having absolute trust in Him, even in the face of danger. If one thinks he has trust in God, but is still afraid, he has fooled himself.

In Havdalah we say, “Behold, the Power is my salvation, I shall trust and not fear (Isaiah 12:2),” which means, when I place my trust in the God of my salvation, I will not have any fear. True trust obviates fear.

Here, at the end of Adon Olam, we finally speak of God as not only Adon but, “my Adon,” my Master, in personal terms. After having defined His role in our lives, and our personal relationship with Him, and having placed our complete trust in Him, our prayer is that, “God is with me, I shall not fear,” that our level of trust shall be such that we will have nothing to fear.

If a person has the merit of reaching this level of trust, he is indeed very fortunate. It is with this thought of complete trust in God that we introduce our daily prayers.