Tefillah Tips - Baruch Sheamar II
The prayer Baruch Sheamar describes and expresses different aspects of G-d’s name -Y-H-V-H. The tefillah is divided into two parts. The first part presents ten different aspects of G-d’s name; and the second part consists of a blessing.
The next two phrases that we will be analyzing are “Baruch Omer Veoseh – Blessed is He that says and does and Baruch Gozer Umekayem- Blessed is He that decrees and fulfills His decree”.
Baruch Omer Veoseh – Blessed is He that says and does-demonstrates one of the most basic differences between man and his Creator. A human king/president/prime minister may make promise after promise after promise. Sometimes the promises are kept, and many times they are not. Sometimes there are very good reasons why the promises are not kept; nevertheless, they are not kept. G-d, the King of all kings can and does maintain any and every promise and blessing He has ever uttered. G-d is one hundred percent reliable. You can trust in Him when there is no one else to call out to. We will learn in an upcoming prayer, “Al Tivtichu Benidivim- Do not place your trust in noblemen”. This resonates the same message that we are addressing. Humanity is frail, temporal, and therefore unreliable. Hashem is just the opposite-strong, Eternal, and by definition reliable- “Baruch Omer Veoseh”.
“Baruch Gozer Umakayem- Blessed is He that decrees and fulfills His decree”. This phrase is referring to divine justice. The Torah teaches that the evildoers will be punished and that evil will one day be obliterated from earth. This relates to the famous Talmudic question of, “Why do the evil prosper and the good suffer?” If it is a basic tenet of Judaism that the good succeed and the evil don’t prosper, why do so many apparently bad people enjoy the pleasures of this world and so many pious people suffer? One approach to an answer is to realize that we are not physically present long enough to witness G-d’s divine reward and retribution. We are taught in the Torah that the good and righteous will be rewarded and the wicked will be punished. It may just take place at a time and a place that we won’t know about it. G-d has a long memory. He remembers every act of every person in his or her lifetime. Our mitzvot will be rewarded and our aveyrot will be admonished. “Baruch Gozer Umekayem – Blessed is He that decrees and fulfills”
In our time when there is so much uncertainty and anxiety about safety and security, we must remind ourselves every morning in davening, “Baruch Omer Veosaeh, Baruch Gozer Umekayem”.