The Mekhilta brings the prophet Jeremiah into its sustained argument about the power of prayer, citing one of the sharpest contrasts in all of Scripture: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man" (Jeremiah 17:5).
The statement is absolute. Any person who places ultimate reliance on human power — on armies, alliances, political maneuvering, personal strength — stands under a divine curse. Jeremiah was speaking to a generation that was tempted to trust in Egypt's military support against Babylon, and his message was unsparing: human power will fail you. It always does.
But the very same chapter offers the opposite declaration: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord will be his trust" (Jeremiah 17:7). The curse has a counterpart. Those who place their reliance on God — who turn to prayer instead of human schemes — receive blessing rather than curse.
The Mekhilta then asks: what happens when people actually pray? The answer comes from (Psalms 145:18): "Close is the Lord to all who call upon Him." God does not remain distant when His people pray. He draws near. The act of prayer collapses the distance between heaven and earth, between the Creator and the creature who calls out to Him.
This teaching was aimed directly at the Israelites standing at the Red Sea. They faced a choice: trust in human solutions — fight, flee, negotiate — or trust in God through prayer. Jeremiah's stark binary left no middle ground. One path led to curse, the other to blessing. One ended in failure, the other in the presence of a God who comes close to those who call.