It is futile to pin one’s hopes on other people, whose days are numbered and whose existence in this world is transient. It is preferable to rely on the eternal God.

Rabbi Yehuda Nesia asked Rabbi Ami: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Trust in the Lord forever, for God the Lord is an everlasting [olamim] Rock” (Isaiah 26:4)? Rabbi Ami said to him: For anyone who places his trust in the Holy One, Blessed be He, He will be his refuge in this world [olam hazeh] and in the World to Come [olam haba].

This is the meaning of that which the verse stated: “Do not trust in princes, in man in whom there is no salvation” (Psalms 146:3): Rabbi Shimon said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: Anyone who trusts in the Holy One, blessed be He, will merit to be similar to Him [as it were]. From where is this derived? It is derived from a verse, as it is stated: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord; the Lord is his haven” (Jeremiah 17:7). But anyone who trusts in idolatry is liable to be like a worthless idol. From where is this derived? It is derived from a verse, as it is stated: “May their makers become like them; so too, all who put their faith in them” (Psalms 115:8). The Sages say: Anyone who trusts in transient flesh and blood, his protection afforded by that person is likewise transient, as it is stated: “In man in whom there is no salvation” (Psalms 146:3). What is written immediately afterward? “His spirit departs, he returns to the earth” (Psalms 146:4).

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to [the people of Israel who seek rescue from their difficulties]: Trust in My name and it will stand firm for you, as it is stated: “Let him trust in the name of the Lord” (Isaiah 50:10). And why? For I rescue anyone who trusts in My name; and likewise, David says: “In You, Lord, I have taken refuge; I shall never be ashamed” (Psalms 71:1). (Menaĥot 29b; Devarim Rabba 5; Yalkut Shimoni 2:473)