Bitachon

So we'll take a few minutes to reflect together on Middos HaBitachon. Let's begin on a very practical level. What is some examples where Al Pi Din a person is mechuyav to manifest bitachon? Simple chiyuvim. So in Shulchan Aruch in סימן קנ״ה, the Mechaber writes

אחר שיצא מבית הכנסת ילך לבית המדרש ויקבע עת ללמוד וצריך שאותו עת יהיה קבוע.

Dehainu to Kava Itim LeTorah doesn't simply mean that I should have in mind that every day I should learn, but I should have a set hour in every day. Every day the Mishnah Berurah amplifies it means BaYom UBaLayla as the Rambam writes based on the Pasuk in Yehoshua והגית בו יומם ולילה. There should be set times that it's Chok Velo Yaavor. That those times are sacrosanct. Chok Velo Yaavor for learning.

וצריך שאותו עת יהיה קבוע שלא יעבירנו אף אם הוא סבור להרויח הרבה.

Let's say a person has a business opportunity. That business opportunity requires him to be mevatel his Keva Itim. So it says in Shulchan Aruch that a person is supposed to bypass that business opportunity even though it promises revach harbeh. Yitachen that if when it wouldn't involve a clash with Keva Itim, if he would ask a shaila, so maybe he'd be told that even Chol Hamoed he could do such a thing. That maybe it's such an unusual chance for revach that maybe it would even qualify as a davar ha'aved. But if it conflicts with his Keva Itim, so שלא יעבירנו אף אם הוא סבור להרויח הרבה. The Mishnah Berurah here comments ואיש כזה הוא מבעלי אמנה שמאמין ובוטח בהשם. He has bitachon. He has emuna and bitachon שלא יחסר מזונותיו על ידי זה. He has bitachon that he's not going to lose out because he maintains, because he upholds his Keva Itim.

וכדאיתא בירושלמי מאי אנשי אמנה כהדא דהוה צופתא לגבי פרגמטיא פירוש שהיו צועקים הקונים שיבא עם סחורתו למכור.

If you come right now, you can you'll get a great price. Right now, call up the broker right now, you'll you'll sell the the stocks at at an all-time high. But you have to call, come now in the middle of your Keva Itim. vehavei amar and this this maamin, this baal bitachon would say

לית אנא מבטל ענתי מה דחמי למיתי מיתי. וזה לשון הקרבן העדה הוה אמר אינני מבטל השעה שקבעתי ללמוד התורה בשביל הרווח ממון אם ראוי שיבא לי ריוח יבא לו מאליו מהקדוש ברוך הוא אף לאחר שאגמור קביעות לימודי.

The Ribono Shel Olam doesn't need me to be mevatel my seder in order to channel this this this revach to me. Ribono Shel Olam can figure out to find a conduit for parnassa which doesn't have to interfere with my Keva Itim. So here's a din, a meforash din, that that a person is supposed to bypass this opportunity and and that bypass is supposed to be supposed to be done with the understanding of it's supposed to be rooted in bitachon. One one example. Another example, we're only going to give three, four examples, obviously not intended to be comprehensive.

אמר רבין בר רב אדא אמר רבי יצחק כל הרגיל לבוא לבית הכנסת ולא בא יום אחד הקדוש ברוך הוא משאיל בו.

If a person is a regular at the minyan and one day he doesn't come, Hakadosh Baruch Hu kavyachol inquires after the person. Shene'emar

מי בכם ירא השם שמע בקול עבדו אשר הלך חשכים ואין נגה לו. אם לדבר מצוה הלך נגה לו.

If he's not there because of some dvar mitzvah, that's what interfered with his regular attendance of the minyan, it's good. However, ואם לדבר הרשות הלך, but if he was mevatel it for some... ואם לדבר רשות הלך, says the Gemara: ein noga lo, yivtach beshem Hashem. Mai ta'ama? משום דהוה ליה לבטוח בהשם ולא בטח. Meaning what happened? He probably didn't come to shul because he had to go to an early business meeting. He had an important, a very important business meeting, and because of that he didn't, he didn't come to minyan. So the Gemara says he should have told them that he can't make the meeting at that hour. I know but the client will, will only meet him at that hour. So the Gemara says: הוה ליה לבטוח בהשם. הוה ליה לבטוח בשם השם. A person is supposed to realize that the parnassah doesn't come from the client, that that's all on the level of hishtadlus. The parnassah comes from the Ribbono Shel Olam and it can't be that one is going to find one's parnassah or that one is supposed to find one's parnassah by, by missing out on, on his kvius of tfila b'tzibbur, on his kvius of going to minyan. Second example again of dinim, of halachos which are clearly associated and, and rooted in midas habitachon. The Rabbeinu Bachya has in, in the Chovos HaLevavos, tells a story about a chassid echad. A chassid echad, I don't know, maybe he was engaged in, I don't know, some medieval equivalent of being in the export import business. So he used to, used to travel, travel overseas. And obviously in those days it was mamash yordei hayam ba'oniyos was mamash a sakannas, a sakannas nefashos. So the Rabbeinu Bachya in Chovos HaLevavos writes that this chassid echad meets someone and, and this person asks him, I don't know exactly how the exchange goes. So what, what do you do, what do you do for a living? So he tells him what he does for a living and then he asks him, he says: Tell me, where do you think your, where do you think your livelihood comes from? You think it's kocho v'otzem yadi, but what do you think it comes from? So the chassid says: Chas v'shalom, he says it comes from the Ribbono Shel Olam. The Ribbono Shel Olam who's a kol yachol. So he says to him: So what do you think? You think the Ribbono Shel Olam who's a kol yachol can only, can only send you your parnassah if you engage in in activities which are, which involve a sakannas nefashos? And the Rabbeinu Bachya writes that from that day the chassid left that business, he quit that job, and he took a look for, for a job which didn't involve exposing himself to, to that level, to that level of, of risk. The, the equivalent of that nowadays obviously is not presumably, presumably is, is not traveling. But there are other, other examples in terms of what kind of places a person goes to in search of a job, in search of a parnassah, if it doesn't have the, the framework of a kehilla in terms of shuls and, and the yeshivas and chinuch. So, so that's the equivalent of what this person asked the chassid echad, if the parnassah comes from the Ribbono Shel Olam, so is it really a cogent assumption that the Ribbono Shel Olam wants one to go to a place where there's no mosad chinuch for one's children or, or anything comparable to that in order to find his parnassah. A fourth example, a very well-known ma'amar Chazal. The Chazal comment that if a person has what to eat today and he's worried about what he's going to eat tomorrow, so he's miktanei amunah. So this is primarily again unlike the the previous three examples more a question of, of attitude and, and perspective rather than concrete obligation to, to give up on the, the business meeting and not be mevattel kvius itim, not be mevattel tfila b'tzibbur, pass up on, on certain employment opportunities if, if they're again inconsistent, incompatible with what bitachon implies. So this seems to be primarily attitude which is also crucial, also of tremendous importance but it's more than that also. משל למה הדבר דומה. Let's say a person is in a certain, a person goes into chinuch. And baruch Hashem eichshehu he pays the bills, or most of the bills when he's in, in chinuch but he's not saving money. He's not saving money. So a person is thinking to himself: So what's gonna be? What's gonna be when I retire? What's gonna be what's gonna be when I get old? So here this Gemara becomes not just a question of attitude but it becomes halacha l'maiseh that a person is not supposed to say this obviously isn't a viable profession, it's not viable hishtadlus in terms of parnassah because I don't have enough to save. Gemara says no. If a person's paying his bills, he's eating today, so then it's a question of emuna and bitachon not to worry about and not amassing savings. Okay, so here are some examples of halacha l'maiseh bitachon. Well what's the mokor for pshat kashah? What's the mokor for the chiyuv bitachon? Where does it say in the Torah that a person has to have bitachon? Obviously it does, we see that these chiyuvim which stem from but where's the possuk in the Torah that you have to have bitachon? I'm just reading from Rabbeinu Yonah in Shaarei Teshuva as quoted in the sefer Bitachon v'Hishtadlus. So Rabbeinu Yonah in Shaarei Teshuva, Shaar Gimmel, says as follows. He says that basically the chiyuv bitachon is rooted in the p'sukim in Sefer Devarim:

כי תאמר בלבבך רבים הגוים האלה ממני איכה אוכל להורישם לא תירא מהם.

Similarly later the Torah says in a similar type of context,

כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך וראית סוס ורכב עם רב ממך לא תירא מהם.

Huzharnu bazeh says Rabbeinu Yonah

שאם יראה האדם כי צרה קרובה תהיה ישועת השם בלבבו ויבטח עליה.

Ke'inyan she-ne'emar אך קרוב ליראיו ישעו v'chein ksiv מי את ותיראי מאנוש ימות. Okay, so I guess you can tie it a little bit on the Rabbeinu Yonah, it's not such the strongest taina in the world, but how do you know that the chiyuv bitachon applies in all times and all places and under all circumstances? This seems to be a rather narrow, so it's obviously not such a good taina. There is a remarkable Meshech Chochma, one of the haskamos in the sefer refers to the Meshech Chochma on the possuk in Parshas Eikev u-vo sidbak. So Reb Meir Simcha has as follows. He says

אמנם לדעתי היא מצוה פרטית כוללת כל אנשי האומה כל אחד לפי ערכו וזהו ענין הבטחון.

u-vo sidbak, that's where the Torah has the chovos bitachon. u-vo sidbak.

וזהו ענין הבטחון שהפליג ירמיהו וקילל ארור הגבר אשר יבטח באדם ושם בשר זרועו ודוד בכל תהלתו אחז בה בהשם בטחתי ישראל בטח בהשם וישעיהו אמר בטחו בהשם עדי עד.

How does u-vo sidbak convey the chovos bitachon? So Reb Meir Simcha continues,

וזה הענין נקרא ובו תדבק שכיוון שיצייר האדם שהוא דבוק בהשגחה העליונה מהשם יתברך.

u-vo sidbak, what do you mean how's a person davuk? So he says it means to be davuk in the hashgacha of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. If a person is davuk in the hashgacha of Hakadosh Baruch Hu,

הוא מרגיש שהשם יתברך בענייניו יותר ממה שמרגיש האדם בעצמו. משל למה הדבר דומה

the same way a parent taking care of a young child, so obviously the parent is more aware and more concerned with the child's welfare than the child him or herself. So l'havdil so it is with the Ribbono Shel Olam,

כי ידעתי את מכאביו. עושה אדם בטוח ונוח ואינו דואג מאומה לענייניו כי מה יועיל יכולתו נגד יכולת הבורא הדבוק עמו ומרגיש בהעדרו כביכול.

What am I gonna I'm gonna help the Ribbono Shel Olam, he needs a helping hand? Ribbono Shel Olam knows what I need better and being davuk in the hashgacha of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The truth is that we don't really need to look for a possuk. Why is that? Moshe writes a very beautiful and profound chiddush. He says he thinks that bnei Noach are obligated to davven be-eis tzara. Now, where does it say anywhere that that's amongst the mitzvos of bnei Noach, a chiyuv bnei Noach to davven be-eis tzara? So Moshe says, very simple. Moshe says, what's the saying that no atheists in foxholes? That be-eis tzara, rachmana litzlan, if a person is a ma'amin, so a person davvens. Rachmana litzlan, a person is has tremendous pain, some kind of yisurim or tremendous pain. If a person is a ma'amin, so a person calls out to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It's an instinctive, an instinctive reaction, sometimes an instinctive reaction which reveals to the person what he what he really does believe and and perhaps isn't isn't so sensitive to on a conscious level. But if a person genuinely believes, so then that emuna is automatically going to express itself in tefilla be-eis tzaros. Hence says Rav Moshe, since bnei Noach certainly have to believe in Hakadosh Baruch Hu, so then if there's a genuine belief in Hakadosh Baruch Hu, that will express itself in tefilla be-eis tzara. The emes is kayotzei be-zeh. If a person has a genuine belief a) in yecholas Hashem, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is kol yachol, b) in hashgacha pratis, so then mimmela that has to if a person really, really believes it, so then that has to translate into into a sense of bitachon. Bitachon again means to avoiding either of of two extremes. Bitachon means trusting in Hakadosh Baruch Hu as opposed to being afraid of outside external forces, as in the context of Rabbeinu Yonah is talking about in the Sha'arei Teshuva, lo tasuru mehem, but then the same nekuda of bitachon also means that bitachon also means to avoid the other extreme of not trusting in oneself. That's also that's equally an expression of middas habitachon. So a person recognizes that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is ba'al hakochos kulam as the Nefesh Hachaim explains, the only ba'al koach, not just that He's ba'al hakochos kulam but exclusively that only Hakadosh Baruch Hu is a ba'al koach, and that Hakadosh Baruch Hu exercises hashgacha pratis, כל מה דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד, that has to translate into into a sense of bitachon. It doesn't need a possuk. It just automatically syllogistically results from those basic emunos which a person which a person has. Why those emunos aren't embodied in the taryag mitzvos is a separate shmuess. So if it's so basic and so fundamental, so why do we have why do we struggle so much with it? Why why are we tempted or why do we actually run out of shul to to get to work and and ever again some of the other expressions of bitachon that we mentioned? So why do we takeh struggle with it so much? So there are a couple of reasons. One reason is that in general, there sort of was one little fallacy in in what we were just saying, that if a person genuinely believes again that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is kol yachol, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu exercises hashgacha pratis, that כל מה דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד, then mimmela he'll feel bitachon. There was one little fallacy there. And that fallacy is that yeah, I believe and I know these things, but I don't necessarily feel them. So the reason I don't feel bitachon, and the reason that therefore I sort of instinctively do run out of shul too soon and instinctively don't will will do the equivalent of what Rabbeinu Bachya a thousand years ago almost said the equivalent of of traveling overseas is because I don't feel the. The yesodos hemuna. It's sort of we superficially bo'ofen sichli accept them and subscribe to them, but we don't really internalize them and feel them. And yesodos hemuna are supposed to be, again, not only subscribe to them, not only intellectual propositions that we accept, but supposed to be yesodos that we internalize and that we feel. That's what the Mesilas Yesharim says, that the reason a person is supposed to constantly review, constantly review again and again, not to find any chiddushim, but the way a person transitions from וידעת היום והשבת אל לבבך is just by constantly reflecting and thinking and reviewing and reinforcing. That that's the way it seeps in and it becomes not only a question of that I believe כל דעבדי רחמנא לטב עבדי and I believe Hakadosh Baruch Hu is mashgiach bechol yachol, but then I begin to feel it. There's another nisayon which is associated also with midas habitachon and that is that there is a chiyuv to make hishtadlus. And the chiyuv to make hishtadlus lichora entails viewing and analyzing the world from the natural, even secular perspective. If I have a chiyuv to make hishtadlus, so I have to figure out is the market going up, is the market going down? I have to figure out what's the what's the job market going to be like in two years from now when I graduate college, so what's the good what's a good major? I have to make all these calculations because that's part of the hishtadlus. So I have to spend so much time thinking and reflecting on things from a natural, again, even seemingly totally secular angle and perspective, so that sort of challenges and weakens a mindset of bitachon, or potentially it certainly can do so. So how do we how do we deal with that challenge? So itachen as follows, that maybe maybe the way we, again, conceptualize, not so much implement, but the way we conceptualize hishtadlus has to be changed. Again, it sounds like semantics, but I think there's a world of difference. Maybe let's say a person is planning on he makes a clear cheshbon hanefesh and and let's say for him the accurate decision takeh is a Torah related field is not for me. So I'm going to go to law school. Okay, and and he thinks it through and he's misyayetz and and that's takeh the right thing to do. So the way we generally think of that, understandably but erroneously, is okay so I'm going to go to law school and that's where my parnassa is going to come from, because mostly, Baruch Hashem, generally earn a parnassa. So maybe again if I view things that way, so then again I'm constant and then in law school you have to do well in law school, you have to study. Again, that approach is going to there's going to be a tension and it's going to weaken the mindset of bitachon. So what is the approach supposed to be? The approach is supposed to be the Ribono Shel Olam has tzinoros in the world. There are all kinds of tzinoros through which the Ribono Shel Olam sends shefa, sends bracha into the world. Different tzinoros. One of the tzinoros is that a person has a person has a job as a lawyer. That's a tzinor that the Ribono Shel Olam uses. So what I'm doing is not I'm not going into law because law lawyers make a living. I'm not doing that. That's a that's a secular that's a secular perspective on it. What I'm doing is which of these tzinoros should I go to to ask the Ribono Shel Olam to receive his bracha? That's the tzinor to which I'm going. And if a person would view everything, if we would be able to view everything that way, again on a practical level it doesn't make that much difference. Still have to study for the LSATs and still have to do the work in law school. On a practical level it's not going to make that much difference. But again it's not always what you do, sometimes it's it's the context or or the understanding that you have of of what you're doing. So what I'm doing is again the Ribono Shel Olam says we're supposed to go to one of his tzinoros. One of the tzinoros is... Putting myself in a position, asking the Ribono Shel Olam that I should be able to receive His bracha through through this tzinor. Perhaps if we would have that perspective on our hishtadlus, so then that would would reconcile for us the chiyuv hishtadlus with maintaining the the crucial mindset of bitachon.