TRUE STORY TOLD BY R' YAAKOV BERMAN SHLITA, IN THE NAME OF R’ BEN-TZION BRUK
A group of Talmidim were learning in a shul with Bitachon that Hashem would provide them with stuffed duck and old wine, because they wanted to work on the Midda of Bitachon. In the morning, a woman brought them bread, which they refused. Towards evening, an old lady came in requesting they come to her house since she needed a Minyan for her Seuda in honor of her husband’s Yahrzeit. She would be serving good food, including stuffed duck and old wine! Again, they refused because they were M’kabel to remain in shul. A half hour later she returned with all the food, since she couldn’t find a Minyan. The power of Bitachon can give you exactly what you want!
In Bialystok, they taught you again and again that the current era is: דַמְשַׁה תַﬠְשׁ a time of religious persecution, which means that you don’t surrender an inch of Yiddishkeit. (Gemara). By constantly hearing these fiery words during their Mussar Vaadim, the Novardokers were able to hold strong throughout the worst Nisyonos. Getting used to being Moser Nefesh was their Derech, and by constantly hammering in these concepts, they became more and more real.
This is a #1 Yesod of Novardok: Repetition, repetition, repetition, is what it takes. If you have some weakness (like Ka'as), don’t just hear a nice Vort about this issue; when you constantly talk about it, it sinks in, and you become a new person. I personally witnessed how the Tzaddik, R’ Pinchos Menachem Malach Zatzal was reading a Novardok song about being a tough soldier and becoming like Rabbi Akiva, who was ready to have iron rakes destroy his body.
Novardokers never make Cheshbonos and plans, like the Gemara warns: רָחָמ תַרָצ רַצָתּ לַא יבמות סג ב Don’t worry about tomorrow’s problems. Their situations were so difficult, they would not have been able to last even one day, if not for the fact that they threw all their Cheshbonos and worries on Hashem. They weren’t involved in Protec’tzia (i.e., flattering the rich) and trying to get on the good side of important people. 'ה םִﬠ הֶיְהִתּ םיִמָתּ ˃יֶק˄ֱא “Have Temimus with Hashem” was a favorite Mussar refrain.
