From the shiurim on Kav Hashgacha Pratis
He Who Trusts in Hashem Does Not Fear Anything
Hillel Hazaken was once walking and heard the sound of screaming in town. “I am certain that these screams are not coming from my home,” he said. Regarding him it is written (Tehillim 112:7): “He will not fear bad news; his heart is confident and trusts in Hashem.”
Rava explains that this passuk can be understood in the order in which it is written – from beginning to end, as well as in the opposite order – from end to beginning. If understood from beginning to end, it means: He does not fear bad news – why? Because he trusts in Hashem. On the other hand, it can also be understood in the opposite order: If his heart trusts in Hashem, then he will not fear bad news.
(Maseches Brachos 60b)
Bitachon Itself Leads to Success
Someone who trusts in Hashem fully is not afraid of bad news and is not suspicious of anything. This bitachon itself is reason for him to succeed. This is as our Sages say: The story is told of Hillel Hazaken, who once heard screams in the city, and said, “I am certain these screams are not coming from my home.” Regarding him the passuk states, “He will not fear bad news; his heart is confident and trusts in Hashem.”
We can understand that the bitachon demanded of us is to trust that Hashem watches over us from all sorts of bad things, and indeed, it is through the bitachon that is so strong in a person that Hashem protects him from anything bad. This is what happened with Hillel Hazaken; when he saw that he was not afraid at all, he understood that as a result of his bitachon, nothing bad would be going on in his home.
(Peh Kadosh, Reb Itzele of Volozhin zt”l, Rus, 1:19)
It Is the Custom of Ivrim to Ask for Mercy in a Low and Beseeching Voice
When Basya the daughter of Pharaoh opened the box that was floating on the river, she immediately said that this must be a Jewish child. How did she know this? We can also ask why it says, “And she saw him, and behold the child was crying” – does one need to see a child in order to know he is crying?! One can hear the cries even without seeing the child.
Perhaps we can say that he cried in the way that we are told about Chana, the mother of Shmuel. He cried soundlessly, and therefore she only “saw” he was crying once she opened the teivah. This is similar to what it says about Hillel Hazaken, who was certain the screams were not coming from his own home, since he had taught his children never to scream or complain about the middos of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and even if sometimes, chas v’shalom, something bad might happen to them, they would not scream but would only plead for mercy in a low and beseeching tone. Therefore, when he heard screams, he was certain they were not coming from his home. Likewise, Basya thought that this was the reason Moshe was not crying aloud. He did not want to scream out loud, but only quietly, to the One Who answers even when we ask quietly. And then she said, “He is from the children of the Ivrim,” as she deduced that from the time of his birth he was acting the way Jews act.
(Be’er Mayim Chaim, Parshas Shemos)
Anything That Happens to Him Is for His Good
“He will not fear bad news” does not necessarily mean that he thinks there will never be bad news. Rather, this can be understood to mean that he trusts that anything that will happen to him is from Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and therefore it is good for him. His heart is confident and trusts in Hashem, trusting that Hashem brings nothing bad upon him and that everything is only for his benefit. Even if he experiences difficulties or misfortunes in this world, this is only in order to do good to him in the Next World. As Nachum ish Gamzo would say, “This too is for the good.” Therefore, the passuk is written in a way that could be understood both ways – from end to beginning, meaning that a person whose heart is fully with Hashem is promised that no bad news will come to him, and from beginning to end, that he will not fear bad news, since he will trust in Hashem that both the good and what seems to be bad comes from Him.
(Tzofnas Paneach – Maharit, Parshas Lech Lecha)
