The Alter of Novardok zt"l toiled to acquire perfect bitachon. His approach was to trust in Hashem without doing hishtadlus. Once, he arrived at a city after nightfall. He needed a place to stay but refused to ask for help. He placed his trust in Hashem. Having no choice, he went to beis medresh to study Torah. No one knew he needed a place to stay, so they didn’t offer. Eventually, the beis medresh emptied, and he remained alone.
That night, a wealthy man was unable to sleep. He decided he might as well get some fresh air, and went for a walk. He passed the beis medresh and found the Alter of Novardok sitting and learning Torah. The wealthy person invited him to sleep at his home, and the Alter gladly obliged. When the rich person heard why the Alter refused to ask for help, he laughed and said, "That's ridiculous. If it weren’t that I couldn’t sleep tonight, you would still be there!"
He didn’t realize the miracle he just witnessed. The Alter of Novardok trusted in Hashem, and Hashem disturbed the sleep of the wealthy person so that the Alter would have a place to sleep.
Another story is told about the Alter of Novardok and his advanced level of bitachon. He once needed to travel by train but didn’t have money to buy a ticket. Nevertheless, He went to the train station, trusting that Hashem would help him.
The train arrived, and the Alter remained seated, waiting for Hashem's salvation. The whistle blew. This was a sign that the train was getting ready to leave, but the Alter remained in his place. The whistle blew again. Someone came by and teased the Alter for thinking that he would still get onto the train. The Alter remained steadfast in his faith that Hashem would help him. The whistle blew a third time. This meant that the train would begin moving any second. At that moment, someone ran over and bought a ticket for the Alter, and they both jumped onto the train just in time.
The man who mocked the Alter said, "You act foolishly. If you would have delayed just a moment longer, you could have missed the train." He didn’t realize that in the merit of the Alter's bitachon, Hashem helped him get on just in time.
We repeat these stories to show that bitachon works. When one has bitachon, Hashem helps him.
The Brisker Rav's Story
The man didn’t want to do this. He enjoyed hearing about the greatness of bitachon, but he wasn't ready to follow this path for himself.
The Brisker Rav told him a story that happened to his father, Reb Chaim of Brisk zt"l:
A meshulach was away from his home for half a year collecting money. He gave the money he raised for the tzedakah he was working for and kept a percentage for himself. He was in Brisk, just about ready to return home when he realized that he lost his share of the money. He ran to Reb Chaim Brisker, crying hysterically. Half a year of hard work was lost. What would he do?
Reb Chaim told him that he knew how he lost the money. He reminded the meshulach that he had gone to a store to buy a suit. "Apparently, when you took off your clothing to try on the suit, someone stole the money."
The man began to cry some more.
Reb Chaim said, "Come back in a few days. I will raise the money and give you the amount you lost."
A few days later, Reb Chaim, renowned for his charitable deeds, gave the meshulach even more than he originally had. The meshulach was grateful. But now he was also ashamed that he had cried so bitterly over money. So, he said to Reb Chaim, "It wasn't the lost money which upset me. I was mostly upset with myself. I felt like a fool because I was so negligent with the money. That is why I was so upset. But it wasn't the money..." He was embarrassed to admit that he had made such a scene over money.
Reb Chaim said, "Oh? That was the problem? I thought you were crying over the money. Well, if that's the case, you can leave the money with me. I have people who could use it..."
The man shouted from the depths of his heart, "But Rebbe! I need the money!"
The Brisker Rav said to the wealthy person, who wasn't ready to live a life of bitachon, "What you just said is similar to this story. You say that it is a nice vort, as though you are sincerely interested in the virtue of bitachon, and then you shout, 'ober gelt!' (But I need money)."
