When a little boy runs into a table or a railing, he cries a lot and we want to calm him down. What do we do? We might take him back to the place where the incident happened and tell him, “Hit the table back!” The child hits the table very hard, and he calms down, feeling the sweet revenge.
When he gets older he learns that the table cannot really do anything to him. The table is an inanimate object, and it does not choose to hit someone. The boy might then blame his friend – “Why did you push me?” or blame himself – “Why didn’t I pay attention and realize there was a table here?” or blame the person who put the table there in the first place; and so on. Placing blame in this way is very wrong, since everything happens in accordance with Hashem’s decree. Rabbenu Bachyai brings this thought, toward the end of Shaar Habitachon.
Naturally, we tend to pay attention to that which we can see with our eyes right now. Someone who does not delve into the sugya of bitachon is liable to fall prey to the false premise that there are people or situations in the world that can help or hurt him on their own. This is one of the things that Rabbenu Bachyai points out as a common mistake made by those for whom emunah is not tangible. Such a person tends to attribute gains or losses to the closest circumstances – the most visible cause.
If we see a mature person who calms down like a little child when he is able to “get back at the table,” we can understand that his mind is still immature; it hasn’t developed. Rabbenu wants us to expand our vision, to teach us not to focus on the little things and on the notion that whatever is closest to us is the cause of what has come upon us. Rather, we should look at the bigger picture and understand that there is a long chain of causes, but all of them begin with the G-d of all powers in the world, Who orchestrates all circumstances and brings about His decrees using many agents until His plan reaches us.
This can be compared to a king who wants to punish his servant. The king sits in his palace, hidden from everyone, and gives a command to the prime minister. The prime minister sits in his office and gives a command to the chief officer; the chief officers instructs the chief of police, who is responsible for discipline in the country. He in turn commands his underlings; then the higher-ranking officer relays the command to the lower-ranking officer to hit the servant. The police officer who actually hits him does not use his own arm, but rather a club or whip.
There are seven different stages in the chain from the time the king issues the decree until it reaches the servant. The closest sibah – the item used to hit the servant – has no bechirah whatsoever. If the servant asks for mercy from the stick, it won’t hear him at all. The police officer can help him somewhat and might hit him less hard. The higher officer can do something more: He can warn the police officer to hit gently. The chief officer can limit the number of lashes, and so on. Each person in the chain, according to his level of authority, can have some sort of influence. But who is truly responsible for everything that happens here? Who can actually annul the decree? The king! The king sits on his throne, exalted and hidden from all, furthest away from the servant – and if he wants to forgive him, he will do so.
The further away the cause is – the closer it is. Did you ever see the clerk at the bank getting honored with an important aliyah such as shishi or maftir Yonah because he agreed to release money from an account? Did the messenger boy who brought the money get honored? No. The donor, whose heart opened up to give – he deserves the honor, for he is the source of the donation.
With an eye on emunah, we can broaden our vision and know that this is how it is with everything. It wasn’t people who caused us good or bad, for they are only messengers to carry out the decree. While those who do good certainly deserve our gratitude for their mission, because meritorious things come about through those who have merits, and difficult things come through those who are lacking in some way, but with all the gratitude, we remember Who sent them: the greatest King of all, who is the farthest away and yet the closest!
The commentary Ne’edar Lakodesh explains that the parable hints to the fact that Hashem sends His influence – whether positive or negative – to the upper worlds, which in turn influence progressively lower worlds, and thus it comes down through all the channels, until it reaches us and all of creation. All the intermediary causes receive a command to do something, until it finally reaches the individual, and they do not veer from their appointed tasks even by a hairsbreadth!
Therefore we should remember to go straight to the great King of all, and to ask Him for all our needs in life, and to thank Him and praise Him, to glorify and uplift His great, exalted Name, and He will enable us to merit His chassadim and his great mercies; amen.
Excerpt from shiur 276 in Shaar Habitachon. To listen to the shiur, press 4 after selecting a language, or dial directly: 02-301-1904
