There are plenty of Pesukim in these Parshiyos telling us: א לִת יר אִאֹ תוִֹכ יִב י ד ךִָנ ת ת יִִ אֹ תוִִֹגִב “Don’t be afraid” (again and again) and now we have a Passuk telling us how Hashem will make the Goyim be afraid of us. You may have plenty of fear from a Basar V'dam, including fear of certain tough friends and relatives, and important people, etc.
A Yid has to have Bitachon that Hashem can “melt” all those scary people in your life, and give you Yeshuos. People will respond to you exactly the way you view them.
A friend of mine was having a court case, with a tough judge whom he feared and hated. He wasn’t getting anywhere, until I told him to view the judge as “mush” and “butter”, and as if he is a friend. It worked like magic, and the judge suddenly went out of his way to actually be nice to my friend!
Don’t have mental arguments and antagonism to people who intimidate you. Often, they can actually feel it, and: כ מּ י םִִ ה פ נ ים ִל פ נ ים ִכ ן ִל ב ִה א ד ם ִל א ד םִמשלי ִכז ִיח Just as water reflects your facial expression, your friends heart reflects your feelings towards him. R' Yaakov Galinsky Zatzal told me that a person cannot hide his feelings; so think “positive” and “accepting” thoughts about your enemies, and watch them change!
This applies even to disease, Chas V'shalom. When a person plays down those dangerous growths in his body, they can shrink and disappear! Always be calm and unafraid; and patient with Bitachon and Menucha. It is a Segula for all Yeshuos. Even machines work better for calm people!
The More You Believe in Something, The More It Works for You
And when you have faith in a person, he does much more for you. Of course, this is why Bitachon in Hashem is so powerful. Those who believe more in Hashem, get much more Nissim and Yeshuos. As long as you’re working on removing depressive, nervous, & fearful thoughts, then Hashem will help you.
And most vital, is how you view yourself! Your whole success depends how much Chashivus you give to yourself, and to the power of your Torah, your Tefila, and your Ma'asim Tovim. The worst kind of sins happen when people think they don’t count, and are unimportant. If a person is a “Shafel (lowly) type”, he needs to hold a Velt of himself to the extreme, and even his smallest desire to improve has to be respected.
Novardok
Novardokers specialized in ridiculing the Yetzer Hara with plenty of laughter. When you play something down, it loses its Koach. When you make a joke about a scary person, your fears can diminish. That’s why the Yidden called those giants רְ פָ אִ ים Refa’im (weaklings) while the Mo'avim called them: אֵ מִ ים ב יא Aim’im (fearsome).
The same person or situation can be looked at in two ways. This is also true about your view of yourself. The way you see yourself, affects your performance.
R' Gershon Liebman Zatzal was always practicing no fear of people. In his formative years in the Yeshiva in Bialystok he ran away from Kavod, and from receiving recognition from people. He was so seasoned in “fearlessness” during peacetime, that by the time WWII broke out, the Nazis didn’t scare him. He was able to accomplish amazing feats, like building a Yeshiva in the ghetto.
They say that the Alter of Slabodka always looked at a person with a brand new Ayin Tova, as if he could change any minute from his evil past. A person should always be oozing with love & Ayin Tova on all of mankind, just like Hashem tolerates the worst Reshaim and always gives a chance for Teshuva.
R' Gershon Liebman (center) with R' Moshe Shmuel Shapiro, Rosh Yeshivas Be’er Yaakov (to his left)
