A True Ba’al Bitachon Will Receive His Needs Within Tevah
For Someone Who Trusts, There Is No Such Thing as “Out of the Ordinary”
Chovos HaLevavos teaches us that one who possesses true bitachon in Hashem will always have his needs met—no matter what is going on in the world around him, against all perceived odds, and it won’t even be considered a neis that he has his needs provided. For a person who trusts Hashem, there nothing is out of the ordinary; everything—the provision of all his needs from HaKadosh Baruch Hu—is part of the natural order of the world, and there is nothing miraculous about it, even when one marries off three children in one year!
Miracles Concealed in Nature
Underscoring this point, the Be’er Mayim Chaim in Parashas Behar writes:
When a person maintains his bitachon in Hashem—and he believes that Hashem’s kindness will never cease from His creations, and that He is the נותן לחם לכל בשר in the most miraculous ways, and that He will never abandon him; even if he doesn’t have a plan, and he waits to see in which miraculous ways Hashem will provide for him, then it is certain that HaKadosh Baruch Hu will provide his needs, even above the laws of nature.
Often, Hashem will conceal these miracles within the means of nature for reasons known only to Him (for example, another person—aware that he is pressed for money—will gift or lend him the funds, or the bank will remember to refund him money that was owed to him from many years before, etc.), because Hashem wants the shefah to arrive through natural means. In any event, if his emunah in Hashem is strong, his needs are certain to be provided.
It is for this reason that we recite the berachah העושה לי כל צרכי every day, for He surely ordains all the needs of human beings. But the condition is that a person must believe in this, says the Be’er Mayim Chayim, and then he will have everything he needs.
When We Don’t See the Shefah
This is the emunah that every Yid must have: Everything I need will be provided to me by Hashem. What I don’t have, I evidently don’t need. We must believe in this, and Hashem will surely provide.
But here lies the challenge: A person can say, “For me, this didn’t happen. Even though I work so hard on my bitachon, I don’t feel that my needs have been adequately provided.” In such a case, a person must look at certain aspects of his thinking to see if his bitachon is as strong as he would like to think it is—for lacking in bitachon may cause the shefah to be delayed. And it is worthwhile to list some common pitfalls in this area; thinking about these points can assist us in ascertaining whether our bitachon is truly strong.
The First Test: Believing That We Don’t Need Miracles
A true ba’al bitachon does not look at his situation with the understanding that he needs a miracle to have his needs provided—because he understands that he lives through the direct largesse of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and thus he understands that nothing will get in the way of Hashem providing for him (even if it’s one day before he needs a large sum of money). He is not “impressed” by the parameters of nature, which would make a person feel that a miracle is needed. To the ba’al bitachon, it’s the most natural thing in the world that the shefah will come.
If a person’s heart beats stronger when he feels he is in need of a yeshuah, believing that he needs a miracle in this instance, it is a sign that his bitachon is not complete. A true ba’al bitachon is confident in his salvation, and he doesn’t feel that he needs a neis. When does a person feel he needs a miracle? When circumstances dictate that “he needs a miracle.” For the ba’al bitachon, the rules of the world don’t matter very much, and they don’t form his thinking.
The Mezericher Maggid says that the pasuk הבוטח בה’ חסד יסובבנו, kindness surrounds one who has bitachon in Hashem, is not a segulah and it is not a neis; it is simply a fact. If Hashem has assured us that it will come, then it will come.
This is the first test that we can give ourselves in the area of bitachon: “Am I ‘impressed’ by the order of nature, and does it shape my emotions? Or am I calm in all instances, knowing that Hashem’s salvation will come?”
The Second Test: Nullifying Our Will to Hashem’s Will (Who Says This Is Good for Me?)
Another aspect of bitachon is to have bittul, to nullify our will to the desires of Hashem. We must ask ourselves whether we truly need what we desire and whether Hashem wants us to have it (or maybe we only “need” it due to societal pressure, etc.). As part of our work on bitachon, there is the avodah of bittul; wanting whatever Hashem wants and understanding that Hashem knows better that we do what is good for us. This is the second test of our bitachon: Am I truly prepared to accept what Hashem wants for me?
