Remembering—Even When Everything’s Perfect—That We Can Do Nothing Alone
Remembering the Truth
Previously, we identified an additional difference between the true ba’al bitachon, who believes that everything comes from Hashem, and that everything is for the good, and the person who lives with general wisdom that instructs him to distract himself from problems and to accept them.
We all know that our mission on This World is to attain the awareness of אנכי ה' אלוקיך, that the Ribbono shel Olam runs the entire world—and for this reason, He sends us messages of awareness by placing a person in situations where he will need to recognize with clarity that he cannot do anything alone, and that he is completely dependent upon Hashem. And herein lies the difference: The ba’al bitachon won’t need as many reminders of this truth—because he believes it already—while the wise person, who simply distracts himself from his problems, will need to be reminded of the truth from Above.
True Belief Is Hard Work
The work of a Yid is to strengthen with his emunah the knowledge that he cannot manage on his own—and to recognize it before receiving messages from Above that would prove it to him.
This isn’t easy work, for as long as things are going along swimmingly, a person can tell himself that he has emunah, but he doesn’t really believe completely. Proof of this is that when things get rocky, and he doesn’t see salvation on the horizon, he loses himself... he isn’t the same person. “But you always said that you believe in Hashem and that He resolve everything in an instant!” It turns out that it was only talk....
When a person experiences a dilemma that really touches him in a deep place, he comes to recognize that he isn’t at the level of emunah that he previously thought himself to be. Thus, it is our life’s work to reiterate to ourselves, over and over again: “I cannot manage anything on my own; everything is from the Ribbono shel Olam!”
Remembering Hashem Also When We’re Comfortable
This is the great difference between the two paths: The wise and practical person doesn’t constantly remember that there’s a G-d in the world. As long as everything is good, he has no clear connection with Hashem. Until he’s jolted out of his comfort and reverie, he doesn’t think about the Ribbono shel Olam. And often, once he acclimates himself to his new situation, he will need another reminder to wake him up to the reality that Hashem is in control.
Conversely, the ba’al bitachon invests in learning how to live with reliance on the Ribbono shel Olam—even when he’s comfortable! He remembers the Ribbono shel Olam even when everything is just fine and everything is good. He doesn’t wait to be reminded through challenges, and he doesn’t do so because he fears that he will get reminders. He does so because he knows that this is the purpose of a Yid: to attain the awareness that the Ribbono shel Olam guides every step of his life.
Tzaddikim spoke of this often, stating that the avodah of a Yid is to have bitachon when everything is going swimmingly. We must remind ourselves that all the goodness can, chas v’shalom, come to an end in an instant—if not for the compassion and the mercy and grace of the Ribbono shel Olam. This is the only way to acquire true bitachon that calms and soothes.
You Can’t Manage on Your Own
This yesod is elaborated upon in Imrei No’am (Parashas Vezos HaBerachah) where it is written: The way of the world is that when a person finds himself in a quandary, and he doesn’t see a way out of it, then he remembers the Ribbono shel Olam. As long as he still has an arsenal of schemes and tactics that he can employ, he continues to tell himself that he can manage. It is only when he sees no way forward that he cries out: “Ribbono shel Olam, help me!”
But this isn’t the proper way to live, says the Imrei No’am—because even when a person is successful and he has everything good, he must still know that he cannot manage on his own; he must feel completely lost and thus reliant only on Hashem.
How often does a person think: “This is no big deal; I’ll take care of it in a minute.” But two weeks later, he’s still struggling with the matter, and he can’t seem to resolve it. Because if you think you can manage, Hashem will show you that you can’t! We must acquire the feeling that we’re dependent upon Him.
The Blessing of Blindness
According to this yesod, the Imrei No’am explains the following pasuk in Parashas Ki Savo: והיית ממשש בצהרים כאשר ימשש העור באפלה, and you will grope in the noontime as a blind man gropes in the darkness. We know that the curses contained in the תוכחה are blessings at their core, as the tzaddikim have taught—and this is no exception.
A blind person, explains the Imrei No’am, may not be able to get around on his own—but he finds solutions, such as holding onto another person who leads him. This, however, can only work in the daytime, when the second person can see where he’s going. When it’s dark, the blind man has no choice but to grope his way on his own—because he has no one to rely upon, no one to guide him.
Says the Torah, והיית ממשמש בצהרים, you will grope in the noontime—even when it’s light in the daytime, you will grope your own way, as though you’re as blind as at night, knowing that no one else can help you. You should truly feel this way, not relying on anything, only on Hashem.
Turning Curses into Blessings
On its face, this pasuk would seem to be a curse... that we would need to grope our way like a blind person even in the daytime, for every small thing that comes our way. We won’t be able to manage on our own; we won’t be able to find a way forward.
But the Rebbe is teaching us that this can also be the greatest blessing. Utilize the feeling of blindness and helplessness as a blessing! Instead of waiting for the Ribbono shel Olam to show you that you can’t manage without Him, demonstrate it yourself, when everything is going well for you!
At every turn, remind yourself that if the Ribbono shel Olam will want it will happen, and if He doesn’t, then it won’t. If a person becomes accustomed to thinking this way with everything in his life, then it won’t be necessary for the Ribbono shel Olam to send him situations to remind him of that he has no one to rely upon but Him.
The Risk of Relying on Our Own Might
Don’t Be Like the Idol Worshippers
Rabbi Avraham ben HaRambam, in his sefer Hamaspik l’Ovdei Hashem, says an incredible thing: When a person turns to Hashem only when he’s in a dilemma, but forgets about the Ribbono shel Olam when things are going smoothly — only when he’s struggling in business, if someone swindled him... when he’s wracked with debt—then he finds the Ribbono shel Olam... this person is like the ovdei avodah zarah who turn at first to their idols, and when they’re not helped, they find the Ribbono shel Olam.
We see this in the story of Yonah HaNavi. When the ship was in danger of sinking, the people cried out to their idols. Once they saw that it was to no avail, then they recognized that there’s a Creator Who runs the world.
Recognizing the Truth Before We See It
It is jarring to say these words... but this means, in other words, that when a father struggles with the chinuch of his child... he tries every solution he can think of—and only when nothing works does he approach the Ribbono shel Olam to daven with humility... there’s a tremendous question and challenge to this person: Why did you need to reach this situation and endure all this in order to recognize that Hashem is in charge?!
As long as you were relying on your own actions and solutions, you believed in yourself. Only when you were left with no choice did you recognize the Ribbono shel Olam. This is the way of idol worshippers!
Bitachon of the Wealthy Man
For this reason, says Rebbe Moshe Leib of Sasov, the bitachon of a wealthy person is far more precious to the Ribbono shel Olam than that of a pauper. The poor person has bitachon because he naturally recognizes that he has no recourse... he has no choice but to rely on Hashem. But this isn’t the bitachon that elevates and transforms! If this pauper gets an infusion of cash that will last for a year, he may forget all about the Ribbono shel Olam for that year!
The wealthy person, who does have money but nevertheless places his faith and trust in Hashem—he says פרשת המן, and he tries to remember that his millions can be taken away from him in an instant—this is true bitachon!
The Greatest Compassion
The attitude of the practical and wise person is also this way: As long as everything is flowing smoothly, he is happy and content.... People come to him for advice and guidance because he’s so wise. He has all the tools for extricating himself from problems. People consider him successful, and others look at him with jealousy: “I would also want to be the kind of person who comports himself well in all situations.”
The problem is that this person, who “manages” in all situations, will unfortunately need to be given a frightful smackdown until he finally recognizes the truth. This suffering is all out of great love that the Ribbono shel Olam has for him so that he should arrive at the truth. The Ribbono shel Olam doesn’t want them to write on his gravestone: “Here lies the most successful person in his community... the person who “managed” his entire life....” Hashem wants him to fulfill אנכי ה' אלוקיך, so that he should have with what to come to the Next World.
Davening for Everything—Even When We Have It Already
The Idea Is to Have Bitachon—Even When We Have Everything
The sefer Tiferes Shlomo gives us a practical idea for acquiring a life of bitachon: to daven for everything, even if we already have it. This will cement in our hearts and minds that even what we have is only with the ongoing grace and compassion of the Ribbono shel Olam.
He explains that this is the meaning of the words כי המלך בוטח בה', the king trusts in Hashem (Tehillim 21:8). Can only a king have trust in Hashem?! But the truth is that the trust of a king is the truest trust. If he has everything he could ever wish for, and nevertheless his reliance is only on Hashem, this is true bitachon.
And this is relevant for all of us—not just to an actual king. For every one of us is a “king” in a certain area of life. Everyone has areas where everything is going well, and they have everything they need in that regard. Our avodah is to illuminate that very area—where we have it all—with trust in Hashem.
Even with Tables Stacked with Food
We see this concept with regard to Dovid HaMelech who had incredible wealth and nevertheless said תערוך לפני שולחן נגד צוררי, You prepare a table for me in front of my tormentors (Tehillim 23:5). He davened simply to have enough to eat!
The Tiferes Shlomo cites the Zohar HaKadosh (Parashas Beshalach), which teaches that Rabbi Hamenuna never sat down to eat before davening for the very food that was in front of him. He davened for the very food that he was about to eat! He would say, “I will not begin my meal until the Ribbono shel Olam gives it to me.” But he wasn’t finished with this. The Zohar HaKadosh continues, “After supplicating the Ribbono shel Olam, he waited for a moment, like a person who asks another for a favor and waits for his request to be granted.” Following this, Rav Hamenuna would say: “My prayer was accepted, and the food has been delivered. Now we can sit down to eat.”
This, says the Zohar HaKadosh, is the way of G-d-fearing people, this is the way of those who fear sin. It goes on to elaborate that even when a person has money and food, he should daven for it. This brings blessing into the food. The food that one will later eat will have great light infused into it, and it will fill the person with spiritual light—in addition to drawing down shefa for the entire world through such a connection to Hashem.
The Benefit of Davening Before the Problem
The Tiferes Shlomo is teaching us an incredible yesod here: Become accustomed to davening for everything that you already have! Daven for the success of every child! Daven for parnassah! But I already have parnasah. No! Understand that you have nothing without Hashem! Don’t wait for the Ribbono shel Olam to remind you that you only have parnasah because of Him. It’s better that you should remember this yourself, so you won’t need any reminders from Above.
When a Yid is zocheh to accustom himself to such emunah, and then he gets a small reminder from Above, it will be nothing compared to a person who hasn’t worked on his bitachon at all. The ba’al bitachon who is acclimated in the ways of emunah won’t feel the pain as much. He knows that the Ribbono shel Olam guides him every step of the way. If he loses his parnassah, he waits with serenity for the wave to pass. He strengthens his bitachon, and indeed, his parnassah soon returns.
Living on Miracles
When we analyze the berachah of אשר יצר, we will see something interesting. While all other berachos are geared to thanking Hashem for all the good that He has given us... and there are even some blessings to which we add a special tefillah asking for something... the berachah of אשר יצר is unique in that we make a proclamation during its recitation: “It is revealed and known before You that were our system to pause even for a moment, we could not survive and stand before You!”
The reason why it is so important to acknowledge this is because a person tends to forget that he’s living on miracles. What is the miracle? That he’s healthy! For this reason, we must clearly say and acknowledge that the Ribbono shel Olam made a new miracle today that I am healthy and that everything in my body is working! We acknowledge and proclaim that were this miracle not to be repeated every moment, we would cease to live!
And for this very reason, the berachah of אשר יצר is a great segulah for health, as the sefarim tell us. Because if we forget that our health comes from Above, the shefa will, chas v’shalom, cease to come. Conversely, if we remember it constantly, we merit that we will not need to be reminded of it.
A System of Important Reminders
Rav Shimshon Pinkus zt”l explained that אשר יצר was established for the person’s entire body, not only for his digestive system. It was arranged that we are to say it when we do so we will have opportunities to say and proclaim it multiple times in the day.
When a Yid pauses and says the berachah inside, he thinks about what he’s saying, and he isn’t drying his hands as he’s saying it.... He meditates on the words... then he won’t need reminders of what it says there. Because he has clearly internalized the truth and the reality when things are working perfectly! He has already understood and acknowledged the boundless chasdei Hashem for every breath and move.
The same applies to all one hundred berachos that we repeat each day. This is a system that the Ribbono shel Olam placed into the Torah; it is so that we remember constantly that we’re dependent upon Him. In this way, we won’t need reminders.
A Vast Difference
To conclude: The difference between a life of wisdom and practicality and a life of bitachon could not be starker. While the first person is looking for comfort—even when he has problems—the ba’al bitachon isn’t looking for comfort, even when everything is fine, because he’s attributing everything to the Ribbono shel Olam!
He constantly reminds himself that everything depends on the Ribbono shel Olam—and this is the greatest source of serenity and calmness, filling his life with joy and pleasure.
