Davening to Hashem at Every Step Is the Best Recipe for Bitachon
When it comes to the reward for bitachon and how we attain true bitachon, tzaddikim have taught us that the easiest and most practical way to grow in our bitachon is to do what Yosef HaTzaddik did (as noted in the Midrash Tanchuma): He davened to Hashem for every small detail in his life.
When a Yid davens for everything, it is not only a matter of tefillah... yes, he is a person who davens often—but this is also a vessel and a vehicle through which he is transformed into a ba’al bitachon.
How does this work? When you daven for the small things, it serves as a constant reminder that you cannot manage on your own—you must rely on the Ribbono shel Olam for everything.
The greatest problem people have is that we try to manage most of our affairs on our own. We tend to remember Hashem only when we encounter bigger issues—that’s when we remember to reach out to Him. But for the smaller things, we try to go it alone. And this is why we have difficulties in the first place....
Embarrassing Hashem by Not Davening When Things Are Good
The Midrash Tanchuma in Parashas Mikeitz (Bereishis 43:14) says, based on pesukim in Tanach, “Do not embarrass [Hashem] in times of plenty by not davening.” This means that there are people who embarrass the Ribbono shel Olam, so to speak, by davening only when they’re in a quandary. Says the Midrash: Don’t embarrass the Eibishter when times are good by not davening to Him during those times, because this suggests that you don’t need to come to Him for everyday matters.
Don’t Think for a Second That You Can Do It Alone
The Midrash continues with these incredible words:
HaKadosh Baruch Hu said: Just as I am compelled to give rain and dew to give vitality to the plants so as to give sustenance to the creations, so too are you compelled to daven before Me and to give thanks to Me in accordance with My actions—and do not say, “I am experiencing plenty... why should I daven? I will daven when I am in a quandary. Be sure to daven before Me before the onset of a tzarah.”
The Ribbono shel Olam tells us: You must rely on Me for everything, even the smallest thing. If one does not do so, he is “embarrassing Hashem,” so to speak.
One must know that nothing is certain and nothing is assured—even the things we think are already in the bag. In one moment, we can, chas v’shalom lose everything—and in one instant, the “small” things can become “big” problems, R”l. Therefore, one must always be mispallel—even for the things that he already has—that the Ribbono shel Olam should continue to give them to him. HaKadosh Baruch Hu wants us to rely on Him at every turn, and not for one moment tell ourselves that we can get along on our own.
Causing Embarrassment to the Ribbono shel Olam
If not for these pointed words of the Midrash, we would never look at things this way (that someone who doesn’t daven for the small things is embarrassing Hashem).
We are accustomed to understanding that someone who sees a siddur fall to the ground and doesn’t bend down to pick it up, or someone who engages in idle chatter in shul... he is someone who embarrasses Hashem. But we would never imagine that someone who doesn’t daven for the small things embarrasses HaKadosh Baruch Hu!
This is a mistake, says the Midrash. Because the truth is that when we don’t daven, we hold back Elokus from the creation. And this holds back the Heavenly blessings. Thus, such a person is called a mevazeh Hashem, R”l.
Halevai That a Person Should Daven All Day Long
In Mesechta Berachos, Rabbi Yochanan exclaims, “כל אדם שיתפלל הלוואי כולו היום, Halevai that a person should daven all day long.” Says the Divrei Yisrael of Modzitz in the name of his father, the Admor of Zwolin, this is the peshat: Halevai that a person should constantly be davening for his needs large and small—such that the Name of Hashem is constantly on his lips, all day long, just as the Midrash taught us about Yosef HaTzaddik in the court of Potifar.
This is the only path to ensuring that we remember to rely on Hashem for everything in our lives.
Rely on the Ribbono shel Olam, Not on Your Abilities
“Halevai that a person should daven all day long” means that a Yid should daven for every little thing that he needs, in gashmiyus as well as in ruchanyus! Every time that he needs something, he should turn to the Ribbono shel Olam instead of relying on “his own” abilities and strengths, for these, too, come from Hashem.
This is what the Chovos HaLevavos teaches us: every person has bitachon, reliance, on something. The question is only on what they rely! The problem is that some of us have bitachon in other people or in ourselves rather than in the Ribbono shel Olam. When a Yid davens even for the small things, he is demonstrating his reliance on HaKadosh Baruch Hu—bringing G-dliness and blessing into the world and meriting חסד בה’ הבוטח יסובבנו, one who trusts in Hashem will be surrounded by lovingkindness.
Eliezer Davened for Simple Water
The Divrei Yisrael continues: It is for this reason that Eliezer, the servant of Avraham, davened to Hashem that someone should bring him water to drink. To daven for bread and parnassah is understandable. But water is free! People don’t think of davening for it. No one asks for water... we just walk over to the faucet and turn it on!
But Eliezer teaches us differently! He davened all day long, for everything. Even when he needed water to drink, and even though he was already at the well, with the water in front of him! All he needed was a jug with which to draw the water. Even for such a small thing, he davened: “Ribbono shel Olam—help me with this small detail!”
Davening for Every Small Detail
Every move that a person makes is comprised of so many moving pieces—and for every piece one needs so much siyatta diShmaya. It’s not enough to daven one time that an endeavor should be successful; we must daven that every single component should be successful. In such a tefillah lies the recognition that “I must rely on the Ribbono shel Olam for every single step in my life.”
Indeed, we find in the Zohar HaKadosh that Rabbi Abba would send up a tefillah before every meal—in addition to the berachah recited over his food—for Hashem to give him his food, food that was sitting in front of him on the table! He davened that he should be able to eat the food, that it should be beneficial to his body, that it should accomplish what was required for his health and strength.... In this way he infused Elokus and blessing into his food. By the time he ate the food, there was so much G-dliness and blessing infused into it.
When a Yid davens for something, this causes malachim to come and accompany him. They bring along with them so much blessing, which remains with the person.
Davening in Your Own Language: A Guarantee for Bitachon
Advice from the Rebbe Rav Bunim
In the sefer Beis Yaakov (Parashas Veyeitzei), Rabbi Yaakov Aaron ABD Aleksander, a student of the Rebbe Rav Bunim of Peshischa, writes: “I heard from my master, the holy tzaddik, advice for every Yid never to lack anything and to remain engaged in his avodas Hashem, advice that will help one become a true ba’al bitachon who will lack for nothing:
The advice is to habituate oneself to always daven and ask Hashem for everything, from small to large.
Continues the Rebbe Rav Bunim: Do not think that in order to do this one must be wrapped in tallis and tefillin in seclusion with Hashem... rather, wherever a person may find himself, even in the street, he should look around to make sure the area is clean—as it says “and your camp shall be holy”—and right there, he should daven to the Eibishter. His requests will surely be granted by the “One who listens to every tefillah,” and simultaneously, he will ensure that he is always tethered to Hashem.
The Most Precious Prayer
Rav Yonasan Eibeschutz, in a lengthy discourse in his sefer Ya’aros Devash (Discourse 1), expounds upon this idea. He writes that the most precious tefillah is one offered by a person in his own language, straight from the heart that Hashem should send him success in all the little details of his life. “Such a tefillah ensures that a person will become a ba’al bitachon,” says Rav Yonasan.
Thus, the tzaddikim are showing us the true way to become transformed into ba’alei bitachon. There are many eitzos, but davening to Hashem in our own language, from the depths of our heart, the tzaddikim tell us, will make us into ba’alei bitachon.
The Importance of Personal Prayers
The Ya’aros Devash continues, saying, “Even if a person has a speech impediment and doesn’t speak with clarity, his heartfelt tefillos will be considered before Hashem as though he davened before Him in a sweet, clear expression. This tefillah is as precious to Hashem as the most beautiful prayer that exists.”
The primary benefit of such a heartfelt prayer—aside from the fact that such a tefillah is more easily accepted—is that it instills in our hearts the idea that we are not in the hands of randomness and the workings of nature. If one were in the hands of nature, then one would indeed not need to daven—because he would be dependent on his talents and his abilities. But in truth, this is not correct: because diligence, toil, and actions are all sheker.
Talented People Aren’t More Successful
People make the mistake of thinking that more talented people, people with “two right hands,” are more successful in life.
This way of thinking has become so ingrained in society. We often hear people saying, “Of course that person has no parnassah.... I mean, look at him, look at his jacket... look at his children, and his entire comportment... that’s all you need to know. This is nebach what he is....”
Can we properly appraise how much kefirah and sheker lies in such statements? This type of language has everything to do with the diligence and ambition that Rav Yonasan Eibeschutz decries as sheker. It is simply sheker and kefirah... the opposite of the truth!
Tefillah Gives Us the Emunah that Everything Is Only Hashem
We must remember that talent itself is not sitra acharah, but believing in our talents—as opposed to in HaKadosh Baruch Hu—is rooted in the worst beliefs. If we rely on our talents and abilities, if we rely on the course of nature, if we have bitachon on anything other than the Ribbono shel Olam—it is pure kefirah!
And it is for this reason that we must daven for every small detail, so that it becomes ingrained in us, again and again, that nothing happens without HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s decree.
No One Is Assured
How many “successful people” do we know who made one big mistake, and with that they buried all their previous successes?
Lately, someone related to me that he was part of a group that would make investments together. While the rest of the group would take on risks, he was always the more cautious one—always checking carefully into every potential investment before going into it. “Worst thing, I’ll make less money, but I won’t take inordinate risk,” he would say. His strategy worked out for him, and he was successful in his ventures. Until, one time, he invested all his money into an insecure investment—and the entire thing fell apart. He lost all his money, and even went into heavy debt. “I can’t explain it, he said. “I don’t know where my brains went.”
And there are so many such examples. It happens every day. The Ribbono shel Olam takes away one’s presence of mind for a moment, and in that moment, he can lose everything. Because this is the ratzon Hashem. The yetzer hara wants us to forget about relying on ratzon Hashem, and he does everything possible so that we should forget it. He wants us to remain living in this mistake, as though success has anything to do with talent and ambition.
Daven for Every Step So You Remember the Truth
Therefore, says the Ya’aros Devash, a person should always be davening—in order to remember that everything comes from Hashem through Hashgachah Pratis! Every loss and every pain that comes to a person is all from Hashem—and every good thing is also from Hashem.
If we live this way, we will be far less likely to do aveiros, because we are always with the Ribbono shel Olam.
The Ya’aros Devash, the Rebbe Rav Bunim, and many other tzaddikim are all teaching us the same thing: Talking and davening to Hashem for every matter, large and small, is the way to be transformed into a ba’al bitachon!
This is how a Yid lives with HaKadosh Baruch Hu the entire time! And if a person is a ba’al bitachon, he will automatically see success. The moment one is with Hashem, he is surrounded by success and blessing—it goes together, hand in hand.
Begin With Small Steps
When dealing with the sugya of bitachon, it is important to note that an ehrliche Yid doesn’t have bitachon in order to see success. His primary objective is to attain closeness to Hashem; success is not his ultimate goal! Such a Yid says, “I need to be an eved Hashem. And the way to become an eved Hashem is by speaking to Hashem constantly about everything. This is the way I will always remember Hashem.”
It begins with small steps. In the beginning, it is okay for a person to daven to Hashem for material success. But as he grows and progresses, and he tastes the sweetness of being surrounded with chessed, he also feels the sweetness of always being close to the Ribbono shel Olam.... Slowly but surely, he begins davening for the express reason of wanting to be close. The blessings will come anyway, but he isn’t fixated on this—because the tefillos and the bitachon bring him such closeness to Hashem Yisborach.
Even for the Next World
As we learned earlier, the Chovos HaLevavos teaches us, in the ninth “superiority” of the ba’al bitachon over the alchemist, his bitachon accompanies the ba’al bitachon to the Next World. It remains with him forever, even to Olam HaBa.
From these holy words, we see that our entire discussion about bitachon isn’t merely to see success in matters of This World. In order that the bitachon will accompany us into the Next World, it must be a bitachon of the sort that has currency in the Next World, a bitachon predicated on closeness to Hashem. A bitachon that will make it good for the person in This World as well as in the Next World.
