Bitachon Enables the Soul to Experience Pleasure
The Greatest Pain Is Caused by “Worldly Worries”
In the coming lines, the Chovos HaLevavos enumerates further material benefits for the ba’al bitachon. But we see that the first item on his list is the serenity and lack of worry. This tells us that this benefit is the secret to having a good and pleasant life b’gashmiyus.
Let us elaborate on this:
The reality is that the vast majority of pain that people experience on This World is rooted in הנפש ונדנוד העולמיות דאגות, worldly worries and upheaval of the soul. And when these are driven away through bitachon, the person is automatically rid of most of the sources of pain and suffering that exist on This World.
All Tzaros Have a Common Denominator: Nagging of the Soul
People tend to divide their tzaros into categories. One tzarah is that he doesn’t have money; the next tzarah is that someone is mistreating him; another tzarah is that he didn’t “make it” socially; a fourth source of pain is that he struggles with a son who’s learning disabled. And so, he makes a list of 25-30 tzaros that he has, and he wonders: Does bitachon really help for all these?! After all, there’s nothing explicit in the Chovos HaLevavos that addresses this!
This is, however, a mistake, because, at their root, all these problems have one source: agmas nefesh, aggravation. All these problems rob a person of הנפש. מנוחת If we make a cheshbon going back thirty years—how much aggravation we suffered from various things—we will see that the majority of our worries come under the umbrella of העולמיות דאגות, worries that pertain to life on this earth.
And, the Chovos HaLevavos assures us, bitachon is the antidote to all these worries! The precise event or reason that brought you the aggravation is irrelevant. The fact is that every type of tzarah that breaks a person is the opposite of serenity—and the Chovos HaLevavos guarantees us that if we have bitachon, we will not suffer from lack of serenity.
Putting Pain in Perspective
We must clarify that the Chovos HaLevavos is not here to, chas v’shalom, pour salt on the wounds of people who suffer, and say: You’re fools for suffering like this. What’s the problem? If you’d have bitachon, all your problems would be gone...!
No, that’s not what the Chovos HaLevavos is saying here. Of course, it’s a long way to arrive at perfect bitachon, and we don’t fault people who are going through suffering... as though it’s because they didn’t have enough bitachon, which is truly a great avodah.
The Chovos HaLevavos is here to help us. To put things into perspective...to know in which category to place our various sources of aggravation.
Knowing the Problem Is Half the Salvation
It is very important to recognize this, so we can later work on the proper path—because if we know the true name of the tzarah, it is far easier to rectify and resolve it. This is the rule regarding every problem: The most important thing is to know and grasp where the problem is. Afterward, once we know the precise root of the problem, it is much easier to fix it.
An example of this is when water is leaking into a home. The greatest problem is when we don’t know the source of the leak. It may be coming from a neighbor two or three floors higher. Any repairman will tell you: The most important priority is getting to the source of the leak. Once we have found the leak, it takes very little to fix it. We must simply find the source of the problem, and then it will be easy to address it.
Assured Pleasure for the Ba’al Bitachon
Therefore, the Chovos HaLevavos explains to us that the vast majority of aggravation that people endure in this world is all part of the category of agmas nefesh—and if we were to have bitachon, we would no longer have agmas nefesh.
Furthermore: In addition to not having agmas nefesh, the ba’al bitachon will feel pleasure from life on This World. Not every person who doesn’t feel aggravation necessarily has pleasure. But the ba’al bitachon, who has incredible serenity of the heart, also has enjoyment and pleasure from life. In everything that he does, he experiences pleasure one hundred times more than one who does not have bitachon.
Worry Robs Us of Pleasure
Why doesn’t someone take pleasure in the things he does? Because, as he is engaged in doing the very thing that is meant to bring him pleasure, his soul is scattered in a million directions—which robs him of enjoying what he is doing right now! He has so many other worries on his mind that it’s impossible for him to be present.
For example: When a person finally takes a vacation, his mind is filled with a million thoughts and worries. He sits down to eat a pleasant meal... and although he may not have anything specific on his mind, he himself doesn’t realize how much scatteredness of the soul he is consumed with, which doesn’t allow him to take pleasure from his meal. The העולמיות דאגות are endless, and they don’t allow us to enjoy life on This World.
Bitachon Enables Us to Experience Pleasure
Says the Chovos HaLevavos: You think you know what worldly pleasure is... when you eliminate your agmas nefesh through emunah and bitachon, you will begin to understand what pleasure is, even b’gashmiyus.
One who has serenity of the soul can experience complete pleasure. We’re not discussing lowly pleasure here... but even when it comes to oneg Shabbos, the ba’al bitachon will experience true oneg Shabbos. Now, his heart is cleansed and cleared of all worries and problems, and he can experience complete pleasure.
The same occurs when a person socializes with friends, an experience that brings pleasure. If he is a ba’al bitachon, he can derive so much more pleasure from it, because he isn’t tied to peripheral thoughts that rob him of his completeness of the soul; instead, he is present to enjoy what he is doing. He is 100 percent present, not just a little, and he can experience pleasure with completeness.
Bitachon Gives Us a Healthy Nefesh
The worries and agmas nefesh that we experience destroy our worldly pleasures, and the Ribbono shel Olam does want us to enjoy life. A person was created ה' אל להתענג in keeping with Torah morals and values, of course.
Later in his sefer, the Chovos HaLevavos discusses that there are also physical benefits to the ba’al bitachon. He won’t have to work as hard for his parnassah, and so forth. But now, we’re discussing something much more fundamental: because the source of all pain and pleasure, the root of all joy and suffering, is in the nefesh.
Bitachon returns a person’s nefesh to him. And if we merit to have bitachon, we win on two fronts: We don’t have the pain of aggravation, and we will be able to experience pleasure with completeness and presence.
For what is the vessel for pleasure? The nefesh! When the nefesh is scattered, it can’t experience pleasure. But when he has menuchas hanefesh, serenity of the soul, he has access to his entire nefesh, the source of pleasure and joy.
