About 160 years ago, Hagaon Hatzaddik Rav Yosef Zundel Salant zt”l lived in Yerushalayim. He was the son-in-law of the Rav of Yerushalayim, Rav Shmuel Salant zt”l. Rav Yosef Zundel had a daughter who was sickly. In Eretz Yisrael in those days there was no way to take care of her and heal her, and therefore she was sent, accompanied by her brother, Reb Aharon Leib, across the ocean, to the hospital in Vienna, Austria.
Rav Yosef Zundel was known as a unique ba’al bitachon, to the point that Reb Naftali of Amsterdam zt”l testified about him in the sefer Ohr Yisrael that he had toiled so much to cultivate the middas habitachon that amazing, incredible stories were told about him, and that he had even achieved things that transcend the laws of nature.
At the same time, we need to know that when it came to healing his daughter, he did not depend on miracles but sent her to be treated in Vienna, together with her brother, his son, where there was a state-of-the-art hospital according to the standards of those days.
At that time, the great father sent a letter of chizuk to his dear son, filled with amazing practical instruction. It is certainly worthwhile to share the contents of one of those letters, which is infused with emunah and bitachon.
Let us look at some excerpts from the letter:
My beloved son [that is how his father refers to him throughout the letter]. Don’t be concerned about the delays that you are experiencing at every turn, be it because of a ship or because of something else. Every delay is for the good! And this is what the will of Hashem yisbarach decreed, to help a person strengthen his bitachon. As it says in Maseches Brachos: There are four things that require chizuk – Torah, good deeds, tefillah, and derech eretz. We learn from here that we need chizuk even for matters of physical hishtadlus – referred to as “derech eretz,” despite the fact that a person’s hishtadlus does not help him at all, and Hashem will do what is good in His Eyes; as it says, “Hashem’s decision will prevail” (Mishlei 19:21).
The Vilna Gaon explains: “Rabbos machshavos – Many plans are in man’s heart” – when a man wants to accomplish something, he might make many plans, but they are all fruitless. He needs to do hishtadlus, but in the end, “Hashem’s decision will prevail.” – he will carry out the eitzah that Hashem put into his heart.
Remain aware that everything, at every moment, is decreed in Shamayim: where one will be, at what time and with whom, and how long one will stay in each place.
The Orchos Chaim of the Rosh states: Trust in Hashem with all your heart and believe in His hashgachah pratis, for this is the virtue of Klal Yisrael over all the nations, and this is the foundation of the entire Torah. Nothing moves or takes place without Hashem yisbarach’s will, and Hashem yisbarach’s hashgachah controls not only people’s deeds but also the thoughts of their hearts and minds.... Therefore, belief in hashgachah pratis is part of emunah.
Rav Zundel points out that in Maseches Pe’ah, the mitzvos of gladdening a kallah and escorting the dead are listed in the singular, while the mitzvah of visiting the sick is listed in the plural. Why? He explains that when someone is ill, all his family members suffer as well, each one according to the degree of his closeness and concern for his sick relative, and according to how much he is involved in caring for the sick relative. So the relatives of the sick person are affected by his illness as well. Thus the mitzvah is mentioned in the plural form, for when someone visits one sick patient he is in fact assisting several people.
Therefore, do not feel sorry for yourself, and do not worry about anything far-fetched, while you are with your sister in the galus. Feel happy for the fact that you volunteered to go on this mission of bikur cholim and gemilus chassadim, which is of benefit to several people who are also pained over her situation. And it is considered equal to immersing yourself in Torah study day and night.
Cast your burden on Hashem, and don’t skimp on the expenses, and do not worry at all!
And here Reb Zundel writes something that is itself an entire shiur: This is the power of bitachon – that Hakadosh Baruch Hu grants the wishes of the person who trusts in Him wholeheartedly, and He provides all his needs in every place and at every hour, and even if he is not a tzaddik.
My beloved son, I sent you the recommendations you asked for, but don’t depend on them; they are only to conceal the miracle that will take place. The main thing is to trust in Hashem with all your heart, and not to depend on your own wisdom.
And don’t overdo your hishtadlus, and don’t exaggerate it, so that you will not begin to think that it is “your strength and the might of your hand” that have brought about your yeshuah. The Creator has many reasons and many messengers.
And review constantly the pesukim of hashgachah and bitachon; they should be constantly on your lips.
May Hashem yisbarach help us to strengthen our bitachon and to see His revealed chassadim, along with all of Am Yisrael.
(Shiur 137)
