Coming Closer
The Torah tells us, לא נפלאת היא ממך ולא רחוקה היא לא בשמים היא וגו’, it isn’t hidden from you and it is not too distant from you. It isn’t in the heavens and it isn’t across the sea....
Whether we learn like the Rishonim who teach that these pesukim refer to the mitzvah of teshuvah or we learn like those who interpret it to refer to all the mitzvos—it is certainly said regarding the mitzvah of emunah, teaching that a Yid should see clearly the reality and the recognition that there’s a G-d in the world. Bitachon isn’t only for tzaddikim who have toiled for forty years on their emunah; it is for every single Yid who is assured by the Ribbono shel Olam: כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאוד, it is very close to you! You can begin looking at the world through the prism of emunah!
But one may ask, I don’t feel and I don’t see that this is very close to me. The Ribbono shel Olam asks (see Eruvin 54a), “When is it close to you? When it is בפיך ובלבבך—when your lips and your heart speak of these things. By speaking about these concepts, they become close to your heart, and you begin to feel them.”
A Yid must recite the Ani Ma’amins each and every day with great fervor—and say them to himself in his own language, again and again. Then they will penetrate to his heart, and he will begin living with these ideas. He will feel keenly that the Ribbono shel Olam wills every creation into being. And then, when a challenge comes his way, he will stand prepared with the knowledge that Hashem is behind it all.
Speaking Is Believing
This Gemara is the source for the legendary teaching of the Lechovicher Rebbe, who said, “האמנתי כי אדבר, I believe because I speak.” That is, the emunah permeates my soul because I constantly speak words of emunah. It’s not enough to think emunah. We must speak ideas of emunah before the challenges come to us. The plan is in place in advance of the offensive.
Don’t wait for a nisayon to come and then begin searching for chizuk; place the words and the ideas into your heart through words of emunah. This is the “remedy before the ailment,” and you will be prepared for every eventuality.
These “reminders” need constant bolstering and undergirding. As we see from the way Chazal have designed our tefillos, we need constant verbal reminders every morning and evening. These words work to cement the ideas into our hearts.
Even If You Aren’t Feeling It
The Gemara (Tamid 21a) teaches us, “What is the upright path for a person to choose? יחזיק באמונה יתירה, he should hold onto a path of excessive emunah.” Explained the Kobriner Rebbe, ‘יתירה’ means that a person should aim for an even higher level of emunah than he’s currently on.
In general, a person shouldn’t speak of madreigos that he hasn’t reached, but emunah is different. In order for a person to be able to manage his nisayon of emunah when it comes to him, he must be prepared with Torah. When a Yid speaks words of emunah, he’s essentially engaging in Torah. When a person says והוא לבדו עשה ועושה ויעשה לכל המעשים, he has now opened a Chumash and explained the pasuk of בראשית ברא!
The Benefit of Constant Reiteration of Emunah
There are many aspects and areas of Torah—but the Ribbono shel Olam wants us to learn the Torah that is relevant to us and speaks to our hearts. For this reason, every Yid must recite Krias Shema and never omit it. One may never say, “I am learning an intense and complex area of Torah... I have no time right now to say Krias Shema.” Chazal tell us that even the great tzaddikim who were exempt from tefillah were nevertheless obligated in Krias Shema.
The Gemara tells us (Berachos 13b) that Rabbeinu HaKadosh was able to recite Krias Shema quickly and then resume his learning. This was because he was immersed in the essence of Krias Shema his entire life—it was simply that ingrained in him. But for us regular people... even repeating Ani Ma’amin three times isn’t enough!
A Necessary “Tree”
Thus, emunah is the root of bitachon. Once our emunah that Hashem has created and continues to create the world has been ingrained in a person, he must add only a small number of points: He must remember that Hashem is the ultimate good, that everything is for the good, etc. He must also clarify and ascertain the appropriate level of hishtadlus, etc., and he can then reap the fruits of his emunah in the form of deep serenity and bliss and pleasure all his life. However, if a person focuses solely on bitachon, without having first worked on emunah, his bitachon cannot hold—for the fruit of bitachon must come forth from the tree of emunah.
Constant Creation
To recap: We have learned the yesod of emunah in the pasuk of בראשית ברא that Hashem constantly creates every facet of creation; it wasn’t merely a one-time event. He renews the creation every instant.
