All Mitzvos Can Be Acquired Only Through Bitachon
If we can understand this idea as it relates to acquiring the holiness of Eretz Yisrael, we can also appreciate that Torah and Olam HaBa likewise require sacrifice in order to attain them—as Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai teaches us (Berachos 5a): “HaKadosh Baruch Hu has given three great gifts to the Jewish People—Torah, Eretz Yisrael, and Olam HaBa—and all of them must be acquired through hardship.
This means that our entire avodah in this world, and our entire pur- pose for being here, is all tied into this idea—for we are here to acquire Torah and Olam HaBa, and we must endure hardship as we confront supposed “realities” that make it seem impossible, and to believe that only the Ribbono shel Olam can help us arrive and attain our goals.
Bitachon Regarding Kibbud Av v’Eim
Imagine that a Yid wishes to fulfill the mitzvah of kibbud av v’eim, but it turns out to be complicated and challenging.
He raises his eyes heavenward, and says, “Ribbono shel Olam, I want to fulfill Your mitzvah. How can I avoid pitfalls and complications? If I don’t answer, I will be considered disrespectful. If I do respond, I may be dishonoring my parents this way. What do I do here, Ribbono shel Olam? However I react, I may cause them dishonor... Can it be that You placed me into a situation with no way out?!”
Says the Ribbono shel Olam: Remember how I placed you opposite the seven nations—with all their hordes of horses and chariots far great- er in number and might than you were? You remember that My will was that you should go to war only with the weapon of bitachon, to believe that I have a way forward for you even in this situation? Do the same right now: rely on Me that I will get you through this, so you will be able to properly honor your parents.
Spiritual “Horses and Chariots”
Sometimes, a person feels: I see massive forces arrayed against me. The Ribbono shel Olam placed me in a situation where I am cornered from all four directions, and success seems impossible. Why am I being given mitzvos that seem impossible to fulfill?!
You must know that these are no more than “horses and chariots!”— which we’re commanded to ignore and not to fear! There may indeed be no eitzah and no recourse—but we know that the Ribbono shel Olam has a plan. I may not know how and what, but He certainly does.
When We’re Pushed to the Wall
This reality applies to every one of the 613 mitzvos—but let us return to the matter of kibbud av v’eim. Your therapist tells you that you have no choice... you must cut off from your parents, or your marriage will disintegrate. You feel stuck, with no way out—this way or that way.
This person must know that this “expert” is just like the manager who tells you that you’ll never get a mortgage, or the shadchan who tells you that you’ll never find a shidduch, or the doctor who says that a couple will never have children. It’s exactly the same. Just as we must believe that Hashem has a plan for our gashmiyus needs, so too must we believe that He will help us fulfill every one of His commands.
Bitachon Regarding Learning
A Yid resolved to set aside times for learning in the evening, but he soon becomes saddled with a ton of troubles and stressors—just as he sits down at the Gemara. The case worker for his financial situation calls him and says: You should know that if you won’t work in the nighttime hours, you’re simply a ganav. You have debts to repay, and you’re ob- ligated to work extra hours. You’re stealing from widows and orphans! You think this is a joke?!
This person doesn’t know what to do. He works all day, and now he wishes to learn some Torah at night. But here he’s being told that if he doesn’t allocate every moment to working, he is a rasha!
This is the definition of במעט או ברב להושיע לה' מעצור אין, nothing prevents Hashem from saving, whether through many or through few. All you must do is turn to Hashem and plead with Him מלפניך טובה בעצה ותקננו, to give us the wisdom to go forward. More importantly, we must embrace the mitzvah d’Oraisa to be unafraid!—to believe that Hashem has a way for- ward for us, even if we may not know what that is. He can help us with our לתורה עתים קביעת, He can help us with our davening and our שמירת עינים, and He can and will assist us in performing every one of His 613 commands, even if we don’t see how it will happen.
Challenge Brings Acquisition
Sad and discouraged, this person asks, “Why must it be so difficult? I’m told that I must learn Torah, and then I face all these challenges and difficulties?! The Ribbono shel Olam commanded us to raise our children in this generation?! It’s impossible! I don’t see a way. What does Hashem want from me?”
But Chazal revealed the answer to us: Torah and Olam HaBa are ac- quired through suffering and challenge. It’s by design—not happen- stance or coincidence. It was always in the plan, for one cannot acquire Torah and mitzvos without these challenges. You may be able to learn Torah—but if you want to acquire Torah, it must be through overcoming the obstacles, with Hashem’s help.
The only way Eretz Yisrael was acquired was through a great and fearsome challenge—the war against the seven nations. Overcoming the fear and trusting Hashem was how the land was acquired. And we must similarly overcome our fear before doing every difficult mitzvah. We cannot acquire anything spiritual without first facing the fearsome enemy—challenges which make it seem impossible, and we have one thing to do: Be unafraid! This Yid is unafraid, because he relies on Hash- em that He will help him overcome the challenge, and this itself leads to acquiring the mitzvah.
The Real War
Indeed, the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh on Parashas Ki Seitzei teaches us that the mitzvah not to be afraid of the “horses and chariots” applies primarily to our spiritual battles with the yetzer hara.
He explains that there are two forces that weaken our resolve in this war. One is our helplessness and lack of preparedness to take on such a daunting enemy as the yetzer hara. The second is that our nature pulls us to follow the yetzer hara—especially if we have already fallen prey to the yetzer hara in the past and our hearts are covered with the kelipos. Now, we wish to start fresh and battle our yetzer hara, but we feel so weak and powerless as we face these forces.
The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh explains, according to the pesukim in the parashah, that even so—despite all these forces—we must still be un- afraid, for Hashem, our G-d, is with us! It’s true that if you’d be going out to war on your own merits, and with your own might, you’d never be victorious. But the Ribbono shel Olam is with you! He does have the might, the ability, and the desire to bring you to victory.
If You Feel Lost, Know That You’re Close
Thus, from these words we learn that this was always the plan and the design. Just as Eretz Yisrael was acquired only through battle and fearsome challenges, the same applies to every mitzvah; The only way forward is through overcoming the challenge.
If a person feels that he cannot possibly succeed in his spiritual acqui- sition, and he says, “I have already tried so many times... why would I succeed this time?” He should know that he’s closer than ever to success! Why? Because so long as he thought that he can do it alone—he came to battle with his own might and weapons—then he has no chance at acquiring and conquering. This is not the way to acquire ruchniyus. Only when a person recognizes that he has no path forward, then the Ribbono shel Olam will say: I will help you! If you believe in Hashem, and rely upon Him, you will see that He will take you out of your quandary in supernatural ways.
