If these are the facts of the matter, let us approach the idea of the Alsheich and understand the underlying yesod. I will read one powerful excerpt from the Alsheich’s words:
And to come to the matter, we preface that behold, it is the way of our holy Torah to teach us a great root (shoresh) in faith. That is to say, is it not good for a person to flee from relying on natural things, but rather on Hashem alone, for He is the Savior, there is none besides Him. For one who trusts in Hashem, his salvation will sprout quickly, and one who trusts in his efforts and in natural things, his salvation is not from Hashem, until he recognizes and knows that he erred in his calculations.
The Alsheich writes something awesome here. A person whose trust in Hakadosh Baruch Hu is absolute, does not need to do rely on anything natural. And a person who relies on natural actions – this means he does not trust one hundred percent in Hakadosh Baruch Hu. "One who trusts in Hakadosh Baruch Hu should not rely on natural things!"
He then continues: And I want to bring a proof. I will explain what he presents and means, following a brief introduction. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is exacting with the righteous, like a hair's breadth (כְּחוּט הַשְּׂעָרָה) – and we have no true understanding of this. The more a person grows, the more trials he receives. We referenced a Pasuk in Tehillim a few weeks ago: You have given those who fear You a banner to raise up against the bow. Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave Avraham trials, and each trial elevated Avraham to a higher level. The trial of Lech Lecha, the trial of Avimelech, etc. each elevated Avraham, until the trial of Akeidat Yitzchak, which was the pinnacle. Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to him: Now I know that you fear G-d.
We asked: Why did Avraham need the additional trial of Sarah's burial? We explained: The additional trial completed the matter of the Akeida. The Midrash references this Pasuk from Tehillim and says each trial elevates a person to another level; and the Alsheich now adds that the more a person is elevated, the more trials he receives, and the more trials he receives and is elevated, the more he is held accountable for things that ordinary people are not held accountable for.
The proof the Alsheich brings is Yosef HaTzaddik, about whom the Midrash says: Happy is the man who has made Hashem his trust; and did not turn to the arrogant. Because Yosef said to the chief butler Remember me and mention me, two additional years were added to his prison sentence.
The Midrash tells us: Happy is the man who did not act like Yosef. Why are you turning to the arrogant?! If you are called one who trusts in Hashem, how and why are you turning to the arrogant?! This was the claim against Yosef. If someone else had done this, they likely would not have been held accountable for it; but precisely because it was Yosef, he was challenged: "Why did you turn to the arrogant? Why did you say it twice – Remember me and mention me? Was once not enough?!" With Yosef HaTzaddik, one extra word put him in prison for two years! And while he only said one extra word, he was punished for two, because if you make an additional effort that you don't need to make, even the first effort is deemed improper!
The Alsheich brings an example from the Midrash (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:31):
There was an incident involving a woman in Sidon who had been with her husband for ten years and had not borne children. They came before Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai seeking to separate from one another. He said to them: “By your lives, just as you joined together with food and drink, so too you shall not separate except through food and drink.” They followed his counsel, made a celebration for themselves, prepared a great feast, and became intoxicated beyond measure. When his mind became settled upon it, he said to her: “Look at all the good things I have in the house – take them and go to your father's house.” What did she do? After he fell asleep, she signaled to her servants and maidservants and said to them: “Lift him on the bed, take him, and bring him to my father's house.” At midnight he awoke from his sleep when the wine wore off. He said to her: “Where am I?” She said to him: “In my father's house.” He said to her: “What do I have to do with your father's house?” She said to him: “Did you not say to me this evening: ‘Take all the good things that are in my house and go to your father's house’? There is nothing good for me in the world more than you.” They went to Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, and he stood and prayed for them and they were blessed with children. This teaches you that just as Hakadosh Baruch Hu visits the barren, so too do the righteous visit the barren. And behold, this is an argument from the lesser to the greater (kal v’chomer): if flesh and blood, to whom one said "there is nothing good for me in the world more than you," were blessed with children, how much more so Bnei Yisrael who wait for the salvation of Hakadosh Baruch Hu every day and say "we have nothing good in the world except You" – all the more so! Let us rejoice and be glad in You!
The Alsheich Hakadosh says, from this we learn that if a person places his trust solely in Hakadosh Baruch Hu, he merits salvation. As an addition to the words of the Alsheich – he does not bring this directly – we say in Tehillim (33:16):
Kings are not delivered by a large force; warriors are not saved by great strength. Horses are a false hope for deliverance; for all their great power they provide no escape. Truly the eye of Hashem is on those who fear Him, who wait for His faithful care. To save them from death, to sustain them in famine. We set our hope on Hashem, He is our help and shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for in His holy name we trust. May we enjoy, Hashem, Your faithful care, as we have put our hope in You.
David HaMelech says: To the extent that you hope in Hakadosh Baruch Hu, to that same extent you will merit salvation! Rav Chaim Volozhin writes in Nefesh HaChaim: And truthfully, this is a great matter and a wondrous treasure that takes him out of the realm of any other judgments and the desires of others, so that they can’t control him, nor make any impression at all. When a person fixes it in his heart/mind to state, that after all: Hashem is the true G-d and there is no other power in the universe nor in all the worlds at all other than Him; and everything is filled only with His simple unity; and He, in his heart/mind, completely nullifies all others, and does not attend to any power or will in the universe, and harnesses and adheres the purity of his thoughts only to the unique Lord, then He will make it happen for him, that in any case all of the powers and desires that are in the universe will be nullified from upon him, so that they are not able to affect him in any way at all.
It is known to all that there is a hymn against Calamities – that we recite immediately after the conclusion of Shabbat: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High. In it we find: For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, from the destructive plague. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge; His truth is a shield and buckler. You shall not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the plague that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.
