Relying Upon the Heavenly Orchestration We Cannot See
Getting a Proper Perspective
When we speak about the severity of relying on humans, some may say, “What am I supposed to do? I need to do some hishtadlus... and I don’t see any recourse but to pursue the gevir!... I need to rely on my wealthy brother or cousin in order to make a wedding.”
In order to answer this, we must accustom ourselves to living with a proper perspective: Things we do not see are truer than the things we do see.
We Don’t Usually See the True Solution
That is, the root of a desire to trust in others stems from the thinking that only the solutions that we can feel and see are real solutions. What we don’t see with our eyes cannot be the real solution to our problems. Therefore, when we find ourselves needing money, we see no other way than to pursue the osher. “If he won’t give me, I will invest all my kochos into convincing him to give me.... I simply have no other recourse.”
Why do you think that this is your only eitzah? Why do you think that the only solution is the one that you see with your eyes of flesh and blood? There’s an entire universe of possibilities, eitzos, and yeshuos that you cannot see! The Ribbono shel Olam has infinite ways to help you. True, you don’t see it—but they’re much more real than anything you can see and feel.
Hashem’s Salvation Is Real
This is why people have trust in humans: Humans offer a solution that can be seen. Trusting in Hashem is more difficult, because it’s something we cannot see.
Our avodah is to turn over our hearts and begin living in the opposite way: to begin understanding that the things we cannot see are much more real. Because anything we see on This World can disappear in a moment, as David HaMelech wrote, תשועה לו שאין אדם בבן בנדיבים תבטחו אל, do not trust in nobles nor in a human being, for he holds no salvation. The salvation from a person whom I do see—this is in question! It is not at all assured. The yeshuas Hashem that I cannot see is certain and it is eternal!
Trust in Humans May Block Salvation
This is the yesod of bitachon! Every time a person thinks: Ah! Here’s where my salvation will come from—he should know that this is enough for the yeshuah not to come from there...
If I can see the person; if I can see the situation; if I trust in a material entity I can see and feel, that is the greatest reason for me not to trust in it! I would rather trust in the Ein Sof, even if I cannot see when, how, and in what form the help will come. I am therefore much more assured in the ultimate salvation, precisely because I cannot see it.
Better to Have Weak Bitachon in Hashem Than Strong Bitachon in Humans
According to this yesod, we can understand the peshat of the Chasam Sofer in the words באדם, מבטוח בה› לחסות טוב it is better to trust in Hashem than in man. Lachasos, explains the Chasam Sofer, is an expression of reliance used when we cannot firmly feel secure. It is a weaker expression of trust, whereas bitachon is an expression of trust in something that we can firmly touch and rely upon.
Says David HaMelech, it is preferable to rely on Hashem—even though we cannot see or understand or anticipate His ways—than to rely on man, even though it may seem to us that his salvation is more predictable.
Have Bitachon in Hashem Even If It Isn’t Complete
When a person begins the avodah of bitachon, he may feel that his trust in others is stronger than his trust in Hashem. His trust in Hashem is in a manner of לחסות, a weaker form of trust, while his trust in man is in a manner of בטחון, strong trust. “I rely on Hashem to help me, but I don’t feel that assuredness and security that I derive from others.” At the end of the day, we live in the material world, and it is difficult to feel a complete faith in something that we cannot see.
Says David HaMelech: It is still preferable to rely on Hashem even though you don’t feel it as strongly. But this is the way! Slowly, you will accustom yourself to feeling stronger and stronger trust in Hashem.
Trusting in Man Means Less Hishtadlus
It doesn’t come all at once—but we must work and toil and become accustomed to living with assuredness and security in Hashem. We must constantly reiterate that a Yid doesn’t need to know where the yeshuah will come from. One needs to do the minimal, requisite hishtadlus obligation—simply because this is the mission that Hashem has asked of him. I will not invest all of my heart and soul into my hishtadlus, and if I am not successful, I will daven more strongly, and have more bitachon in Hashem.
But, one may challenge you, maybe you’re not doing enough hishtadlus? If you ask him, “And what would you like me to do further?” and his answer involves trusting in another person, then you don’t need or want it! Bitachon in humans constitutes less hishtadlus, not more!
When we work on bitachon, we come to realize that Hashem has infinite ways in which to help us—far more than the few scenarios we have in mind. “I don’t want to trust in these few pathways that I have foreseen! I would rather rely on Hashem—even though I cannot see how the salvation will come. But there are infinitely greater yeshuos to be had in this way.”
Letting Go of What We See; Believing in What We Don’t See
When Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu, וחי, האדם יראני לא כי man cannot see me and live..., included in this statement is the fact that we cannot see the ways of Hashem, nor can we know how He will help us. Because if we could see it, there would no longer be any בחירה.
This is the nisayon that we face: To let go of all the solutions and eitzos that we can see, and instead trust in something that we cannot see. Because וחי, האדם יראני לא כי we cannot see the Ribbono shel Olam or His ways.
The truth plays out in a world that is completely inaccessible to us. Just as in Megillas Esther, when Vashti was killed, no one was able to see the entire story... no one could know that things were transpiring and being orchestrated away from their eyes and understanding... everything was happening for the ultimate yeshuah. So too, in our individual lives, we must believe and trust even if we see nothing. Don’t be distracted by the things that you can see and feel... יבטח אשר הגבר ארור באדם, accursed is one who places his trust in man.
Calmness Is a Sign That We’re Doing Proper Hishtadlus
We will not now get into the topic of what is and isn’t considered proper hishtadlus; it is a lengthy and complex topic. But this much is certain: Hishtadlus is to be done exclusively because it is our mission, a shlichus from Hashem. For this reason, we are calm and serene as we go about our hishtadlus.... We don’t lose ourselves in it.
There’s a very simple test to see whether we’re going about our hishtadlus in the proper way: If your heart is beating hard as you do your hishtadlus... if you get carried away as you’re attempting to carry it out... you’re probably not doing hishtadlus right. With true hishtadlus, for the sake of hishtadlus, the feelings and essence of the person aren’t overtaken completely.
If the person feels that everything depends on him and his actions; if he feels pressure to do everything perfectly because this is the only way he will get results; if he invests all his energies in convincing a wealthy person to give him money; if he thinks that his yeshuah can only come through this channel—he is not engaging in the hishtadlus that Hashem wants from us.
Being Careful When Speaking About Money
Five Types of Speech
The Rambam in Pirush HaMishnayos (Avos 1:17) speaks about the five different types of speech. There’s speech that is a mitzvah (Torah and tefillah), and there’s speech that is forbidden. There’s speech that’s abhorrent (with no purpose, bringing nothing good to the person), and there is loving speech—speech that brings people closer to the Ribbono shel Olam (speaking about pious people and their beautiful ways; speaking laudingly about the goodness of middos tovos, etc.).
The fifth type of speech is permitted speech: Speaking about one’s livelihood and needs, such as clothing and food. This speech, although permitted, is best minimized, the Rambam says.
Words That Distance Us from Hashem
The fourth category of speech—speech that brings love to Hashem—is very important to reiterate when we speak about the issue of bitachon in humans.
We live in a world in which our ears are assaulted by the worst speech on a constant basis. People speak incessantly about things that run contrary to emunah, bitachon, and yiras Shamayim—and this has an effect on us. Here, they’re talking about how to get money from the gevir; there we hear about how a person who has money is the successful one, while everyone else is a shlimazel; while the remainder talk about how the only way to navigate life is with money....
These aren’t mere words that are in the category of “permitted speech.” It is much worse. These words make us look at the world in a distorted way, and they distance us from the Ribbono shel Olam.
Real Success
For example: A person who is gifted and talented... he has two “right hands” and a sharp tongue—always having the right words at the right time; He “gets things done” through his incredible abilities. This person will usually be viewed as a successful person by others.
But when we view the situation through a Torah prism, it is not necessarily this way at all. It is possible that all his talents and abilities have the effect of distancing him from the Ribbono shel Olam—because he trusts in himself! Thanks to his talents, he tends to “navigate on his own.”
Thus, why would we call such a person successful? It may very well be that the shlimazel who can’t figure life out is the more successful one because he is closer to the Ribbono shel Olam! Thanks to his being a shlimazel, he is a greater ba’al bitachon—because he knows that he can’t do anything on his own. Instead of despairing, he davens more fervently to HaKadosh Baruch Hu for success—and the Ribbono shel Olam helps him and sends him what he needs, thanks to his bitachon and tefillah.
The Danger of “Casual” Speech
One of the most important ways to change our outlook and attitude toward money is to change the way we talk about it. It is a great avodah to change... because it is so ingrained in us, and our casual speech tends to focus on money, and it penetrates our hearts more so than any direct speech.
(An example of the way casual speech is more effective and enters the heart more than direct speech is when we wish to give a person a compliment. If you tell the person, “I now wish to bestow a compliment upon you,” he will turn colors, and he wouldn’t welcome it very much.
But if we weave a compliment into a casual conversation, naturally, he will welcome it and accept it. The same applies when we hear that someone else said something nice about us—unprompted—it means much more to us, because they obviously mean it sincerely).
The casual words that we hear from others regarding money has the worst effect of penetrating our hearts with crooked and distorted attitudes. People will say, “It’s good to be friendly with this person because he has money...” or “When you become wealthy, remember that I was once your friend....” These types of words take up residence in our hearts and minds—cementing the idea that to be successful we must trust in humans, not the Ribbono shel Olam.
He Thanks Hashem for His Trust in His Fellow Man...
We can even hear people say, “I thank Hashem that I have a wealthy friend who has so much money.”
Surely there’s a place for thanking Hashem that He sent us a friend who was the conduit and the messenger for His good—if you’re not invested in that conduit, and you are simply thanking Hashem for the conduit through which you received the shefah.
But, in most cases, when thanking Hashem for a wealthy friend, we’re not focused on the past—the good that Hashem has given us through that person—but on the future: The next time I will need money, I will have whom to turn to, we think...; this means that this person relies on another person, and not on the Ribbono shel Olam. It’s like saying, “I thank Hashem for sending me a human being upon whom I can rely.”
Freeing Ourselves from Extra Weight Through the Proper Thoughts and Words
The Ba’al Bitachon Is Free
Let us review what we have spoken about thus far:
We began with the teaching of the Chovos HaLevavos that the ba’al bitachon receives the gift of בממונו, אדם יחמוד ולא nd he will not be desirous of other people’s money. He is not reliant on others, and he doesn’t have the desire to be close to those with money.
Such a person is simply blessed and fortunate! He doesn’t suffer the effects and the aggravation of relying upon man. It doesn’t even occur to him that he needs any better friends than he currently has. He is free from such thoughts as: “Halevai I should have a connection with that gevir....” He is not interested in this, because he has everything he needs!
The Curse of Relying upon One’s Own Might
Then we learned about the curse באדם יבטח אשר האדם ארור, accursed is one who trusts in man.
This curse accompanies the person in This World as well as the Next World, R”l—because he believes in ידי, ועוצם כחי and he thus tears himself away from the Ribbono shel Olam. He will thus not feel good—because the only good feeling is the one of ,'בה לחסות טוב it is good to rely upon Hashem.
Pursuing the Wealthy Doesn’t Constitute Hishtadlus
Part of trusting our fellow man is when we try to impress or find favor in the eyes of the gevir—or when we invest inordinately in getting money out of him, thinking that this is the way it must be; we’re reliant upon his money.
People think that this is hishtadlus, but this is a mistake. Pursuing the wealthy is not hishtadlus, but rather it is trust in one’s fellow man. This false hishtadlus doesn’t help; it makes things worse.
Hidden Yeshuas Hashem Is Much More Preferable Than Anything We Can See
The reason we tend to think that it is a form of hishtadlus and that we must pursue this avenue, is because to us it seems that the salvation we can see with our eyes is real and true, while the things hidden from us are like relying upon miracles.
But the truth is that the things we cannot see are much truer and more real than the tevah that we can see, which is like a dream that can disappear in an instant. Although we cannot see the Heavenly orchestration with our eyes, and it is difficult to believe that the Ribbono shel Olam will help us in a way that we couldn’t have fathomed or imagined—the rule is that וחי האדם יראני לא כי, man cannot see Me and live, which includes our inability to see Hashem’s ways.
Therefore, David HaMelech tells us, באדם מבטוח בה' לחסות טוב, it is more preferable to trust in Hashem than in man—even if we feel a weaker trust in Hashem, it is still more preferable than trusting humans whom we can see with our eyes!
Abhorring Talk About Money; Speaking Words of Emunah
In order to properly internalize this attitude, we must stay away from all the talk surrounding the glory of money. We must abhor it—just as we despise forbidden speech. When someone is extolling money and talking about money with such immersion, run away! Such talk corrupts our hearts, and causes us to become distanced from Hashem and trust in the Ribbono shel Olam.
At the same time, we must build up the other side: the האהוב דיבור, speech that brings love and closeness to the Ribbono shel Olam... constantly reiterating the nobility of trust in Hashem, the great Sustainer of all. In this way, we slowly edge away from the wrong attitudes to money.
The ba’al bitachon does the necessary hishtadlus, and for the rest, he is calm and serene and reliant only on HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Thus, he merits to be less a בנדיבים בוטח and more of a בה' לחסות טוב.
