The Bet HaLevi in his Ma’Amar HaBitachon talks about what a person should do when facing a challenge. He lists six different points:
1- A person’s initial reaction should not be to add more hishtadlut. In these challenging times, a person’s first reaction should not be to call an emergency meeting of his company. You may have to do that, but it should not be your first thing.
So this first point is: Don’t run toward natural means
2יְפַשְׁפֵּשׁ בְּמַעֲשָׂיו
- Check your deeds. The Gemarah tells us that if a person has imminent suffering coming upon him, he must check his deeds and do Teshuva.
3- Pray to G-d. Pour your heart out in prayer to Him.
*4- יחזק לבו בבטחונו ובתקותו בה׳ יתברך
Strengthen your heart in your reliance and hope in G-d (we’ll go back this this)
5- וְיִקְבַּע בְּלִבּוֹ אֲשֶׁר בִּלְעָדוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ אֵין לוֹ מִמִּי לְבַקֵּשׁ עֶזְרָה.
Make steadfast in your heart that there is no one else to turn to but G-d
6- Work on the concept that nothing exists but G-d. En Od Milevado
Let’s go back and look at point 4.
יחזק לבו בבטחונו ותקותו בה׳ יתברך
Strengthen your heart in your bitachon/reliance and Tikva/hope in G-d .
Up until now, I have always looked at this one as just one idea. But I’ve recently noticed a new chiddush. Strengthen your heart in your bitachon, and Tikva,hope in G-d. It’s really 2 points.
4a is Bitachon- We rely on Hashem that He will take care of us. We are counting on Him, and only Him. That’s what bitachon is, to rely and count on Him. It’s not easy.
4b is Tikva, hope.
Rav Wolbe says that there is a slightly lower level than bitachon, and I realized this time around that this is what the Bet HaLevi is hinting to; Tikva, hope.
Rav Wolbe, in his sefer Alei Shor, quotes Rabbenu Yonah who says that a person may not always be at the point where he can rely on Hashem that everything is going to be good. Practically speaking, he may not know if he’s going to get out of the situation. But, even if a person has a sword on his neck, he shouldn’t give up hope. He shouldn’t despair.
“Don’t despair” doesn’t mean bitachon. This man might not be able to rely on Hashem, as he sees the knife coming down on his neck. But while he may not be relying on G-d, he is still hoping to G-d. Hoping means that there’s still a chance. That is still something. In any situation, we can hope to Hashem. So even in a situation where times are tough, in the words of Rav Wolbe,
“We have to hope to G-d to be saved.” He has to hope. It might not be the full level of bitachon, but there is something called hope. As the saying goes, “Where there is life there is hope.”
We always must hope to Hashem.
Rabbenu Yonah brings out this concept by teaching us to apply this principle “even when there is a sword on our neck, Hope to Him.”
Rav Wolbe continues to quote Rabbenu Yonah, who says David HaMelech says,
קִוִּיתִי יְהוָה, קִוְּתָה נַפְשִׁי;
וְלִדְבָרוֹ הוֹחָלְתִּי.
נַפְשִׁי לַאדֹנָי מִשֹּׁמְרִים לַבֹּקֶר, שֹׁמְרִים לַבֹּקֶר.
יַחֵל יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶל-יְהוָה: כִּי-עִם-יְהוָה הַחֶסֶד; וְהַרְבֵּה עִמּוֹ פְדוּת.
וְהוּא, יִפְדֶּה אֶת-יִשְׂרָאֵל מִכֹּל, עֲונֹתָיו.
“I Hope to you Hashem; my soul hopes. My soul is yearning for
G-d, like those that wait for morning.
The Jewish people hope, G-d can redeem us.”
What is this extra stress on hope? He answers that it’s a constant job to work on oneself and continue to hope, even if looks like one is in a time despair. Even when it looks like it’s beyond, we are never beyond hope. We might not be able to have bitachon in those times. It might feel very far away, and we just can’t bring ourselves to feel comfortably 100% reliant and convinced. Bitachon is a feeling of being guaranteed, like you won’t sell your lottery ticket to someone because you know you’re going to win. The Hovot HaLevavot says that bitachon is calmness, serenity and Menuchat Nefesh. We don’t worry about business or other things.
So if you are worried, you may not have reached the full level of bitachon, but we always have hope. The more you work and hope and hope, says Rav Wolbe, the more it moves from your brain to become a part of your soul.
If someone asks if there is any hope, a person might answer, “The doctors are giving us hope,” or “ The doctors have no hope.” When it comes to hope, however, we don’t need doctors and we don’t need lawyers.
It’s my Jewish right, that in all situations, I can always hope, because anything is possible.
Nothing is out of the realm of possibility. Hope? I have the full rights to hope. That’s the new point we are getting from this Bet HaLevi:
יחזק לבו בבטחונו
Strengthen yourselves in Bitachon (because that’s important)
And, the other new piece,
ותקותו
Tikva- Hope
יש תקוה
We have hope.