Today we will study perek לג of Tehilim, pasuk כ״א
כִּי־ב֭וֹ יִשְׂמַ֣ח לִבֵּ֑נוּ כִּ֤י בְשֵׁ֖ם קׇדְשׁ֣וֹ בָטָֽחְנוּ
Because in Him ( Hashem) our heart is happy, because we relied on His holy name.
The Radak says that this means that after we are saved from our problems, our happiness is in Hashem, because we realize that our salvation came from Him (because we relied on Him- not from our efforts).
So when a person goes through a challenging time, and then, Baruch Hashem the problem is resolved, whether financial or health related etc., his reaction is supposed to be כי בו יִשְׂמַ֣ח לִבֵּ֑נוּ happiness with Hashem in his heart, because he knows that it was Hashem that saved him, because of his reliance. The person doesn’t take credit for his hishtadlut/ effort.
Anytime we experience a salvation, we should attribute it to Hashem. That is the Radak’s explanation of this pasuk.
The Chafetz Chaim has a different explanation. He says that although the salvation hasn’t yet come, when the person knows that
יש לו פטרון כזה
he has, in this world, a Patron like this, someone who takes care of him, and he knows that all of his success is dependent on that Patron,
צריך לשמוח בו He has to be happy with Him.
The person is happy in his heart
כִּי־ב֭וֹ יִשְׂמַ֣ח לִבֵּ֑נוּ, not because the salvation has come, but because he knows that he has this wonderful father who is there to take care of him, and that brings simcha.
The Malbim adds a twist-Normally, when you rely on a human being, and he has not come through for you yet, you start to get upset. You may think the person forgot about you, that he is unable to help you or that he doesn’t want to help you.
But we are always happy with Hashem, because even though we may not get what we want immediately, we know that Hashem can do it, and eventually He will do it. We rely on Him in a strong way, and we don’t get down when we haven’t seen the salvation yet.
כִּי־ב֭וֹ יִשְׂמַ֣ח לִבֵּ֑נוּ I am happy in my heart, even when I have not yet experienced salvation.
So we have two explanations for this pasuk: The first is that when the salvation comes, we attribute it to God and we feel happy in Him and not with our own accomplishments or tactics.
The second explanation is that we are happy with Hashem even before we get what we want. Our Bitachon gives us happiness, even while we are still in the problem, because we realize that we have a wonderful father that is supervising, and taking care of us.
בְשֵׁ֖ם קׇדְשׁ֣וֹ בָטָֽחְנוּ
We rely on His holy name.
A third explanation, from the Sefer Akedat Yitzhak is that when a person relies on Hashem, with true bitachon, without any doubts, that brings happiness.
Any time a person embarks on any endeavor, it is, as the pasuk says,
ולזבולון אמר שמח זבולון בצאתך
Zevulon is happy when he goes out. He hasn’t yet made a dollar, but when he goes out to work, he’s not relying on himself, he’s relying on Hashem, and that gives him happiness. He’s happy when he puts in his efforts, because he knows that he has Hashem with him. That is a beautiful blessing of the businessman. We say that Yissachar is happy in his tent, and Zevulun is happy when he goes out
Why is Zevulun happy? Another reason is because he knows his partner Yissachar is in the tent learning Torah. He’s going out for business, because he wants to make money to support Torah. That adds to his bitachon, and it adds to his simcha.
כִּי־ב֭וֹ יִשְׂמַ֣ח לִבֵּ֑נוּ
He is happy in his heart because he has someone coming with him to work with him.
כִּ֤י בְשֵׁ֖ם קׇדְשׁ֣וֹ בָטָֽחְנוּ
Because he is relying on His holy name.
This is one the indicators of whether you have bitachon.
Rav Chaim Pilaggi says that a person with bitachon doesn’t have worries in his heart, and he is always happy.
Who of us can say that we are always happy in all situations? This is one of the litmus tests of whether we have bitachon:
Being happy because we have that big father and Patron with us at all times, to take care of us.
Have a wonderful day.