We like to learn through sefarim. The benefit of that is that there's a certain theme in classes, it's not just random thoughts. There's a root and a basis to what we're saying.
As such, we've gone through the Bet HaLevi, we've gone through Hovot Halevavot, we went through a little bit of Emunah and Bitachon from the Hazon Ish, and we're now going to start Igeret Al HaBitachon, a beautiful sefer by Rabbi Yosef Zalman Bloch, from Monsey.
He starts his sefer with a quote from a Midrash Raba in Vaera that says, “In the future Gan Eden is going scream and say, ‘Give me Sadikim. I don't want Resha’im. And who do I want? Those that relied on Your name.’”
He says that we see from here that if Gan Eden is asking for Sadikim, and the Midrash says, “I want those who relied on You,” that means that bitachon is what decided whether a person is a Sadik or not.
Normally, one would say being a Sadik is dependent on whether one does Mitzvot or not. But now we're hearing that bitachon is the deciding factor. Of course, someone could be a rasha and be a Bote’ach, but in order to be a Sadik, you have to have bitachon. Rabbenu Bachye, in Parashat Pinhas says, “It is well known that a person is only called a Sadik if he relies on God,” and he quotes a Pasuk in Mishleh 28,1:
וְ֝צַדִּיקִ֗ים כִּכְפִ֥יר יִבְטָֽח
The righteous rely on God like a lion. So how is it that we're including the entire Torah under the umbrella of Bitachon? Again, he quotes from the famous Gaon in Mishleh 22, 19, who says, “The main reason that God gave the Torah to the Jewish people was so that they should put their reliance on God.” And he says, “that includes all the Mitzvot.”
How can we make such a bold statement? We need a little background:
The Aseret Hadibrot/Ten Commandments have a total of 620 letters, which is the numerical value of Keter/ crown, and they’re made up of 613+ 7
613 Mitzvot from the Torah and 7 Mitzvot D’Rabbenan.
And Rav Saadia HaGaon says that the entire Torah is found in the 10 Commandments, and the 10 commandments can in found the first commandment, which is Anochi Hashem/ I am Hashem your God, that took you out of Egypt, which is, according to some, the source of Bitachon.
I am Hashem, your God that took you out of Egypt. Rely on Me and I'll take you out of your problems, whatever they may be.
That's the source to hope for God's salvation in your life.
The entire Torah is included in that. Furthermore, the entire first commandment is included in the word Anochi. Just realize Anochi, I am God, there's a God here.
And all of that is included in the first letter of that word, which is the Alef, which says, There is only One, which is God. So the entire Torah is in that one simple concept of, there’s only God and He’s the only One to rely on. So yes, in truth, the whole Torah is to get us to bitachon.
I have Shaatnez to tell me that my clothes are from God, and He tells me what to wear.
The theme that runs through all of the Mitzvot is bitachon, the constant reliance on Hashem. That's why bitachon is the deciding factor of whether somebody should be called a Sadik or not.
So Rabbi Bloch is bothered- if it's so important, that the main reason the Torah was given is Bitachon, why is it hidden in a Gaon of Vilna?Shouldn't it be more explicit?
He says it is.
In Devarim 10,12 it says,
וְעַתָּה֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מָ֚ה ה׳ אֱלֹקיךָ שֹׁאֵ֖ל מֵעִמָּ֑ךְ
What is God asking from you?
כִּ֣י אִם־לְ֠יִרְאָ֠ה
All God wants is Yirat Hashamayim . And what is Yirat Shamayim?
Says the Rif, in his commentary at the beginning of Berachot,
Reliance on Hashem is the fundamental of fear and faith,
and that's what brings a person to Olam Haba.
We also see this in Rabbenu Yonah, in Mishleh 18,10 which says, “Reliance of God is on the highest level of fear.”
So if the Torah says, What I want from you is fear of God, in essence, it’s really saying, “What I want from you is bitachon.”
This gives us a further incentive to work on this all-inclusive topic.
Similarly, the Gemara, at the end of Masechet Berachot, was looking for the fundamental principles in the Torah.
It starts off with all 613 Mitzvot initially, then one of the prophets said there are 11 principles, then 10, then 6 , then 3, then 2, then finally Habakkuk comes, and puts the whole on one principle,
Sadik B’Emunato Yihyeh/
The righteous man lives by his Emunah, which the rabbis explain to mean as Bitachon in Hashem.
So here we are, Bitachon is the entire Torah.
Let's try to grab onto it, and with that, all the other Mitzvot will come.