Today we continue our discussion of two pesukim ( ה,ו )in Tehilim perek כב , where Esther invokes the bitachon of our forefathers:
בְּ֭ךָ בָּטְח֣וּ אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ בָּ֝טְח֗וּ וַֽתְּפַלְּטֵֽמוֹ
Our forefathers relied on You, they relied and were saved
אֵלֶ֣יךָ זָעֲק֣וּ וְנִמְלָ֑טוּ בְּךָ֖ בָטְח֣וּ וְלֹא־בֽוֹשׁוּ
They cried out and were saved, They relied on You and were not embarrassed.
The Midrash Tehilim says that “forefathers,” refers not to Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov, but rather to our forefathers that left Mitzrayim, as it says, ויאנחו בני ישראל
They cried out
וְנִמְלָ֑טוּ and they were saved, as it says,
ויושע ה'
ביום ההוא God saved them..on this day
The Midrash asks,
וכל כך למה
Why were they saved?
And the answer is:
הכל בזכות ההבטחות
They were saved because of their Bitachon.
That’s what saved them in Mitzrayim.
Rabbenu Bachye, in Kad HaKemach, says this clearly:
בזכות הבטחון נגאלו ישראל ממצרים
In the merit of their Bitachon, they were redeemed from Egypt, and he bases it in this midrash.
He adds that bitachon is the primary fundamental, and adds the whole Torah is built on it
The Midrash adds another explanation, that
בך בטחו אבותינו
Our forefathers relied,
refers to Mordechai and Esther.
It says that Esther followed in the ways of the previous generations, and that’s why it says in the Megillah, דברי הצומות
וזעקתם They fasted and cried out.
This refers to the pasuk in Tehilim that says,
אֵלֶ֣יךָ זָעֲק֣וּ וְנִמְלָ֑טוּ
They cried out and were answered.
And when she came into Ahashverosh’s chamber, it says, ובכן אבוא אל המלך
ולא בושו
She came into to the king, and she was not shamed.
This reflects the words in the tehilim,
בך בטחו ולא בושו
They relied and were not embarrassed.
The Ben Ish Chai quotes this pasuk and uses it to explain a high level of Bitachon that we have to learn about. In his sefer Ben Yehoyada, his commentary on the Gemarah (on Masechet Betzah, טז, א), he says that sometimes a person reaches a level of bitachon which he calls
בטחון בדרך פלא
Bitachon in the wondrous way.
This is when the object of a person’s reliance is so clear to him, that it’s as if it’s already in his pocket. He’s not even afraid to tell people about it, because he is so convinced of it; it’s a forgone conclusion to him.
And he explains the pasuk as follows;
בְּ֭ךָ בָּטְח֣וּ אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ בָּ֝טְח֗וּ וַֽתְּפַלְּטֵֽמוֹ
Our forefathers relied on You, they relied and were saved
בְּךָ֖ בָטְח֣וּ וְלֹא־בֽוֹשׁוּ
They relied and they weren’t embarrassed
He explains that they weren’t embarrassed to announce it beforehand. They knew it would definitely come to them, and they weren’t worried that people would ridicule them. That’s how sure they were.
He says that’s the level of bitachon that Hillel had.
The story in the Gemarah ( Masechet Berachot) relates that Hillel was once out walking, and heard cries coming from the city, and he guaranteed that it was not coming from his house.
How could he be so sure?
The Ben Ish Chai explains that Hillel was so convinced that he announced it to the world. He was sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was not coming from his house. And the people he was with wondered if he might get closer, and in another 10 seconds, be proven wrong. But no, he had that Bitachon Barrur, that was certain, and he had no problem announcing it.
This only works, he explains, if the person
בלי תערובת שום ספק כלל ועיקר
Doesn’t have the slightest amount of doubt at all.
This is a high level.
And why did Hillel announce this? Was he trying to show off?
No. He intent was pure, that the people would hear it and see in the end that his Bitachon really worked.
He was not afraid he would be wrong. He really was relying on Hashem.
And he did this, שגם שאר בני אדם ילמדו
so that other people should learn
להחזיק במדת הבטחון האמיתי הזה
to hold on to this very high level of Bitachon.
Of course, this might be more applicable to the people that lived in Hillel’s times; maybe it’s not for us to be so convinced and sure, but we see that it is possible.
This level of bitachon is also why Hillel did not do like Shammai, who started his Shabbat purchasing on Sunday. If Shammai bought something on Sunday, and then found something better on Monday, he’d buy it. And so on, throughout the week.
But Hillel did the opposite. He waited until Erev Shabbat to purchase. Why? Didn’t he care about Shabbat?
Of course he cared. But he had this high level on Bitachon, that on Sunday, he felt like he already had it in his pocket. He didn’t have to do anything more.
That’s what בָטְח֣וּ וְלֹא־בֽוֹשׁוּ
They relied on Hashem and they weren’t embarrassed means.
The Mishnah discusses how when there was a drought, the people came to Honi Hamagel, and asked him to pray for rain.
Before he went to pray, he directed everybody to bring in their clay ovens, so that they wouldn’t melt in the rain. How could he make such an announcement? Because he was so convinced that it would rain!
It’s a high level, but it does exist.
People have that level of Bitachon, even to this day, like the story of how the Baba Sali once told a coupe who had no children to buy a crib...
There are many stories like this, and they are based on the level of bitachon in which the person is 100% sure, and that’s why they aren’t embarrassed.
Have a wonderful day.