We have learned, in previous classes, how when relying on others, such as lawyers, Hashem places us in the hands of whom we rely. And we are thus subject to their limitations. Today we will explore what happens when instead of relying on Hashem, we rely on ourselves. To be clear, we know that we put must forth effort and do our hishtadlut. But we must be careful not to rely on ourselves. For, as the Hovot HaLevavot tells us, if we rely on our own wisdom, tactics, strengths or efforts, not only won’t they get us where we want to go, they will backfire.
He quotes a pasuk in Iyob:
)איוב ה יג): לוכד חכמים בערמם
G-d traps the wise people in their cunning.
Hashem tells us- You think you’re going to rely on your own wits and outsmart Me- it’ll backfire.
We see many examples of this principle in both ancient and modern history.
The Torah provides us with a classic example: Pharaoh was afraid of the Jewish rebellion
הבה התחכמה לו (שמות,א,י)
Let’s outsmart Him-(referring to Hashem), Pharaoh said.
Pharaoh tried, with his own cunning and strength, to eliminate the Jewish savior, by throwing the baby boys in the river. As we know, ultimately his plan backfired on him. Not only was Moshe saved, he was saved by Pharaoh’s very own daughter!! And furthermore, he was raised in Pharaoh’s very own palace! Pharaoh himself groomed Moshe to become a leader.
Hashem showed Pharaoh: Not only did your idea not work- it backfired and you ended up raising the savior of the Jewish people!
This is a rule- rely on yourself and it will backfire, and we see it happen every day.
In fact, a recent current-events story provides a case in point:
CNN’s Jim Acosta was recently mocked for inadvertently proving that the border wall really works.
Acosta, a CNN reporter known for his outspoken antipathy toward the President (After a particularly heated confrontation with the President, his press pass was actually revoked), recently took a trip to McAllen, Texas to poke fun at President Trump’s border wall, but he ended up proving the President’s point.
Acosta stood by Trump’s wall and described, on camera, how he saw no violent migrants rushing the border. He declared there was “no sign of the national emergency that the president has been talking about” and it was “tranquil” near him. He captioned the video, “I found some steel slats down on the border. But I don’t see anything resembling a national emergency situation... at least not in the McAllen TX area of the border where Trump will be today.”
He was quickly and heavily mocked by the media for helping to prove Trump’s case, and was actually thanked for validating the success of President Trump’s wall by press secretary Sarah Sanders, who responded:
“When I went with President Trump to the border today I never imagined Jim Acosta would be there doing our job for us and so clearly explaining why WALLS WORK. Thanks Jim!”
He was trying to be a smart aleck and it back-fired! He became a mockery instead.
These current events are just an example of this concept. Of course in our own lives, we can see how this works: When you rely on Hashem, things work. When you rely on yourself, they backfire