We're now no age 8 of the Bet Halevi, where he tells us that fear of human beings comes from forgetting Hashem. He quotes a pasuk that says,
מִי־אַ֤תְּ וַתִּֽירְאִי֙ מֵאֱנ֣וֹשׁ יָמ֔וּת וּמִבֶּן־אָדָ֖ם חָצִ֥יר יִנָּתֵֽן׃
Who are you, that you're afraid of human beings who will die, and of men who are made of grass.
ַתִּשְׁכַּ֞ח ה׳ עֹשֶׂ֗ךָ נוֹטֶ֣ה שָׁמַ֘יִם֮ וְיֹסֵ֣ד אָ֒רֶץ֒ וַתְּפַחֵ֨ד תָּמִ֜יד
You have forgotten Hashem your Maker, Who spread out the heavens and set the foundations of the earth, and you are constantly terrified.
The Bet Halevi explains that if a person really internalized that everything that happens in the world comes from Hashem, and that
no human being or creature has the ability to change that decree, not to add or diminish even by the smallest amount, not to make it come earlier or later, then why would he be concerned with outside impacts?
Imagine if a person was in a tank going down dark alley. That's dangerous, but he forgets he’s in the tank, so he becomes scared.
Similarly, the Bet Halevi is telling us that our fear comes from the fact that we're forgetting about Hashem. We don't realize that He’s there watching us and taking care of us.
And it's interesting that the pasuk in the Torah that talks about forgetting Hashem starts with the words V’Ram L’vavcha V’Shachachta you'll become arrogant and forget Hashem, which means that when a person thinks that he's in charge and he's doing things, that's the cause for him to forget about Hashem. We think it's our strength and our power that make things happen. And therefore, a lack bitachon is really forgetting the basic principle that Hashem is there and he's making everything happen. On Rosh Hashanah, in our very long musaf prayer, there's a section called Zichronot that talks about how God remembers every human being, remembers everything that he does, and will decide for this year, which nations will go to war, which ones will be at peace, life and death and all the judgements. It's a very scary paragraph, n as we introduce God remembering us. But in the middle of that paragraph, it says, the words
Ashrei Ish sh’lo yishkachecha fortunate is the man who does not forget You…
and the human being who clings tightly to You.
Rav Wolbe said that while we're being judged, which is seemingly a frightening experience, the Anshei Knesset Gedolah, the authors of this prayer, gave us advice on how not to be afraid,and how to protect ourselves. That's what this concept of Ashrei Ish shelo Yishkachecha is.
The Sefer Charedim writes that his teacher, Rav Yosef Saggis, would hum these words to himself, all year long, as a way to constantly remember Hashem.
There is a song with these words, that some people sing on Simchat Torah, that it is the source for all good fortune, to always have Hashem on our minds, and never to forget Him. The more He is on our minds, the more that He is protecting us.
As we mentioned earlier, the Meshech Hochma says that the source of the the Mitzvah of Bitachon is Bo Tidbak/Cleave to Him.
So the person that's always remembering Hashem, always cleaving and clinging to Hashem, is the one that bitachon.
B’Ezrat Hashem, we will have Hashem on our minds and fulfill this concept of Ashrei Ish shelo Yishkachecha, fortunate is the one that doesn't forget You, and we'll have all of the protection that comes with it.
Have a wonderful day.