We are now up to the 4th advantage of the Baal Bitachon over the Alchemist:
The alchemist, who turns his silver into gold, either has to order a lot, or he doesn’t order enough....
כי בעל הכימיה אינו נמלט מהזמין מהזהב והכסף הרבה לעת צרכו, או שלא יזמין מהם כלום אלא כפי שיספיק לזמן מועט,
Basically he’s in a constant quandary. He needs supplies, but he can’t overdo it because he’s in an illegal business. He may think he only needs a small amount, but then he might run out. If he over-orders, he can get into trouble. This problem is not isolated to the alchemist. This is the quandary of any businessman , or anyone else .
Let’s take a common winter example: Retailers who sell salt, shovels and boots, never know how much to stock. A late-in-the season snow storm can leave them filled with regret for not ordering enough. So they end up over-ordering for the next season, but then there’s no storm. You never know. Even in wholesale, they might stock the warehouse, and end up with the same problem. We can’t always know.
The Baal Bitachon says, I’m not a fortune teller, G-d is in charge. The Baal Bitachon does his hishtadlut and doesn’t sweat it. He says, “So be it if I returned all my shovels and my competitors have them in stock.” He knows he’s not in charge.
When we speak about not overdoing it, and of worrying about leftover stock, however, we have to make a clarification: we aren’t referring to Shabbat food or company. We don’t want anyone complaining that their wives over-prepare. We often are left with extra food after Shabbat or a party. Hearing this lesson, we might make the mistake of assuming we shouldn’t over-prepare there either. Ladies worry about this all the time. How many kibbes to make ? How much Mazza to buy ?... they always want to make sure there’s more than enough of everything for everyone. We shouldn’t change that. The Ben Ish Chai writes that when you make extra for guests it’s kavod/honor for the guests.
He says that it’s disrespectful to the guests to run out of food or have empty platters. So, rather than worry about having leftovers, keep in mind that it’s kavod to serve a lot and it’s respectful to have extra.
In other areas of life however, we do what we have to, but we just don’t know.
You can’t always be ready for every situation. We can give example after example. The Baal Bitachon says I have to do what I can.
Rabbis have this quandary as well. Did we under or over prepare?
I give a weekly ladies’ class on Hovot HaLevavot (it’s a more in-depth version of this- go to learntorah.com to look it up). I usually prepare many sheets and charts for handouts. One week, I was busy and couldn’t prepare anything. I had nothing but the Hovot HaLevavot. No extras. I had to wing it. One woman came over to me after to thank me. She told me it was the liveliest class. It turned out better than when I do prepare. Why? Because Hashem is in charge.
Of course we aren’t saying don’t prepare. Just know, when you can’t prepare, its okay. Don’t fret. You aren’t in charge.
That’s the advantage of the Baal Bitachon over the Alchemist.
The alchemist frets - he bought too much or too little. He second guesses himself. He’s never serene or tranquil.
The Baal Bitachon leaves it up to Hashem. That’s the secret of the Baal Bitachon.