The Hovot HaLevavot teaches us that one who has Bitachon relies on Hashem and is guaranteed his food in all situations, at all times. This” food” applies to spiritual food as well. As the pasuk says לא רעב ללחם there will come a time when people will be hungry, not for food, but for the word of Hashem.
The Baal Bitachon gets his food as well as his spirituality.
In another section of the sefer, Hovot HaLevavot tells us a of fascinating concept: Hashem created the world in such a way that whatever commodity we need the most is most readily available. Our most vital need is air, so air is the most abundant resource we have. There is not a place on our planet without air, because we can’t survive without it. Earth is the only planet with oxygen readily available, and it’s free. That’s no coincidence. Just as the egg has an air pocket for the chick, the whole world is one big air pocket for us. We don’t have to pay for it. It’s available wherever we go.
Then there’s water: We can’t survive for very long without it, so our bodies and our planet are comprised mostly of water. We need water for survival and thus it’s found in abundance.
Food is next on the list. We need it, but not as much as we need air and water, so it’s available but we have to work for it or pay for it.
Further down the list are precious commodities like gold, silver and diamonds. People think that because they are so sparse, they became precious. It’s actually the opposite. G-d made less of them because we don’t really need them; they are just luxuries, so they are less available. Hashem, in His great benevolence, gave us everything we need in abundance. The things that are less necessary are less plentiful.
The great, famed Mashgiah Rav Yehezkel Levenstein said the same holds true for our spirituality. What we need most is most abundant. Therefore, wherever we go there’s Emunah. It’s everywhere, like oxygen. That is why we always have an opportunity to find Emunah.You need a parking spot? Use your Emunah.
Every step of your life there’s Emunah.
It’s no coincidence that Rabbi Ashear’s Living Emunah series is one of the best-selling books in ArtScroll history. It’s because everybody is starving for Emunah.
A man from Artscroll told me that when his sister was making a wedding out of town, she called him the day or so before the wedding to remind him to bring along the newest volume of Living Emunah, which had recently been released. That’s what she was thinking about the day before her daughter’s wedding? Yes! Because Emunah is our most necessary spiritual commodity.
Other areas of religion are a little harder to get to, and they are necessary, but not as vital as Emunah.
The Chafetz Chaim says that just as we have certain vital organs such as the brain, heart, or liver, and then other organs that we can survive without, such as a pinky, the same applies to spirituality. There are certain things we can’t do without.
The reason that Shabbat is so strict, says the Chafetz Chaim, is because it’s like our heart. It’s our Emunah.
Whatever we need most, Hashem made in abundance. There are six constant mitzvot that we can do anytime, anywhere, on a bus, or even in the shower. Among them are: To love Hashem, fear Hashem, know that Hashem is one., etc. These are the fundamentals of Emunah and you can get a mitzvah at any second of the day just by thinking one of them.
Think “I love Hashem,” and you get a mitzvah. It doesn’t require a lulav, a Megillah or tefilin. You can perform these mitzvot at any time of day or night. Why are these mitzvot so abundant and unlimited? Emunah is so abundant because we need it the most. It’s like oxygen. We can’t survive without our air no matter where we are. That’s the way Hashem made the world. What we need most, he gives us in abundance. Because the Baal Bitachon is never hungry, never starving regardless of the situation.