In our first segment we mentioned that a maggid/angel came down to speak with the Bet Yosef, to direct and teach him. The diary in which the Bet Yosef had recorded these lessons was found after he passed away. And as we heard yesterday, it was found that one of the sefarim the angel told him to learn was Hovot Levavot.
Based on that, Rav Elya Lopian a’h offers the following mashal: Imagine that an ancient manuscript is found, with an unknown author. Looking in front flap, we find that a great rabbi such as the Chida or Rambam gives his approbation. One would most definitely want to read this manuscript, despite not knowing the author.
In modern secular terms, one might see a bestseller about finance on the shelves, with an endorsement from Warren Buffet. People would trust that it’s a worthwhile read, despite the as yet unknown author.
Had Yaakov Avinu endorsed a sefer, we’d most definitely read it.
Here, says Rav Lopian, with the sefer Hovot HaLevavot, we have an endorsement, from an Angel sent by G-d, for the Bet Yosef to read.
So, Hashem is telling us this a must read book- a most powerful validity.
That speaks of the Hovot Levavot in general.
Regarding the specific section that we will be delving into, Shaar HaBitachon, we learn of another endorsement:
When The Brisker Rav first married, his wealthy father-in-law gifted him with an entire block of real estate in Warsaw to manage, which would have enabled him to learn undisturbed. As the son of Rav Chaim Brisker and grandson of the Bet Halevi, he was destined for greatness. With his wealthy father-in-law’s gift, he seemed set for life. The Brisker Rav, not wanting to deal with it, hired a real estate manager to take care of the properties. Then World War I broke out and he had to flee. When the Rav returned after the war, he couldn’t find the property manager anywhere. He went to the Dept. of Records, and discovered that the fellow had forged the Brisker Rav’s signature, transferred all the titles into his own name, left the buildings for his own children to manage and swindled the Rav out of all his property!
The Brisker Rav was now penniless. What did he do? He opened the sefer Hovot HaLevavot and reviewed Shaar HaBitachon ten times, until he knew it almost by heart. Later on, he made the following statement:
“Until now, I thought that a wealthy man is someone who owns a block in Warsaw. But now I know that a truly wealthy man is someone who is fluent in Shaar HaBitachon.His bitachon will bring him peace of mind, serenity, tranquility and happiness.”
Once, upon hearing that a very wealthy man had passed away, someone exclaimed - “Now he died?! But he finally he paid off all his mortgages! He was finally able sit back and collect!”
That’s the picture of greatness some people have in their mind. “If I had that——I’d be set”.
That is the wrong attitude, says the Brisker Rav. And the Hovot HaLevavot himself will give us ten benefits we can gain from reading this Sefer.
We learn these benefits now, before we start, because when getting involved in something strenuous, it helps to know to benefits first. For example - exercise. When the Doctor tells us to run on the treadmill, we may not want to. But when he explains that it could add 10 years to our lives, we’ll sweat through it, because of the benefits.
We like to know what the gain is, before we embark.
So the Brisker Rav gives us a general benefit: learning Shaar HaBitachon, you’re wealthier than a man with a block of real estate in NYC with no mortgage.
The Hovot HaLevavot is comprised of 10 units. Before each unit, the hierarchy of the unit is explained - why each unit belongs in that place.
The first, Shaar HaYichud speaks about G-d’s One-ness.
The second unit is Shaar HaBechinah- about finding G-d in creation (Rabbi Miller’s life’s work). It’s about finding Hashem in nature, in the apple and in the orange- in appreciating and seeing G-d everywhere and at all times.
Unit three comes next: Now that we see what Hashem does for us, we have to reciprocate, so Shaar Avodat Elokim teaches us about serving Hashem.
The fourth unit is Shaar HaBitachon. The author explains why this comes after the unit on serving Hashem:
אמר המחבר: מפני שקדם מאמרנו בחיוב קבלת עבודת האלוקים
The author writes: The last thing we spoke about is the responsibility of serving G-d,
ראיתי להביא אחריו מה שהוא צריך יותר מכל הדברים לעבוד האלוקים,יתברך
and I want to follow it with this: what is the most important thing to serve G-d:
והוא הבטחון עליו בכל דבריו
This is Bitachon-relying on G-d in all areas,
בעבור מה שיש בא מן התועליות הגדולות בענין התורה ובעין העולם
There are great benefits both in the area of religion and regarding the world at large.