Today’s class had been dedicated Le’ilui Nishmat Rachamim Ben Sara, Mr. Rachmo Braha, by his family.
Today we will study chapter 37 of tehilim, pasuk ג
בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭ה׳ וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב שְׁכׇן־אֶ֝֗רֶץ וּרְעֵ֥ה אֱמוּנָֽה
Rely on God and do good. Dwell in the land, and graze with Emunah.
What does this mean?
Our first explanation comes from a mashal that is brought down in the Midrash (we like to start with the Midrash because it’s our earliest source): There were two men hired by a king. One was a hard-working man who hadn’t yet gotten paid. The other man worked for one day, and got paid immediately. When the first man saw that the second fellow got paid immediately, he got excited, because he saw how the man who had only worked for one day was taken care of, whereas he had been working for a long time.
The Midrash says that this is David HaMelech. As he went through life, he didn’t necessarily see the results of all of his hard work.
That is what this pasuk means
בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭ה׳ וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב
Rely on Hashem, He will pay you back, so continue doing good. Stick with your Emunah.
The Ramban has two ways of reading this pasuk.
בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭ה׳ וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב
One of them is,
Use your Bitachon for doing good. Use your Bitachon for religion.
Sometimes, you have to make a class, and it might cause you to miss out on something else- but do the good things, and rely on Hashem that you won’t lose out, whether by giving Sedaka or learning, or any other Mitzvah. Sometimes you need Bitachon for religion.
בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭ה׳
וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב
Rely on Hashem and do good. Don’t start worrying about sending your son to Israel next year, worrying about the possibility of war (of course, we’re not talking about any serious specific situation). Don’t let fears or interferences come along and stop you in your religion.
Use your bitachon and do good.
That is the Ramban’s first explanation. His second explanation is a very important fundamental, which we have said many times.
בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭ה׳ וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב
Rely on Hashem even though you don’t have any good deeds yet. Even if you know you’re a wicked sinner, you can still rely on Hashem. The Source of all mercy will have mercy on you. As it says, “God has mercy on all of His creations.”
So first, have bitachon, whether you are good or bad. But there’s a catch. Don’t just bank on the fact that Hashem has mercy, and think that you can continue to be wicked forever. Once you have realized that you did something wrong, fix it. You don’t have to fix it now in order to rely on Hashem; you don’t have to become a Sadik to rely on Hashem but-
ועשה טוב- do good.
You better fix your wagon, because Hashem’s patience does not last forever. This is the Ramban’s second explanation of this pasuk.
בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭ה׳
Rely on Hashem regardless of where you are holding,
וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב
But at some point in time, you have to turn around and do good.
Rashi says Rely on Hashem, Don’t steal, give Sedaka,
And if you’re worried about parnasa,
וּרְעֵ֥ה אֱמוּנָֽה
Graze Emunah
Know that you will get your sustenance as a reward for your Emunah. Rashi says, “All of those tests in business, and of giving Sedaka, were opportunities to generate Emunah. And the reward for that Emuna will create your Parnassa.”
וּרְעֵ֥ה אֱמוּנָֽה
The sheep grazes and eats grass; what are you eating? You ( as the sheep) will “eat” from your Emuna. Your Emuna will reward you.
In our last beautiful explanation of
וּרְעֵ֥ה אֱמוּנָֽה Graze Emunah,
the sheep is the Emunah.
The Rabbi of Ladi says Graze your Emunah means keep feeding your Emunah. Think of your Emunah like a creature that needs sustenance. Listen to another class, learn another Torah thought, keep your Emunah alive. Don’t starve your Emunah, graze your Emunah. Feed your Emunah.
בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭ה׳ וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב שְׁכׇן־אֶ֝֗רֶץ וּרְעֵ֥ה אֱמוּנָֽה
Rely on Hashem,
And do good
Live in the world,
But you can’t just keep going on the Emunah of yesterday. Every day, you need to graze/ feed your Emunah. You have to nourish your Emunah.
Have a wonderful day.