We left off yesterday with the Elder of Novardok telling us that one who has Bitachon and relies on Hashem, and not on intermediaries, is guaranteed to get what he wants, regardless of the situation. The Baal Bitachon doesn’t care about the time, or the place. The Elder of Novardok proves this point with the story of the man who wanted the fattened chicken and old wine.
The Elder continues, with a story about man who was working on training himself in Bitachon. (In the footnotes of this Sefer, it says that this man was actually the Elder of Novardok himself)
One night, while learning by candlelight, his candle went out and he was in total darkness. He had not prepared a new candle for himself, and had no way to get one, so he could not continue to learn.
Just then, he heard a knock on his door. He found a person standing at his door with a candle! This gave him tremendous hizzuk, strengthening and encouragement, that he was correct in his system, as at the time, people felt that he was too extreme in his belief that one could actually get what he wanted in such a fashion.
In the footnote to this story, it says that the Elder of Novardok saved the stub of this candle, for 25 years, in order to remind himself of this phenomenon.
Then, one day, he lost the candle. But he said he was happy that he lost it. He took it as a sign from G-d- Did he really need a candle to strengthen his belief that G-d was taking care of him? To need the candle is a weakness. You shouldn’t need a reminder. It’s nature. Do you keep a bottle of water on the table as a reminder that water quenches your thirst? No! It’s natural! The fire department doesn’t keep a picture of water putting out a match... It’s natural.
What is this “nature?
The Elder of Novardok explains the super-natural with two words quoted from tehilim:
ה׳ צלך
G-d is your Shadow
What does this mean?
The Hazal tell us, just like the shadow, if you give the shadow a full hand, the shadow shows you back a full hand. If you show a finger, it shows you back a finger. Similarly, if you smile at mirror, you get a smile back. If you frown at a mirror, you get a frown back.
That is the nature of Bitachon and reliance on G-d.
This is about a relationship with G-d, a real Being, whom you talk to and connect to, at all times. It’s about your reliance on Him, and only G-d knows how much you really rely on Him; it has to be real.
If you have a glass of water to drink, it’s Shehakol Ni’hiyah Bidvaro.
If you have a bowl of salad to eat, it’s not from the store you bought it from, or from the farmer that planted the tomato. It’s
G-d’s gift to you: Boreh Peri Ha’Adamah.
The person who gives G-d his full reliance, recognition and faith, gets it back.
You have to set yourself up, and be convinced that you aren’t dealing with any intermediaries. You should not be focused on the stock market, on the President, on the candidates, on the elections, or on the economy.
Of course, if you have to go to work, do whatever you have to do. But don’t focus on those things.
If you’re focusing directly on
G-d, He will use all kinds of wondrous ways for you to get what you need, just like the poor man, who wanted fattened chicken and old wine.
The Elder of Novardok ends off this segment by telling us,
וביד כל אחד ואחד לעמד חזק בדעתו
Anyone can do this, be strong and solid in his faith, put all his heart and soul into his reliance, and bring himself to peace and serenity. And he won’t be lacking anything.
Again, this is a high level. It’s not for everybody.
But when you’re stuck....
There are people lo Alenu, that haven’t had a job for six months. They are trying, but they haven’t. There are girls, lo Alenu, that haven’t gone on a date for six months, and they want to get married. They’ve done everything they can. What’s still left?
Now is the time to work on your bitachon. Pick yourself up, rise above and realize that it’s not about any of the people or the details, it’s about my loving G-d, my Father in Heaven.
And truly put yourself on Him, to the point that you feel like that man, says the Elder of Novardok, that when asked by Rava, “Don’t you feel bad to put yourself on the congregation,” was able to reply, “I don’t get my food from the people..I’m not embarrassed. I’m not on the poverty line. People don’t give me food, G-d gives me food.”
And G-d did give it to him.
Of course , a hand didn’t come down from Heaven and hand it to him. No one could say it was an open miracle. It was Rava’s sister who brought it.
But the Baal Bitachon sees that as a little kiss, a little hug, from Above.
May we all be zoche to see these signs of
G-d’s love for us.
Have a wonderful day.