We left off last Thursday discussing the Hovot HaLevavot’s Pyramid of Reliance. The Hovot HaLevavot shows us that everyone relies on someone. Building up, he explains that at first a baby relies on his mother as a source of milk, then starts to realize that she’s a mother too. As he gets older, he begins to rely on his father, and then starts to rely on his own powers. Then here, in the middle of his pyramid of reliance, before continuing on with the next stage, which is reliance on a boss, the Hovot HaLevavot interrupts his order to tell us the horrific story of the scribe whose hand got crushed because he relied on his hand, rather than on Hashem. It bothered me that the Hovot HaLevavot took this break to tell the story. Why not continue with the other levels of the reliance pyramid and then illustrate his point with stories? Why break the flow? It bothered me, but then something happened, related to this, that I’ll share, and we’ll see a lesson within the story, or rather, a story within the lesson.
I recorded this class last Thursday. The next day, Friday, I called my dear friend, Mr. Michael Safdie, one of the pillars of bitachon. Michael proceeded to tell me that Rabbi Bloch had just called him with a great thought about the Hovot HaLevavot. He said that Rabbi Bloch had been learning it for years and had never realized something until now: Why was it that the Hovot Halevavot stopped in middle of his pyramid to tell this story?!
What?? I couldn’t believe it!! I told Michael how I was literally just up to that point and was wondering the same thing!! How crazy!
Michael proceeded to give me Rabbi Bloch’s explanation, which was that Hashem wants us to rely on our parents. He wants the nursing baby to rely on his mother. David HaMelech talks all about the nursing baby. So, it’s good to rely on your mother. We like that. Then you get a little older and you start to rely on your father. Terrific. You need training in reliance. So, when did the guy make that wrong turn?
At the point when he got old enough and mature enough to realize that it’s not just mom and dad. At that point, you’re old enough and wise enough to realize it’s Hashem that’s in control. It’s similar to when Avraham Avinu began to realize that it couldn’t be the sun or the moon in control, and found G-d.
But this person, when he gets older and wiser, and realizes it’s not mom or dad, he begins to think that he himself is in control. That’s a mistake. Our job is to realize, once we are independent enough, that we can’t do anything on our own. This is a heavy dose! As Targum Onkelus says, in one of the ten daily remembrances, we have to remember,
כי הוא הנותן לך כח לעשות חיל
G-d gives us the ability to make money; As it says, עצה לנקני נכסים
Hashem gives us the ideas to acquire wealth. You think you thought up that design or you liked that pattern? You went with that stock... you think that was you? You think it was you that realized Tesla would drop so you could sell?
It wasn’t you. Hashem put the thought in your mind. It’s hard for us to swallow this.
We think we do things. We think we’re in charge of our brains. We think those lightbulbs that go on are ours. We think they’re our ideas. It’s hard to fathom, but Hashem is working our brains. I think that’s why Hashem sent me this little lesson. I think I prepare a class every day, and then I got stuck at this little bump where the Hovot HaLevavot interrupts to tell this story. Hashem sent me this message to show me that He is the one that prepares my classes. He sent someone to tell me that Rav Bloch had the same thought, to show me that it’s always Hashem preparing my classes.
Sometime you’ll see it from the outside and sometimes you won’t. We have to realize that we don’t do anything. Everything that happens is from Hashem, and we have to rely on Him. It’s just harder, when it happening inside of us.
We spoke about this in Parashat Beshalach. The Jewish people believed in G-d. They merited the manna from heaven, and the sea split in the merit of their Bitachon. And yet it says G-d didn’t want them to pass near the Pelishtim, because they’d become afraid. Rav Wolbe asks, what happened? They relied that G-d could send the manna from heaven, and split the sea, but they couldn’t rely on G-d to win a war?
He explains that it was easier for them to rely on G-d when He did external things.
But when it comes to things, we seemingly do ourselves, it’s not the same. Yes, I saw G-d when He sent me a nice thought on the parasha. But figuring out a pattern, picking a selling point.... we think that those things are us, and if we can’t do them, then they can’t be done.
Of course, G-d can split the sea for me or bring my parnassa through the chimney if He wants to, but if I’m not ready to make that deal or ship the goods, how can it happen? We have to realize it’s not us making it happen anyway. It’s G-d. G-d is working inside of us. That’s a much more difficult understanding.
That’s what the Hovot HaLevavot is telling us now. There comes a point in time when you realize you don’t have abilities. It’s G-d writing with the Sofer’s hand. We have to realize that we have no independent power.
It’s a hard thing to swallow, but that’s our lesson for today.
Have a wonderful day.