We continue to discuss the connection between Bitachon and the upcoming holiday of Shavuot. Yesterday we discussed that you need to rely on Hashem in order to dedicate yourself to Torah and Mitzvot, to have a clear mind and not worry about how you are making money or doing anything else.
But there's another, slightly deeper explanation. The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat tells us about the Jewish people's great deed of accepting the Torah with the following two words: Na’aseh V’Nishma/
We will do and then we will listen, and we will soon see what this means…
There was a certain heretic that saw Rava learning. When Rava learned, he put a tremendous amount of effort into his understanding, with intense concentration. He was sitting on his thumb and in his concentration, he caused himself to bleed.
So this heretic told him, “You dedicated, religious Jewish people are an impetuous people because your mouths went before your ears, and you're still impetuous. You should have first listened and seen how difficult Torah is before you accepted it. Look- you're bleeding from it!”
Rava answered, “No, we are complete in our faith in God.” And he quoted a pasuk.
Rashi asks, “What does that mean that We're complete in our faith in God?”
He explains that it means We are in love with God. And we rely on Him that he He wouldn't command us something that we couldn't handle.
So that means, in order to commit yourself to Torah, you need bitachon for another reason. Because, who says you can handle it? We have to rely on Hashem. Amd this is not just something from a thousand years ago. This comes up every single year, because every year on Shavuot, we recommit ourselves and we have to again say those same words of Na’aseh V’Nishma. We have to believe that we can do it and that it's good for us. The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat further says that when the Jewish people said Na’aseh/ we will do, before they said Nishma, a heavenly echo came out and said, Who revealed to My children this secret that the angels use?
In tehilim 103, it says
בָּרְכ֥וּ ה׳ מַלְאָ֫כָ֥יו גִּבֹּ֣רֵי כֹ֭חַ
The angels bless God ( and the angels are called) Gibborei Koach/ the strong men.
What do they do?
עֹשֵׂ֣י דְבָר֑וֹ לִ֝שְׁמֹ֗עַ בְּק֣וֹל דְּבָרֽוֹ
They do God's word, then they listen.
First they do, then they listen. That's Na’aseh V’Nishma.
The angel’s are in the Ready-to-do mode, just waiting for Hashem to tell them what to do, but they’ll do anything.
That's how the Jewish people were at Har Sinai. To prove that we need bitachon here, the Midrash Raba in Vayikra quotes the same pasuk of Gibborei Koach Oseh D’varo/ The Strong men do God’s word, referring to the people that keep the Shemitta. People that keep Shemitta are committing themselves to leaving their fields open for a year. Anyone can walk in and walk out, and they're relying on God that God will take care of them. So we see that this same pasuk about the strong men is used, and the strong men here are the men of Shemitta who have reliance on God. The strong man is every Jewish person. Because when we say Na’aseh V’Nishma (and as I said, we say it every year when we recommit ourselves), we're saying, Hashem, we believe in You. We will sign on the dotted line without reading the contract.
When you rent or lease a car, there are a whole bunch of papers to sign. Some people just sign at the x, sign at the x. Other people say, “Wait a sec- Let me see what it says here. What am I signing?” because they don't necessarily trust the guy.
I don’t want to get into people's private lives, but when a husband brings his wife the tax documents to sign, does she just sign them or does she want to read it first? Does she trust her husband? Maybe she thinks they’re really divorce papers.
So the the concept of trusting someone to commit to something without reading the fine print is a sign of love. “I know this person loves me. I love them. And we trust each other. We know that we're only out for each other's good.”
That is what happens every year when we say Na’aseh V’Nishma. We are saying, “I believe that the Torah way of life is a lifestyle that's good for me. And although it might look like I'm sacrificing, I have bitachon. I rely on Hashem that this package is a good package.”
That's another twist of why I need bitachon in order to accept the Torah. That's our second Bitachon-Shavuot connection.
Have a wonderful day.