We are now starting the sixth chapter of Shaar Bitachon, where the Hovot HaLevavot takes on, as we mentioned yesterday, the Baalei HaMashkonot- the people that want to take collateral from G-d. They don’t trust, so they aren’t comfortable. The Hovot HaLevavot gives an example of when people need to take collateral, such as a merchant who has goods to sell, but doesn’t trust the buyer, so he asks for collateral before he ships the goods. He wants a guarantee.
Another example might be the many grocery stores that used to give food and groceries on credit. I recently read an article about how many of these small stores went out of business because the people don’t end up paying their bills. I know of a grocery store that recently switched to a new policy of no store credits. The owner was burnt too many times. Now you have to give them your credit card to keep on file in case you want to buy things and don’t have cash on you. If it’s inconvenient for you to have small change on hand, no problem- they have your credit card on file.
These are examples of when it’s not a problem to expect Mashkon/collateral. In such cases, to be a Baal Mashkon is correct.
But what about a worker who works for somebody? When a painter paints a house, or a housekeeper works for someone, they don’t ask for the money up front. The painter might ask for money for supplies up front, but he doesn’t expect to get paid for the job in advance.
Normally, the Hovot HaLevavot says, when you’re doing a job for someone, you don’t ask for the money first. This is especially true when it’s not just a regular boss you’re working for, but for G-d! We shouldn’t even be getting paid at all. The Mishnah says in Avot “Don’t work to get paid”. You should be working because you want to work Leshem Shamayim.
And now you come along, says the Hovot HaLevavot, and you don’t trust your Creator?
I see this very often when I speak to boys about 21-23 years old. They say they’re not ready to get married yet, because they don’t have enough money. They need money to buy houses; they need money to pay tuition. Some might say, “Of course! You have to be responsible,” but let’s look at it this way: Hashem told you to get married. It’s a mitzvah to get married.
You can ask your local Orthodox rabbi what age boys are supposed to start going out, but there is a time when you’re supposed to get married. Our religion is not a free-for-all. You get married because it’s a mitzvah to do so. You’re a servant of G-d and he told you to. So G-d tells the boy to get married, but the boy says, “Wait, I don’t have enough money.” He doesn’t trust when G-d says, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you when you do my mitzvot.”
Another example of this is when people say they can’t afford to have so many children, because they can’t afford the tuition. G-d told us P’ru U’r’vu, have children, it’s a mitzvah to have at least one boy and one girl. So if you have four boys, you can’t say, “That’s it. I can’t afford more.”
And you can’t ask where the money is going to come from. G-d told you to do something, and he’ll take care of it. Every child comes with his own mazal. There are many stories of people that had no money, and then had a child and it brought beracha. There are other people whose children end up supporting them! Who knows?
The approach of needing to have everything in hand before going forward, or needing everything set up before going forward, is an attitude that the Hovot HaLevavot is not happy with, and it’s the first reason (of seven) why he doesn’t like the Baal Mashkon/the collateral approach.
Collateral make sense when you’re shipping goods, and it makes sense when you’re giving a loan. But collateral doesn’t make sense when you’re working for somebody, and that somebody is a king, or that Somebody is your G-d. We aren’t even workers. We are עבדי ה׳- servants of G-d. If the boss tells you to do something, He will take care of you. If He sends you on a mission, it’s with room and board. Hashem takes care of us as well as our wives take care of our housekeepers. That is the first reason one should not have a Mashkon approach when it comes to Hashem.
Have a wonderful day.