Today’s class has been dedicated in memory of Yosef David Ben Sultana - Joseph D. Soudry by the Soudry Family
We continue with lessons, from the prophet Yirmiyah, that are brought down in the Haftarot that we read on the three weeks, that are relevant to bitachon.
Obviously, this was something they needed to work on, as Yirmiyah gave them so much rebuke in this area, and it was related to the Churban, so in order to do Teshuva, we have to fix that.
Yirmiyah says, in perek ב pasuk יח,
וְעַתָּ֗ה מַה־לָּךְ֙ לְדֶ֣רֶךְ מִצְרַ֔יִם לִשְׁתּ֖וֹת מֵ֣י שִׁח֑וֹר וּמַה־לָּךְ֙ לְדֶ֣רֶךְ אַשּׁ֔וּר לִשְׁתּ֖וֹת מֵ֥י נָהָֽר׃
Why are you going to Mitzrayim to drink the waters of the Nile? And why are you going on the path to Ashur, to drink their waters?
תְּיַסְּרֵ֣ךְ רָעָתֵ֗ךְ
Your evil will rebuke you.
וּמְשֻֽׁבוֹתַ֙יִךְ֙ תּוֹכִחֻ֔ךְ
And your waywardness will give you rebuke.
What does this mean?
The Bet HaLevi, in his essay on Bitachon, explains as follows:
People make a mistake when they think that they are forced to cut corners in business, or be dishonest in life, or be unethical in any area, because, they think that if they don’t do that, they won’t be successful in their business, in their dealings, in their contracts or whatever they need. They think that they sometimes have to be dishonest, and their excuse is that they can’t make it otherwise. They think if they don’t cut that few percent here or there, it won’t work, according to their business model. He says that their mistake is that the opposite is true. It’s because of the fact that they are being dishonest and doing things improperly, that they are punished and can’t make more money. It was the dishonest behavior that brought about the difficulty.
It’s like the person who says that only if they keep their store open for seven days, can they make a living, and if they lose that 7th day of profit, they’ll be gone. But actually, the opposite is true. The only reason why the profit comes in on Shabbat, and that it’s the busiest day, is because person chose to work on Shabbat. If he wouldn’t have worked on Shabbat, he would’ve gotten all his business on the other days.
So it’s not that he has to stay open on Shabbat because that’s when the business comes, it’s the opposite. It’s because he chose to stay open on Shabbat that that’s why it’s happening. That’s what it means that
תְּיַסְּרֵ֣ךְ רָעָתֵ֗ךְ
Your evil will rebuke you
It’s not because you had it difficult that you had to act evil. Rather, you acted evil and that’s why it happened. That’s what it means when Yirmiyah says, “Why are you going to the Mitzrayim to drink from the Nile, and why are you going to Ashur to drink from their waters?”
If a person goes to Egypt, of course he has to drink from the Nile- that’s the only water available. He is choosing to set himself up for a situation that can only work out that way.
The following mashal brings out this point:
An Eskimo who lived on the North Pole was interviewed, and he was asked how he was able to survive in the Arctic, frigid weather with all the blizzards and snowstorms. He answered that he could never survive otherwise, because if he didn’t have such cold weather and so much snow, he wouldn’t be able to make his igloo. Eskimos need ice to make igloos. We can’t make an igloo in Florida, he said.
But this Eskimo is a fool because if he lived in Florida, he wouldn’t need an igloo! It’s only because he decided to live in the Artic that he needs the igloo! What came first?
So too with the person who decides to run his business and his life in an improper way. He thinks that if he keeps the Torah, he won’t get what he wants.
For example, people sometimes think, “How can I get married if I don’t do xyz.” Girls sometimes think they have to act in improper ways in order to attract their husbands.
There are many examples. But whatever the mistakes that people make while thinking, “If I don’t do this, how am I going to get that?”
Just realize- you might have set yourself up for that, so in the situation that you’re in now, that’s what you have to do. But if you’d lift yourself up and change that, you wouldn’t have to do those unscrupulous things to get what you want.
There are endless examples, but the point is clear.
Yirmiyah continues and says,
וּרְאִי֙ כִּי־רַ֣ע וָמָ֔ר עָזְבֵ֖ךְ אֶת־ה׳ אֱלֹקיִךְ
Eventually you’ll see, that life is bad because you forsook Hashem your G-d.
That’s the problem. It’s not, “I had to forsake Hashem because things are bad.”
Rather, things are bad because you forsook Hashem.
The prophet uses powerful words, at the end, in pasuk כז, where, speaking in the name of G-d, he says,
כִּֽי־פָנ֥וּ אֵלַ֛י עֹ֖רֶף
You turned the back of you head to Me
וּבְעֵ֤ת רָֽעָתָם֙ יֹֽאמְר֔וּ ק֖וּמָה וְהוֹשִׁיעֵֽנוּ׃
When things went bad, you said, “G-d help me.”
וְאַיֵּ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשִׂ֣יתָ לָּ֔ךְ
And where are those gods you made for yourself?
יָק֕וּמוּ אִם־יוֹשִׁיע֖וּךָ בְּעֵ֣ת רָעָתֶ֑ךָ
Let the false gods help you in your times of trouble
Hashem is saying, Now you call out to Me?
As we’ve said before, we too have false gods. We have forces that we might count on, whether it’s our business, our wisdom or our strength. There are things we count on, other than G-d.
And Hashem says, “Where is your know-how or your medical knowledge, now when things are bad? Now you call out to Me?
We are supposed to realize, in good times, who is the One that is giving us everything.
That’s the whole theme of Yirmiyah’s second prophecy. It’s all about Bitachon.
And BeEzrat Hashem, by working on and strengthening our bitachon, we will turn things around.
The prophet ends on a positive note, in perek ד, (the end of the haftara for many)
אִם־תָּשׁ֨וּב יִשְׂרָאֵ֧ל ׀ נְאֻם־ה׳ אֵלַ֖י תָּשׁ֑וּב
If you return, you’re coming back to Me
That’s what it’s all about. We are returning to Hashem.
Bitachon and Teshuva are inter-related.
B’Ezrat Hashem, we should return to Hashem in the fullest sense, and merit that this year should be the last where the nine days are days of mourning.