We are discussing the prerequisites needed to rely on Hashem. So far, we have reviewed the first four.
1- He loves you
2- He always has you on His mind
3/4 He is wise and strong
The next item on the Hovot HaLevavot’s checklist is:
ושהוא מתיחד בהנהגת האדם
G-d has been exclusive in controlling your life
מתחלת ענינו והתחלת גדולו
From the very beginning of your development.
This person we׳re relying on needs a track record. Hashem has a perfect track record.
He’s been there from before day one.
The Hovot HaLevavot again brings pesukim to show us. The first is from Devarim:
(דברים לב ו) הלא הוא אביך קנך הוא עשך ויכננך
He’s your Father, He acquired you. (This can also be interpreted as He’s a nest for us)
The Rashba explains that both are true.
G-d owns everything because He made everything something from nothing. He is the ultimate owner. He’s also our nest- the foundation of all our growth.
Anything that we are or that we have goes back to G-d.
Furthermore, he quotes David HaMelech from Tehilim:
(תהלים עא ו) עליך נסמכתי מבטן ממעי אמי אתה גוזי.
I relied on you from the womb.
David HaMelech says ...When I was in the womb, who made sure that all the cells broke up properly? That each organ developed properly? That the myriad of details got taken care of? ...No one else was there. G-d did it.
Hashem has a great track record.
We worry about sustenance and food? He took care of us in the most difficult of times.
The Radak says, I constantly praise You. No one can say G-d didn’t take care of them. G-d made you, He didn’t simply just maintain you. No one but Hashem can claim that they made a person. Not even a parent, because they didn’t make themselves.
Finally the Hovot HaLevavot quotes Iyob:
ואמר (איוב י י) הלא כחלב תתיכני וכגבינה תקפיאני, ושאר הענין. You took me
Like a piece of milk, You developed me into cheese.
The ingredients sit in the cheese cloth and somehow cheese comes out. Iyob said- I’m just a piece of cheese- how’d I come together? G-d made me.
The Gemarah in Masechet Nida describes how a child develops. It starts off with eyes that are like tiny drops- fly eyes. The mouth is size of a hair. The whole existence is the size of a barley-corn. It’s minuscule. We worry about little babies in incubators. But what about when the baby is the size of a lentil? We were once the size of the grain of rice- like the kind people buy in Israel that has the writing on it. When they wear it they should remind themselves that that’s what we were like once, and Hashem energized us and developed us.
Iyob continues:
ע֣וֹר וּ֭בָשָׂר תַּלְבִּישֵׁ֑נִי וּֽבַעֲצָמ֥וֹת וְ֝גִידִ֗ים תְּסֹכְכֵֽנִי׃
You clothed me with skin and flesh and covered me with bones and sinews;
חַיִּ֣ים וָ֭חֶסֶד עָשִׂ֣יתָ עִמָּדִ֑י וּ֝פְקֻדָּתְךָ֗ שָֽׁמְרָ֥ה רוּחִֽי׃
You gave me life and kindness and your constant command protects my spirit inside me.
Hashem controls our lives from the beginning of our development.
And if you’re worried about G-d’s track record, consider this:
There’s a certain disclaimer that, by law, must come with investment advertising:
“Past performance is not an indicator of future success.”
Well, G-d doesn’t work that way. With G-d, past performance is an indicator of future success.