Yesterday we spoke about the seven prerequisites to having Bitachon.
The fundamental of Bitachon is that you feel calm, cool, and relaxed, with Menuhat HaNefesh in all situations, because you’re relying on Hashem to take care of you.
Whatever mashal you envision for feeling totally cared for will be helpful in grasping this concept of Menuchat HaNefesh.
David HaMelech used the mashal of the nursing baby...
Some people may imagine the sense of being fanned on a beach.
For others it may be a golf course..
Whatever works as a mashal for you to envision total Menuchat HaNefesh is fine.
But how do we get there? To know there’s an all powerful force we can rely on?
We have to go through these 7 steps and know:
1-Hashem loves us. No human being can love us the way Hashem does.
2-Hashem keeps up in mind. He doesn’t forget about us. He is constantly aware of all our needs, desires, and struggles.
3- Hashem carries out what He wants. He can do whatever he wants. Nothing can stop him from executing His decrees.
4- Hashem knows what’s best for our benefit. He doesn’t lack any information.
5- Hashem has a proven track record. From way before we were born He was already performing countless acts of kindness for us, and He is with us throughout our entire lives doing such kindnesses.
6- He is a master of all our deeds, past and present. He has total control. Only Hashem can help or harm us.
7- Hashem’s kindness over all things is unlimited.
If you have all of these insights, you can be as calm as the fellow on the beach: cool and relaxed, even if you’re stuck in traffic, or you’ve missed your flight, or any other issue, because you have these seven points in mind.
We will now go through these factors one by one. The Hovot HaLevavot cites various pesukim to help us remember these principles.
The first pasuk, for principle one, that G-d loves me, is from Tehilim 103: ‘רחום וחנון ה
God is merciful and gracious.
The Avudaham writes that we are all familiar with the part of our Amidah where we can ask for personal requests- שמע קולינו He points out that the words we use are:
שמע קלינו אב הרחמן רחם עלינו
Listen ... my Kind Father- have kindness on me
We say He’s kind, He who has kindness toward me....before making our requests. The Avudaham says that we are invoking the concept that Hashem hears our voices because of the principle of רחום וחנון)kindness and love) from perek 103/8 of Tehilim. This is Hashem’s way. He has mercy, kindness and He loves me. Once we have acknowledged that, we can make our requests.
רחום וחנון Rahum V’Hanun: Hashem has kindness and loves me. We can’t let this principle leave our heads.
Furthermore, the Hovot HaLevavot says, this kindness is not just reserved for righteous people.
On Yom Kippur we read that Hashem tells Yonah, ואמר (יונה ד יא) ואני לא אחוס על נינוה העיר הגדולה וגו'.
I’m not going to have mercy on the great city of Nineveh? They are a big nation!” That’s G-d. He is full of mercy.
And Hashem refers time and time again about Bnei Yisrael specifically. In Devarim, we read that G-d says,
לא מרבכם מכל העמים חשק ה׳ בכם
Hashem doesn’t love us and have desire for us because of our great numbers.
(Unlike Nineveh, we are small in number) The Sifte Cohen, a great rabbi from Syria and student of the Arizal comments that although Nineveh was saved because it was a big city, an עיר הגדולה , here, in Devarim, we see that Hashem has an added love for us- not because of our great numbers, but conversely, that Hashem chose us because we are the smallest.
So, we have to know that whoever we are, whatever we are, and as small as we are, we have a Father in Heaven who loves us. This is prerequisite one on our checklist.
BeH we will continue on with with the next prerequisite on the list and review them all until we have internalized them.