We started the first Perek of Shaar Bitachon, which teaches that the essence of Bitachon is Menuchat Nefesh. It is feeling totally at peace, calm and relaxed.
The mashal we gave to help grasp this concept was: sitting on the beach, with the business sold for $70 million, the kids all married... etc.
We have to clarify that this was just a mashal and not our goal- to be sitting on the beach. It’s just a parable, some graphic imagery, to help us understand the concept, because people can easily relate to the imagery of what it means to be relaxed on a beach. Our goal is to be relaxed like that even when dealing with all kinds of concerns and challenges. When you’re stuck in traffic, with all kinds of headaches, without air conditioning, and it’s 90 degrees out, and you have the mindset of that guy on the beach, that’s our goal.
The mindset is the goal, not the beach.
We get that through Bitachon.
That was the first paragraph of Bitachon.
The second paragraph picks up where we might be feeling that we’ve failed in Bitachon, because we have never, ever felt that way, even if we were on a beach after selling the business for $70 million.
The Hovot HaLevavot reassures us:
We can call you a Bote’ach if you have this:
העיקר אשר בעבורו יהיה הבטחון מן הבוטח ואם יפקד לא ימצא הבטחון הוא שיהיה לבו בטוח במי שיבטח בו שיקים מה שאמר
The fundamental is that you have Bitachon if you have the following, but if you’re missing this, you don’t have Bitachon:
Your heart feels guaranteed on the one you’re relying on, that he’ll do what he said.
That’s the definition of Bitachon. It’s not about G-d yet.
If you trust that the Uber guy will come because you clicked confirm, you have Bitachon in the driver. If you don’t trust them because they failed to show up the last three times you ordered a car, then you don’t have Bitachon for Uber.
The definition is that I’m relying on him that he’ll do what he said and...
The Hovot HaLevavot continues, the one we rely on:
ויעשה מה שערב ויחשב עליו הטוב במה שלא התנה לו ולא ערב עשוהו שיעשהו נדבה וחסד.
He’ll do what he took responsibility for.
And furthermore, I feel I can rely on him, even on something that he never even spoke to me about. He’s the type that even if he didn’t guarantee me, I can count on him anyway.
If I told my best friend that I really need him to do something, he’d be there. And furthermore even if he never promised, I’d still count on him.
If a lady tells her sister, who happens to be in Pomegranate, that she needs cottage cheese, and then the phone dies, even if the sister didn’t reply, she knows she’s going to get that cottage cheese That’s Bitachon. She won’t send her daughter out for it because she knows her sister will buy it.
This is important to note: G-d never spoke to any of us! So therefore how can we rely on Him? He never promised us. The answer is that He’s like our sister in Pomegranate. I never spoke with Him but I know He loves me and I’m relying on Him. That’s where Bitachon comes in.
Rabbenu Bachya has a beautiful commentary on the pasuk in tehilim:
טוב לחסות בה׳ מ בוטח באדם
It’s better to take refuge in Hashem than to rely on man.
Rabbenu Bahia defines לחסות as refuge
And בטוח as rely on a guarantee.
What’s the difference between take refuges and rely?
Bitachon literally means guarantee. In fact, in modern Hebrew, Insurance is called bituach.
Hisayon means take refuge, though you never spoke to anyone, like seeking refuge behind a rock in a rain storm. The rock never spoke to you, never promised you, but you seek refuge under it.
David Hamelech is telling us we are better off taking refuge in G-d and seeking His help, even if He never promised us, than relying on man’s promise.
If your uncle promised you money for your house, and G-d never spoke to you, you’re still better off taking refuge in G-d than relying on your uncle.
That’s what Bitachon is.
That concludes chapter one.
We have a lot of work to do to fully comprehend this all!