We are now discussing the pasuk in Mishleh 14,26
בְּיִרְאַ֣ת ה׳ מִבְטַח־עֹ֑ז
B’Yirat Hashem Mivtach Oz
In fear of God, there's a strong guarantee
וּ֝לְבָנָ֗יו יהיה מַחְסֶֽה
U’LBanav Yihyeh Machseh
And to his children, He will be a refuge.
Rashi says,
B’Yirat Hashem Mivtach Oz
Refers to Avraham Avinu.
How so?
God tells Avraham, in Bereshit 26 after the Akeda, “Now I know, you're a God fearing man”
So yirah refers to the fear of God that Avraham Avinu displayed. And after that, God gave him a Havtacha/ a guarantee: I will bless you. That's the Mivtach Oz/ the strong, solid guarantee that God gave Avraham.
וּ֝לְבָנָ֗יו יהיה מַחְסֶֽה
And for his children, Avraham Avinu will be Machseh, says Rashi. Abraham Avinu will be our refuge, we will find refuge and protect ourselves in the shadow of his merit. That's Avraham Avinu, explained in this pasuk beautifully by Rashi.
But Rabbenu Yonah says that this pasuk, which uses the different words of Mivtach and Machseh, reminds us of the pasuk in Tehilim
טוב לחסות בה׳ מבטח באדם
It's better to find refuge in God than a guarantee from man.
And he says that this shows us that Bitachon is on a higher level than Machseh/ Refuge. He says, I explained it someplace else, but we don't have that explanation. Luckily, the Gaon of Vilna on Mishleh continues with this theme, and says there are two types of bitachon. One is the level that we called bitachon which means we have a havtacha- the words go together. Bitachon means I rely on God, because God gave me a Havtacha/guarantee.
That's why the word reliance is not really the best word, but reliance means I'm relying on the guarantee. That's what bitachon is. Someone gave me a havtacha/guarantee and I'm relying on the guarantee. That's a high level. It means I'm relying on it. I feel guaranteed. We don't always get a direct message from God.
Sometimes God tells us in Tehilim to rely on Him, or God tells us in a general way. But Avraham Avinu actually actually got the guarantee directly from God, and Avraham relied on that guarantee.
The second level is that God never gave a guarantee, but the person himself puts his reliance on God- that's called Hisayon, which is seeking refuge. His proof is the pasuk in HaAzinu that says, Sur the rock, Hasayu Bo, that they seek refuge in. A rock is something you find refuge in, from rain whatever it may be. You're walking suddenly and you get caught in the thunderstorm, so you go running under a large rock. The rock never guaranteed you anything. The rock never spoke to you. You chose to find refuge in the rock. That works with God as well.
Sometimes we are in trouble and we seek refuge in God.
When I have a person giving me a guarantee, that's pretty strong. If I have another person I just decide to seek refuge in, and I'm counting on him without him talking to me, that's not as strong a guarantee or as big a comfort zone. So David Hamelech says, It's better to seek refuge in God means that God never even spoke to you, you just threw your load on Him, says the Gaon of Vilna, like our previous pasuk.
You just threw your load on God with the God ever speaking to you. But that's more guaranteed than when Mivtoach B’Adam/ than a man actually guaranteeing you.
If your uncle guaranteed to cover your mortgage, or you decided to seek refuge in God- You're in a better comfort zone in seeking refuge in God without a guarantee, than in a human's guarantee.
That's what it means,
טוב לחסות בה׳ מבטח באדם
It's better to find refuge in God than a guarantee from man.
So says the Gaon of Vilna, reading back our pasuk that when a person has Yirat Shamayim, then God gives him guarantees. He doesn't say like Abraham, but that's what we're talking about- like Abraham. And he is Mivtach Oz/ solid, strong guarantee. And this guarantee continues to his children afterwards, that were never guaranteed that they can seek refuge in God and God will protect them.
So there's a slight difference between in what the words
וּ֝לְבָנָ֗יו יהיה מַחְסֶֽה
is referring to. Is it God will be the refuge for the children of this sadik, or the Sadik will be the refuge?
It’s a little nuance, but regardless, we have the right to seek refuge. Regardless of whether God ever spoke to us or guaranteed us, we can seek refuge in Him and be protected. Have a wonderful day.