We all know the Mishnah in Pirke Avot that says the world stands on three pillars: Torah (which means learning Torah), Avodah, (which originally meant service in the Bet HaMikdash but has since meant prayer), and Gemilut Hasadim (doing hessed).
I would like to discuss the pillar of Avodah and how it relates to Bitachon:
There’s another Mishnah in Pirke Avot that goes further in explaining the pillar of Avodah. It says,
אַל תִּהְיוּ כַעֲבָדִים הַמְשַׁמְּשִׁין אֶת הָרַב עַל מְנָת לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס,
Don’t be like servants, that serve their master on the condition of receiving a פרס- peras (prize or bonus).
אֶלָּא הֱווּ כַעֲבָדִים הַמְשַׁמְּשִׁין אֶת הָרַב שֶׁלֹּא עַל מְנָת לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס
Rather, be like slaves that aren’t serving in order a פרס prize.
Which is to say that we should serve G-d out of love, and not serve G-d in order to get something. Of course, you know you’ll get something, that should not be your intention.
The word פרס Peras ( prize) is defined by Rambam as “something you get that is not deserved, a bonus.” This is different than -שכר , s’char which means reward.
The Avot Rabi Natan contrasts an Eved Hashem (a servant of Hashem) with a Seduccee (an old-world heretic).
He describes the Eved Hashem as a servant that receives a preas/prize, whereas when describing the Seduccee, he refers to him as a worker who receives שכר s’char, wage, or payment.
There’s a big difference between a payment and a peras/prize.
We look at our relationship with G-d as that of servants to a Master; not as workers to a boss. A worker to boss means he’s hired, like a painter. He gets a wage, and he goes home. He respects his boss, but he’s just an outside factor. An Eved is totally owned, there is no going home. He’s a slave. He’s only with his master. That’s the definition of a servant. We Jewish people are Avadim-slaves. There’s a Gemarah in Masechet Shabbat that talks about a Sadducee that once saw Ravah learning. Ravah was so involved in his learning that he didn’t realize that he was sitting on his finger in such a way that he was bleeding. The Sadducee saw this and said, “You people are too impetuous. You speak without thinking. Look what you’re doing! You accepted the Torah without knowing whether you could take it on. What’s wrong with you ?”
He was referring to how we told G-d, “Na’aseh Ve’Nishmah, we will do and we will listen.”
Ravah answered, “We are great in our temimut, our simplicity. We go to G-d without questions.” Rashi says, התהלך עמו בתם לב
We went with Him in simplicity.
If you love someone you don’t get sophisticated. You rely on Him.
How can you take a package without knowing what it is, Or sign contract without reading the details?
“Because when you rely on someone, you know He won’t fool you or give you something you can’t handle.”
“Of course G-d is my Master. He won’t give me something I can’t handle. He’s benevolent. He’s not a cruel master who’s whipping me. He made me, and He made the whole world. And He only made it in order to benefit us. He’s the most benevolent Master you could ever have. It’s an honor to work for such a Master. He loves us. Yes, He owns me, and He owes me nothing, but I work for Him because I love Him. Because everything I have comes from Him. He’s the most benevolent Master that there is. He gives me life, family, food, He makes the sun shine for me ... I don’t think He would give me something that I couldn’t handle. To think that would be a lack in my reliance, and in my understanding of the benevolence of my Master.
So it ends up that being a Baal Bitachon and relying on G-d is a great expression of our service to G-d. It’s a way of serving G-d, because an integral part of the slave/master relationship is to trust and believe in the benevolence of your master.
With that, Rav Bloch explains the opening lines of Shaar Bitachon, where it says in the introduction that bitachon brings with it a serenity and a peacefulness, which is like “the servant that is obligated to rely on his master.” What does that mean? Is there a slave document somewhere that states that a slave is “obligated” to rely on his master? The answer is that that is the essence of a servant. Of course he relies on his master, who is not a cruel, mean person. He gives food and board and the ability to live to his servant. It’s no different from how people treat their domestic help.
Some people treat their domestic help better than they treat other people. They treat them nicely, because they’re nice people. Do we think that G-d is any less benevolent than people treating their domestic help? And of course, they rely on us for meals and bonus and breaks... (of course we aren’t really comparing domestic help to slaves or servants, but just using this a mashal)
Our take- away for today is that relying on Hashem is a way to serve Him. We are Avadim. We are proud servants of G-d and we know our Master will never give us a situation that we can’t handle. He’ll never put us in a place where we can’t take care of ourselves, and He’s always rooting for our success.
And if the benevolent master drops his servant onto an obstacle course it is obniouslt the best thing for the servant !