Shavuot is all about מתן תורה /receiving the Torah. We will soon learn that a fundamental aspect of Hashem giving us the Torah was for the reason of Bitachon.
The Gaon M’Vilna makes a powerful statement in his commentary on Mishle:
ועיקר נתינתו התורה לישראל הוא כדי שישימו בטחונם בה'
The main purpose of the bestowal of the Torah upon the Jewish people is so that they
rely on Hashem.
These are powerful words. We might think that the main purpose of the Torah is to learn how to live life. But it’s not. It’s to create a connection with G-d.
And he continues:
לפי שעיקר הכל הוא הבטחון השלם והוא כלל כל המצות
Because the most important thing is that we have complete reliance on Hashem, and this general principle incorporates all Mitzvot.
Very powerful!
We like to hold onto the general rule. We want to know what it is that we’re really doing, and we never want to lose the forest for the trees.
And here you have it: The whole Torah is for Bitachon. How do we understand that? What about all the other Mitzvot -Kashrut, Shabbat, Tefilin? The answer is: Everything is about Bitachon, because all of the mitzvot are about having a connection and relationship with Hashem, our loving Father.
We can prove this with the pasuk that we say when the Hechal opens on Shabbat:
אתה הראת לדעת כי ה הוא האלוקים ,אין עד מלודו
You, G-d, showed us to know, that Hashem is the Elokim (He is, was, and will be, who created everything) He’s the boss in charge and there’s no one else but Him.
En od milvado- these are the three most powerful Bitachon words, the theee words that cause miracles.
But when did G-d “Show us to know?”
At Har Sinai. As Rashi says,
כְּשֶׁנָּתַן הַקָּבָּ"ה אֶת הַתּוֹרָה פָּתַח לָהֶם שִׁבְעָה רְקִיעִים, וּכְשֵׁם שֶׁקָּרַע אֶת הָעֶלְיוֹנִים כָּךְ קָרַע אֶת הַתַּחְתּוֹנִים, וְרָאוּ שֶׁהוּא יְחִידִי, לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר "אַתָּה הָרְאֵתָ לָדַעַת":
When Hashem gave Benei Yisrael theTorah, He opened to them all seven heavens, al the heavens above and everything below, so that they saw (prophetically) that He was the One and Only. You showed us to know.
The word דעת /to know”means to connect as the pasuk says:
והאדם ידע את חוה אשתו
Adam knew/ connected to Chava his wife. He knew his wife, he became close to his wife.
So here we learn that the Jewish people connected to G-d at Har Sinai. They knew it and experienced it. The whole point is to know אין עד מלודו There is no one except Hashem.
The Gaon M’Vilna doesn’t make things up. It’s a pasuk. It’s the whole purpose of Torah.
And the rabbis teach us an important Hiddush about this:
We sometimes struggle with Bitachon and yet we read and see that the great rabbis were so connected. Why is that?Does it come with Rabbi school? No. The answer is that the more you learn Torah, the more connected you feel to the Hashem. Learning Gemarah in depth helps strengthen your belief in G-d. It may not make sense but it’s true.
A great rabbi founded the Yeshivat Or Sameach for Baalei Teshuva.
While we lived in Israel, these students would often come to our house for Shabbat dinners (we lived across the street from the yeshiva.) They’d quote something the rabbi once said, when a new student came to him saying he had so many questions and didn’t know if he believed in G-d. The Rabbi answered, “I don’t care who you believe in. Just to go to Gemarah class! That will take care of the problem. It’ll help you believe.”
A similar story is told about when the rabbis of Lev L’Achim once asked Rav Shteinman for proofs to the Torah that they could use to teach the Baalei Teshuva. He told them they didn’t need proofs “Just learn.” Break your head on a Gemarah.
And if you’re a woman, break your head on a halacha class.Whatever it is, learn. Know that when you connect yourself to Torah, you’re connected to G-d, and when you’re connected to G-d, you don’t question. He’s right there with you. The closest thing that G-d has of Himself in this world is Torah. That’s how we connect ourselves to Him. So the more we commit ourselves to learning Torah on Shavuot, the more connected to Hashem we are. The main benefit of learning Torah is that as your learning goes up, your Bitachon goes up. People don’t understand that. It’s magic. G-d is in the room when you learn. In fact, one Shavuot night, when the Bet Yosef was learning, he actually went into a trance. It says the Mishna talked through him.
The point is when you’re learning, you’re connected and then you see it. Your Bitachon is real and natural.
Rabbi Nissim Yagen says “I don’t believe in G-d, I see.” When you’re connected, you don’t have to just believe.You see it.
BeH we will commit ourselves to learn Torah stronger on Shavuot and BeH bring with it Bitachon for the entire year.