There is a beautiful thought from the Rav of Brisk on a pasuk in Tehilim. As we’ve said before, it’s enjoyable to insert Bitachon thoughts into pesukim, because this allows us to say the pasuk with more meaning, and we can even hum the pasuk throughout the day.
קַוֵּ֗ה אֶל־ה׳
Hope to Hashem
חֲ֭זַק וְיַאֲמֵ֣ץ לִבֶּ֑ךָ
Strengthen and make your heart courageous
וְ֝קַוֵּ֗ה אֶל־ה׳׃
And hope to Hashem.
The obvious question is, we start with the words “Hope to Hashem,” and we end with the words “Hope to Hashem.” Why the seemingly superfluous double wording?
The Rav of Brisk explains with the following principle:
שהתשלום הגדול שיזכה לזה הבעל בטחון הוא שה׳ יחזק ויאמץ לבבו ויהי בטחונו עוד יותר גדול ויותר חזק
The greatest reward that the man who relies on Bitachon can get is that G-d will strengthen and bring courage to his heart.
His Bitachon will be even greater and stronger.
So how do we read the pasuk?
We read it as:
Hope to Hashem, and if you hope to Hashem, He will strengthen your heart, and you will further hope to Hashem with even more gusto.
He explains with a mashal:
There were two brothers, one wealthy and one poor. The wealthy brother had a good heart, and gave from his wealth to his poor brother, in a very open way. He gave him food, drink, clothing, and housing. He gave so much, that you would think that they were equals. Everything that the wealthy man had, his brother had as well. Then one day, the wealthy man told his brother, “You know, you aren’t missing a thing. But it’s not good that you have to constantly be dependent on me, that you’re always leaning on my good heartedness, and dependent on what I give you. I have an idea. I am going to put aside a large amount of money. We will invest it, so you will get a tremendous income from that investment, and that way, you won’t be dependent on me anymore.
That is the mashal.
The nimshal is that when it comes to Bitachon, he says,
שעל ידי מדת הבטחון יכולים להשיג כל דבר
Through the trait of Bitachon, you can get anything.
He quotes another pasuk in tehilim
והתענג על ה׳ ויתן לך משאלת לבך
Rejoice/Delight in G-d, and He will give you your heart’s desires.
That means that if your reliance is so strong to the point that you celebrate because you feel like it happened already, then you will get it.
Then he asks, Is it possible to say that Hashem will give someone so much wealth that he won’t need Bitachon anymore?
Like the mashal of the two brothers?
He answers that is impossible. Because, as the Hovot HaLevavot explains, the trait of bitachon is greater than anything that exists in this world. It’s greater than all the houses, and all the wealth that exists. It’s greater than the alchemist, whom we spoke about long ago, with his is the ability to turn base metals into gold. The alchemist is afraid of things; he’s afraid of thieves, he’s afraid for his health... But the one that relies on G-d is always relaxed and has peace of mind. He is never worried. Therefore, he says, Bitachon itself is more valuable than any wealth in the world, because even with all the wealth in the world, you worry.
So, the greatest wealth is having Bitachon.
He asks, how can you say that Hashem would repay a man for his Bitachon with something less valuable than that Bitachon? It doesn’t make sense. When you trade something in, it’s always for something with more value. Why would I give in my Bitachon for something less valuable? The following story, which we’ve told in the past, brings out this point:
When the Yeshiva of Novardok was hiding in the forest during the war, two entire days went by when they hadn’t eaten anything at all. They prayed and begged for salvation. Finally, at the end of the second day, as the sun was setting, a truck loaded with potatoes passed near their hiding-spot in the forest. The truck hit a bump and some potatoes fell off the truck. They waited until dark, took some potatoes and made soup. Finally, they had dinner, after two days of not eating. Their Arbit that night was not as strong as it should have been, because they already had their food. They weren’t screaming like they did when they had no food. The Elder of Novardok then got up and told them, “We gave up our Tefila for a sack of potatoes!”
Which means-it doesn’t make sense.
Was their pay-off for all of their Bitachon a mere bag of potatoes?
Of course, when you rely on Hashem, you get the potatoes. But the Rav of Brisk says that the greatest reward is that you’ll get even more Bitachon, and feel even more connected, and even mor powerful. That’s the biggest reward that there is for Bitachon, and that’s what
קַוֵּ֗ה אֶל־ה׳
Hope to Hashem
means. If you hope to Hashem, He will strengthen your heart. You will be even more courageous; you will have greater Bitachon and be even more fortunate. That is the greatest reward that there is: Getting rewarded with even more Bitachon.
What a beautiful explanation!
We have to appreciate that, as the Elder of Novardok says, Bitachon is your “cash cow.”
It’s the business that produces everything. You walk around with your Bitachon; it accompanies you wherever you go. It’s your source for everything. It produces whatever you want. It produces marriages, children, parnassa.... everything you have, you get from your Bitachon. It’s a great machine.
And the greatest reward is an upgraded machine. You can trade it in for a newer model- stronger and better.
That’s a beautiful thought.
Bezrat Hashem, we are working on our Bitachon. And if we’re working on Bitachon, then what a beautiful thing to look forward to- even more Bitachon!
Have a wonderful day.