Today’s class has been sponsored in memory of Moshe ben Sarah - Maurice A. Harary.
I would like to share a thought from the Sefer Shiurim, by Rav Dovid HaLevi Soloveitchik, known as Rav Dovid of Brisk, who passed away at the age of 99 a little over a week ago. He was the last surviving child of the great Brisker Rav, who was the son of Rav Chaim of Brisk, who was the son of the Bet HaLevi- the leader of the great Soloveitchik rabbinical dynasty.
As a child, Rav Dovid was on the train with his father, the Brisker Rav, when they escaped the Nazis during World War II. They were on a dangerous trek, and what kept them safe was constantly reiterating the words En Od Milevado. Rav Dovid lived and breathed Emunah and Bitachon.
There is a small section in his Sefer dedicated to Emunah and Bitachon, which includes a (fictitious) mashal:
When the locomotive was first invented, word spread that there was a train that pulled itself without any horses. In those days, it was impossible for a simple, non-technological person to believe this. How could it be that a train could go without horses? Certain townspeople heard about it, and sent experts to go try and figure it out. These experts, however, had no knowledge of technology whatsoever. After they spent a long time trying to figure out how the locomotive worked, the team returned and said that they understood most of how it worked. They saw that they were 20 cars lined up behind the lead car. They understood that car #20 worked because it was connected to car # 19, and car # 19 was being pulled by car # 18. They understood why car #18 was moving as well, because it was connected to car # 17, and so on.
The only thing that they could not understand was how the front train was moving, without any horses to pull it. But otherwise, they claimed, they understood exactly what was going on. That was the mashal of Rav Dovid.
The nimshal is that this is the way we look at the world. This can refer to politics, who wins or loses, and what could happen with state taxes, etc.
It could also apply to any unknown that we are trying to figure out, such as a virus, it’s variants, or vaccines. We think that we have everything figured out, except that first train, up in front pulling everything- which, of course, is Hashem.
But if you don’t understand how that lead train works, and everything else is following that lead train, then you don’t understand anything! This is our understanding of life. The heavens make everything happen. It will happen regardless of our intervention. The only thing that we can do is, in his words, strengthen our Torah learning, strengthen our fear of G-d, and pray. Then, there is nothing to be afraid of. Rav Dovid says that he witnessed this personally, when he was escaping World War II. He and his family fulfilled upon themselves, the pasuk which we quoted yesterday
גַּ֤ם כִּֽי אֵלֵ֨ךְ בְּגֵ֪יא צַלְמָ֡וֶת לֹא אִ֘ירָ֤א רָ֗ע כִּי־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּדִ֑י שִׁבְטְךָ֥ וּ֝מִשְׁעַנְתֶּ֗ךָ הֵ֣מָּה יְנַֽחֲמֻֽנִ
Even when I go in the valley of death, I am not afraid of any evil because You are with me.
That is the only thing that can cause a person to be calm. If you are praying to your best abilities, and learning to your best abilities, and trying to live life the way you are supposed to live, there is nothing to be afraid of.
He says that all of our hishtadlut/efforts really don’t do anything.
Of course, you have to wear a mask, and get a vaccine, if you can get one. Whatever you have to do, do. But all the hishtadlut doesn’t make a difference. It’s only a show.
Ultimately, Hashem makes everything happen.
So, what can we do? Pray, learn Torah, earn Zechuyot/merits, and do-good deeds.
That can change things.
We have to wear the masks, because that’s our hishtadlut, but does it change things? No.
There are people who wear their masks and get sick, but it does not mean that you don’t have to wear a mask. It doesn’t mean that the vaccine will stop it either, but you still have to try and get a vaccine if you can. We have a responsibility to do our hishtadlut.
But if you want to change something, you have to affect that front train. How do you effect the front train? With Torah, good deeds, and prayer. He ends off with a very powerful line, describing what hishtadlut really is. Because if it doesn’t do anything, what does it really do?
He says that it’s like a pill to calm you down and make you feel like you’re doing something.
But in reality, it’s really the Torah and good deeds that will make a difference. So that is where we should put our strength and emphasis, because that is what really makes the difference, makes things change.
This is a powerful lesson. The train is being pulled. If we want to change the lead train, we have to do it through good deeds, fear of G-d, prayer and of course, our Bitachon.
Have a wonderful day.