Welcome to Emotional Wellness Daily. One of the principles in the Jewish religion is the concept of hope, even in the most dire situations.
The earliest source for hope traces back to Bereshit (perek מט ) when Yaakov Avinu was giving the beracha to the tribe of Dan, who had one son, named Chushim, who was deaf and handicapped. He tells Dan, L’Shuatcha Kviti Hashem/Your strength, your power comes from hoping for Hashem’s salvation,
and the Chafetz Chaim says, let's fast forward through history and takes a look at the tribes of Dan and Binyamin when they come to the desert 210 or so years later and see how many descendants they each have.
In Bamidbar (26,41), it says the total for the tribe of Binyamin was 45,600. His tribe increased from 10 children to 45,600. That's an average of 1: 4,560
And Dan, who had one son, had 64,400 descendants. The ratio is astounding. That's the power of hope. Dan walked in with a shadow of a child, says the Midrash, he came out with a tremendous amount of descendants.
Who is the one that used this concept of hope? One of the descendants of Dan, the famous Shimshon. When he was blinded and tied to the pole, with his last hope he called out to God and said, “Remember me this last time,” and he pulled down the building and destroyed all the Pelishtim. And if we take the word the name Chushim and re-scramble it, it spells Mashiach, because Mashiach is going to come from that hope.
From there, we go on to the question they're going ask every one of us after 120 years (Masechet Shabbat 31): “Sipita L’Yeshua/ Did you look forward to God's salvation?” The sefer Mitzvot Katan, written by one of the Rishonim, asks a question in the first Mitzvah: After 120 years, they're going ask us a bunch of questions. Most of them, we understand. Did you deal honestly in business? God said to deal honestly in business. Did you try to have children? God said to try to have children. Did you set times for learning? God said make time for learning. But where did God say I have to look forward to God's salvation?
And the answer is, it's in the first conversation that God had with the Jewish people, when He said, “Anochi Hashem, I am your God..,” following that, it doesn’t say, “..that created you,” but rather, “…that took you out of Egypt.” This means, says the Smag, that just like you have to believe that
'I took you out of Mitzrayim,’ so too you have to believe ‘I will save you in the future. I'm here to save you.’
This is on the global level, but the Arizal says in Shaar Kavanot ( 6th derush, page 37B), that you should look forward for your own personal yeshuot.
The Pele Yoetz, on the topic of Sipoy, says the same thing- this is not only for the general salvation. but for your own personal salvation as well.
The Bet Halevi, in his essay on bitachon, says the same thing. They're going to ask “Sipita L’Hashem/Did you wait for Hashem’s salvation, and did you not despair from it?
Did you strengthen yourself in your reliance, in every detail that came upon you?”
This is the Jewish source for hope. In all situations, we hope to Hashem, because in the end, Hashem will save us. Hashem will bring Mashiach, He will bring the salvation, and we always have to have hope.
Rav Wolbe writes, in Alei Shor (second volume), that hope might be on a lower level than Bitachon. Bitachon, a reliance on Hashem- is feeling guaranteed.
Hope, he says, is something that is conveyed from bitachon. Even when there's a sword on your neck, don't give up from mercy, it says. This doesn't mean feeling guaranteed, but not giving up hope.
If doctor says that a man has a week to live, he may not feel guaranteed, but he still has hope.
That's the power of hope.