We are up to the final advantage of the Bitachon outlook.
The Hovot HaLevavot says that Baal Bitachon lives life one day at a time. He doesn’t think about tomorrow and he doesn’t hoard. He focuses on today because he doesn’t know what will be tomorrow, or if there will be a tomorrow. And this isn’t a pessimistic attitude, as we will soon see.
If get you up in the morning and you have food and health for today, that’s it. Tomorrow is another day. The Hovot HaLevavot tells us that if person says he doesn’t know how he’ll manage tomorrow or pay his mortgage because he only has enough for today, ask him how he knows he’ll even be alive tomorrow. He’ll say, he relies on Hashem for life. So, you can tell him, “Well if G-d gives you life for tomorrow, then he can also give you parnassa for tomorrow! This is a chiddush. The Baal Bitachon understands that he doesn’t have tomorrow. Tomorrow is a gift from G-d, and the things he’ll need tomorrow will come with that gift.
There’s a similar story about a man who told his rabbi that he couldn’t get married yet because he didn’t have enough money. He said he needed enough to buy a house, so he could have room for all the children he’d have. The rabbi asked,” Who said you’ll have children?”
The man said,” You’re cursing me?”
The rabbi said, “If G-d can give you children won’t He give you the food you’ll need for your children?”
To think otherwise is half-baked Bitachon. If he really had Bitachon he’d realize that he needs G-d for tomorrow and he needs Him for food as well. The Baal Bitachon attitude is about Today- “I’m in today, I have what need for today, and I hope there will be a tomorrow but my focus is on today.”
In the Gemarah, Masechet Sanhedrin there’s a quote from Ben Sira that says,
אל תצר צרת מחר, כי לא תדע מה ילד יום, מחר יבא ואיננו ונמצא מצטער על עולם שאינו שלו
Don’t be upset about tomorrow’s problems because who knows what today will bring? (it might solve tomorrow’s problem) Tomorrow will come and the problem may not be there. And who knows if you’ll be there. Take it a day at a time.”
What does the Baal Bitachon think regarding today and tomorrow?
This is a Jewish principle, and it’s not morbid:
שוב יום אחד לפני מיתתך
You should do Teshuva the day before you die.
Some may ask: But how are you supposed to know when you’re going to die?
And the answer is, “You’re right! So, make today the best possible day!”
The Baal Bitachon, even though he’s relying on Hashem, takes it one day at a time, so he wants to be as good as he possibly can be. He doesn’t push off until tomorrow.
Similarly, the Hovot HaLevavot quotes from Kohelet:
בכל עת יהיו בגדיך לבנים
At all times, your clothing should be white.
Which means you never know when you’ll be called up for the “seudah” with G-d. Therefore, live every day like it’s your last.
And if you do, things like skipping shul, or not learning today aren’t an option because you can’t do that on your last day.
The concept of the Daf Yomi (Page per Day of Gemarah) is fresh in people’s minds. People may have just started or might be thinking of starting.
When Rabbi Frand spoke at the previous siyyum HaShas, 7 1/2 years ago, he said the main point of the Daf Yomi is not so much the “daf” but the “yomi.” Every day had to count.
The source of the Daf Yomi was Rabbi Meir Shapiro. What impacted him to come up with this idea to learn every day?
When he was a young boy of 7-8 years, he came home and found his mother crying, because his private rebbe had canceled their appointment for the day. She was crying because he’d miss a day of learning. When he saw how important one day of learning was to his mother, he wanted to come up with a concept to instill that every day counts.
The Baal Bitachon attitude is not about tomorrow. He doesn’t push off. Today is today.
The Goan of Vilna said that the secret to success in life is getting up every morning and saying,
1-” Today is that only day,
2-I’m the only person, and
3-The page I’m on is the only thing I have to do.”
It’s me, it’s today and it’s the Daf. That’s it.
That’s the Baal Bitachon.
Have a wonderful day