We are up to the third difference in the Baal Bitachon’s attitude, which is: When he gets involved in sibbot (causes or intermediaries),
לא יסמוך בלבו עליהן ולא יקוה מהן תועלת ולא נזק
In his heart, he doesn’t rely at all on these sibbot (causes), and doesn’t hope to them for benefit. He’s not worried about the negativity.
He knows it’s all an act. All the means and intermediaries don’t make any difference. If it does work out, he thanks G-d and only G-d, because he knows G-d made it happen. He doesn’t feel extra confident just because he has a sibba with him, whether it’s a certain license, or a building. They don’t do anything.
I recently heard a beautiful mashal about this from Rabbi Brog of Cleveland. He said that all of our sibbot are like rag dolls. Children hold these dolls to comfort themselves, but they don’t really do anything- they’re just security blankets. When you get older you realize that it doesn’t make a difference. That’s what our sibbot are. They calm us and make it easier to have Bitachon.
The Bet Halevi says that one of the reasons we use hishtadlut is because we aren’t yet on the level where we can deal directly.
So when we have to meet a buyer, we dress up nicely, put on a nice suit and a spiffy tie, but that’s just a security blanket. It doesn’t matter. Ultimately, it’s how we prayed or learned that morning that makes the impact on the meeting.
That’s the attitude of the Baal Bitachon.
Sefer Megalah Amukot tells us that we learn an important lesson from Chana. For those that don’t know who Chana was, Chana was a great woman and the mother of Shemuel HaNavi. Initially, Chana was barren, but she prayed to Hashem and merited to have Shemuel HaNavi. All of our lessons about how to pray come from Chana. The Gemarah in Masechet Berachot tells us, for example, that because Chana didn’t raise her voice in prayer, we don’t raise ours. We also learn how to have the proper Kavana from Chana. Many laws of tefilla are learned from Chana’s prayers.
Aside from her prayer to have a child, she made an additional prayer for the success of her child.
Chapter one of Shemuel is Chana’s prayer to have a child, and chapter two, Vatitpalel Chana, is the tefilla she prayed, for the success of her child, Shemuel.
These pesukim are found in many Sephardi siddurim, as part of the introduction to Shaharit. There are nine pesukim in praise of G-d, and the last pasuk is the request for her son Shemuel to be successful.
Those first nine pesukim have different introductions that are necessary for prayer.
Her actual prayer is the last line, which says,
ה׳ יֵחַתּוּ מְרִיבָיו
Hashem, May those that contend with him be shattered.
(In other words, Hashem, if anyone starts up with my son, they shouldn’t be successful)
Another pasuk, from the nine introductory pesukim says
אל תַּרְבּוּ תְדַבְּרוּ גְּבֹהָה גְבֹהָה
Don’t keep talking about high up, high up”
יצא עתק מפיכם
Take that lie out of your mouth
כי אל דעות ה׳
Because G-d is the G-d that knows your thoughts
ולו נתכנו עלילות
He’s the one that sets up all the causes
What’s going on?
The Megaleh Amukot explains that Chana is telling us not to listen to those who say that G-d is high up and not down here. We shouldn’t listen to those people because that is a lie. G-d is down here.
She says, “I’m living proof. I was a barren woman and I prayed my heart out. I had a co-wife who taunted and teased me
(we will not get into why Penina taunted her except to say it was Leshem Shamayim).”
Her opening line was:
You people that are arrogant, everything can turn around
שְׂבֵעִים בַּלֶּחֶם נִשְׂכָּרוּ
Previously wealthy, satiated people are now hired out for bread.
(They were once wealthy and now they don’t even have bread.)
וּרְעֵבִים חָדֵלּוּ,
And hungry people were fed
עַד עֲקָרָה יָלְדָה שִׁבְעָה
To the point where I, a barren woman, now have 7 children
וְרַבַּת בָּנִים אֻמְלָלָה .
And my co-wife, who had many children, is now bereft.
G-d can turn everything around. Don’t listen to those arrogant people. Those are all causes.
G-d is source behind all causes.
ולו נתכנו עלילות
He makes everything happen
Don’t pay attention to the buyer or to the causes or to anything.
Someone recently complained to me about building a house. He complained that the contractor was slow, that they ordered the wrong things... they installed the wrong lights....
“Stop,” I told him. “If that is the light you got, it’s the right light. It’s not the contractor, it’s not the order ... it’s all a facade.”
Focus on G-d and ignore the sibbot.
That’s the Baal Bitachon’s correct attitude.
Have a great day.