Welcome to Daily Bitachon. We continue to study Rav Bloch’s sefer Egeret Al HaBitachon. On page nine, he quotes from the great Mashgiach of Lakewood Rav Nosson Wachtfogel’s zl sefer on Elul and Yamim Nora’im where he cites the famous story in the Gemara in Bava Metzia 85A that Rabbenu HaKadosh had yisurim that came about through something that he did.
There was a calf that was on its way to be slaughtered, and it was scared, so went running and whimpering under Rabbenu Hakaddosh’s jacket and cried. Rabbenu Hakaddosh said, “Go, because that's what you were created for.”
They said in Shamayim that he didn’t have mercy and so yisurim would come upon him.
The question is, what do we want from Rabbenu HaKadosh?
The Gemara said in Berachot 17,
“That is what's supposed to happen to a calf. Calves get slaughtered.”
(The Pele Yoetz brings down that this calf was a gilgul who needed shechita for his tikun, but still Rebbe should have felt for him)
So what's the Ta’ana?
Rav Wachtfogel says, if the calf went running and seeking mercy under him, Middat Rachamim/ the trait of mercy obligated him not to throw him out. It’s similar to an embassy that has immunity. When a person is in trouble and they run into an embassy, there's a certain immunity, a certain protection there. You found refuge. We find this concept in the Bet Hamikdash as well. If you run to the Mizbe’ach, the Mizbe’ach has certain protective powers.
He says that's also the case with the Succah, which is called the shade of Emunah. The Succah is a place to find refuge in the shadow of Hashem, and you get a special mercy if you seek refuge in the shadow of Hashem, even if, based on the justice, you are not be befitting. That's what we do on Succot. If, heaven forbid, there's a gezerah, we go under Hashem’s coat.
Ki Atah Hashem Machsi
You are My Refuge. There is a Midrash in the Yalkut Shemoni in Tehilim, chapter 25 where David Hamelech says,
אֱֽלֹהַ֗י בְּךָ֣ בָ֭טַחְתִּי אַל־אֵב֑וֹשָׁה
My God, I relied on You, don't embarrass me.
In a certain guarded city, the guards found a ‘guest’ that didn’t have any papers or proof of identity. They were about to start hitting him when he said, “Leave me! I'm from the king's household.”
So they waited until the next morning, and they brought him to the king. They said, “We found someone from your household.” But the king looked at the man and didn’t recognize him. He asked, “Do I know you?” The man said no.
So the king asked, “So how can you be from my household?”
And the man said, “You're right. I'm not from your household, but I relied on you. If I didn't rely on you, they would've hit me.”
So the king said, “He relied on me, so leave him.”
That's what David Hamelech says, “I relied on You, and therefore, even though I'm not deserving.”
And he says, This is not just for me.
No.
גַּ֣ם כׇּל־קֹ֭וֶיךָ לֹ֣א יֵבֹ֑שׁוּ
All those that hope to you won't be embarrassed.”
That's the secret of Bitachon. Soon we will discuss how bitachon works even for someone that's not deserving, even for a rasha. This Midrash was shown to the Chafetz Chaim as a proof that bitachon works even if you're not deserving, and he was very happy to see this midrash that backed this point.
The point is that there's a certain power that one gets, even if he's not deserving, which answers the question, How does Bitachon work if I don't deserve it? The answer is, the fact that I rely on Hashem in itself demands that God's trait of mercy comes through.
Have a wonderful day.