There’s a beautiful thought from a Mishah in Pirkei Avot that relates to Bitachon, with an important lesson for us.
The Mishnah tells us, in the third Perek, that one who is walking on the road alone, and just focuses on nonsense, his soul is guilty.
This sounds like he is punished for wasting his time. His time is valuable, and yet he’s alone on the road, wasting it. He could be spending it contemplating G-d and creation, thinking words of Torah and taking the opportunity of this valuable time alone, yet instead, he wastes it.
That’s the simple way of learning the Mishnah, which is the way Rabbenu Yonah explains it. But the Yavetz and the Chida have a different approach. They explain that the person isn’t being punished. Rather, when a person is on the road, alone, it’s dangerous. You need protection. Things can happen. There are dangerous things out there... lions, tigers and bears...
Driving, flying, bicycling or walking, being on the road is dangerous, especially when you’re alone. That’s why we say Tefilat HaDerech. Some say special pesukim when they leave on a trip. Going on the road is considered a dangerous situation, so much so that we say HaGomel after certain 72 minutes trips.
So how does one protect himself on the road?
This is where this man on the road alone made his mistake, says the Yavetz.
He was capable of learning, and had an opportunity to learn, but made the following calculation- he decided he couldn’t waste his resources on thinking and focusing. He thought it would weaken him on his trip. He thought he needed all his energy and resources. Therefore, he decided to just “chill out” and not use his time for learning.
A example is a man on a business trip, flying business class for an 8 hour trip. He can either sleep the whole flight, so that he is refreshed for his meeting, or he can decide to spend some of the flight learning.
The man that says that he needs to rest, because he needs all of his energy, is making a mistake. Because ultimately, what brings a person success and protection is his connection to G-d. (This is the Bitachon piece)
Therefore, says the Yavetz, he made a mistake. He should have used his energy to connect to G-d, to learn Torah, and to think about G-d, rather than work on the natural causes for strength and energy.
He brings down a pasuk from Mishleh, which is a big Hiddush.
The pasuk says, יש מפזר ונוסף עוד
Sometimes people spend on charity, and they get even more.
It’s a phenomenon. The man spends a lot on charity and ends up being successful from other areas. That’s the way it works. The Yavetz applies this rule here, and says sometimes you spend energy on learning and you end up getting more energy and protection. You don’t lose by putting your focus into Torah and Mitzvot. It’s really the best hishtadlut we can do.
Of course, we can’t make the mistake of thinking that we don’t have to go through normal means. But we must understand what’s really making things happen. What makes things happen is our zechuyot- our merits. So that’s where we should put our focus.
Anytime we are experiencing danger or going through a challenge, we have to remember to look for zechuyot, for connections to G-d, whether it’s a man on a road trip or any situation.
One of my favorites, that brings out this concept, is in Parashat Beshalach. Paroah sent the Jewish people out, and it says,
בני ישראל יצאו חמושים
Bnei Yisrael went out armed.
They obviously spent some time preparing for war, with arrows and swords and such.
And the same time, what was Moshe Rabbenu doing in those last few days in Mitzrayim? He was looking for the bones of Yosef. That was a Mitzvah. The Gemarah says that
חכם לב יקח מצות זה משה
Moshe was a wise man- he spent his time looking for merits before we left.
In the end, whose activities in those last days made the difference. They never ended up needing those weapons against the Egyptians. What caused the Egyptians to drown? The sea split. And what made the sea split? The Gemara says, הים ראה וינוס.
The sea perceived (something)and ran.
What did it see?
It saw the bones of Yosef.
Because Yosef ran away from his boss’ wife and didn’t sin.
So who made the salvation? Was it the Jewish armaments or was it Moshe Rabbenu’s Mitzvah with Yosef’s bones? The answer is obvious.
And that’s our lesson: Whenever we are being challenged, we always have to take the spiritual approach. It’s the winning approach.
The Pele Yoetz says that when someone suffers a loss, rather than run after the different natural causes, and different natural remedies, a person’s first approach should be, “Hashem, obviously I’m deserving of this, I did something wrong. It should be a Kapara from my sins. How can I get closer to you?”
And with this, says the Pele Yoetz, he will find favor in G-d’s eyes.
G-d likes when we recognize the spiritual effects and when we connect and try to fix things in that dimension.
Bezrat Hashem, we will all grab the zechuyot, connect to Hashem, and only have success. Amen.