We
continue with the advantages of having a bitachon outlook when things don’t
necessarily go right (or when we aren’t sure if they’ll go right).
In
the words of the Hovot HaLevavot,
The
one who relies on G-d,
נפשו במנוחה ולבו שלו מצד הגזרות
His
soul is at peace (he’s tranquil and relaxed), and his heart
is serene, regarding the decrees of G-d.
There
are people that are often worried about what will be, but the Baal Bitachon is not,
לדעתו כי הבורא ינהיגן לטובתו
Because
he knows that whatever G-d is doing to him, or leading him, to is the best way
for him to go, both in this world and the next.
On
the other hand, the one who doesn’t rely
on G-d is always in pain,
ודאגה ארוכה ואבל ועצב לא ימושו ממנו בטובה וברעה.
And
has elongated worry (which we will call anxiety),
mourning and sadness (what we call depression)
This
is before modern day psychology! The Hovot Halevavot is telling us that a man
who doesn’t have bitachon is anxious and depressed about what might be, even in
the absence of actual problems. He’s afraid of what might happen. He’s
never happy, because he’s always worried.
He
quotes a beautiful pasuk from Mishleh that also happens to be the last line of
the Shulchan Aruch Or Hachaim (with the commentary of the Rama).
Shlomo
HaMelech tells us:
כל ימי עני רעים
All
the days of the poor man are bad
וטוב לב משתה תמיד
But
a man with a good heart is always at a
party.
Initially,
upon reading this, one might think that the man in a low financial bracket is
always miserable, but Mishleh is not meant to be understood literally. Mishleh
is a mashal.
If
this was meant to literal, it would say the poor man is miserable, but life is
always a party for the wealthy man.
But
it doesn’t say that. It compares the poor man to the one with a good
heart. Therefore, as the Gemarah tells us, this “poor” man is not
referring to one who is monetarily poor. Rather, it means he’s
poor in his brain and in his outlook on life. He’s poor because he lacks דעת -knowledge,
and understanding. Without the right outlook on life, a person is truly poor. If he does have the right
outlook, he’s truly wealthy, because he knows how to approach every situation.
The
Gemara in Masechet Nedarim says
אמר אביי, נקטינן, אין עני אלא בדעה.
Abaye
says, we have a tradition, that whenever it says the word. “ עני -poor”
it means poor in intellect and
knowing how to looks at things.
Based
on this, the Maharsha tells us that when we see the term “עני -poor” used to describe financial status, it’s
actually a borrowed term. A person can have no money and be the
happiest man in the word. “Poor”
means you don’t know how to approach life.
The
Gemarah in Nedarim continues, saying that in Israel, they used to say:
, דדא ביה- כולא ביה -דלא דא ביה- מה ביה.
If
you have knowledge (you know how to view things properly), you have everything,
But if you don’t have this understanding, you have nothing
דדא קני- מה חסר ? דדא לא קני- מה קני?
If
you’ve acquired knowledge (the right outlook) what are you lacking?
If
you haven’t acquired the right outlook, what do you have?
Therefore,
the wealthiest man is the man that knows how to look at things properly.
Rabbenu
Yonah quotes this pasuk and says,
טוב לב, משמח מחלקו
The
one who is happy with his lot is Tov Lev- happy.
This
can only happen with bitachon. It means knowing that my house, my wife, and my
children are all perfect for me, and that every little challenge I go through
is exactly what I need.
The
man who’s a Tov-Lev (happy, content), he’s at a constant party. He’s thrilled
with life. That’s Tov Lev.
Finally,
Rabbenu Yonah says,היא מידה טובה את מאד
This
is the greatest of traits to have. It’s real wealth.
The mishnah
in Pirke Avot says,
איזה הוא עשיר? השמח בחלקו
Who
is wealthy? The one who is happy with his lot.
Rabbi
Ades points out that it doesn’t say it’s another way to be wealthy, or that
it’s a substitute for being wealthy or that it’s artificial wealth. No.
This IS wealth. The
Hovot HaLevavot is teaching us that the definition of a wealthy person, in our
lexicon, is someone with the right attitude.
And
a poor man is someone who has the wrong
attitude on life.
That’s
the Torah definition of wealth and poverty, and it all comes from Bitachon.
Bitachon
gives us this power. With Bitachon, we aren’t anxious, or nervous, or
worried. We are wealthy, and happy. We
are partying because we know Hashem is taking care of us.
Have
a wonderful day.
