We continue with pesukim of bitachon as listed by the Maharal, to strengthen our bitachon. Our pasuk for today is from Mishleh (3,23)
אָז תֵּלֵךְ לָבֶטַח דַּרְכֶּךָ וְרַגְלְךָ לֹא תִגּוֹף
Then you will go with security on your way and your feet will not become banged.
You'll go L’Betach/with security and reliance.
What does Az/then mean?
Rabbenu Yona explains, as do others, that the simple reading of the Mishleh is talking about the person who is learning Torah. If he’s learning Torah, Then he will go with bitachon.
In the Midrash Raba in Bereshit (the midrashim expound upon the pesukim and connect them to other events), Rav Una says that this pasuk in Mishleh refers to Yaakov Avinu,
אז תלך לבטח דרכך
Who is that man that went with reliance? That was Yaakov Avinu. As it says, ויצא יעקב/ V’yetzeh Yaakov.
The next pasuk in Mishleh says
אִם־תִּשְׁכַּ֥ב לֹֽא־תִפְחָ֑ד וְ֝שָׁכַבְתָּ֗ וְֽעָרְבָ֥ה שְׁנָתֶֽךָ
When you lie down you won't be afraid- That was Yaakov Avinu. After he spent the 14 years learning by Shem V’Ever, he was able to lie down and fall into a sweet sleep without fear of his enemies. But where do we see in this pasuk
ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה And Yaakov left Beer Sheva and went to Haran anything about bitachon?
The Sfat Emet, in the year 5661, says Yaakov was actually running away from Esav . And it says VaYetzeh/he left, so why does it also say VaYelech/And he went?
Because they’re different. VaYetzheh means I have to get out of here. I’ll go anywhere.
Vayelech means I'm going there because I want to be there.
Yaakov was doing both. He was running away from Esav and he was going to the town of Haran in order to find a wife. And the Sfat Emet explains that although he was being chased out, he went as Vayelech. He wasn't feeling chased, since he was relying on Hashem and he knew M’Hashem Misadeh Gaver/God controls the steps of man. He did not see this as a coincidence.
This was Hashem sending him there. Yaakov was called איש תם Ish Tam. Tam can mean Simple. And Tam, as Rashi says on the words Tamim Tihyeh/be simple with your faith in God, means to accept everything B’Temimut. That was Yaakov Avinu. He did not change his mood or attitude at all based on the fact that Esav was chasing him. That's the expression of the Bitachon of Yaakov Avinu.
Furthermore, the Sefer Be’er Mayim Chayim on Parashat VaYetzeh says, we all know that Vayetzeh Yaakov/ And Yaakov left means that his leaving was felt. Everybody knew that Yaakov Avinu left. When a Sadik leaves a town, it makes an impact. And that means Yaakov didn't try to hide his leaving. Didn’t he know Esav was out to get him? Why wasn’t he trying to hide? Because Yaakov Avinu knew he had promises from Hashem. He knew he was the continuation of the Jewish people. He knew he had nothing to worry about. Therefore, the fact that VaYetzeh Yaakov, And Yaakov left and didn’t hide it, is an expression of his tremendous bitachon.
As we said, the pasuk, in the simple definition of Az/Then is referring to Then when you keep the Torah. The Sefer Shem M’Shemuel, on Parashat VaYetzeh in the year 5773, says that the midrash is connecting Az and Veyetzeh Yaakov to the simple reading of the pasuk because Yaakov Avinu did spend his years in Shem V’Ever learning and that's what the pasuk means by Az/Then-
The fact that Yaakov Avinu had dedicated himself to learning gave him the strength to rely on Hashem in that way. So Az/ Then… First he needed the learning of Torah, then he could rely..
The Or HaChaim HaKadosh on Parashat Bechukotai tells us, “If you will keep God statutes,” (which Rashi says means you toil in Torah), then you'll go L’Betach/ with reliance. Why? כשיש עסק התורה כוחותיה מלוין את האדם
Because the power of Torah accompanies the man who toils in Torah
That's why when someone goes on a trip, he says pesukim for protection. Because the Torah protects, and that was the source for Yaakov Avinu’s bitachon.
There is a beautiful midrash that says,
ואין אז אלא לשון בטחון
In Az Yashir, how do I know the word refers to bitachon? Because of the pasuk in Mishleh אָז תֵּלֵךְ לָבֶטַח דַּרְכֶּךָ וְרַגְלְךָ לֹא תִגּוֹף
Then you will go reliance
What is magic about the word Az? The Sfat Emet says, in the year 5632, that אז Az is made up of two letters, Alef and Zayin. Alef is one and zayin is seven- the seven days of creation. That's nature. Added together, Az is 8, which as we know, is above nature. A Brit Milah is performed on the eighth day, the miracle of Hanukah lasted for eight days…. A person who has bitachon realizes that Hashem is above nature, and therefore he relies on Hashem. So the power of Az is bitachon.
It's always important to look at a pasuk through the lens of history, and getting back to our pasuk, we're talking about Yaakov Avinu.
אָז תֵּלֵךְ לָבֶטַח דַּרְכֶּךָ וְרַגְלְךָ לֹא תִגּוֹף
Yaakov has reliance on Hashem. He's connected to the Torah and the Torah is above the world.
(The Or HaChaim HaKadosh says the power of the Torah caused the sea to split.) So Az, when you have the power of the Torah, Then you are the number eight above nature, like Yaakov Avinu
תֵּלֵךְ לָבֶטַח דַּרְכֶּךָ וְרַגְלְךָ לֹא תִגּוֹף
You'll be able to go on your trip with reliance, without banging your feet.
It's interesting that when some people go on a business trip, they read the pesukim of Yaakov and Esav, as a segula for this concept. Have a wonderful day.