Yesterday we quoted from the Bet Halevi that Yosef HaSadik is the role model and epitome of bitachon. Therefore he's held on such a high level that even the slightest deviation of over-hishtadlut costs him. Now that we know about that, let’s hear more about his bitachon.
When Yosef finally revealed himself to the brothers, the brothers were scared- who knows what Yosef was going to do to them. But he started to comfort them, “Don't worry, don't get upset. You didn't do this. Hashem sent me here in order to supply food for the family. This has nothing to do with you.”
This is the epitome of bitachon and that's why Yosef HaSadik is the one to show it to us.
This is very important, because, as the Chazon Ish says, there are people who sing the song of bitachon, when times are good, they have bitachon on their lips. But he says, when competition opens up across from you and you're still able to attribute it to Hashem, that is real bitachon. Bitachon that doesn't show up in those extreme cases, might not really be bitachon, and therefore, to show us that Yosef Hasdik is the true Baal bitachon, he’s put to test in that area. How do you react with the people who wrong you?
And talk about wronged- They sentence him to death! They stole 22 of the best years of his life with his father, growing up from age 17.. 22 years! Any good Yeshiva boy develops in those 22 years. And he was robbed of that life, to grow up in Egypt, without family. Horror of horrors.
And yet, he felt not a drop of animosity. It was true brotherly love.
He was comforting them. This is Yosef HaSadik, and that is what shows true bitachon.
David Hamelech is another good example-When did David Hamelech get uplifted to be one of the four legs of God's table, along with Avraham Yitzhak and Yaakov?
David got there when Shimi ben Gerah was cursing him with a horrible curse, calling him a Mumzer a Noef and all kind of horrible things. David had people there that were saying to him, “Not you do it. We'll do it! Off with the head of the dog. We'll take his head off, don't worry!”
But David Hamelech said, “No, leave him alone. Hashem told him to curse.” That doesn't mean there was a prophecy to Shimi that he should curse. It means that Hashem is the One that made this happen. “It has nothing to do with him. I have to look at myself.” This is the source, in the Sefer HaChinuch, that a person cannot bear a grudge or seek revenge, because it had nothing to do with this person. And this is a huge concept.
Rabbenu Yonah, in Shaare Teshuva, tells us that bearing a grudge is not when you say, “I'm not lending you my ax because didn't lend me your ax.” That's vengeance. That's revenge.
But if I say “Okay, I'll lend you the ax. I'm not like you,” that's considered bearing a grudge.
Amd what happens if you gave it to him and you didn't say anything? If you just gave it to him, and said, “Here's the ax,” but you thought in your heart, you remembered what he did and you think to yourself, “Oh, I'm not like him, that he didn't lend it to me. I don't act like that.” That is also included in the negative command of bearing a grudge.
Rabbenu Yonah in Shaare Teshuva ( 3rd gate) writes, “This punishment is not for what you said, it’s for what was in your heart.”
Rabbenu Yonah is not the only one who says this. It is also brought down in the Sefer Hachinuch(רמב ( where it says, “We have to stop from even thinking of it in our heart.”
And Rambam, in Hilchot De’ot writes, “Erase it from your heart and don't bear a grudge.”
That's the test of real bitachon. If you're still remembering how this person wronged you, and what he did to you, that is not real bitachon. There are exceptions- if the person insulted you or embarrassed you or hit you, you can have self-defense. But we aren’t going through that. We're just talking about the basic concept. This guy opened up a store across the street from you, or anything like that. You were trying to get a house and he got it before you. You gave a bid first and so on and so forth.
There’s a never-ending lists of grudges that people bear for something that happened 20 or 30 years ago. Not only don't I talk to them, but I don't want my children go to their weddings either. That is not bitachon.
So, if you're reading this and it hits a spot, I feel bad, but this is a spot to hit.
Real bitachon is Yosef HaSadik, who does not bear a grudge. That's why we use Yosef as the ultimate Baal Bitachon.
Have a wonderful day.