TRANSFORM YOUR EMUNAH!

599 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-36)

Today we're moving forward, B’ezrat Hashem, in our bitachon journey. Just a very quick summary. We learned the Chovos HaLevavos who taught us that the basic litmus test of one's bitachon is menuchas hanefesh - tranquility of the soul. Ultimately, a person with true bitachon is going to have inner peace, tranquility and peace of mind regardless of what's going on around us. And again, as we've discussed many times, bitachon is not about getting to the destination. It is our life's work, and we're not going to get there in one day to be able to have complete tranquility and inner peace regardless of what's going on around us, but as long as we're making an effort to just take another step forward every day, that's all Hashem requires of us.   We also looked at Rabbeinu Yonah who taught us that bitachon means the confident belief that Hashem can save us from any and every situation and specifically in those times when we need a salvation from Hashem are the times that we have an opportunity to practice our bitachon. And in the words of Rabbeinu Yonah, he taught us another very important fact about bitachon which we're going to be exploring as we continue in the Torah sources. As he said, one has no doubt whatsoever that Hashem will send your salvation. You've got a challenging situation. I don't know how I'm going to get out of this predicament. I'm working now towards having absolute bitachon that Hashem will send my salvation without a shadow of a doubt.   We then looked at a very important verse in Tehillim which reads, “Throw your problem onto Hashem and He will provide for you”. So much of the time, many things in our lives, we try to carry but really it's too heavy for us to carry. I don't know how to find a solution for this problem. This very instructive verse, as well as countless others, teach us that Hashem wants us to place our trust in Him. He does not want us to try to carry the load ourselves.   We also looked at the Ramban who taught us that emunah and bitachon are two separate items but very interconnected where emunah is the tree and bitachon is the fruit of the tree and therefore the starting point always needs to be to build the emunah, to build the belief and internalize the realization that Hashem is orchestrating every single detail in every one of our lives down to the last degree and that should certainly lead me to talking to Him on a constant basis. And the more I internalize this emunah, the more I will have the opportunity to move forward in my journey of bitachon.   The next source we're going to be looking at is Rabbeinu Bechayei in his Sefer Kad Hakemach in the section titled, bitachon.   Rabbeinu Bechayei begins, “What does it mean to have bitachin in Hashem? That a person should know in his heart that everything is in the hands of Hashem, and Hashem has the ability to change nature and the ordinary way things are supposed to work according to the laws of nature and the way of the world. And there is nothing that can get in the way of Hashem when He wants to send our salvation, whether it be a huge salvation or even a minor salvation.”   We're just beginning to explore this piece in Rabbeinu Bechayei which B’ezrat Hashem will continue in the next session. But what we've learned so far today from Rabbeinu Bechayei is that on our bitachon journey, when we're working towards having bitachon, bitachon means to know without a shadow of a doubt that everything is exclusively in Hashem's hands and Hashem can change nature without any problem. And nothing whatsoever can get in the way of Hashem sending our salvation if He would like to do so. Even if it would be against all statistics, against all predictions and against the normal way things run. Hashem runs the world and there is no such thing as this is the norm and therefore this is what I should expect. When I'm in Hashem's hands, I'm completely above nature and I need to know that Hashem can send my salvation against all odds. B’ezrat Hashem in the next session, let's move forward in our journey together in bitachon.

598 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-35)

In the previous session, we looked at the Ramban, who discusses the difference between Emunah and Bitachon, which again is not only a theoretical concept, but something very practical in how we're going to relate to our Emunah and Bitachon journeys. The Ramban teaches us that Emunah is always the starting point, and it is very possible for an individual to have Emunah, but not have Bitachon, because Emunah is like the tree, and sometimes one can have a tree that doesn't bear any fruit, and similarly one can have Emunah, without moving to the next step of Bitachon. Whereas as the Ramban teaches us, Bitachon is compared to the fruit, and it is impossible to have fruit without first having a tree, so it is so important for every single one of us to seek constant inspiration for more Emunah in every one of our lives.   What does it mean to have Emunah? A basic understanding and realization that there is absolute Hashgacha practice in this world without any exception whatsoever. As the Ramban teaches us in the well-known 13 principles of faith, that Hashem exclusively runs every single detail in the world. Now I'd just like to make a little bit of a disclaimer. The bottom line take-home with regards to Hashgacha practice is that Hashem is absolutely personally involved in every single one of our lives, down to the last detail. And if one doesn't have any more questions, or hasn't been unfortunately poisoned by any other bad information, then that is all that one really needs to know with regards to Hashgacha practice, and that is one of the basics of Emunah before one moves to Bitachon.   But if anyone has been taught with regards to Hashgacha practice that it is not absolute, God forbid, that Hashem does not absolutely oversee even the most minute details of every single one of our lives without any exceptions, this is a whole technical topic in its own right, which we're not going to go into in this series, because again, the bottom line, Halacha and take-home, is very clear: Hashem is absolutely personally involved in every single one of our lives, down to the last detail. Hashem is pulling every string without any exception. But again, God forbid, if a person has the wrong perspective about Hashgacha practice, or perhaps a person has come across Torah sources or learnt in a shiur that it is not according to all opinions that there is absolute Hashgacha practice, you're welcome to reach out about this personally to discuss this further.   But again, what we're learning now in this passage from the Ramban is that the steps are as follows: Emunah is the starting point, which ultimately can give us the opportunity to lead to Bitachon, which is the destination, the entire purpose of all Torah and all the mitzvos. And summarizing Emunah into just a few words: The basics of Emunah teach us that Hashem is precisely orchestrating every single detail down to the last degree of every single one of our lives. And again, as we've discussed many times, when I believe that Hashem is truly watching over every single detail of my life and He's listening to me and can help me, it is the most basic equation that I will speak to Him in my own words and I'll be in constant communication with Him. B'ezrat Hashem, let's move forward together in our journey of both Emunah and Bitachon and transform our lives.

597 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-34)

Guys, today just before we begin, visiting the next Torah source that we're going to be exploring B’ezrat Hashem, I would just like to share something about the introduction of each of these recordings. As you'll notice, the recordings begin with the words “Besiata Dishmaya”, with the help of Hashem. Thereafter, followed by the famous verse that we read before the davening of the Shmone Esrei, “Hashem Sfasai Siftach” - Hashem, please open my lips, “Ufi Yagid Tehilasecha” - And may my mouth tell your praises.   The truth is that the very first time that I gave a recording, there is a lot of information and to put it all together, one doesn't exactly know what to say and how to say it in the right way. And as I've done many times before giving a lecture, or in many other areas of my life, I ask Hashem to help me, to give me the right words, that it should truly be for His sake and that we should do it for the right reasons. And this is something that can be beneficial for every one of us. Each one of us in our own way, some of us might connect to saying the verse of Tehillim, which asks Hashem to help open up our mouths and help us to say the right things for the right reasons. Or perhaps just asking Hashem in our own words.   But either way, if we truly want success in our endeavors and we truly believe that Hashem is calling all the shots and running the show, it is certainly beneficial to ask Hashem to help us, even in the most basic of things such as trying to say something in the right way. Because when we do it from our own brains and from our own words and our own mouths, we are limited by our own human capacity and who knows if we're going to say the right information, do it for the right reasons, and the many other things that are relevant. Whereas when we put it in Hashem's boat and we say and try to truly internalize that it's really Hashem giving us anything that we have, then we are truly in the best hands ever. So with Hashem's help, today we're moving forward to the next Torah sources.   The Ramban has a sefer called Haemunah V’habitachon. And right at the beginning, in the first chapter, teaches us a fundamental principle about emunah and bitachon and the correlation between the two. The Ramban writes that emunah can be compared to a tree and Bitachon to the fruit of the tree. And says the Ramban, just like some trees do not bear any fruit, similarly one can have the tree, the emunah, but not necessarily have the fruit, the Bitachon. Although the first step in our emunah and Bitachon journey is certainly building our emunah, and certainly we have to place very much emphasis and importance on building our emunah properly because again, it is impossible to come to true Bitachon without having a good foundation in our emunah itself. And again, if you're interested to visit our archives on our emunah series, which was given for about two years, you're invited to visit our website at transformyourhaemunah.com.   But just moving forward for now in the Ramban that we're learning now, this famous idea that many of us might have heard, that emunah and Bitachon are two separate items. Emunah is the tree, and the more we work on building our emunah, the more we then have the opportunity to build our Bitachon. It's not just something technical that we're learning here in the Ramban, that emunah and Bitachon are two separate things, and emunah is step one and Bitachon is step two. But rather just to realize that although, as we're going to learn, B’ezrat Hashem, in many Torah sources, that Bitachon is the ultimate destination of the whole Torah and mitzvos and where we're supposed to aim to land up and get to, however, to get to Bitachon is only possible through a rock solid foundation in our emunah. So which one is more important, emunah or Bitachon? Ultimately the point is to get to Bitachon, but it is impossible to get to Bitachon without truly internalizing as best as we can everything that emunah teaches us. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward together in our journey of both emunah and Bitachon and transform our lives.

596 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-33)

Guys, so excited to be continuing our Bitachon journey. As we've discussed many times, Bitachon is a whole world with Torah sources literally all over the Torah about Bitachon because ultimately, as we can learn, the whole point of the Torah, of all the mitzvos, of everything that we do is for the sake of Bitachon.   We discussed previously the words of the Chovos Halevavos right at the beginning of the Shaar Habitachon where he writes that the essence of Bitachon is the tranquility of the soul of the one having Bitachon and again the reason for that is because when I rely on someone else who I know has the ability to help me and besides having the ability to help me I also know that they want the best for me, that certainly leads me to feeling feelings of tranquility because I know that I'm in good hands and I have somebody to rely on.   But as we pointed out, as well-meaning as any human being might be, there is always a limitation because we are all limited by our human capacity whereas when we have the privilege to build our Bitachon truly in Hashem and rely on Him and as we know, the basics of Emunah teach that Hashem is completely beyond any limitation and if I'm choosing to truly rely on Hashem with utmost sincerity there's no question that that is going to lead me to feeling feelings of Menuchas Hanefesh - of tranquility of the soul regardless of what is going on in the world around me as well as regardless of what is going on in my own personal life; even when things might be chaotic, difficult to understand and many questions in the air, I feel complete tranquility because I know things are not in my hands but rather in the hands of the one I am trusting in, in Hashem.   We also previously looked at the words of Rabbeinu Yonah in Mishlei who taught us very clearly that Bitachon means the absolute belief full of clarity and conviction that Hashem will for sure send my salvation and what's important to point out here is that although throughout our lives we should always be trying to work on Bitachon, however when a difficult situation does present itself we should be mindful that this is now going to be a tremendous opportunity for ourselves to work on Bitachon because again although we should always be trying to step up in our Bitachon in any and all areas of our lives however when our circumstances are such that we are in need of a salvation and we really need Hashem to come through for us now, it almost makes it easier for us to now tap into the power of Bitachon and as we've discussed many times previously this is actually one of the reasons why Hashem would decide to send us challenges and suffering because again as we've discussed many times the only reason Hashem created the world in the first place is to give us pleasure and that being the case why does he send us any form of suffering at all?   But again once we internalize that Bitachon is the main focal point of our lives and because of Hashem's love and care for us he actually wants to give us an opportunity to grow in our Bitachon then when suffering or challenges arise if we have the right perspective the Bitachon perspective, we are able not only to work through the challenges in a healthier and more positive way but we are actually able to use the situation to our advantage to build our Bitachon which may ultimately be Hashem's intention in why he's sending us to suffering. Rabbeinu Yonah also mentioned a very important point that when we are to practice our Bitachon in Hashem we should not have any doubt whatsoever in that Bitachon.   We then went on to discuss a very important and fundamental verse in Tehillim which states that we are to throw our problems onto Hashem and he will take care of them and this is such an important verse to digest, to realize that Hashem's true intention is for us literally to take our problems and throw them onto him. When something is too heavy for me to carry Hashem desires that I give it over to him and again as we're going to discuss, this is one of the fundamentals of Bitachon - that I'm so sincere in my Bitachon that I literally feel like I'm not carrying it anymore myself but rather that Hashem is carrying it for me. B'ezrat Hashem in the next session we're going to move forward to the next Torah source in this section and with Hashem's help move together to more clarity in our Bitachon journey.

595 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-32)

How privileged we are to be moving forward and exploring further Torah sources about the ultimate purpose of our life, bitachon. We learned previously, the Chovoss Halevavos who taught us, that the essence of bitachon is tranquility of the soul, is inner peace. And how bitachon brings a person to that inner peace is because a person works on taking small steps forward, on internalizing that Hashem exclusively controls every detail in the world.   But not only internalizing that knowledge, but thereafter taking the next step and moving the knowledge to a reliance on Hashem, where I'm relying on Him to take care of my problem. And as Rabbeinu Yonah taught us, that bitachon means the absolute belief without a shadow of a doubt; in his words, “that a person has no doubt whatsoever in Hashem's salvation”. A person has a predicament and I am relying Hashem will send my salvation without a shadow of a doubt that He will send my salvation.   We now move forward to the next Torah source that we're going to be exploring, B’ezrat Hashem. This is a verse in Tehillim (55:23) which reads, “throw your needs on Hashem and He will provide for you”. Now before we discuss this further, I'd like to highlight something very, very important. Bitachon is not only something which is literally everywhere in Torah literature. But in fact, as we move forward in this bitachon journey and become much more mindful about what bitachon means and how the ultimate purpose of our lives is bitachon, we will notice that it is literally everywhere throughout all our brachos, throughout bentsching, throughout the davening, throughout all of Tehillim, it's literally everywhere. And as we gain clarity via the many Torah sources we're going to be exploring of what bitachon truly means, we will see how the concepts we are learning are explicit in many, many verses all over the place.   Here we are quoting a verse from Tehillim where the verse teaches us that we are to throw our needs on Hashem and He will provide for us. Period. David HaMelech is teaching us, Hashem desires from us that we throw our problems on Him. What does it mean to throw our problem on Hashem? Again, as we learned previously from Rabbeinu Yona, what does bitachon mean? Bitachon means that when I have a predicament, I'm relying on Hashem to send me my salvation. And similarly here, David HaMelech is teaching us that when we have a predicament, something comparable to a heavy load that we are carrying, that is too heavy for us to carry, we are to throw that load at Hashem and say, “Hashem, I cannot carry this, it is too heavy for me. I am giving it over for you.” And the verse teaches us that when we throw our problem to Hashem, He will come through for you. He will provide for you. He will take care of your needs.   David HaMelech is teaching us, when I have a problem, perhaps I've been spending so many years trying to find my marriage partner, just watching my friends one after the other, finding theirs and moving forward and building their families and lives. And what's with me? It's been so many years. I've done my hishtadlus; I've reached out to many people, I've prayed to Hashem, I've tried different things and it seems like it's never going to happen. This is a heavy problem to carry.   “Hashem, I am giving over my problem to You. I cannot handle this. Hashem, I am begging You, my dear Father, please You take care of me. You find my marriage partner. But You know what I'm saying to You now, Hashem? I am just letting go of this problem now. It is not something which I have to feel that is on my head, that is in my hands. I know that it is beyond me. And the truth is that every single situation in my life is beyond me, Hashem. And I know without a shadow of a doubt that You exclusively run every detail in the world and in one second, even against all odds, You could send me my marriage partner in ways that only You know.”   As we are learning here in Tehillim, not only does Hashem allow us to throw our problem on Him and rely on Him, but He is telling us that this is what He wants us to do. If we have an issue, He wants us to throw the problem on Him and rely on Him and say, “Hashem, I know You will take care of me and therefore I am going to feel completely relaxed with tranquility in my soul, with inner peace, because I know that the problem is not mine. It's Yours and You will take care of me in the best possible way in the world.” Let's move forward, b’ezrat Hashem, together in this most incredible Bitachon journey and transform our Bitachon.