599 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-36)

604 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-41)

Let's move forward together on our bitachon journey. So we've been exploring this beautiful Torah piece from Rabbeinu Bechayei, which many of the concepts of bitachon are brought to light. We discussed so far that Rabbeinu Bechayei taught us that bitachon means to rely on Hashem to such an extent, to make our maximum effort to internalize, that Hashem exclusively runs every single detail of our lives, and there is no statistic or natural limitation beyond Hashem's salvation.   We are called on to rely on Hashem that He will send our salvation from challenging circumstances. And we are to work to getting to a point of such reliance on Hashem that I have absolutely no doubt that He will save me from this situation. And as we discussed, we are to build our reliance on Hashem to such an extent that we rely on Hashem exclusively, realizing that we are not dependent whatsoever on anyone or anything else, but rather exclusively from Hashem, and although we have a mitzvah to explore which we'll get to, of Hishtadlus, where we are called on to make our own efforts, however it is very clear that we are not to rely on our own efforts whatsoever.   And how this will translate practically is if I don't have a practical effort to make, do I suddenly feel anxious that I cannot do anything about it, or do I rather feel relieved that I don't need to do anything about it, but rather can leave it completely up to Hashem? There are many situations that are clearly beyond any form of our control. For example, if there is a war going on and there is absolutely nothing that I can do about it and I have absolutely no idea how this is all going to turn out, do I feel serenity and calm because I know Hashem is in control? Or am I anxious and panicking because I don't know how this is all going to turn out? And there are many other situations that can apply in all of our personal lives.   We now move to the next segment of this beautiful introductory piece about bitachon from Rabbeinu Bechayei. He writes, Bitachon means to not trust and rely on any other individual whatsoever. Notice the emphasis of Rabbeinu Bechaye: that a person should not rely on another individual whatsoever. We ought to know that it is not the doctor who provides my healing. It is not the Shadchan who finds my soulmate. It is not the boss who provides my salary. And it is not my own brain who finds my solutions. It is exclusively Hashem that I rely on to take care of all my needs.   Rabbeinu Bechayei continues: And this is the meaning of the verse in Mishlei which states “The fear of an individual is specifically what leads to their downfall” - and as Rabbeinu Bechayei explains, this means to say, when I fear another individual, that itself is the cause of what will be my stumbling block. Rabbeinu Bechayei is teaching us a fundamental principle about bitachon. In a sense, the opposite of bitachon is fear. Because as we learned right at the beginning from the Chovos HaLevavos, Bitachon leads to serenity and the opposite of that is fear, worry, and anxiety.   Bitachon is to not rely on any individual whatsoever. And when I work towards relying on Hashem exclusively, without placing any reliance whatsoever on another individual, that will lead me to feel no feelings of fear. And as Rabbeinu Bechayei pointed out, when I do feel feelings of fear, not only is that classified as an outright sin, but in fact, spiritually speaking, it gives more of a power to that item or that individual that I am fearing. The less we fear other people and other circumstances, the less we'll be under their control. Let's continue to explore this together, B'ezrat Hashem, and transform our bitachon.

603 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-40)

We continue exploring this beautiful passage in Rabbeinu Bechayei. As mentioned, Bitachon is all over the Torah, but this piece is a nice summary to many of the concepts of Bitachon. What we've looked at so far in this piece in Rabbeinu Bechayei is that Bitachon is to know that Hashem is absolutely in control of every single detail of our lives, to the point that He's completely beyond any and all forms of natural limitations. Nothing can stop Hashem from sending our salvation when He desires to. And Rabbeinu Bechayei teaches us that specifically when adversity strikes, that is the time to practice Bitachon and rely on Hashem and say, “Hashem, I know You're going to come through for me.” To the point that Rabbeinu Bechayei taught us, we are supposed to have no doubt whatsoever that Hashem will for sure send our salvation to the adversity we're experiencing.   We left off in the previous session that Bitachon is to rely on Hashem exclusively - to know that it is nothing else whatsoever that provides for us. No individual, no job, no doctor, nothing whatsoever except for Hashem is what we're supposed to place our reliance on. Yes, I may have a mitzvah of Hishtadlus - to go to the doctor when one might be sick, to make an effort for paranasa, and the many other things that encompass our lives, but I am not to rely on any of those ventures, even 1%. I am not to believe that Hashem is 99% in control, and those ventures help me just that 1%. No, as Rabbeinu Bechayei taught us - to rely on Hashem alone, exclusively, that He exclusively runs the show.   Rabbeinu Bechayei then writes that we are to remember Hashem in all the minute details of the activities we are involved in, and to contemplate and internalize that the activity we are involved in is not in our hands but rather exclusively in Hashem's hands. When we learn Torah commentaries such as this passage in Rabbeinu Bechayei, we are gaining the true perspective of how the world runs. Unfortunately, in the Western world, many of the ideas that are portrayed of how the world is run or supposed to run are completely against Torah values. You are your own boss. You can do it if you really want. You can be what you want to be. There are many good messages in those statements, but if the fundamental ingredient is missing, that ultimately you cannot rely on your own abilities nor anyone else's abilities. The only thing that is reliable is Hashem Himself. If one does not have that foundation, one is missing the point of life.   The whole point ultimately of the whole Torah and all the mitzvos is for the sake of Bitachon, and if I'm missing this most fundamental ingredient of Judaism, I'm ultimately missing the whole point of Torah, mitzvos and Judaism itself. And it's not easy to take this information truly to heart. It's one thing to learn the information that yes, Hashem runs things exclusively, but how do I respond now when I go to the doctor and he tells me, I'm sorry, but there is no cure for your situation. Ideally, we should be aiming that if such a thing would God forbid happen, we would feel calm to the exact same extent as before we walked into the doctor's office and heard that information, because again, we are not reliant, not on the doctor, not on any of the statistics of the world, but rather exclusively on Hashem Himself. B'ezrat Hashem, let's move forward together on this journey of trying to not only know the information, but truly digest and internalize the truth that I am reliant exclusively on Hashem. Let's move forward now on this journey together and transform our Bitachon.

602 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-39)

Let's continue our bitachon journey. We mentioned previously how Rabbeinu Bechayei states that bitachon is to know that Hashem is beyond all of nature, and there is nothing stopping Hashem from sending our salvation. And really what bitachon means is to know that when adversity strikes, Hashem's salvation is around the corner, to the point that we are supposed to have absolute conviction without any shadow of a doubt, that Hashem will send my salvation. And again, going right back to the beginning, to the chovos halevavos, which we learned, that bitachon ultimately leads to inner peace and tranquility. The more one internalizes that not only can Hashem send my salvation, but Hashem will send my salvation, the more that will lead me to feeling calm and inner peace.   B’ezrat Hashem, as we proceed in our bitachon journey, although we may learn that at the absolute highest levels of bitachon, I may not even need to have a desire of my own to reach that true tranquility and inner peace, because I know Hashem is so taking care of every single detail in my life that I actually don't in a sense care what the outcome will be. However, for most of us, we do have very real desires and needs. And when those desires and needs are not met, usually that leads to anxiety and worry. Again, for most of us, if we're short of money and have no idea where we're going to get food on the table from, that usually will lead to feelings of anxiety and worry. And as Rabbeinu Bechayei is teaching us, our bitachon needs to be with conviction that when adversity strikes and challenge presents itself, I know without a shadow of a doubt that Hashem will for sure send my salvation.   We now continue in this passage from Rabbeinu Bechayeh. “And bitachon means to rely on Hashem exclusively.” The concepts of emunah and bitachon are very, very subtle. They are literally a billion levels. I might rely on Hashem that He will take care of my situation, but I'm actually also relying on my own efforts and my own activities, or perhaps the security I might have from someone else. Do I feel confident that I'm going to have food on the table because I've got a stable job with a secure salary that comes in on a monthly basis? Or do I feel that I'm going to have food on the table because I'm relying on Hashem exclusively? Again, as we'll learn with regards to the topic of Hishtadlus, I still go to my job on a daily basis and fulfill the mitzvah of Hishtadlus, but what is my perspective? Do I know without a shadow of a doubt that it is not my job providing for me even 1% - it is Hashem 100% exclusively providing for me? Or do I think, of course Hashem is running the show, but you know, my job helps Hashem fulfill that plan?   Rabbeinu Bechayei is teaching us that bitachon is to rely on Hashem exclusively - to know that Hashem alone without the need of anyone else or anything else including even my own efforts, Hashem exclusively is running the show. And again, as mentioned, these concepts are actually very subtle. You could have two people going through the exact same actions and motions where one could be an absolute success story in Emunah and Bitachon and the other God forbid not. And they both seem to be pretty similar in the way they are acting. They both go to work, they both fulfill the mitzvos where the one truly believes that Hashem exclusively is providing for them and the other doesn't feel so comfortable with Hashem as his own security, but rather places more trust and reliance on the job.   We're not going to get there in a day. Bitachon is a journey; it's our life's journey; it's the point of our life. And even if at the moment we find ourselves placing quite a heavy reliance on our job or other people and the like, although that is certainly not the ideal and it's certainly not the perspective of Bitachon, but we're not expected to be experts in Bitachon in one day. As long as we're taking this information and doing our best to apply it just a little bit more into our lives on a daily basis, we are absolute success stories in our Emunah and Bitachon journeys. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward in our journey together and transform our Bitachon.

601 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-38)

We've been looking at this Torah passage from Rabbeinu Bechayei, which is a nice summary, an introduction to what Bitachon is all about. Again, as mentioned, Bitachon is all over the Torah in countless Torah sources and encompasses many concepts. But I'd like to focus on this passage from Rabbeinu Bechayei, which goes through many of the different aspects of what Bitachon leads to, and the ins and outs of what Bitachon is really all about.   So we discussed previously that Rabbeinu Bechayei mentions that Bitachon is about knowing that Hashem is beyond all nature, and there is absolutely nothing stopping Hashem from sending our salvation. Not only that, but when a distressing and challenging situation does arrive, we are to know that Hashem's salvation is imminent. Because again, it is no such thing as nature, Hashem is beyond nature.   And although usually we expect to live under the limitations of nature, we need to know that Hashem is behind all of that, and in truth, I am certainly not limited by nature, but rather I am exclusively dependent on Hashem Himself. Rabbeinu Bechayei then goes on to say, “And what does it mean to have Bitachon? That you should have no doubt whatsoever in your reliance on Hashem.”   What Rabbeinu Bechaye is alluding to here is a very important fundamental of Bitachon. When Hashem says, in the verse in Tehillim, “hashlech al hashem yehavecha vehu yechalkelecha” - Does that mean to say, tell me your problems, and then accept and realize that whatever happens is for the best? Or does it mean to say, throw your problem onto me, and realize I will take care of you and send your salvation - salvation in the language that you understand is a salvation.   So let's give an example. I might be struggling financially. Of course, this can apply on both a large scale as well as on a small scale. If a person has just lost their job and has no alternative, and now their whole future is at stake, that is a major salvation that one needs to reach out to Hashem for and say, “Hashem, I have no idea what I'm going to do. I had this job which seemed to be stable, which out of the blue now disappeared, and I have no backup plan. Where am I going to go? This is not just about tomorrow. This is about my whole future. But Hashem, I know that you are completely beyond any form of natural limitations, and in one second, you can send my salvation. And Hashem, as I'm learning here in Bitachon, I am relying on you to send my salvation with such conviction that I have no doubt that you are going to sort this out for me. This problem is actually a little bit too heavy for me to carry. It's causing me a lot of anxiety and panic, and I actually don't know what to do. I'm throwing this problem into your court. I will, of course, do my part of Hishtadlus, whatever that entails, as we'll discuss further b'ezrat Hashem. But as a whole, Hashem, I am giving the problem over to you. I cannot take care of this problem. It is too big for me, too heavy for me to carry. Please, Hashem, you send my salvation.”   And the more one speaks this way and tries to internalize what one is saying, the more one will feel, as the Chovos Halevavos taught us right at the beginning, “menuchas ha-nefesh” - tranquility of the soul. I might have no idea what my future has in store for me. But that's okay, because it's not in my hands, it's in Hashem's hands, and I'm giving the problem over to Him to such a degree that I am able to feel a complete sense of tranquility and inner peace.   And similarly, let's say my problem is not to that large of an extent, but still certainly a challenge for me. Let's say on a general basis I have quite a stable parnassah, but with gratitude to Hashem, I am making a simcha in my family now, which requires a large expense, and that is causing me quite a bit of stress and anxiety. Or perhaps, let's say this month, financially, I might need something over and above the norm, something even very minor, an extra $50, which usually I wouldn't need to provide for. And although that might not seem like such a problem to bother Hashem with, God forbid we should never think that way. Hashem desires that we should lean on Him and rely on Him through any and every situation. B'ezrat Hashem, let's move forward together in our Bitachon journey and transform our Bitachon.

600 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-37)

In the previous session, we began looking at the words of Rabbeinu Bechayei. Now again, as we've mentioned many times, the Torah is replete with countless passages about Bitachon. I specifically chose this piece of Rabbeinu Bechayei to go through in our introduction to Bitachon because many of the fundamentals about Bitachon are summarized in these few lines that we're going to explore. So let's continue seeing what Rabbeinu Bechayei writes about Bitachon.   In the previous session, we discussed from this passage that Bitachon means to know without a shadow of a doubt that Hashem can even change nature to send our salvation. And there is absolutely nothing in the world that can stop Hashem from sending our salvation if He should so desire. Whether it might be against all odds, against any and every statistic and prediction; and in the words of Rabbeinu Bechayei, whether it's a big salvation or a small minor salvation.   I would like to just focus on these words for a moment to realize thnat Bitachon can have many elements. We might be in need of a major salvation that literally needs Hashem to change nature. And again, even under those circumstances, we certainly should reach out to Hashem and realize that there's nothing that can stop Him from sending our salvation even if it's against all odds, whilst at the same time, what might be much more relevant to most of us is on a constant basis needing the small salvations from Hashem, not necessarily the major illness which doesn't have a cure or the huge problem that I see absolutely no way out of under the laws of nature, but just the day-to-day life struggles that I need Hashem to come through for me.   Hashem desires that as we learned previously, “Hashlech al Hashem y'havacha, v'hu yechalkelecha” - ee are to throw our problems onto Him; we are to lean on Him and rely on Him that He can take care of our problems, both with regards to the big problems as well as with regards to the small problems. Rabbeinu Bechaye then goes on to say, “that even when a challenging and distressing situation is presenting itself in our lives, we are called on to trust that Hashem's salvation is imminent.”   Again, notice the words of Rabbeinu Bechayei - he's not telling us, just accept that sometimes there are challenging situations in your life, and as long as you know it's from Hashem, you're okay. No, he's not telling us that. He's saying that when a challenging situation arises, know that Hashem's salvation is imminent. “Because He is able to do absolutely anything and there is absolutely nothing beyond Hashem's ability.”   Let us remind ourselves as we proceed through the day-to-day activities in our lives, something as trivial as driving into a center not knowing if I'm going to get a parking spot and relying on Hashem, again expressing to Him in my own words, “Hashem, please help me to find a parking spot.” And not only stopping there, making that prayer, but trying to digest that Hashem will help me find a parking spot and therefore I can feel calm. I'm not going to be late for my appointment. I have Bitachon that Hashem is going to help me.   Even though that doesn't seem like a real salvation that I'm in need of because it might be something very small in my life. But nevertheless, as we're learning here, we are called on to trust in Hashem and rely on Him that He will send our salvation. Not just to accept that it will happen in whatever way it happens, and that is also good, but here we are learning that Hashem wants us to rely on Him, to throw the problem on Him, to the extent that I'm expecting to receive my salvation, both with regards to the major events in my life, as well as with regards to the small minor details that transpire in our day-to-day activities. B'ezrat Hashem, let's move forward in our Bitachon journey as we continue to grow together in our Bitachon.