620 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-57)

Let's move forward in this amazing journey together about Bitachon. Bezrat Hashem, today we're going to be wrapping up this section in our Bitachon journey, where we've been discussing the Torah sources, highlighting to us exactly how important Bitachon is.

 

So let's recap what we've seen in this section. We saw the Beis Halevi who taught us that the obligation to have Bitachon in Hashem is enumerated in so many verses in the Torah that he's not even going to begin to list them because there are too many to count. The Beis Halevi also taught us that somebody who is lacking in Bitachon is committing a grave sin.

 

And thereafter we saw the Chovos HaLevavos, who taught us that the one item that is more necessary than anything else for someone who is striving to be a servant of Hashem is Bitachon in Hashem Bechol Devarav, is relying on Hashem in all areas of my life. We then visited a passage from Rabbeinu Yonah, where Rabbeinu Yonah taught us that Bitachon is the ultimate expression of all Emunah and Yirah. And as we know, so many Torah passages highlight to us that the whole point of the world is for the sake of Emunah, for the sake of Yirah, and the ultimate expression of that is Bitachon.

 

We then learned some fascinating passages from the Vilna Gaon, where he writes that Hashem's entire motive in giving us the Torah was for the sake of coming to Bitachon. And as we pointed out, although the performance of mitzvos and the learning of Torah are certainly a very important expression of Emunah and Bitachon, whilst at the same time there are many other things that do not fall under the category of mitzvos, that do however fall under the category of Emunah and Bitachon, and we are called on to excel in those areas too.

 

For example, the Vilna Gaon brought to us from the Gemara that if somebody does not have any provisions for tomorrow, we are to work towards a place where we feel no anxiety whatsoever, because we know Hashem will take care of us, even if there seems to be no way out and it seems to be against all odds, we are to make an effort to get to a place of reliance on Hashem, that He will come through for us and we are not to worry whatsoever. And furthermore, the Gra taught us that Bitachon is so important, that if one would have to choose between being somebody without Bitachon, where they are careful to avoid all sin, or to be somebody who commits severe transgressions, but they are excelling in their Bitachon endeavor, the latter would be preferable.

 

We also saw from the Ramban that the purpose of all the mitzvos is ultimately that we come to have Emunah in Hashem, and this is the ultimate purpose for Hashem creating the world in the first place. And as the Ramban again taught us, another expression of Emunah, which will not always fall under the category of an actual mitzvah that we are commanded to do, is thanking Hashem.

We're going to move now to a final passage from the Chofetz Chaim in his Sefer Machaneh Yisrael (3:2) where he writes, “A person needs to know that the main reward that we are to receive in the time of redemption is going to be based on the amount of Emunah and Bitachon that we had. That if a person did not succeed in their Emunah and Bitachon, God forbid, they could be lacking tremendously in the future.” But if a person did excel in Emunah, and what is an expression of excelling in that Emunah? Again, notice, not always falling under the category of a specific mitzvah: “And a person always contemplated that everything that Hashem does is always for my good. This will be the ultimate ticket to his place in eternity in the future.”

The Chofetz Chaim is teaching us here that the one most important benchmark that we are going to be judged for in the future, and this will determine the level of reward that we are, Bezrat Hashem, to receive, is the level of Emunah and Bitachon that we achieved. “Thank you, Hashem, for teaching us all this incredible information about Emunah and Bitachon. And Bezrat Hashem, let's continue together in this amazing journey and transform our Bitachon.”