TRANSFORM YOUR EMUNAH!

583 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-20)

We discussed previously, in part 10, can Bitachon be applied to mundane endeavors? Again, of course, ultimately to remember that the whole purpose of life is for our spiritual accomplishment. Yes, the neshama and body do live together in this world, but ultimately it is all for the sake of serving Hashem. And therefore, obviously, Bitachon itself is not just meant to be a vending machine, to ask Hashem and rely on Hashem to give me a new car every day or whatever else I might want.
 
And again, as discussed previously, this is probably one of the reasons why this form of Bitachon, where one relies on Hashem to such a confident degree, that Hashem will give me exactly what I desire, one of the reasons this is probably not so commonly taught is because if one is not guided to learn this in the correct way, it could almost just become a magic trick that all I want is me and my desires, and I don't even care, God forbid, about Hashem anymore. And that's what the whole point of Bitachon can become about, whereas we ultimately know that the whole point of our lives is to serve Hashem, yes, eventually to reap tremendous rewards in the next world, in olam haba, but at the same time, we do live in a physical world, and most of us do have very physical desires, and sometimes a person can leave Hashem out the picture and almost feel, how do we relate to our physical desires?
 
Should I rely on Hashem for them, or should I just feel like Hashem doesn't really want me to do those things anyway? What if the physical desire I have is something that is not such a Torah value? Or even worse, what if it's an outright sin? What should I do then? Do I just leave Hashem out the picture? These are very important questions that we will delve into Bezrat Hashem as we get to this section in part 10.
 
We then referred to previously in part 11, what is my obligation of Hishtadlus? Now if you're interested and you haven't yet come across it, you're welcome to visit our website transformyouremunah.com, and under the courses section, one of the courses is titled Hishtadlus, and there briefly we go through the basic obligation of how to reconcile the fact that we have an obligation of Hishtadlus with the fact that Hashem exclusively runs the world.
 
It is so vital to have a good perspective and understanding of our mitzvah because if we are led to believe, God forbid, that we are the drivers of our engine in our lives, that is very close to the great sin of idol worship where we're relying on something else or someone else or ourselves. We have to be absolutely clear that Hashem exclusively runs every single detail in the world and at the same time He commands us to give charity, to learn Torah, to shake a lulav, to light Shabbos candles, and to fulfill the mitzvah of Hishtadlus, to make our own effort in our endeavors.
 
Why that is so? Again, if you're eager to get a brief overview, you're welcome to visit our previously cited course, but of course, when we get to the section in part 11, we'll discuss it much more at length in exactly how we're supposed to reconcile Hishtadlus. In the next session, Bezrat Hashem, we're going to move to part 12 - How do I acquire Bitachon?

582 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-19)

We left off in the previous session outlining part 10 of the contents of what we're going to be discussing. And the question was, can Bitachon be applied to mundane endeavors? There's no doubt about it that ultimately our main purpose in this world is to strive to succeed spiritually. And of course, the spiritual and physical overlap all the time because we live in a physical world. But ultimately, it boils down to what is our motive? Are we living just for the physical gratification of the enjoyment of this world, or are we using the physical things in this world to serve Hashem, which is ultimately what the neshama's calling is for, as opposed to what the body desires. So there's no question that when it comes to bitachon itself, as we'll see from Torah sources, that the ultimate is certainly to use bitachon for our spiritual attainments.
 
You see, we've alluded to a type of bitachon which is not so popularly taught. And we've discussed previously some of the reasons why that is so. And of course, we've only just began to touch the tip of the iceberg about this whole topic. But another reason sometimes this form of bitachon is shied away from is because what might happen, God forbid, is a person can become so self-indulged about one's own needs and wants that one can almost forget about Hashem. So I can learn about bitachon, and I can learn that bitachon can help me get what I want, and I can now understand that I have this amazing magic potion that can get me what I want, and almost forget about Hashem in the picture. There is absolutely no question that the ultimate purpose of all of Torah and mitzvos, which includes the whole purpose of bitachon, is for our spiritual achievements. At the same time, we've all got to be real with ourselves, that most of us are not living 100% of the time at that level where we only have spiritual wants and needs.
 
Although many of us are trying our best to climb the spiritual ladder, at the same time we have many physical needs and wants. So now what do we do? Do we just leave Hashem out of the picture of those physical needs, or do we just live like a two-faced life, that on the one hand we have the life with Hashem, which refers to spiritual things, and then we have the other side, which is my own physical desires, which I kind of leave Hashem out of that picture, because I'm almost embarrassed to include Him in that.
 
I cannot overemphasize how important it is to gain clarity on this topic, because this literally makes a difference to us on a moment-to-moment basis of our lives, because so many of our decisions and needs and wants all have to do with the mundane world. So do I have a license to reach out to Hashem about those things? Is it commendable? Is it a mitzvah? What do the Torah sources teach when it comes to relying on Hashem about mundane endeavors?
 
We're now going to move to the next question, part 11. What is my obligation of Hishtadlus? The word Hishtadlus is a famous word and phrase that many of us are familiar with. Simply speaking, Hishtadlus means my making an effort in the picture. If Hashem does everything, and I can rely on Him, and I should rely on Him, and as we've learned that if I want to have the ultimate bitachon, I should rely on Hashem 100%, what space does that leave for any form of Hishtadlus? Now again, there are many Torah sources about this, and B’ezrat Hashem will get to them in part 11. But just for now, some food for thought.
 
It could happen that you see two people performing and acting the exact same way, and they're literally on two opposite sides of the spectrum, where the one is fulfilling Hashem's will to the ultimate degree, truly fulfilling his mitzvah and obligation of Hishtadlus under the true parameters of bitachon, and the other person could literally, God forbid, be under the umbrella of idol worship. It is so, so, so important to gain clarity of what does it mean that I have a mitzvah to do Hishtadlus? How do I reconcile this with bitachon? Let's discuss this further, B’ezrat Hashem, as we move forward together on our bitachon journey.

581 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-18)

I would like us just to take a moment to appreciate what we're doing. This is literally the treasure of the world, worth billions and billions of dollars, what we're discussing. And b'ezrat Hashem, as we delve deeper and deeper into our Bitachon journey, I hope and pray that each one of us can truly transform our lives, not just to know the information as something interesting, but rather to truly take it with us and transform our lives, transform our Bitachon and live in a completely different world that we're now, b’ezrat Hashem, just beginning to explore and b’ezrat Hashem will come out with the keys to these treasures.
 
I'm going to recap what we've discussed so far, just outlining the headings of the sections that we're going to be discussing. And as mentioned previously, the reason I'm repeatedly going over these questions is firstly to truly internalize them, and not just that it should go in one ear and come out the other, but rather that we should truly remember these concepts and meditate on them. Because it's one thing to learn the information here, but it's another thing when we go through the day and we think about these concepts and we're able to extrapolate one thing from another, that's how true Bitachon will be built in our lives.
 
And another reason that I feel it's very important to keep going over these questions is because the Torah is replete with passages about Bitachon, but to have it in an organized way is not always so easy, because it's literally everywhere. And therefore when we discuss one question about Bitachon, often what happens is I think about numerous other factors. For example, if we learn that B'tochen can be so powerful that what I rely on Hashem for will come about. But as soon as we learn that, we might ask ourselves, but how come there were many great people who didn't apply this form of Bitachon? And then at the other corner of our mind we'll think, but what about the mitzvah of Hishtadlus? Have we not learned many times that we have a mitzvah to make an effort in the world?
 
But then we might think, but if I'm making Hihtadlus, and seemingly making my own efforts, how am I supposed to fulfill the requirement to exclusively rely on Hashem for Bitachon to work? And there's many of these factors that all intertwine, and therefore learning it in an orderly way is the objective we're trying to achieve.
 
Part 1, what is Bitachon? Part 2, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part 3, how important is Bitachon? Part 4, does Bitachon always work? Part 5, why must Hashem come through for me? Part 6, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? Part 7, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Part 8, why were tzaddikim not always saved by their Bitachon? Part 9, what is the position of the Chazon Ish about Bitachon? And in the previous session we left off with part 10, which B’ezrat Hashem now will explore a little bit further.
 
The question is, can Bitachon be applied to mundane endeavors? And of course it's easy to understand that our main purpose in this world is to strive towards what the neshama is attracted to, rather than what the body is attracted to. And therefore when we use our Bitachon to help us achieve our spiritual pursuits, it's easier to understand that that would be Hashem's will. So let's say for example I'd really like to learn more Torah, but I currently don't have much time at my disposal. This is something easier to relate to, that I might be able to take steps to rely on Hashem in terms of giving me the opportunity to learn more Torah.
 
But let's say something as mundane as, I would really like a new car. Is that something that's even appropriate to, so to speak, bother Hashem with? We don't realize just how important it is to get a clear understanding on what the correct approach to this is, because much of our lives are comprised of our mundane needs and wants. Let's explore this further together, B’ezrat Hashem, as we move forward on our Bitachon journey.

580 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-17)

Guys, I'm so excited to continue our Bitachon journey. So as emphasized previously, one of our goals that we're trying to achieve is to learn this information about Bitachon because when we don't understand what Bitachon truly is and the abilities and opportunities that we are allowed to have, then obviously we can't truly tap into Bitachon. So certainly one of our goals is to try to get a better understanding of what Bitachon truly is.
 
But as emphasized previously, another major goal is not just to learn the information, but to truly digest the information. And with the incredibly fast-paced lives that we all live, it's quite difficult to stay mindful about these concepts all the time. So revision is truly of paramount importance. So as emphasized previously, just outlining the topics already gives us a good direction of where we're aiming at in terms of trying to understand Bitachon, and also helps us before we delve more deeply into the Torah sources themselves, just to think of the many questions that arise when we discuss the many concepts of Bitachon. So let's quickly summarize before we move on to the next section, what we've outlined so far.
 
Part 1, what is Bitachon? Part 2, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part 3, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part 4, does Bitachon always work? Is the correct understanding that Hashem can do anything, but not necessarily will He come through for me in the way that I desire? Or rather, can Bitachon be understood and practiced as what I would like to happen, then I will rely on Hashem for that, and that will for sure transpire? Part 5, if the latter is the case that I may rely on Hashem even for my own needs and desires, why must Hashem come through for me? Who says that's necessarily good for me, who says I deserve it, etc.
 
Part 6, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? And as we've already outlined numerous times, one of the most important factors when considering this dynamite kind of Bitachon, where one can rely on Hashem so confidently, that Hashem will come through for me in exactly the way that I desire, an absolute condition to this is that I rely on Hashem with absolute sincerity. Now again, it's important to highlight that one might feel, “okay it's very nice that we have this amazing dynamite opportunity of Bitachon available, but how many of us can get to such a level that we fully and sincerely rely on Hashem 100% without any backup plans whatsoever? Is that even possibly attainable? And therefore, what's the point of even learning about this or even trying to take a step forward? And as we'll discuss in the coming sections, which we'll get to soon, B’ezrat Hashem, we'll allude to the fact that the true reward for Bitachon is not actually receiving what we would like, but much, much, much greater than anything we could possibly receive in this world, is the reward that Hashem will give us, just for making an effort to take steps forward in our Bitachon journey.
 
We then outlined in Part 7, that we'll discuss the Torah sources, about can somebody who commits sins apply Bitachon? Part 8, if Bitachon is so powerful and so absolute that it always works if I am sincere about it, so although today I might not be able to be absolutely sincere in my Bitachon, but certainly many tzaddikim were able to. And we nevertheless find that many tzaddikim seem to have suffered tremendously throughout their lives. So why did they seemingly not tap into the tremendous power of Bitachon? Part 9, what is the position of the Chazon Ish about Bitachon? And again, although one might not initially understand the importance of delving into the particular opinion of the Chazon Ish about Bitachon, but as we've previously outlined, for numerous reasons, it is super important to gain a better understanding of specifically the Chazon Ish’s opinion about Bitachon, and B’ezrat Hashem will discuss more about that when we get to that section.
 
We now move to Part 10, the question we're going to explore is can Bitachon be applied to mundane endeavors? Briefly, it is easier for us to relate to the fact that when we rely on Hashem for spiritual endeavors, that He might be willing and happy to help us and come through for us. But if it's just for my own mundane needs and wants, can I rely on Hashem for that? Should I be relying on Hashem for that? Let's discuss this further, B’ezrat Hashem, as we move forward on our Bitachon journey together.

579 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-16)

We continue in our Bittachon journey. So let's revise. We need to give a rundown of 15 sections of what we're going to be discussing before we actually begin exploring the Torah sources themselves in these 15 sections. Let's revise what we've stated so far.
 
Part one, what is Bitachon? Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon for sure always work without exception? Part five, why must Hashem come through for me in the way that I desire? Part six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite in order to be effective? As we've discussed, we're going to learn that if one applies this form of Bitachon, absolute 100% sincere reliance on Hashem, Hashem has created it as a rule of nature that He will for sure come through for us in the way that we desire. However, as we will learn, this prerequisite is vital as long as I am 100% sincere in my reliance on Hashem.
 
Part seven, can someone who commits sins apply Bitachon? Is Bitachon only an opportunity for the righteous, for people who are doing their best to fulfill Hashem's will and building their personal relationship with Him? Or is Bitachon for anybody, even someone who commits sins? Part eight, a most important question, why were there tzaddikim that were not always saved by their Bitachon? Certainly, tzaddikim were much more knowledgeable and righteous than any of us, and we find so many tzaddikim that suffered immensely, and if Bittachon is so powerful that one is able to tap into it and get saved from their troubles, not only is one able to, but as we will learn, it is commendable and it is a tremendous mitzvah to rely on Hashem for our own needs in the way that we desire, and that being the case, why were there many tzaddikim that seemingly did not rely on their Bitachon to be saved from their ordeals?
 
And part nine, we mentioned, what is the position of the Chazon Ish about Bitachon? Although this seems like an uninteresting question, this is one of the most important fundamentals about Bitachon, because as we will discuss, a very popular sefer in the Torah world is one of the sfarim of the Chazon Ish, and although many people are not so well versed in most of the Torah sources about Bitachon, however, this famous sefer from the Chazon Ish has a passage which seems to imply against what almost everyone teaches about Bittachon, and many who have not learned the topic extensively, by just coming across this passage in the Chazon Ish will draw a very mistaken conclusion that this type of Bitachon that we will discuss, absolute confident reliance on Hashem, is not an option, and is not a type of Bitachon that we are permitted to practice.
 
Now, we will learn and explore different passages in the Chazon Ish writings himself, where it will be made absolutely clear that the Chazon Ish is certainly on the same page as all the very many Torah sources, as would be expected from one of the greats of our generation. However, there is a very important and specific reason why the Chazon Ish chose to write this passage in the way that he did, as we will explain when we get to this section.
 
And as we will learn, there are different types of Bitachon. Through our whole series of daily inspiration about Emunah that we gave for about two years, and again, if one would like to refer back to any of that, one can find all of it on transformyouremunah.com, Emunah with an H. Through all of our Emunah discussions, it was not just about a theoretical concept of Emunah, it was made very clear that anybody who believes in Hashem will certainly turn that belief into practical application. In many ways, one of them that we discussed continuously and extensively was building a sincere personal relationship with Hashem and talking to Hashem.
 
And similarly, as we will learn, there is no question that there are many different levels to what it means to have Bitachon. The more conventional forms of Bitachon that are usually understood and taught will be the type of Bitachon that one can see as an extension of Emunah. Emunah being the concept of trying to build a relationship with Hashem, and Bitachon, the practical application of that, of speaking to Hashem, of following his mitzvos and the many other things that we discussed in our Emunah series.
 
And there is no question that that is certainly a form of Bitachon, as we will see in this passage of the Chazon Ish, as well as in other passages. However, the mistaken notion that people are often led to make, that this passage is a contradiction to the type of Bitachon that we've been exploring, we will investigate B’ezrat Hashem in the Torah sources in this section, and Bezrat Hashem moved forward to more clarity in our Bitachon.

578 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-15)

Let's continue this most incredible journey about Bitachon. Okay, let's summarize. So far, we've said that we're going to break down this discussion about Bitachon to try to get things in an organized way into 15 different parts. Here are the questions that we've discussed so far. Part one, what is Bitachon? Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon always work? Part five, why must Hashem come through for me in the way that I desire? Part six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite in order to be effective? Part seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon?
 
Part eight, why were tzaddikim not always saved by their Bitachon? And as we spoke about, we've alluded to the fact that we're going to learn in many Torah sources that the opportunity to rely on Hashem is an absolute guarantee if one does it properly. If one is able to reach a level of absolute sincere reliance on Hashem, Hashem will for sure come through for them in the way that they desire. And that being the case, why is it that so many of our greats, both from previous generations and contemporary great scholars and tzaddikim, were not saved by their Bitachon? Surely they knew about the opportunity of Bitachon. Does that mean that Bitachon does not always work? Or is there some other reason why we find at times tzaddikim chose not to use the opportunity of Bitachon and the like? We will discuss this and more, b'ezrat Hashem, via the Torah sources in this section when we get there.
                    
We now move to part number nine. This seems like almost an uninteresting question, but this is probably one of the most foundational questions about the whole topic of Bitachon. The question is, what is the position of the Chazon Ish about Bittachon? Now again, this might seem uninteresting because why do I particularly need to know about the opinion of the Chazon Ish about Bitachon? And the reason this is included in its own section is because this is perhaps one of the reasons that many have not understood the mitzvah of Bitachon correctly.
 
The Chazon Ish is one of the greatest of the great contemporary tzaddikim and Torah scholars that we have. And as we will study, there is a passage in one of the sefarim of the Chazon Ish which would seem to indicate the opposite of what many Torah sources teach. And if that would be the case, then one might be led to a conclusion that for whatever reason, we don't follow these Torah opinions.
 
Now it's very important to learn these Torah passages that the Chazon Ish himself would have learned and also passages that the Chazon Ish himself wrote and compare them to one another to truly understand B’ezrat Hashem with absolute clarity what he meant in this famous passage that people usually come across. Again, it should be clear to you by now that we're going to explore a form of Bitachon where one is so confident that Hashem will come through for them - one is a hundred percent sincere in their reliance on Hashem and the guarantee that we will have is that Hashem will for sure come through in the way that I desire.
 
Again, I may have many questions. Why is that so? How is that so? Who says so? Etc. And B’ezrat Hashem, we will get to all those sections and discuss this and the relevant Torah sources. However, just by way of introduction, in this section, we will discuss a famous passage written by the Chazon Ish where it seems to indicate that one should not have absolute reliance on Hashem. And the relevancy of understanding this passage correctly is important in the way we're going to draw our conclusion about what the halacha is, of what type of Bitachon we're supposed to apply. Are we allowed to, are we supposed to have such absolute reliance on Hashem for the things that we need and that we desire in the way that we need and the way that we desire? Or if the Chazon Ish seemingly wrote the opposite and again, it's not just one opinion that we would simply ignore.
 
The Chazon Ish is a very important halachic opinion. Then why does it seem to be implied in one of his passages that one should not practice this absolute confident Bitachon in Hashem? B’ezrat Hashem, as we get to this section, we will explore the exact meaning of the Chazon Ish and with Hashem's help, draw more clarity to our Bitachon.

577 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-14)

I hope you're beginning to get excited about this incredible topic of Bitachon. We've been discussing a bit of an introduction to the topics we're going to be discussing to get a bit of an indication of where we'll be heading. I'm sure you're beginning to realize that Bitachon is one of the most important foundations of the entire Torah and all the mitzvos that we have. In fact, the foundation of the entire Torah and mitzvos as we'll see in many Torah sources. And that being the case, it's obviously easy to understand that it's not going to be a journey of one day to master this topic. It's going to be our life's work. But our journey right now, B’ezrat Hashem - with the help of Hashem, is to do our best to clarify this topic in an organized way so that hopefully, with Hashem's help, we can come out with more clarity. And once we do so, then we can have the confidence to apply Bitachon in a practical way and be confident about what we are doing.
 
The reason that I continuously repeat what we've discussed previously is because it's one thing just to hear the information, but it's something else to truly digest it. And in our fast-paced world, it's very easy to forget the information that we've learned. So revision is of paramount importance. So let's revise what we've said so far.
 
The Torah sources that we're going to discuss in an orderly, section-by-section way, B’ezrat Hashem, relate to the following questions. In part one, we will discuss what is Bitachon. Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon always work? That means to say, are there any exceptions? Or if I practice this type of Bitachon - confident Bitachon in Hashem, will it for sure work beyond a shadow of a doubt, without any caveats whatsoever? Part five, if I can rely on Hashem with confident Bitachon for the things I desire and I need, why must Hashem come through for me?
 
Part six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? A few moments ago, we just alluded to the fact that this type of confident Bitachon has no exceptions, as long as one fulfills the prerequisite for this type of Bitachon to be effective. Because again, if one has not fulfilled the prerequisite for this Bitachon to be effective, then it will not be effective in the way that I desire. Although as mentioned, one will certainly get rewarded immensely for any step one takes forward in Bitachon, both in this world and in the next world, but in terms of the Bitachon working without a shadow of a doubt in the way that I desire, although as we will learn, there are no exceptions to that if one does practice Bitachon with absolute sincerity, however, the precondition is that that Bitachon in Hashem has to be with absolute sincerity.
 
In part seven, we will discuss, B'ezrat Hashem, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Is the opportunity of Bitachon only for the super righteous? Or even somebody who is tainted by sin, not only from previous sins, but even current sin, can that individual apply Bitachon? And part number eight is that as we're going to learn in many Torah sources, if Bitachon is such a powerful absolute that has no exceptions, that if one is sincerely reliant on Hashem, Hashem will for sure come through for them in the way they desire, so many of the tzaddikim who experienced difficult times, be it financially, with their health, relationships and family, or many other things, why did they not get saved by their Bitachon? Surely they knew about Bitachon. And if that is the case, and Bitachon always works, why did they not get saved by their Bittachon?
 
I hope that B'ezrat Hashem, as we discuss these questions, more and more questions will come across your minds to help open up this most fascinating and incredible discussion about Bitachon, and B'ezrat Hashem, as we break down each of these sections part by part and discuss the Torah sources, with Hashem's help, we'll come to more clarity and see Hashem's true perspective of what the undistorted truth of the Torah is about Bitachon.

576 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-13)

I hope you're getting as excited as I am with regards to Bitachon. I know we are yet to discuss Torah sources inside and gain more clarity on the issues, but hopefully just from seeing the questions, you're getting a bit of an indication of the direction we're going to be taking. Let's revise what we've discussed so far in terms of the 15-part outline of the contents we're going to be discussing.
 
Part one we're going to be dealing with is the Torah sources on the question of what is Bitachon. Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon always work? Part five, why must Hashem come through for me in the way I desire? And as we discussed, there's a lot to this question and we'll see more in the Torah sources inside B’ezrat Hashem. Part six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite in order to be effective? Again, as discussed and as we will discuss B’ezrat Hashem, there are different types of Bitachon, but one of the types of Bitachon which we're going to be elaborating on is a confident type of Bitachon where Hashem will for sure come through for me in the way that I desire. But what is the prerequisite in order for that to happen?
 
Part seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Is the opportunity to have Bitachon dependent on our deeds? So a person who's doing well spiritually, it can be argued that maybe they can tap into these amazing opportunities of Bitachon to rely on Hashem for the things that they need in such a confident way that Hashem will come through for them. It would seem that Hashem certainly would want to take care of those that do His will, but those that do not, maybe Bitachon is not available to a sinner.
 
Now regardless of our conclusion, in terms of Bitachon, nobody's advocating to do Aveiros because it's very clear, independent of the discussion of Bitachon, that there are very severe consequences in the next world, and even in this world for our transgressions, and on the positive side for our mitzvos, to the point that many Torah commentaries teach that one moment of suffering in the next world is way worse than 120 years of constant suffering of the worst form that you can imagine in this world.
 
And likewise, on the positive side, in the next world, of the reward we have the potential to earn for ourselves, experiencing one moment of that is way greater than 120 years of the greatest pleasure we can imagine in this world. So it's super important to emphasize that regardless of our discussion about Bitachon, there's no question there are very real and severe consequences for our actions in this world. However, in terms of the opportunity of Bitachon, sometimes a person might get led down the path that teaches, don't even think about Bitachon until you correct yourself. Whereas we're going to learn what Torah sources teach about this question. Can a sinner apply Bitachon?
 
Let's move now to part eight. Why were tzaddikim not always saved by their Bitachon? So let's elaborate on this a little bit. If it's so that Torah sources will teach that one can have such confident Bitachon that Hashem will come through for me for anything and everything that I might need and desire for those who rely on Him sincerely with an absolute 100% guarantee, without exceptions and without failure, that Hashem has built it within the nature of the way the world works, that if somebody does practice this absolute confident type of Bitachon with full sincerity, then without a doubt and without exception, Hashem comes through for them. And that being the case, that leads me to think, were there not many very great tzaddikim – way greater than me in terms of their righteousness, in terms of their Torah knowledge, and how come seemingly and apparently bad things happened to them?
 
We know of many great tzaddikim throughout the generations, earlier generations and contemporary generations, who suffered tremendously in terms of health, in terms of finances and in many other areas. But if we are going to learn that one has an opportunity to rely on Hashem to such a confident extent, that they will for sure receive what they desire, without exception, if their reliance on Hashem is 100% sincere, and if we're also going to learn that not only can one do this, but this is actually commendable and a huge mitzvah to aim to rely on Hashem to this extent. So if that is the case, why is it that many tzaddikim seemingly did not make use of this type of bitachon? Let's explore this further together and b'ezrat Hashem transform our bitachon.

575 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-12)

Let's continue this most exciting journey of Bitachon. So we discussed the breakdown of what we're going to be discussing, 15 sections in total. Let's revise briefly what we've mentioned that we're going to be discussing.
 
Part number one, what exactly is Bitachon? Part number two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part number three, how important is Bitachon? Again this is so important just to realize how much focus we should be placing on our Emunah, specifically Bitachon journey. If it is the ultimate point of our lives, of all Torah and all mitzvos, as we're going to see B'ezrat Hashem, then certainly we should place a very high emphasis on our Bitachon journey. Part number four, does Bitachon always work? What does Bitachon mean? We're going to see that there's different types of Bitachon and what's usually understood is that Hashem can come through for me if I have any issue or anything in my life, the starting point is reach out to Hashem. He's the only one that can actually help and he's the one fully in control and he wants to help you. But can one be so confident in their reliance on Hashem that they are sure Hashem will come through for them in the way they desire?
 
Part number five, if that is the case, why must Hashem come through for me? Doesn't Hashem have many considerations? Who says he even owes me this? Why must he come through for me? Part number six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? Even if Bitachon is so powerful that Hashem will come through for us in the exact way we desire, but what exactly is a precondition for this to happen? Part number seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Somebody who commits sins, we might argue that not only does Hashem not owe them things, but Hashem might actually owe them the opposite. As many Torah passages teach, when we commit sins, much of the time Hashem will respond in turn by sending us suffering. And the reason for that is not because Hashem wants to catch us out. Hashem only created this world to give us good. But the reason that Hashem will at times send a person suffering in response to their sins is in order to give them the opportunity to come back to Him, to do teshuva, because when things are just going smoothly in life, we sometimes just smooth sail through our happenings in life and we don't remember to do teshuva.
 
And likewise, many Torah passages teach that one moment of suffering in the next world is much greater than an entire lifetime of constant suffering without interruption. And therefore it could very well be that sometimes Hashem sends a person suffering in order to give them the opportunity to either be cleansed in this world as opposed to the next world, or perhaps to be a springboard to do teshuva and to remember Hashem and to build our relationship. So because of this correlation and relationship between Hashem sending suffering as a consequence of sins, one might be led to think that similarly, one who would like to tap into this most incredible and holy avodah of bitachon will not have that opportunity if he is not yet cleansed from his sins. So yes, this amazing opportunity might be available to the very great and righteous people of our generation, but what does that have to do with me? So as we go into the Torah sources, we will discuss, that one of the basic foundations of bitachon is that although countless Torah passages emphasize the tremendous importance that we are to place on trying our real utmost best to do mitzvos and stay away from aveiros, and there are certainly very real consequences for both the positive and the negative, whilst at the same time the opportunity to have bitachon is completely independent of our actions.
 
We are yet to quote even one Torah source in terms of the journey of bitachon, but at the moment we are just focusing on outlining the concepts to give us a bit of an indication of where we are heading. With the help of Hashem, let's continue our journey in bitachon and as we do so, may Hashem help us to gain more clarity in all of these concepts of bitachon.

574 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-11)

Let us continue this most fascinating journey about Bitachon. In the introduction that we've been giving to Bitachon, we've broken up the questions into numerous parts, and again, I'm just making it clear, we have not yet discussed the Torah sources and intricate details of all these questions, but just to get a bit of clarity and direction, it is helpful to go through the questions and explore them briefly just so that we can gain a little bit of clarity before we delve into the Torah sources. So let's revise what we've discussed so far.
 
Part number one, what is Bitachon? Part number two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part number three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Is it just an additional mitzvah, a super mitzvah, or is it the foundation of Torah and mitzvos? Part number four, does Bitachon always work for me in the way that I desire, or is it just that Hashem can come through for me, but not necessarily will He in the way that I desire? Part number five, why must Hashem come through for me in the way I desire? And as we discussed, there are many reasons why maybe it won't be good for us if Hashem comes through for us in the way that we desire. And that being the case, this type of Bitachon where one can rely on Hashem to such an extent that Hashem will come through for me, why must He come through for me?
 
Part number six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? And as discussed, although there is infinite reward for any level of Bitachon that one achieves, even a small step forward, even if I only have 1% of reliance on Hashem, that is a tremendous achievement and in fact, the core of the entire Torah as we'll learn. But in order for this type of Bitachon that we're going to explore, where Hashem will for sure come through for me in the way that I need, in the way that I desire, in order for that to work, then one needs to be 100% sincerely reliant on Hashem.
 
We now move to part seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Somebody who performs sins, can he apply Bitachon? The argument might be, Hashem coming through for me in the way that I need, Hashem sending me my desire in exactly the way that I view it - Okay, I can understand if somebody is a big tzaddik and performing Hashem's will exactly as He prescribes and doing everything right, then I can understand why Hashem would come through for them because they're such a devoted servant and child to Hashem, obviously Hashem is going to pay them back, but what does that have to do with me? I'm somebody who not only every second day but every day commits numerous sins, sometimes unintentionally, sometimes intentionally, and what therefore do I have to do with Bitachon?
 
So does that mean that I can only have the opportunity to tap into Bitachon once I cleanse myself from sins or can I even have the opportunity today to tap into Bitachon? Meaning to say we all understand the tremendous importance that countless Torah passages place on doing our best in this world to do as many mitzvos as we can and to stay away from aveiros and there's no question that regardless of the discussion about Bitachon, there are very definitely very concrete consequences, both for the positive as well as for the negative in terms of our actions, both in this world as well as most importantly in the next world. But is Bitachon an independent factor, completely independent of our actions, meaning to say certainly if somebody committed sins in the past and has not yet done Teshuva, again if somebody has already done Teshuva, then as the Gemara teaches, they don't actually have sins anymore. But we're speaking about somebody who has done sins, does that mean that because this person's slate is not clean, they cannot have the opportunity to have absolute reliance on Hashem?
 
And even more so, let's ask, if somebody is currently committing a sin, does that mean that okay, when I get clean, then I'll be able to rely on Hashem, but right now while I'm performing a sin, certainly it would seem that I do not have the opportunity to rely on Hashem. So let's discuss this further because again, many of these topics are counterintuitive like many topics in Torah and we do not use our own rationalism and reasoning to try answer these questions because as well-meaning as we might be, we certainly could be wrong. So let's b’ezrat Hashem continue to explore and eventually work our way to discussing the Torah sources themselves and gaining more clarity in our Bitachon.