Bitachon Podcast 4 - Start Seeing His Hand

You're listening to the fourth bitachon podcast. And I'd like to share with you something which I'm experiencing, which you may be experiencing as well, which is that as a person starts to work on bitachon, as as a person starts to work on his faith in God, so Hashem sends him opportunities to see his hashgacha protis, his divine providence, in his life. He starts to see I I mentioned in the parsha podcast that I wanted to speak about bitachon in the parsha. Hashem sent me the right piece to speak about, but it's happening to say it is happening consistently and constantly that Hashem is showing me that he's there with me and that there's hashgacha protis. Just to share a little one. Um each morning, so I go to learn in a basement edition nearby. I go to study in the study hall. And there's an Israeli there who we've been speaking about bitachon over the last few months as I've been exploring it and deepening my understanding of it. And he himself is also now working on it. We're working on it together. And I told him a story on Wednesday, which he had never heard before, which my rosh yeshiva tells over that he heard in the name of Rav Aaron Kotler. Okay, so I told him the told over this story and it's a story about Rav Zundel. I'll tell you the story as well. Rav Zundel of Salant was known for his bitachon, for his amazing faith in God, to the point where he can make things happen with that faith, so to speak. He had such trust in God. He had two daughters, one of which was married to Rav Shmuel of Salant. They They lived in Jerusalem. This goes back to the maybe late 1800s or the mid-1800s. And he had another daughter who was not yet married. So he had bitachon, he had faith in God, he trusted God that he was going to go to the port at Yafo, where boats came in at that time. He was going There was going to be on one of those boats, on the boat that he would wait for, there would be a bocher, a young man suitable to marry his daughter. He had bitachon, he had faith in God. He went to the port. He waited at the port. And a man came out after most of the people had already left the boat. Finally, at the very end, there was a young man, a bachur, who he was he had a rope for a belt and he had wooden shoes. He was obviously not well-to-do. And Reb Zundel said to him, "Would you be interested in marrying my daughter?" Young man said, "Sure." So, he brought him home back to Jerusalem. It was a scandal. Reb Zundel is marrying off his daughter to this unknown person who just got off the boat, literally. And so, this guy didn't seem to be anybody who was learned or really appropriate or fitting to be Reb Zundel's son-in-law, but Reb Zundel had had his bitachon, he had had his faith in God, and he knew that this was the one who was intended for his daughter. So, they he got they got married, and Reb Zundel's new son-in-law sat in the back of the Beis Medrash, in the back of the study hall there. They hoped maybe he would learn some aleph-beis. He didn't seem to be learned at all. It came Erev Pesach, it came the day before the Passover holiday. There were only three people in the Beis Medrash, three people studying in the study hall. One was Reb Shmuel Salant, Reb Zundel's other son-in-law. Another individual, they were studying together. And this new son-in-law of Reb Zundel, and the two in the front, were going back and forth, fiery learning, talking in Torah, and they were having this back and forth and they were very engrossed and deep into a certain subject. And all of a sudden, from the back of the room, this young man who everyone thought was an am ha'aretz, was an ignoramus, he jumps into the conversation as if he's following the entire thing. He says, "My grandfather, the Sha'agas Aryeh, his grandfather was a particular great sage who had written very famous book. My grandfather, the Sha'agas Aryeh, says this and this and this and this." So, it became clear right away that he was somebody who was an obviously a scholar, and he was also a meyuchas, he had great lineage. So, Reb Shmuel Salant, he heard, "My grandfather, the Sha'agas Aryeh." He runs out the door. He goes to Reb Zundel, and he says to him, "Do you realize who you got for a son in law? It's a It's a grandson of the Shagas Aryeh. It's unbelievable." And Reb Zundel said, "Okay." He wasn't He wasn't blown away. He wasn't even impressed because he had had his bitachon. He had had his faith in God. And of course, God had provided him him with exactly what he needed. Okay, so that's the story which I heard from my Rosh Yeshiva. He heard from Reb Aaron Kotler, his Rosh Yeshiva. I told this story over to my friend in the Beis Medrash, Reb Meshulam. And so, Meshulam goes home that day. This is Wednesday of last week. And he's involved in his bitachon, trusting in God. He mentions it to his grandmother, a woman who's approaching the age of 90, and she's not somebody who tells stories. And remember, this is the first time that Meshulam ever heard this story. He's He's uh been around for a while. He's never heard this story. Not a well-known story. He says over, you know, what is going on in his life. He's working on bitachon. His grandmother says, "Bitachon? There's a famous story with Reb Zundel and he went to the port at Yafo, and he found his his future son in law." The same same exact day. Two times he heard this famous story that's not famous. That uh it was just a It's an amazing thing. When a person works on bitachon, when a person is looking for hashgacha pratis, looking for God's divine providence, God starts to show the person constantly. And I get to hear the story as well, which is exciting for me because I was involved. I was part of it. So, let's continue in the Madregas Adam, "Luma Zeis." He says as follows, that when we have somebody who has bitachon, who trusts in God, if we look at the other side, somebody who doesn't trust in God, "Haboteach Basibus," somebody who trusts in his own efforts, "Yish B'zeh Chisaroun Kofel," so they have a double problem. They have a double negative, two strikes against them. "Ach Achash Yish Al Pizei Nefesh," that person is always thinking, his mind is all over the place. "U'muchrach Lifamim L'saken Atzmo In S'viras Rachamim U'sukanim," person sometimes will have have to endanger himself and go in dangerous places, I shall shake him. Or to use false means. That he he has a fear of death if it's found out what he's doing. Or he'll work all the days of his life. He will lose all of his strength because he's so involved. He's working so hard. And obviously the person will lose out in his spiritual life. Because a person can't focus on spiritual matters if they're so involved in physical matters. Amazing thing. A person who is involved in putting in every effort necessary in order to accomplish and to have his livelihood. So he has to butter up the right person. He's got to Anyone he thinks that he's going to get a benefit from. So he has to bow down completely to them. He needs to live all of his life with a life of pain and fear. Maybe he didn't say the right flattering words. Perhaps he didn't give enough honor to the one who he thinks he's going to get some kind of benefit from. And he's afraid that perhaps he won't get what he needs from that person. And he's always chasing after his tail. But in addition, when a person is dependent on other people, on other human beings, he he thinks it is in his head. Those other people are also dependent on others. He's afraid that one of them perhaps something will happen to them. Their uh situation will will become precarious. Whoever is dependent on that person, he's dependent on this person, dependent on that person, he's depending on that person. The first person, something happens to him, so then all the dominoes fall. Even if the person is able to attain something, it's a small thing. It's not necessarily going to happen consistently. That's what the verse says. Cursed is somebody who trusts in a human being and turns away from Hashem. Because when a person depends on another person, so it's not something which lasts forever. He's just living from the air. He's never for sure, he's never certain that he's going to have at any time what he needs. Everything that he needs is dependent on whatever happens. It's It's just It's It's almost random. It seems random. He's talking about the way. He's always afraid maybe he'll be in danger as he's going on the way. Maybe he'll die of hunger. Maybe he won't find favor in the eyes of the other person who he feels he depends on. Maybe somebody else said gossip, negative speech about him. Be caused some kind of damage through that. It comes out that all of a person's days, so he just has anger and he's has pain. It's not really living. He's missing that path in life. He has so many needs. You know, that that person doesn't have the path of faith in God, through which they can have the answer to all of the questions of life. Even more than this, the person is afraid even when he does have Kima amar kasiv, like the verse says, "A person who's righteous, so when he has a morsel of bread to eat, he doesn't starve himself and put away half of it for tomorrow. He eats it all now, because he's certain that he'll have what he needs tomorrow, just like he has what he needs today." V'eten rasha'im tehsar, but the stomach of the evil ones, they're always trying to save. They can't eat the whole piece of bread, because they might not have bread tomorrow. So, they save part of it today for tomorrow. And today they just go hungry. They're They're never full. They're always worried. They never feel like they have enough. It's It's It's literal, and it's also a moshol, it's also an analogy. P'eru ra'ui. The explanation is a tzaddik b'sheyeish lo ein chashash l'dageis machar. A person who's righteous, so when he has, he's not worried about tomorrow. V'achol l'seiva, he eats and he And he fills his stomach. K'yamachor yishalei dagei bitachon, for tomorrow he has his path of faith in God. Asher al yado yishalei kol she'eilosav. Also, through which he can always answer all of his future questions. V'ein tzarich l'dagei klum, he doesn't have to be worried today at all. L'chein harasha asim chalesh d'lusoi. It's not so when it comes to somebody who is doesn't have the bitachon, he is not righteous. He's evil, he's the evil one. He depends, very interestingly, on his own efforts. Bitnei tehsar, his stomach is always empty. Mishum she'yachas l'achol l'seiva, he's afraid to eat to his heart's content, he's afraid to fill up his stomach. Bishvil dageis machar, because he's afraid of tomorrow. U'vocher l'kametz mayom al hamachar. He chooses to scrimp and save up today for tomorrow. L'chein bitnei tehsar l'tamid. Therefore, his stomach is always empty. Mash'ein kein b'veiteich b'Hashem. Which is not so someone who trusts in God. U'tamid chazak b'da'ato v'ein chashash min mikum. He's always strong in his mind. He's not afraid of anything that's going to happen. Achol l'seiva nafsho. He eats to his heart's content, he eats and he fills his fills himself, he feels full. Why l'dagei bishvil machar, why Once a person has the path of faith in God, and now his faith is in God, there's no difference in times. Today or tomorrow, it's all the same. Just like God provided for him today, God will also provide for him his needs for tomorrow. Such a person has no fear of the future. He knows that just like gave him today, just like gave him yesterday, has always provided for me. Has always provided for me. Will always provide for me. Amazing story from the Shammy. There was a certain convert to Judaism who had originally been an astrologer. He understood the stars. He could see the future by gazing at the stars. One time after he'd already become a convert, he wanted to leave his home. I'm going to leave here actually soon. He said inside of his heart, what is this? It's not such a good time to go out. He said he feels stuck. He knew that based on his astrological sign, if he would go out now, he would be in danger. But then he said to himself, "Oh my goodness, what am I saying? He said to himself, "Why did I attach myself to this holy nation, to the Jewish people? To separate myself from this this these things. I don't have to be worried about these things. This is The verse says in Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse 14, You, it's not so. It's not giving you the stars and the signs and the all of the future, the ability to divine the future. You should not listen to those You shouldn't listen to people who are psychic even, who have that ability to be able to know what's going to happen. He said to himself, "I'm going to go out in the name of my creator, I've nothing to fear." But there he said, On the way, he came close to a to an animal, a lion. That was going to gobble him up, but he was able to give the lion his donkey. The donkey was eaten up by the lion, and he was saved. What would what caused him to fall into danger in the first place? Because he thought about it first. That it wasn't a good idea to go out at that time. What saved him afterwards? It's because he trusted in God. It's an amazing thing. I ain't jump see over there. I'll just finish the last two lines. We see that a person who trusts in God is so strong in his spirit. It's the toughest cloud. Such a person doesn't have to be afraid of animals that could could rip him apart. He trusts in his creator. He knows to make he'll be saved from all the things that could harm him. We see an amazing thing here that that a person can have be talking can have faith in God. And the faith goes up and down. And a person can strengthen himself and get it back. And such a person who's on a certain level, if they don't have be talking, if they lose their faith, they don't trust in God, it can be considered a sin in the regard, right? The word sin, just like in in in Hebrew, the word hate means to miss the mark. So, a person misses the mark, they could be hitting the mark, but they choose not to. So, then it could it could have a negative effect on them, and they could succumb to the those things that occur in the world, which which are dangerous. But, a person who has be talking strengthens his be talking, reinforces his trust in God, so then God helps him. And I want to remind you that we will be starting some very soon, meaning either this week or next week, we're going to be starting a a group a group of men separately from a group of women. And there are already Hashem enough people who are interested. If you are interested and you haven't yet sent an email to [email protected], please do so now so that you can get in at the beginning. Join us in working on bitachon.