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Guys, today we're going to round up the section that we've been dealing with in our Transform Your Bitachon series. And the question was, why must Hashem come through for me? We discussed that according to most opinions, what bitachon means is to rely on Hashem to such an extent that He will for sure come through for me in the way that I need. And the question that we ask is, why must Hashem come through for me? Who says I even deserve it? What is the mechanism that tells me that for sure Hashem must come through for me if I am relying on Him? And we looked at three passages that helped shed some light on this topic of our bitachon journey.

The first one was a midrash in Tehillim where the midrash stated that there was an individual who got arrested in a certain town and because he didn't want to be dealt with harshly by the police, he lied to them and told them, Please do not hurt me because I am part of the family of the king. The police believed the individual and in the morning when they brought this individual to the king, the king said to him, I do not recognize you. And the man said, Listen, I know I am not from your family and I know I behaved incorrectly by telling a lie and telling them that I am from your family.

However, my dear king, the only reason I did so was because I needed a way out of this terrible situation that I'm in and I knew that my only way to salvation was to rely on you and tell them that, Please, because of the king, I am from his family, save me due to the king's merit. Now, my king, I beg you, Please, because I've relied on you, come through for me and don't leave me hanging. And as the midrash ends off, David HaMelech teaches us that anyone who does the same with Hashem and says, Hashem, I am relying on you, Please, therefore, save me, Hashem will save him because of that reason exclusively.

We similarly saw a beautiful passage from the Chofetz Chaim where the Chofetz Chaim explained that when the angels guised as human beings who appeared as guests to Lot in the town of Sedom, when the townspeople came and wanted to harm those guests, Lot pleaded with them, Please, my people, do not do them harm. And his only argument was, Because they have relied on me, it is my responsibility to take care of them. Not because they are good people, not because you are doing something inappropriate, nor because of any other reason, but just because they have relied on me, that itself is enough of a reason and motivator for me to do anything and everything within my resources to make sure that they are taken care of and protected. And the Chofetz Chaim told us that as we see from other Torah passages, that Lot is not seen as an upright individual. And nevertheless, he understood this most basic fundamental idea about accountability to another human being who is relying on you.

And as the Chofetz Chaim continues, certainly when it comes to the Great King of all kings, Hashem Himself, when we choose to rely on Him, for sure He will not let us down, and He will come through for us and send us our salvation. And the words of the Chofetz Chaim are that when a person relies on Hashem, Hashem will for sure save you and send your salvation from all challenging circumstances.

And finally, we explore the most beautiful and fundamental piece from the Leshem, where the Leshem taught us that by the fact that the Torah itself calls on us in so many Torah passages to rely on Hashem when we are in distress, when we are short of money, when we are suffering illness, when we are going through a certain challenging relationship, or whatever it might be, each one of us in our own lives, by the fact that there are so many verses where Hashem calls on us and tells us, Please my child, you have a problem, you must rely on Me that I will take care of your problem. And because of this, the Leshem teaches us that just like Hashem came through for the people in the Torah itself, where He gave them outright commands to do very specific missions and said, Do not worry, when you do that mission, I will come through for you, because Hashem has commanded us to rely on Him throughout any and every situation that we go through, again, be it poverty, illness, or anything else. It is as if Hashem has commanded us to go through that situation and told us, Do not worry, I will come through for you. And it's as if He's told that to us in a direct revelation.

We'll end off with one more beautiful piece, and that is from Rashi to Tehillim (50:15), where Rashi writes, Hashem says, it is My honor that I save those that rely on Me. Again, it is beneath Hashem's, so to speak, dignity and honor to not come through for someone who is choosing to place their hope and reliance on Hashem. What a tremendous privilege we have to be able to tap into this power of bitachon and rely on Hashem to the point that we know that when we rely on Hashem, He will for sure come through for us in the way that we desire and that we need. B'ezrat Hashem, let's continue in this most incredible bitachon journey together and transform our lives.

Guys today we have a very fundamental torah piece we’re going to be exploring. And this is authored by Rav Shlomo Eliyashiv, who is actually the great grandfatrher of the great Rav yosef Shalom Eliyashiv from our generation. Rav Shlomo Eliyashiv, known as the Leshem, because of his Torah work – Leshem Shevo Veachlama, in one of his books known as the sefer hadeah (Chelek 2, drush 5, anaf 4, siman 5), writes the following remarkable idea. One is to be so confident in their reliance on Hashem that their situation will turn out for the good and when a person is choosing to rely on Hashem, they can be so confident in that reliance on Hashem that Hashem will come through for them in exactly the way that they need and nothing whatsoever can distract Hashem from sending their salvation. Hashem will for sure come through for them.

Because the concept of Bitachon is not limited to an explicit passage in the Torah such as when Hashem gave certain commands to our great ancestors in the Torah itself to do certain things, and then they were called on to have Bitachon to Him. Now one might argue, if Hashem also came to me in a revelation and told me to do something, I would do it and then I would rely on Him because He's told me clearly what I am to do. So one might argue, in situations such as the characters in the Torah itself where Hashem told them to do specific things and go on certain missions, they were able to have Bitachon in Hashem that Hashem would come through for them in exactly the way that was good for them and that He told them He would come through for them because He told them so. But me, Hashem did not speak to me and tell me that He was going to come through for me in the way that I am desiring. In fact, I am asking Hashem for Parnassah. I don't know if He wants me to have Parnassah. I am asking Hashem to give me health. I don't know if He wants me to have health.

And says the Leshem, one of the most fundamental ideas behind this whole journey of Bitachon, but also the concept of Bitachon applies just as much to situations where there is no explicit command from Hashem in the Torah to rely on Him in that specific situation. By the fact that there are so many pesukim in the Torah that call on us to constantly reach out to Hashem and hope to Hashem and rely on Hashem, that He is the one that will take care of us and when we are in a challenging situation to look up to Hashem that He will send us our salvation, and many verses in the Torah, such as this example that the Leshem brings, promise that somebody who trusts in Hashem, Hashem will come through for them, it is as if Hashem has written this situation that we are going through in the Torah itself and telling us, you are to rely on Me and I will come through for you.

So not only in situations where Hashem commands the individuals in the Torah stories themselves and says you are to go on certain missions, and even though it might seem like a dangerous mission, don't worry, I will come through for you in a good way. Bitachon is not limited to those situations. Rather, each and every one of us in our own situations. Because Hashem has commanded us in so many verses, when you have a problem, you are to rely on Me. So when I'm going through a challenging relationship and I come to Hashem and I say, Hashem please save me from this challenging situation. I'm relying on You and You exclusively to save me. It is as if Hashem has told me in the Torah, you are going to go through a challenging relationship and I am going to save you by the fact that so many pesukim command us to rely on Hashem.

Any situation where we need Hashem and we choose to rely on Him, it was as if Hashem had commanded us to go through that situation and had pre-told us that He will come through for us. Bezrat Hashem in the next session, we're going to round up part 5 of our Transform Your Bittachon series. And thereafter, continue to the next section of our Bittachon journey, and with Hashem's help, together, transform our lives.

We're moving forward now to the next Torah source we're going to be exploring. And this is a passage from the Chofetz Chaim (Zechor Lemiriam, Chapter 20). The Chofetz Chaim writes that we have found in the Torah a proof to internalize just how great the power of bitachon, of relying on Hashem is. And we can see this from the story in the Torah where the town of Sedom was about to be destroyed, and Hashem sent some heavenly angels in the guise of human beings to inform Lot on what was about to happen in order to give him a chance to escape and be saved. But again to Lot they appeared as human messengers. And as we know in the story in the Torah, that the wicked people of Sedom were trying to harm these messengers, these outsiders.

And what was Lot's response to his wicked neighbors and people of the town? Please do not cause these people any harm. Why? Because they have chosen to take shelter in my roof.

Continues the Chofetz Chaim, This means to say - They chose to rely on me that I am able to be their security and save them from you wicked individuals. And therefore Lot was begging his wicked neighbors, asking them please to leave these individuals alone. Why? Because they have relied on me. Again we are seeing here this most basic principle. When someone relies on you, you are accountable to come through for them. Lot understood this with absolute clarity and therefore the sole reason he asked his neighbors and townspeople to leave these individuals alone was not because they are good people or you guys are doing bad things, but rather please they have relied on me and therefore it is completely inappropriate for me not to be accountable and responsible towards them.

 And continues the Chofetz Chaim. We know from other Torah passages that Lot actually was not an upright individual whatsoever. Even though Lot was not an upright individual, he understood this most basic fundamental idea. That when someone relies on you, you are accountable to come through for them. And this story was written down in the Torah. The Torah passages are not just history lessons, but rather each episode that is recorded has a specific message and take home for us. And says the Chofetz Chaim that one of the most important take homes from this episode of Lot asking the people of his town to please leave his guests alone and not cause them harm because they have relied on him is to teach us that when someone relies on you, you are accountable and you must do anything and everything possible within your capacity and resources to make sure that those that have relied on you are taken care of in the way that they have relied on you.

And continues the Chofetz Chaim. How much more so this applies to Hashem Himself who is not limited by human capacities with all our issues and problems and challenges that we have, that Hashem Himself is really the source of all mercy and compassion, when a person relies on Hashem with sincerity, Hashem will certainly help that individual to be saved from all forms of evil.

Again, we see clearly in this beautiful passage from the Chofetz Chaim. When one relies on Hashem, Hashem will for sure come through for you and save you from the challenging situation that you are going through. It does not say here that hopefully He will save you, but maybe He might have other calculations why He might not come through for you in the way that you desire.

No, the Chofetz Chaim is teaching us when you rely on Hashem, Hashem is accountable to come through for you for the sole reason that you have chosen to rely on Him. Bezrat Hashem, in the next session, let's continue with the next passage we're going to be exploring about Bitachon and with Hashem's help, together transform our lives.

Guys, we continue this incredible Bittachan journey, so we discussed in the previous session, that when we rely on Hashem, he will not let us down. Because someone who is reliable does not let people down. A human king, who is supposedly reliable, does not let people down. How much more so, Hashem himself does not let people down. Now, before we continue with the next passage, I would just like to highlight an important fundamental principle that applies to all of Bitachon. And that is that, unfortunately, in today's day and age, many people do not have a good grasp of what it means to live with full responsibility and accountability.

Hashem created us in this world with the opportunity to have free choice in the way that we respond to situations. And one of the things that we have free choice for is, are we going to be accountable for our responsibilities? So an easy example to relate to if someone has a newborn baby. Now, this baby is relying on its mother to give it its food. Now, it's obvious and easy for all of us to understand that a mother who would completely negate her responsibility to feed the child and just allow the child to go hungry is abusing her position of authority to this child who needs her to feed him. It is her absolute responsibility to make sure that this child is taken care of and fed.

And in a similar vein, as children grow older, we are also responsible to take care of their needs. And similarly, husband and wife have responsibility and accountability to one another. And obviously, this idea can be extended to all areas of our lives, be it with friends and other relationships and with our business colleagues and the like. We are accountable for our actions and we need to take responsibility when someone is relying on us. A doctor is accountable for his patients who are relying on his services. And the same goes with any service provider who is accountable to do their best to come through for those who are relying on their services.

Now, the reason we might have a difficult time initially understanding how Bitachon works is because, unfortunately, this concept of accountability and responsibility is sometimes foreign to the Western world way of thinking of our generation, where people are just looking to avoid all forms of accountability and responsibility and just live a life without responsibilities and just self-gratifying enjoyment. Whereas when one is privy to adopt the mode of thought of the Torah itself, which teaches us that people are supposed to be accountable and responsible, all the more so people in a state of high power, a president, a king and the like, where many people are relying on them. An upright and responsible person is certainly accountable for those relying on him.

And certainly the greatest of the great king of all kings, Hashem himself, when someone relies on him and says, Hashem, I'm relying on you. I need you. Hashem will not leave that person hanging because if we are choosing to rely on Hashem, he knows we need him. He knows we are relying on him and he will therefore come through for us. This concept is a fundamental. B’ezrat Hashem, in the next session, we're going to move forward to the next Torah source in this part of our journey of the Transform Your Bitachon series and with Hashem's help together, transform our lives.

Guys, I'm super excited to move forward, B'zrat Hashem, to the next section in our Transform Your Bitachon series, where the question we're going to be exploring with the accompanying Torah sources is, why must Hashem come through for me? And as we've alluded to in the previous sections, there could be many considerations in Hashem's books, why He might not come through for us. And perhaps most obviously we could ask, who says Hashem owes it to me? For what reason must we say that if I rely on Hashem, He must come through for me? B'ezrat Hashem, in this section, we're going to gain a better understanding of the exact mechanism of why it is that if we choose to place our Bitachon, to rely on Hashem, that He must come through for us.

So the first Torah passage we're going to be visiting is the Midrash Tehillim (chapter 25, verse 2). And the Midrash says, there was a story that took place during the night time, in a certain town, where a man was arrested. And the Midrash now tells of the man's response to his communication with the police. The man begged them to leave him alone and not deal with him harshly, claiming he belonged to the family of the king. The police therefore left him alon, not dealing with him harshly, until the morning.

In the morning, they brought this man to the king and they said to him, we arrested a man from your family. Now seeing as the king was not able to recognize this man, the king said to him, My son, do you recognize me? Do you know me? And the man says, no. So the king says to the man, If so, why did you tell the police that you are a member of the king's family if in truth you are not? The man said back to the king, I beg you. I am not a member of the king's family. But my king, I relied on you. Because if I did not tell the police that I was a family member of the king's family, they would have dealt with me harshly. And in order to save myself, I relied on you, my king. The king therefore said to the police, seeing as this person relied on me, let him go. Yes, he lied. He is not from my family and he has no particular merit to get off the hook for what he did. But just because of the sole reason that he relied on me, I will therefore come through for him and save him.

Continues the midrash, So too, David Hamelech says, Hashem, my God, I have relied on you and therefore I am asking you, Hashem, that I should not come to any embarrassing situations. And because I have chosen to rely on you, Hashem, that is the reason that you should come through for me and not allow me to experience embarrassing situations. David Hamelech ends off in the midrash, and not only me, but rather anyone who places their hope and their bitachon in you, Hashem, will not come to embarrassing situations.

What we're seeing from this midrash is really the foundation of how bitachon works. Because we are choosing to rely on Hashem, that reason itself is the motivator for Hashem coming through for us, even if we've done everything else wrong. But because we are saying, Hashem, I'm relying on you, please save me, it is not appropriate for Hashem to leave us hanging. Even by human individuals, such as the king in the story of the midrash brought, where the individual relied on the king, it would not be appropriate for the king to just leave the individual hanging, but rather he must come through for him. And in a similar vein, when anyone chooses to rely on Hashem, Hashem will come through for them because it is not appropriate for Hashem to leave an individual who's relying on him hanging.

B'ezrat Hashem, let's continue on this incredible journey together about bitachon and transform our lives.

B’ezrat Hashem, today we’re wrapping up this part of our Transform Your Bitachon series. Just a quick summary of what we explored in this section.

We brought a passage from the Midrash to Tehillim (Chapter 31), which stated, שֶׁכָּל מִי שֶׁבּוֹטֵחַ בִּשְׁמִי אֲנִי מַצִּילוֹ — that anybody who trusts in Hashem will be saved. Again, highlighting to us exactly what Bitachon is all about.

We thereafter explored a passage from the Zohar HaKadosh (Shemos 22a), which stated that when somebody is confident in their absolute Bitachon and reliance on Hashem, nothing and no one in the world can cause them any harm whatsoever.

We then saw a piece from Rabbeinu Yonah (Mishlei 3:6), where he states that besides for the main reward for Bitachon, which is really going to be repaid in the next world and is much greater than anything you can receive in this world, תַּצְלִיחַ בַּמַּעֲשֶׂה הַהוּא — you will be successful in that thing that you are relying on Hashem for. It is not only that Hashem can help you in this situation, but you are able to rely on Hashem to such an extent that He will for sure help you in this situation.

We then explored a piece from Rabbeinu Bechayei (Devarim, Chapter 11), that if a person has Bitachon in Hashem, יִנָּצֵל מִן הַצָּרָה — you will be saved from that situation. Again, Rabbeinu Bechayei highlighting to us that the mechanics of Bitachon is that if you trust in Hashem, you will for sure be saved from the situation that you fear.

We then looked at the Maharal (Nesivos Olam, Bitachon, Chapter 1), where the Maharal stated that someone who has Bitachon in Hashem, כָּל הַדְּבָרִים נַעֲשִׂים לוֹ לְטוֹבָה — everything will turn out for you for the good. Again, the Maharal highlighting to us just how powerful Bitachon is, that when we place our reliance on Hashem exclusively, everything will turn out for the good.

We then saw the Chofetz Chaim (Zechor L’Miriam, Chapter 20), where he says that כַּאֲשֶׁר יִבְטַח בּוֹ הָאָדָם בֶּאֱמֶת — when a person relies on Hashem with truth and sincerity, בְּוַדַּאי יַעַזְרֶנּוּ הקב"ה לְהִנָּצֵל מִכָּל רַע — Hashem will for sure help you to be saved from all evil, again highlighting to us the tremendous power of Bitachon, that when we are sincere in our reliance on Hashem, it is an absolute that Hashem will save us from challenging situations.

We then saw the Meshech Chochmah (Parashas Eikev, Devarim 10:20), where he said שֶׁבָּעִנְיָן שֶׁהוּא בּוֹטֵחַ יוֹשִׁיעֵהוּ ה' מִצַּד הַחֶסֶד — that Hashem will for sure send your salvation for the thing that you are relying on Him for.

And the final passage that we are going to view in this section is a piece from the Sefer Beis HaLevi Al HaTorah (page 53), where he writes, עַל יְדֵי מִדַּת הַבִּטָּחוֹן יְכוֹלִים לְהַשִּׂיג כָּל דָּבָר — through the attribute of Bitachon you are able to attain anything.

As we’ve mentioned so many times, the concept of Bitachon is literally all over the Torah, throughout Tanach, throughout Tehillim, and throughout Torah literature. Not only does Hashem allow us to rely on Him, but we are called, as the greatest mitzvah, to place our reliance in Hashem—not only to know that He can come through for me, but to trust that He will come through for me and send my salvation in the way that I need.

At the same time, we internalize that the main reward for Bitachon is not receiving what we need in this world, but in truth something much greater than that, because the reward for us in the next world for just being on this Bitachon journey, trying to take steps forward, is much greater than anything we could even fathom as a reward in this world.

At the same time, we remember that the precondition for the axiom of Bitachon, which Hashem created in the creation of the world, to work without any shadow of a doubt and without any exceptions, is to be so confident in Hashem without any backup plan—no plan B. And when I am able to reach such a state of Bitachon, there is nothing that can get in the way.

As the Beis HaLevi is teaching us here, עַל יְדֵי מִדַּת הַבִּטָּחוֹן — through Bitachon, יְכוֹלִים לְהַשִּׂיג כָּל דָּבָר — you can attain anything in the world.

What a tremendous privilege it is to be exploring these most potent and powerful passages about Bitachon. B’ezrat Hashem, let’s continue this incredible journey together and transform our Bitachon.

We're moving forward now, Bezrat Hashem, to the next Torah source that we're going to be visiting. And this is a small piece from the Meshech Chochmah (Devarim 10:20) where he writes, “That in the particular matter that you rely on Hashem for, He will save you because of Hashem's kindness and mercy.”

Guys, although the concept that we are learning might be repetitive, it is super important to see it again and again because this is not the normal type of bitachon, which is usually explored, and for good reasons, as we stated previously, because one of the dangers of bitachon is if somebody is taught that if you rely on Hashem, He will give you exactly what you need, and just takes that as a take-home, this could lead to a very dangerous conclusion, and that could be that he goes home, relies on Hashem to what he thinks is the best of his capacity, and then what happens - Hashem doesn't come through for him, and then God forbid this person can draw the tremendously mistaken conclusion that bitachon doesn't work, and then what does that do with all the information I have been taught about bitachon? Does it mean it's not true, God forbid? And this could cause a tremendous problem to one's emunah, in Hashem, in the Torah passages, and in emunah and bitachon as a whole.

And therefore it is vital to learn the topic properly as we're trying to do, breaking It Up, into clear segments, asking the questions, and reviewing many of the Torah sources with regards to that particular topic, because as we know, the true perspective comes from Hashem, which is portrayed in His Torah and throughout Torah literature, and we are learning from the early classic Torah sources down to the modern day contemporary Torah sources, such as the Chofetz Chaim and the Meshech Chochmah that we just explored, that the true approach, according to Hashem's books, is that Hashem wants you to rely on Him in a confident way, that He will for sure send our salvation in the way that we need, and when we do so, He will for sure send our salvation. Not “maybe there are other considerations” - Bitachon is an axiom of creation. You rely on Hashem for something with sincerity, He will for sure come through.

However, what is super important to continue to highlight to ourselves is that this will only work 100% without a shadow of a doubt as an axiom of creation if you are 100% sincere on your reliance on Hashem. That means, I don't know how I'm going to find a solution to my problem, I am relying on Hashem exclusively, and I have no plan B because I know He will come through. Why would I need a plan B? This does not yet touch on the topic of Hishtadlus, because this may lead to the question of, “if I rely on Hashem exclusively, why should I apply any of my own Hishtadlos - any of my own efforts?” And again, we'll get to that section, B’ezrat Hashem, where we discuss Hishtadlos in its own right. But for our purposes right now, it's important to highlight that although the main reward is just being on the bitachon journey and trying our best to grow in our bitachon, however, the axiom of creation that Hashem created, that when you rely on Hashem for something, you will for sure receive it, that works if you are 100% reliant on Hashem and reliant on nothing and no one else. And our job is just to take small steps each day and do our best to work towards moving closer and closer to absolute reliance on Hashem.

Yes, it is a very high level to rely on Hashem with absolute sincerity to the point that I feel completely calm that I have no problems anymore. It's as if when I have a financial problem and my uncle calls me up and he says, listen, you don't have to worry. I am very wealthy financially and I have no problem whatsoever to give you as much money as you need. Not only that, I'm super happy to help you out. Each time you have a problem, please call me up. Let me know. I will help you.

After that phone call and successfully relying on my uncle and then needing money again and a second time, third time and 10 times, the same situation repeating itself where he continuously comes through for me. I have no need anymore to find a plan B because this is my solution. And when I am in trouble, I know I can rely on my uncle with no problem whatsoever. When we can reach that state of reliance on Hashem, then we are so confident He will come through for us. We are being taught here from so many Torah sources that Hashem will come through for you without a shadow of a doubt. So B’ezrat Hashem, let's continue to clarify exactly what Bitachon is all about and with Hashem's help move forward together in this incredible journey and transform our lives.

We’ve been discussing many Torah sources that give us the true description of what does it mean to have bitachon in Hashem. We now moving forward to the next Torah passage, which is a piece from the Maharal (Nesivos Olam, Bitachon, Chapter 1), where the Maharal states, “How great is the attribute of Bitachon, that when one is in the category of relying on Hashem with all their heart, everything will turn out for you in a revealed, good, sweet way.”

The Maharal is writing here pretty clearly that when we apply bitachon and rely on Hashem for a particular situation, the result will be that the situation will for sure turn out for us in a positive way. And in the words of the Maharal, “that all things in your life will turn out for the good.” Again, we are seeing here very clearly from the Maharal that the attribute of bitachon is so powerful that when we rely on Hashem with all our hearts, not only will Hashem come through for us in a way that He sees best, but rather He will send us our salvation in a way that is good and sweet in our eyes too.

We're now moving forward to the next Torah source. And this is a passage from the Chofetz Chaim (Zechor Lemiryam, Chapter 20), where he states, “with regards to Hashem Himself, who is the source of all mercy and compassion, when a person places their bitachon and reliance on Hashem with truth and sincerity, Hashem will for sure send the person their salvation, and they will be saved from all evil circumstances and happenings.” Again, we are seeing here from the Chofetz Chaim, what does bitachon mean? What is the power of bitachon? When you rely on Hashem, Hashem will for sure save you from the challenging circumstances that you are going through.

A person is ill, a person is short of money, a person is looking for their zivug, a person has a relationship problem, a person is struggling with bringing up their children, or whatever else might be applicable in your life. The Chofetz Chaim is teaching us the treasure of bitachon, based on all the earlier Torah sources that we already visited, that when somebody places their true reliance on Hashem, Hashem will for sure save them from their challenging circumstance. Not that the approach is, “there are other considerations, and who knows, maybe for you, it's not best if Hashem saves you in the way that you desire.” No, the Chofetz Chaim is teaching us that when you have bitachon in Hashem, when you rely on Hashem, He will for sure send you salvation.

And again, let us highlight by the fact that there are so many Torah passages, throughout all Torah literature, that highlight that Hashem calls on us to have bitachon in Hashem, it is clear then, that it is not just a license that we have, that if we want, we can tap into this amazing opportunity, but rather, Hashem is telling us through all the many pesukim, please place your bitachon in me, through all circumstances, and it is the greatest mitzvah that we can be fulfilling. What an incredible opportunity we have, not only to receive the ultimate most tremendous reward in the next world, by doing our best to grow in the ladder of bitachon in this world, but even tapping into the most powerful weapon for ourselves in this world itself, which is that when we choose to rely on Hashem, we will actually be saved from the detrimental situations that could potentially arise for us in this world. B'ezrat Hashem, let's continue together in this incredible journey about bitachon, and transform our lives.

Let's continue this incredible journey about Bitachon and we're now moving forward to the next passage, which is a piece from Rabbeinu Bechayei (Devarim, Chapter 11) where Rabbeinu Bechayei writes that somebody who is afraid from another individual actually brings about the trouble and the stumbling block that he's fearing from, and he actually brings the distress onto himself, even though that distress and challenging situation would not have presented itself if not for fearing that item or individual.

We've touched on this concept numerous times before, where the Torah commentaries teach us that the opposite of Bitachon is actually fear. And the way Hashem made it work in the spiritual realms is that when we fear something, which again, is the opposite of Bitachon, it works like a magnet that, God forbid, we can actually attract that item to come about just because of our fear towards it.

Now again, as a premise to this topic, we have to remember what the Torah commentaries, such as the Steipler in Birkas Peretz, taught us, where we have to realize that we are human beings and natural anxiety and fear are oftentimes not something that we can control, and we don't have to now cause ourselves more anxiety and more fear because we naturally are feeling anxiety and fear towards something. We have to remember that Hashem is not going to hold us accountable for more than our natural limitations and human capacity. If we are doing our best to be on the Bitachon journey and we are feeling fear towards something, and there's nothing more I can do about it right now today -maybe in the future I can grow more in my Bitachon journey and I won't feel anxiety or fear from this situation. But right now, this is where I am, and I am feeling tremendous feelings of fear towards another individual or another circumstance.

If that is the case, we can now place our Pitachin in Hashem and say, “Hashem, I don't want to fear another individual nor any other circumstance, but Hashem, I am currently experiencing anxiety and fear and I don't want to, but there's nothing I can do. I am a human being. I'm asking you to help me. Help me that tomorrow I shouldn't feel anxiety and fear from this situation. But right now I am, so I'm asking Hashem, please protect me.” And if we do that, we are putting it in Hashem's hands and there's no question, as the Steipler and others teach, that we are not going to be held accountable in that situation and we are certainly not going to be in this category of bringing about bad situations onto ourselves by fearing them. But what we are learning here is that we do have to do everything we can to be on the Bitachon journey because Bitachon is the foundation and point of all of Torah, mitzvos and everything we are and do.

And because the opposite of Bitachon in many ways, as the Torah commentaries teach, is fear, we've got to do everything we can to be on our journey, to remove fear from our lives. But now let's continue this passage of Rabbeinu Bechayei where he states, “And somebody who is on the Bitachon journey and doing their best to place their Bitachon and reliance in Hashem, the opposite of fearing somebody else and another circumstance, they are rather choosing to rely on Hashem exclusively, what will the outcome of that be? Continues Rabbeinu Bechayei, He will be saved from that challenging situation, even though that situation was supposed to come about according to all the laws of nature and statistics and even spiritually so, it was supposed to come about, but because I am choosing to rely on Hashem exclusively and do my best to remove my fear from other individuals and other circumstances, Hashem will cause things to turn around in a way that distressing and challenging situations that were supposed to come about in my life will now not come about because of my Bitachon in Hashem.

And ends off Rabbeinu Bechayei, “And so too Shlomo HaMelech warns us about how important it is to work on our Bitachon, as it states in Mishlei, That the fear of a man places his stumbling block in front of him, whereas somebody who relies on Hashem will be saved. Bitachon is an axiom that Hashem created in the world, that if you rely on Hashem exclusively, in Rabbeinu Bechaye's words here, you will for sure be saved and receive your salvation. B’ezrat Hashem, let's continue to explore these incredible Torah sources about Bitachon and transform our lives.

In the previous session, we discussed a beautiful piece from Rabbeinu Yonah on Mishlei, where he states two points, that although the ultimate reward for relying on Hashem with absolute confidence is going to be received in the next world, where the reward will be greater than anything that we can imagine in this world, however, besides for that, as Rabbeinu Yonah stated, you will for sure be successful in that endeavor that you are relying on Hashem for. And it is important to highlight that by the fact that we have so many pesukim throughout Torah literature, where Hashem calls on us to please rely on Him, He's not telling us, “you may rely on Me if you would like to, but maybe ideally that's not the right thing to do.” Rather, He's telling us, “please, it is the greatest mitzvah to rely on Me at all times.”

We discussed different pesukim which call on us to trust in Hashem forever, at all times, with all our hearts, and many other psukim along the same lines. That being the case, it is clear that not only do we have a license to rely on Hashem, but rather Hashem is commanding us to please rely on Him, and telling us that doing so is actually a great mitzvah. What a tremendous opportunity each one of us has, that not only is Hashem allowing us to place our problems on Him, that when we have a challenge that we don't know how to get through, we don't know how we're going to get this money, we don't know how to receive the salvation in our particular area. Hashem is saying to us, “listen, you can rely on Me. Tell Me about your problem, rely on Me, I will take care of your problem.”

But He's not just stopping there and telling us, “you can do that, and that's okay.” He's telling us, “this is a mitzvah, and you will get so immensely rewarded for placing your problems on Me and trusting in Me, that the amount of reward that you will receive in the next world, way surpasses anything that you might imagine for yourself to receive in this world.” There's so much more to learn about Bitachon, and b’ezrat Hashem, we will do so as we continue in this Transform Your Bitachon series, but just for right now, something that each and every one of us can do in a practical way, because again, the point of Bitachon is not just to learn the information, but ultimately to truly incorporate it in our lives, and yes, there are many ways to incorporate this information in our lives, but for now, something that every single one of us can do is have a private session with Hashem in our own words and talk to Him, because when we don't have that space to talk to Hashem and be alone with Hashem and be alone with ourselves, the noise of the world gets in the way, and we don't have the space and the time to truly tap into the power of Bitachon, whereas when we make a dedicated time and space, each one of us in our own way, in our own place, wherever that might be, just a quiet time, phones off, no disturbances.

I stop and I think, and I say, “Hashem, I am struggling in this situation; I do not have the money that I need. I have learned in the basics of Emunah that You can do anything, and You can certainly save me from this situation, and I am ljearning now in Bitachon that not only can You save me from this situation, but that You actually will save me from this situation if I truly place my reliance on You in a sincere way, and not only am I allowed to rely on You in this way, but it is actually the greatest mitzvah to place my reliance on You in this way. Whether I understand it or not, Hashem, I am seeing that this is Your perspective, but I do understand, Hashem, that in order for Bitachon to be absolute, that it for sure works, I have to be absolutely sincere in my reliance on You. I can't have backup plans, as in, if Hashem doesn't come through for me, then this is my plan B. Rather, Hashem, I am asking You, please, help me.

I want to have absolute Emunah, and I want to have absolute Bitachon, and it is very difficult in today's world to live this way according to the values of true Emunah and true Bitachon, when everything on the outside in the Western world philosophy teaches the opposite, that You are Your own boss, that I am the master to my own destiny, that the harder You work, the more You will get, and the like. Hashem, please help me to internalize the truth, that there is nothing else except for You in the world, and You exclusively run every single detail in the world. Please Hashem, help me to be truly successful in both my Emunah as well as my Bitachon journey.” B’ezrat Hashem, guys, let's move forward in the next session, continuing this incredible journey together, and transform our Bitachon.

Guys, I hope you're beginning to appreciate the incredible journey that we're taking here, literally opening up the treasures of the world. In the current section of our Transform Your Bitachon series, we've so far explored two passages where we learned in the Midrash on Tehillim, as well as the passage from the Zohar HaKadosh, that if one is to place their absolute reliance on Hashem, that Hashem will for sure send their salvation, there is nothing that can get in the way of those plans. And again, the type of bitachon we are learning about here is not just to know that Hashem can send my salvation, but rather to rely on Hashem to such an extent that He will send my salvation without a shadow of a doubt.

We now move forward to the next passage we're going to be seeing, and this is a passage from Rabbeinu Yonah to Mishlei (3:6), where Rabbeinu Yonah writes, “Besides for the actual reward we will receive for trying to be on the bitachon journey, which is actually greater than anything you can comprehend, greater than the heavens or anything else” - Rabbeinu Yonah is teaching us right at the beginning of this statement, that don't forget, the main reward of bitachon is just being on the bitachon journey. Yes, as we're going to see, if you have absolute bitachon in Hashem, you will receive your salvation. It's not that I know that maybe Hashem can send my salvation. If you have absolute bitachon, you will receive your salvation, as we'll see soon. However, he's teaching us something even more fundamental and important than that, and that is that if you are working to be on the bitachon journey, that reward is greater than anything you might be hoping to receive in this world, because the reward that will be due for us in the next world, just for our making an effort to try to grow in our bitachon, is way greater than anything that this world has to offer.

And as we've explored previously from numerous Torah passages, if you imagine for a moment the greatest pleasure possible in your imagination, and imagine that pleasure continuing for 120 years straight without any pause, as the Sefarim teach us, one split second of the experience that we are due to receive in the next world for the reward of our mitzvos, is way greater than an entire lifetime of constant pleasure, just to appreciate what that means. Now, when we are dealing with bitachon, which is the ultimate mitzvah, can we only imagine how great the reward for bitachon is going to be.

But now we continue in Rabbeinu Yonah's passage, where he says, “besides for the reward that you're going to receive, which is greater than anything else that this world has to offer, when you apply bitachon in Hashem, reliance on Hashem, that I am in a predicament, I need to come out of it, and the only true source of reliance I have is Hashem, you will succeed in that action, that you have remembered Hashem, and you have remembered that the result is completely not in your hands whatsoever.

When we are on the bitachon journey, and we choose to place our bitachon, our reliance not on myself, nor on another individual, but rather absolutely and exclusively in Hashem's hands, says Rabbeinu Yonah, you will be successful in this situation. Rabbeinu Yonah does not say, you will definitely receive tremendous reward in the next world, but hey, just remember that you might not get exactly what you want in this world, because Hashem has many considerations, and maybe it's not good for you, or maybe you don't deserve it, and the like. Rather, Rabbeinu Yonah says, yes, the ultimate reward is that you're going to receive tremendous reward in the next world, way greater than anything this world has to offer.

Meaning, if somebody has an illness, although one might see recovery from this illness as a tremendous reward, however, in truth, that reward pales in comparison to the true reward one will receive in the next world for their practicing of bitachon. However, in addition to that, Rabbeinu Yonah is teaching us that if you are to place absolute reliance on Hashem, not only will you receive tremendous reward in the next world, but you will for sure receive your salvation in this world, which means to say, you will for sure recover from the illness that you are going through. With the help of Hashem, let's continue this incredible journey together, and transform our bitachon.

In the previous session, we discussed the Midrash on Tehillim, which states that the only reason Hashem chose to perform miracles and save Chananya, Mishael, and Azariah, as well as Daniel, from their circumstances that according to all the laws of nature and statistics predicted absolute death, was not because of any other factor, aside from their absolute reliance on Hashem, their Bitachon in Hashem. And again, the Midrash then ends off that David HaMelech therefore concluded that since this is the case, that anyone who relies on Hashem, Hashem will absolutely send their salvation in the way that they need, therefore he too decided to adopt this approach of Bitachon as we see throughout Tehillim.

We now move forward, B’ezrat Hashem, to the next Torah source that we're going to be looking at. And this is a piece from the Zohar HaKadosh (Shmos 22a), which states, “all the days of the life of a human being, we are called on to be strong in bringing Hashem into our lives.” As we discussed many times, there are brilliant levels to what it means to have Emunah and Bitachon. And the Zohar HaKadosh is highlighting that one has to be super strong in doing one's best to bring Hashem into all areas of our lives with absolute sincerity.

And continues the Zohar HaKadosh, “and an individual who places his Bitachon and reliance on Hashem in such an absolute, concrete, strong way, nobody in the world can do anything detrimental for you.” Guys, one of the most basic extensions of Emunah is believing in the words of the Torah, as well as all of Torah literature. We are learning very clearly here from the Zohar HaKadosh that when one is confident in strong Bitachon in Hashem, to the point that I am relying on Him, that He will for sure save me from this situation; nobody in the world, it doesn't matter how powerful they might be, can touch you, because Hashem is much stronger than anyone and everyone.

So consider a case where a powerful individual has threatened me in some area of my life, be it in my personal life or in my business life. And according to the laws of nature, I have every reason in the world to feel every bit of fear against this individual. Now let us not forget the famous passage that we've previously cited from the Chovos Halevavos, where he states that human beings have a need and tendency to always rely on something. If I am not relying on Hashem, I am relying on some circumstance or some individual. And the Chovos Halevavos teaches us a very scary conclusion: When I am reliant on another individual, I actually become under their auspices. And that means that if I am fearing another individual who is threatening me in one way or another, and I forget to apply Bitachon, to rely on Hashem exclusively, God forbid, I can actually become under their auspices, which is a petrifying idea to internalize.

Whereas, as the Zohar Hakadosh is teaching us here, somebody who places their Bitachon in Hashem exclusively, nobody in the world can do anything detrimental to you, even if according to all the laws of statistics and nature, it seems like I should fear them with all my heart. However, we are learning here loud and clear from the Zohar Hakadosh: When we rely on Hashem to send our salvation and save us from whatever circumstances we might be going through, no individual and no circumstances can even slightly get in the way of Hashem's plans.

And again, let us remind ourselves, it does not mean that Hashem can certainly overpower another individual and can certainly redirect another situation that could have taken place and been detrimental for us, but rather it means that we are relying to Hashem to such an extent that He will for sure save me from this situation. And when I have placed my reliance on Hashem to send my salvation without a shadow of a doubt, nobody in the world can get in the way of those plans and I will for sure be saved. B'ezrat Hashem, let's continue these most fascinating passages about Bitachon together and transform our lives.

Today, we begin exploring the Torah sources of part 4 of our Transform Your Bitachon series. So the first Torah source we're going to be visiting is the Midrash on Tehillim (Chapter 31), where the Midrash states, “Hashem says to the Jewish people, trust in my name and I will come through for them. And why is this so? Because anyone who trusts in Hashem, I will save him.”

Again, notice the emphasis and the words of the Midrash. It is not saying that one who has bitachon and relies on Hashem, Hashem can save them but will not necessarily do so. But rather, as the Midrash states, that anyone who has bitachon in Hashem, anyone who relies on Hashem, Hashem will for sure save him. And continues the Midrash, “What is the proof for this? In the episode in Tanach, where the three tzaddikim were threatened to death, and they nevertheless trusted in Hashem, and because they trusted in me, I saved them.”

Again, this Midrash is teaching us how the mechanics of bitachin work. Because chanania mishael and azaria, the three tzaddikim, who were threatened to death, they chose to place their trust in Hashem, that is the reason that Hashem performed miracles for them, and saved them from their predicament. And the Midrash continues, And also when it came to the episode in Tanach, where the great tzaddik Daniel was thrown into a pit, filled with over a thousand lions, and Hashem performed a tremendous miracle and saved him from that predicament. What is the sole consideration that caused Hashem to send Daniel the salvation? And the Midrash here is stating, the only reason Hashem decided to perform a miracle for Daniel and save him from his predicament was because He placed His bitachon in Hashem.

It's so important to highlight and internalize what we are learning. It is not due to His great righteousness that Hashem saved him from his predicament, but rather because of the sole consideration of the opportunity of bitachon that He applied. So continues the Midrash, “David ha-Melech therefore said, since this is the case that anybody who trusts in You is saved, therefore I am also going to choose to place my bitachon and reliance on You, as we find in Tehillim (110:2), where the verse states, In You, Hashem, I have found my refuge - I have placed my reliance on.”

This is just the first of many Torah passages that we are going to explore B’ezrat Hashem in the coming sessions. The take home is very clear. When one places their bitachon in Hashem, Hashem comes through for them. And just to realize that the opportunity to place one's bitachon in Hashem is exclusive to other considerations. As we saw in this Midrash, the sole consideration for Hashem coming through for these tzaddikim, be it Chananya, Mishael, and Azariah, be it Daniel, or be it David ha-Melech, was because they chose to place their bitachon and reliance on Hashem exclusively. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward on this incredible journey together and transform our bitachon.

We are about to begin part four of our Torah sources that we've been exploring. I would just like to mention two more introductory points in this session, and b'zrat Hashem in the next session, we're going to move forward to investigating the Torah sources themselves inside. If the truth is, as we're going to see in these many Torah sources, that true bitachon means relying on Hashem to the point that I am confident He will send my salvation in the way that I desire; Let's use an example for the sake of clarity. So let's say I am short of $1,000. I am working on my reliance on Hashem that He will for sure send me these $1,000 that I need. So the question becomes, we know that Hashem has many deep calculations way beyond our understanding and let's say in His books it actually comes out that it would be very detrimental for me to receive these $1,000 because of considerations way beyond my understanding.

One way to view this is when we introduce the idea of Gilgulim, of reincarnations, and let's say in my existence in a previous reincarnation I committed a certain sin where my real cleansing for that sin in this lifetime would be to suffer and not receive this $1,000 right now. So really according to all logic, it would be correct that Hashem does not send me the $1,000 now. However, as we're going to see by the many Torah sources that we're going to explore, by the fact that Hashem not only allows us but actually commands us in so many verses and passages throughout all Torah literature that we are to place our reliance on Him, as the commentaries explain; if we are doing our best to fulfill the greatest mitzvah of all, the mitzvah of bitachon in Hashem, Hashem is so great that He will find a way to turn around the situation, even in the spiritual worlds, that receiving my salvation will actually be good for me in every sense of the word.

So again, even if in theory, according to calculations beyond my understanding, receiving these $1,000 will be bad for me, but just to realize the tremendous keys we are getting here guys, this is a treasure. When we rely on Hashem for a certain salvation, when Hashem sends me those $1,000, not only am I receiving what I need and what I want, but in terms of the whole picture of how Hashem has designed the world, including this lifetime of mine, any previous reincarnation, as well as any other consideration way beyond my understanding that Hashem might have, by me having bitachon means that the outcome will be the best possible outcome, taking everything into account. I received the $1,000 and I have also now achieved the most perfect cleansing for the sin I committed in a previous lifetime, that without my bitachon, in truth, I would have needed to not receive those $1,000 in order to achieve the ultimate cleansing that I needed. But the power of bitachon allows us to have such confident and sincere reliance on Hashem to the point that if we do so, we will not only receive the salvation that we are requesting and relying on Hashem for, but Hashem will turn the entire situation to be the best for us both physically in this world as well as in terms of all the calculations in the spiritual worlds.

A much more relatable way for many of us to understand this concept is when we apply the idea of tefillah. It is commonly taught and illustrated throughout all of Torah literature that Hashem desires that we are to pray for things, and we are not just to say, listen, this is in Hashem's hands and I'm not even going to daven for it. No, Hashem calls on us to daven for the things that we desire. Again, one might ask, but is that not maybe going to be bad in terms of all the calculations that Hashem has in store for us? Maybe it would have been better if the Imahos (matriarchs) would have remained barren, and that's how they would have achieved the ultimate rectification to their soul, taking all the spiritual considerations way beyond our understanding into account.

But no, that's not the approach. Because why? Because Hashem teaches us in countless passages, when you have a need, you are to daven to Me for that need. In the same way, we are to apply this concept, as we are going to see through countless Torah sources, that we are not only allowed to, but it is a mitzvah to have such confident bitachon in Hashem that not only can He send my salvation in the way that I need and I desire, but He will send my salvation in exactly the way that I need and that I desire. B'ezrat Hashem, let's continue to explore this most fascinating topic of bitachon and transform our lives.

On the one hand, we are learning the treasure of the world when we're exploring really what bitachon is truly all about. On the other hand, there are certain parts of bitachon which if not understood properly can actually be dangerous to our emunah in Hashem because one might be taught you can have such strong bitachon and reliance on Hashem that if you don't have money you will get exactly what you need or if you are sick you are able to rely on Hashem to the point that you are confident that you will absolutely have a full recovery or if you are looking for a zivug you are able to rely on Hashem that you will find your zivug and the many other situations that we all go through.

And the potential danger to that is that if a person has not learned the topic extensively one might have bitachon in Hashem and actually be quite sincere in their reliance on Hashem but then not have received the salvation that they had relied on Hashem for, and God forbid a person could then start asking many questions like, is this all actually true? Does bitachon actually always work? If that's what Torah sources are teaching me, then why didn't it work for me? So that's why I feel that it's very important and the responsible approach to make it very, very clear before we begin exploring these Torah sources in this exciting section about bitachon that yes, we are going to see that basically according to all Torah sources when the Torah talks about bitachon it is actually speaking about reliance on Hashem to the degree that you are confident Hashem will come for you in the way that you desire. And yes, it is an axiom of creation that if you do so nothing can get in the way and Hashem will for sure come through for you. However, there is a very important precondition and that is that you have to be so sincere in your reliance on Hashem that you are feeling so confident that it's actually like He's already sent your salvation.

So for example, I am currently short of $1,000 and I have no idea where I'm going to get it from. I tap into this type of bitachon and I get to a point that if somebody asks me, how are you going to take care of that $1,000? I'm able to say to them, oh don't worry, I've literally got that taken care of. As if somebody had already called me and told me that they're going to give me that $1,000 in the next few minutes. That's how confident I feel in my reliance on Hashem. If one reaches such a level, there is nothing that can stop your reliance on Hashem from coming to fruition in every sense of the word.

Now one might say, okay that's very nice, but that is a very high level of bitachon. True. However, as we're going to learn again in a coming section, the ultimate reward of bitachon is far greater than anything you can receive in this world. Far greater than $1,000. Far greater than a billion dollars. Because the true reward for bitachon is going to be paid to you in the next world. And therefore, it's not actually about receiving what you are relying on Hashem for, because if we don't get to that level of 100% reliance on Hashem, sometimes I might not then receive exactly what I've relied on Hashem for in the way that I would have liked, because Hashem has many calculations, as normally we relate to this type of relationship with Hashem when it comes to davening to Him, that maybe in the greater picture this is not great for me, etc.

But again, it's so important to remind ourselves that we have to know where to aim. If we know that the ultimate type of bitachon is to get to a level where we are so confident in our reliance on Hashem that we are sure He's going to give it to us, then at least we know where to aim in our journey of bitachon. As we've spoken about many times, the starting point is learning about the information, but the true work of bitachon is trying to internalize it. And if I know that the ultimate place to get to is full reliance on Hashem, to get to a level that I feel so confident that all my needs are completely taken care of, like the Chovos Halevavos taught us right at the beginning, that you have full menuchas hanefesh - full tranquility and peace and serenity, because you know all your needs are taken care of.

So even though I might not be able to get there today, tomorrow, or for a long time, or maybe for most areas of my life, I might not be able to get there, but if we do know the truth about bitachon, we at least know where we're supposed to be aiming in this journey, as well as sometimes in our lives we will see that we will be able to tap into this incredible type of bitachon. The ultimate reward of bitachon is just being on the bitachon journey itself, and if I'm taking steps forward in bitachon, I'm the greatest success story in the world. B’ezrat Hashem guys, let's move forward in this incredible journey together and transform our bitachon.

Just before we begin to explore the many Torah sources that we're going to be looking at in this section, I'd just like to highlight another couple of points that will again help us to understand this type of bitachon which is so important to give a real background before we actually begin trying to clarify the Torah sources themselves. Now for certain reasons, which B'ezrat Hashem will get to soon, this form of bitachon where one is so confident that Hashem will absolutely send me what I am relying on Him for without a shadow of a doubt, is not usually taught in most circles. And this does raise a question mark because the truth of the matter as we're going to see in this section is that the overwhelming majority of Torah sources teach that what bitachon ultimately means is to rely on Hashem to such an extent that I am confident that He will send me what I am asking for, what I am desiring.

And that being the case, why is this type of bitachon sometimes shied away from in being taught in the correct manner, the way most Torah sources teach about it, that one is able to rely on Hashem to such an absolute degree without a shadow of a doubt that He will make me better, that He will send the paranasa that I am asking for, that He will find my zivug and the many other things that we need in life. Not just that He has the power to and can do it, but not necessarily will He because of His many calculations, but rather the approach of I am confident and I am relying on Hashem to the point that He will send me exactly what I desire and what I need.

And as we mentioned in the introduction, many of the topics of bitachon intertwine and when one learns one of the topics, many other questions from other sections that we are going to be looking at are raised and Bezrat Hashem will get there, but again, if we can learn it in an organized way focusing on what we are doing in each section and Bezrat Hashem getting to those sections, then with Hashem's help we can come out with clarity.

So just to give a brief summary of what we will explore in a coming section, bitachon or absolute reliance on Hashem always works, yes, in the way that you desire. What you are relying on Hashem for, that is what will happen with the following very important prerequisite, and that is, if I am 100% sincere in my reliance on Hashem, then it is an axiom of creation that bitachon will work with no exceptions. It is something that Hashem planted in the nature of the way the spiritual worlds work, that if you have absolute bitachon, absolute reliance in Hashem for something, it will absolutely happen in the way that you desire, and it is absolutely going to be good for you in every sense of the word.

But again, there is a prerequisite for this to take place, and that is that I am so absolutely confident and sincere in my reliance on Hashem that it is almost like I know He is going to give it to me that I have no questions, and the reason this type of bitachon is sometimes shied away from is because if one does not learn the topic extensively, but only learns the first half of the sentence, that yes, bitachon always works, but is not properly informed that that is true as long as you are absolutely sincere in your absolute reliance on Hashem. What can happen, God forbid, is people can think that they have been sincere in their reliance on Hashem, and thereafter they do not see a salvation in the way that they relied on Hashem for. And then they, God forbid, can begin to ask questions like, is this all true? I was taught that bitachon always works, and I am seeing here that it did not work for me. Does that mean that this whole topic of bitachon is not true?

So on the one hand, one has to be very careful, as I am trying to be, in teaching this topic, in making sure that it is very clear how all the different elements fit in. But on the other hand, just to ignore the topic and not teach it at all, because one is concerned that people might go in the wrong direction, when this is ultimately the foundation of all of Yiddishkeit, of all Torah and mitzvos, is actually a tragedy, because this is the point of our lives. So B'ezrat Hashem, let's continue to explore and clarify what bitachon is all about and transform our lives.

We continue our amazing Bitachon journey. Guys, we're exploring now part four of this Transform Your Bitachon series, where the question is, does Bitachon always work? So I'm super excited, B’ezrat Hashem, to begin looking at these Torah sources inside, which are quite fascinating. Because again, this type of Bitachon is not as commonly focused on. And for me, personally, in my journey of Bitachon, it opened up a whole new avenue to the world of Bitachon. But again, we do have to understand the different elements of how all this works, and therefore I do feel it is worth giving a bit of an introduction to this section before we actually begin to explore the Torah sources inside, which we'll get to very soon, Bezrat Hashem.

One might ask, with the usual type of Bitachon that is taught, where one relies on Hashem that He certainly can do anything, but not necessarily will He do it in the way that I desire. In a sense, that seems like the more appropriate approach to take, because we certainly know that Hashem is much greater than anything that our brains might be able to comprehend. And Hashem has many calculations, so who am I to know that something is necessarily good for me? Whereas when I take the second approach of Bitachon, and I am so confident I need something and I am relying on Hashem that He will give it to me in the way that I desire, in a sense that might seem like I am putting myself in a position where I know better than Hashem. So as always, whenever we visit any question which has a real bearing on our lives, the way you are going to answer the question will just depend on the perspective you are looking at.

I often like to use the example of two people who are sitting across the table from one another, and the one individual is facing a six, whereas from the other individual's standpoint and perspective, he sees a nine. Who is right? And the answer to this question is they are both right, it just depends from which perspective you are looking at. Now sometimes, to look from one perspective is actually wrong, and although an individual looking from that perspective, within his way of seeing things, he is correct, however the reason he is wrong is because he's got the wrong perspective.

We all know we have very limited brains and we certainly make mistakes through many, many situations in our lives, so when making relatively small decisions, it doesn't make all that difference if I get the vanilla or the chocolate, because it's not going to have such a great bearing on my life, whereas when I am now exploring what is ultimately the right form of bitachon to apply, which as we've learned so many times, bitachon is the point of all Torah and mitzvos and ultimately the point of my life, this is a question with not only a little bit of bearing on my life, but this is the ultimate question that certainly begs clarification and to come to the real perspective, the only truthful perspective. And again, where are we going to find that only truthful perspective that we can be so confident that we've got the right answer, and the only place to look is Hashem's perspective which is portrayed to us in the Torah.

Now regardless of whether we understand or not the question that we asked previously or the many other complications that might arise from the type of bitachon that we are applying, the bottom line is that the first step to clarify is what is the Torah's perspective? What do the many Torah sources teach us about what bitachon truly is? Thereafter, we can try to understand the questions that might beg clarification, but the starting point is what do the many Torah sources teach? And as we're going to see in this section, the overwhelming majority of Torah sources teach that true bitachon means to rely on Hashem to such a confident degree that you are so confident He will come through for you in exactly the way that you desire.

So again, let's explore the questions that that might lead to, of who says that's good for me? How do I know I deserve it? Does this not seem like I'm interfering with Hashem's plans and the many other questions that this might lead to? But the starting point before even exploring the questions is what is the truth? What is the right perspective? B'ezrat Hashem, let's move forward in this incredible journey of bitachon together and transform our lives.

Guys, Bezrat Hashem, we're moving forward now to part four, and the question we're going to be exploring in these Torah sources in this section is, does Bitachon always work? And just before we, Bezrat Hashem, begin to explore the Torah sources inside, let's just give a brief introduction to what this section is going to be all about, Bezrat Hashem, which will help us then to understand the Torah sources in a more beneficial way.

So oftentimes when one learns about Bitachon, the way it is usually taught is as follows. Bitachon means to trust in Hashem to the point that He certainly can do absolutely anything. He is certainly not limited by any limitations of nature, nor any other statistics or anything else that runs our physical world, because He created the world and He constantly oversees and controls every single detail. And that being the case, if an individual is sick, or if somebody needs parnassah, or any other situation that one might be going through, when we ask ourselves, is it possible for Hashem to save me from this situation, the answer is absolutely yes, because Hashem can absolutely do everything.

Now although that is probably the most common understanding of what Bitachon is all about, and as we'll learn in a coming section of the Torah sources that we're exploring about that is certainly a type of Bitachon that we are to tap into. However, what's not as commonly taught and explored is the type of Bitachon that we're going to be looking at in this section, and that is, not only do I believe that Hashem can do anything for me, but I become so confident in my reliance on Hashem to the extent that I'm relying on Him that He will do it for me.

Meaning, the first type of Bitachon would say, I know Hashem can absolutely do anything for me, and if I am currently experiencing an illness, that according to all statistics and all laws of nature, it is impossible to find a cure for this. Nevertheless, I absolutely believe Hashem can send me a cure for this illness, even though that would go against all laws of statistics and nature, because again, Hashem is beyond all of that. However, I am not particularly sure and confident that Hashem will definitely send me my cure in the way that I would like, because again, Hashem is much greater than me, and He has many calculations, and who says I necessarily deserve that Hashem should come through for me in the way that I desire? And again, maybe there are other considerations beyond my human understanding why Hashem sending me a cure would be bad for me. So again, this type of Bitachon would dictate, Hashem can certainly come through for me and go against all the laws of nature and everything else that the basics of Emunah teach, but not necessarily that I am absolutely confident that He will come through for me.

And then we have another type of Bitachon. Where not only do I know that Hashem can come through for me, but I am able to get to such a level of reliance on Hashem, of Bitachon in Hashem, where I am actually counting on Him to send me my salvation. Not only to the point that I know that He can send me my salvation, but that He might not necessarily do so in the way that I would like, but rather, I am confident that Hashem will send me my salvation in the way that I desire, and in the way that I am asking Him to send it to me. And in this particular example of someone who is experiencing an illness, even though one might not know of any available cure, according to the laws of nature and statistics, one can reach a level of Bitachon in Hashem that I know Hashem is going to cure me, without any shadow of a doubt, and I am relying on Him to do so.

Now again, as we begin to explore this type of Bitachon, we might have many questions, such as, does Hashem allow me to practice such a form of Bitachon? Is it even what He wants, or would He rather me put it in His boat and say, Hashem knows better. Let me rely on Him to the extent that I know that He can do anything, but not necessarily dictate to Him what He should do. Or would He rather that I rely on Him to such an extent that I am almost telling Him what to do. So B'ezrat Hashem, let's move forward together on this exciting journey and transform our Bitachon.

Guys, what an amazing privilege we have to be continuing this journey about Bitachon. We've just wrapped up part three where we've been discussing exactly how important Bitachon is and we saw from many commentaries the tremendous extent Hashem places on Bitachon. But just before we move further to the next section in our Bitachon journey, I would like to elaborate a little bit more on something that we've discussed briefly previously.

In many ways if we think of Judaism, we think of Torah learning and the performance of the mitzvahs and in many circles this is what's ultimately focused on. Now there's no question that Emunah and Bitachon should lead me to treating Torah learning as of highest priority. Just for a little bit of inspiration, imagine you're on your way home and suddenly you encounter a situation where you save somebody's life. They literally were about to drown and you save them from drowning. That certainly would be a big highlight of something that happened in your day and probably in your life. The Gemara teaches us that when you learn a word of Torah that is even greater than that. Now that is just something to digest, our belief in the words of the Gemara that Torah learning is so so so powerful.

And at the same time when it comes to the value of mitzvos there are countless passages in Torah literature which explain the tremendous value to all of the mitzvahs. And there's no question that what will motivate me to do Torah and mitzvos will be Emunah and Bitachon. But as we've explained previously, Emunah and Bittachon is like the root of the tree which then produces many branches, one being Torah, one being mitzvos and all of them are super important and vital whilst at the same time the trunk of the tree is much bigger than the branches.

And similarly when it comes to Emunah and Bittachon although we have many mitzvos to fulfill and that is certainly an expression of Emunah and Bitachon however there are many things outside of the mitzvos that fall under the category of Emunah and Bitachon. Some examples that we learned in the previous passages was that if one is short of funds to the point that I don't even know where I'm going to get my next meal for tomorrow a very important value of Emunah and Bitachon is to work towards getting to a place where I'm so reliant on Hashem that I feel completely calm because just like He's taking care of me today, He will take care of me tomorrow. And similarly we learned that when we thank Hashem for things that is one of the most ultimate and important expressions of Emunah and Bitachon. So certainly it's not a waste of time to turn to Hashem in our own words every day and say “thank you Hashem for the amazing life that you've given me. Thank you Hashem for the family, thank you Hashem for the food and the many other things that we can all do in our own ways.”

And we also learned a powerful statement from the Chofetz Chaim that he said that the ultimate reward that we will receive in the future will be based on the level of Emunah that we had and how exactly do we excel in this level of Emunah. The Chofetz Chaim defined this by saying that if a person is always contemplating and internalizing that everything Hashem does is for the best then that is our ultimate ticket for the reward that is available in the time of their future redemption.

And to make this more real, each one of us in our own words when we're going through a difficult challenging time let's say a person just got fired from their job or any other calamity that we can all relate to in our own lives we have the opportunity now to stop and say to Hashem in our own words, “Hashem, I know that the reason that they fired me is because You desired that that should happen to me and I have no doubt about it that that is good for me. Hashem, I know that You always do only what's good for me. I believe in You, I trust in You. I have Emunah and Bitachon in You Hashem and I want to have more Emunah and Bitachon in You Hashem. The more we do this, the more we make Emunah and Bitachon real in our lives the more our lives will be truly real and meaningful. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward in our journey together and transform our Bitachon.

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.”

We've been looking at some fascinating passages from the Vilna Gaon with regards to Bitachon, that the whole motive for Hashem giving us the Torah was ultimately for the sake of our placing our reliance in Him. This gives us real direction as to what Hashem truly desires from us. One might ask, what exactly is Bitachon? If I'm doing my best in learning Torah as well as doing my best in fulfilling the mitzvos, is that not the ultimate expression of Bitachon? Now there is no question that Emunah and Bitachon need to absolutely lead to making our maximum effort to learn Torah as much as we can, as well as to fulfill the mitzvos with all their intricacies to the best of our capacity, whilst at the same time it is super important to highlight that the expression of Emunah and Bitachon is not limited only to the learning of Torah and performance of mitzvos. It is much more vast.

The Vilna Gaon gave us an example here based on the Gemara, that if somebody is out of to the point that he has his last meal and he has no idea where he's going to get his meal from for tomorrow. Now one might say, this person is continuing to learn Torah and do his mitzvahs as best as he can, all he's doing wrong is worrying about where his parnassah is going to come from for tomorrow. The Vilna Gaon is teaching us that not only is that considered a sin, but that is ultimately the whole point of the Torah to get to a place where we don't worry because we're trusting in Hashem. This is so important to digest. Again, I'm not going to get there today, but I need to understand where am I aiming at heading. The whole point of the Torah is Emunah and Bitachon and as we've learned from previous passages, fear and worry and anxiety is ultimately the opposite of Emunah and Bitachon. Hashem has always looked after me and He'll certainly always continue to look after me.

We move now to the next Torah source that we're going to be looking at. The Ramban (Shemos 13:16), writes, “the purpose of all the mitzvos is that we should have Emunah in Hashem”. And continues the Ramban, “And the purpose of all the mitzvahs is that we should thank Hashem that He created us.” And again, we're seeing here examples that in a sense are not limited to the practices we have of the limitations of the mitzvos and Torah learning itself. As we've highlighted, and it's important to highlight it again and again, there's no question that learning Torah and performance of the mitzvos are of paramount importance and anyone who's serious about Emunah and Bitachon will certainly be doing their best to excel in Torah and mitzvos, whilst at the same time, the world of Emunah and Bitachon is way larger than Torah learning and performance of mitzvos itself.

As we saw in the previous passage, to get to a level to not worry about tomorrow, even if I'm in trouble and have no idea where my provisions are going to come from. Although that's not fulfilling any particular mitzvah, but that is a very important expression of Emunah. We've learned previously from Rabbeinu Yonah and others that when one fears, that is ultimately the antithesis of Bitachon. And here we're learning in the Ramban that the point of all mitzvahs is that we should come to thank Hashem for creating us. So certainly we should do all the mitzvos and treat them with highest priority to fulfill all the intricacies, whilst at the same time to realize that the purpose of all the mitzvos is to thank Hashem, because that's one of the main expressions of Emunah in Hashem.

And continues the Ramban, “And this is the purpose of creation, because there's no other reason for Hashem creating the world in the first place.” The purpose of the world is Emunah and Bitachon. There is no shortage of potent and powerful Torah sources that explore the topics of Emunah and Bitachon. We are just exploring a few here to give us the right direction of where we're supposed to be aiming, of how powerful Emunah and Bitachon is, how much emphasis we're supposed to be placing in our journey of Emunah and Bitachon. B’ezrat Hashem, let's continue this incredible journey together about Emunah and Bitachon and transform our lives.

We continue on this amazing Bitachon journey. We looked at a most fascinating passage from the Vilna Goan yesterday, where he writes that the entire purpose and motive for Hashem giving us the Torah and the point of all the mitzvahs is ultimately for the sake of Bitachon. We're going to look today at a different passage from the Vilna Goan, which takes the severity and importance of Bitachon to a complete another level.

The Vilna Goan in Evan Shlema (Chapter 3), writes “And the point of everything is Bitachon.” Okay, that's a bit of a summary of what he also writes in Mishlei, “The point of all Torah and mitzvahs is for the sake of Bitachon.” But now he writes “And somebody who is lacking Bitachon, his Torah will not last in his hands.” Again, because the whole purpose of all the Torah and everything is for the sake of Bitachon. So if I'm missing the foundation, even the Torah that I learn will fall and not make its true sincere impact on me, because the point of all the Torah ultimately is for the sake of Bitachon. And he continues “And this concept known as Histapkus”, which he'll define in a moment, “is ultimately the foundation of the whole Torah. And what exactly is Histapkus? This is the confident belief and trust in Hashem and to not worry whatsoever about tomorrow.”

The Vilna Gaon is coming from a Gemara which says that somebody who has provisions for today, but has no idea where he's going to get provisions for tomorrow. If he reaches the correct level of emunah, he will have not a worry in the world. Because I have belief that just like Hashem provided for me to this day, so too He will always provide for me, even if I see no way according to the laws of nature, and it seems to be against all odds, I trust in Hashem that He's always going to look after me. Just imagine for a moment, you're completely penniless. But that means I don't even have an item to sell. I've got nothing to my name. And I'm currently eating dinner this evening. But I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to get any food for tomorrow, for myself, for my family. And there does not seem to be any possible avenue open to give me some sort of promising direction forward.

Now of course we're not discussing the mitzvah of Hishtadlus. We have an obligation to try our best to find opportunities that could create a vessel for Hashem to shower His bracha on, and we'll discuss Hishtadlus when we get there. But even before Hishtadlus, regardless, let's say there is no Hishtadlus to do, I have no options available. Or even if I do, I've done what I can. How worried am I about tomorrow? Our job in this world is to work towards getting to such a confident place of trust and reliance on Hashem that even if I have no idea where my next meal is going to come from, and I have nothing to my name, I feel completely calm, as the Chovos HaLevavos taught us, true bitachon leads to menuchas ha-nefesh. Hashem is the master of the universe. He's always looked after me, and He's always got my back. So what that I don't see a way according to the laws of nature? Ultimately, in truth, He's way beyond that.

And in this passage, the Gra is teaching us that the foundation of the whole Torah is to reach this level of emunah of bitachon, that even if I have no idea where my provisions for tomorrow are going to come from, I am to work towards getting to such a place of reliance on Hashem that I don't worry whatsoever. And continues the Gra, “And if somebody is excelling in the mitzvah of bitachon,e ven though he is committing grave transgressions, he is better than somebody who is lacking bitachon.” We've quoted this passage numerous times in our previous teachings because it is so powerful for anyone who's even a little bit familiar with Torah literature.

We know that committing a transgression is not a small thing. There are very real and sincere consequences. Committing an aveirah chamurah - which is considered a very serious transgression, one certainly has to do anything and everything to stay away from committing this grave sin. But here he's teaching us something so powerful that bitachon is so important that our emphasis on it should be even more than the emphasis we place on staying away from sin. Not to God forbid underplay the importance of staying away from sin because ultimately a very important expression of Imun and bitachon is doing our best to stay away from what Hashem tells us to stay away from. But even more important than that is doing our best to truly succeed in bitachon. B’ezrat Hashem, let's continue this fascinating journey together and transform our bitachon.

Let's continue this amazing journey about Bitachon. A very quick recap of what we've discussed in this section. The Bais HaLevi taught us that the outright obligation that the Torah places on us, that Hashem places on us, to have Bitachon is in so many pesukim, there are too many to count. And somebody who is lacking in Bitachon is committing a grave sin. Again, to remind ourselves, it's not about getting there, it's going to take time. But it's about being on the journey. If we realize it's a super great sin to not have Bitachon, we will do everything in the world to do the best we can to get more and more Bitachon each day.

We also learned the powerful words of the Chovas HaLevavos right at the beginning of the Shaar HaBitachon where he writes that he is going to discuss now Bitachon, which he calls the one item that is the most necessary for somebody who wants to become a servant of Hashem. The most necessary item of all the Torah, of all the mitzvos, is Bittachon. We then looked at a passage from Rabbeinu Yonah where he taught us that Bitachon is the ultimate expression of all Emunah and all Yirah. And as we've learned many times, the Torah is replete with passages about Emunah being our ultimate purpose in this world. But the main expression of Emunah is Bitachon. And in a similar vein, there are so many passages in the Torah that teach us that ultimately everything boils down to fear of Hashem, Yiras Shamayim. And again, Rabbeinu Yonah teaches us that the ultimate expression of Yirash Shamayim is having Bitachon in Hashem.

We're now moving forward to the next passage that we're going to be looking at. The Vilna Gaon in his commentary to Mishle (22:19) writes, “The main purpose that Hashem gave us the Torah, is so that we should place our Bitachon in Hashem.” We have to really digest these words of the Vilna Gaon. He writes for us, black on white, that the whole point of Hashem giving us the Torah is so that we should come to practice Bitachon in Hashem. Period. This is a summary of this whole topic. Bitachon is the point of the whole Torah. The point of everything. So certainly, it's worth our while to make an effort to understand better what Bitachon is truly all about, and thereafter, b’ezrat Hashem be able to incorporate it more and more each day in our lives.

And continues the Gra: “And this is because, again, the foundation of everything is complete Bitachon in Hashem. And this is the foundation of all the mitzvot.” In this short little passage, the Vilna Gaon states loud and clear that the whole motive behind Hashem presenting us with the Torah is so that we will have Bitachon in Him. Just to realize and digest just how important it is to have Bitachon. It's not just another mitzvah. It's the only reason Hashem chose to give us the Torah. And the purpose of all the mitzvos ultimately is to place our Bitachon in Hashem.

The reason it's so important to highlight a passage such as this is because unfortunately in many circles, the whole concept of Bitachon and Emunah falls by the wayside. And it's almost seen as an added benefit. If you have extra time on top of your normal Torah learning, then bring in this subject as an extra subject to explore. However, we are learning here from the Vilna Gaon a very profound idea. The whole point of all of Torah, the whole point of all of the mitzvos is ultimately for the sake of Bitachon.

So, B’ezrat Hashem, let us all just take to heart that the more efforts we're making in our Bitachon journey is ultimately making more of an effort to fulfill the reason that Hashem chose us as His nation for; that Hashem gave us all the mitzvos with all its details. It's all for the sake of Bitachon, so certainly to do our best to understand this mitzvah as best as we can and do our best to grow in this journey is more than worthwhile. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward in this incredible journey together and transform our Bitachon.

Guys, we discussed previously, the Beis HaLevi taught us, somebody who is lacking in bitachon is committing a great sin. It's not just that the main thing in Yiddishkeit is learning Torah and doing the mitzvos and bitachon is a by-the-way thing. Unfortunately, in many circles, bitachon is not focused on to the correct degree that it is deserving. And while certainly mitzvos and Torah and everything else is of paramount importance and ultimately is an expression of emunah and bitachon, whilst at the same time there's so much of emunah and bitachon that in many ways can be expressed outside of learning of Torah and outside the performance of the mitzvos.

For example, a person might be thriving in the Yiddishkeit and learning Torah and fulfilling mitzvos but when a situation that triggers anxiety appears in one's life, not always is one even educated to know that not doing one's best to remove the fear and remove one's anxiety is actually considered a sin. Not only a sin, but actually the exact opposite of bitachon. There is so much to learn about bitachon, it is a whole world on its own and it is so important to realize that this is the foundation of all Torah and mitzvos and to treat it with highest priority.

We're now moving forward to look at the next passage, B’ezrat Hashem. Rabbein Yonah to Maseches Barachas, towards the beginning (2b) writes “The main expression of fear of Hashem as well as the main expression of emunah in Hashem is bitachon.” Before the Transform Your Bitachon series, Baruch Hashem for about two years we spent a long time going into the many details about emunah and how ultimately really emunah is the source of everything. However, Rabbeinu Yonah is teaching us here that the ultimate expression of emunah is bitachon. So although the point and purpose of all of Torah and mitzvos is ultimately for the sake of emunah, however the true expression of emunah is bitachon.

And as we explained previously, emunah can be summarized that I know and I believe that Hashem can do anything. Hashem is the all-powerful, He created the world. He is certainly not limited by the laws of nature. He can certainly come through for me in any and every area that I might need. Whereas bitachon is taking the next step, not only believing that information, but actually taking practical steps to relying on Hashem. Bezrat Hashem, as we continue in this series, we'll look at more Torah sources and bring more examples in how this can apply practically in each one of our lives.

But just for a moment to refer back to an example we've given previously. Consider a person who's very sick and needs the treatment of a very specific doctor. One is led to believe that this doctor can certainly help me. That would be emunah in the doctor. Whereas bitachon would be now, I'm not just going to know that information and then continue with the rest of my life doing nothing about it, but rather I'm going to take practical steps to actually go and visit this doctor. And if he then tells me to follow certain protocols and procedures, I will follow that advice because I'm not only knowing that he can help me, I'm now placing my reliance on him. Of course if I have questions of how I should act, he will be the one I will ask for help because I'm not just stopping at the point of emunah, of just knowing that he can help me, but I'm actually taking the next step to rely on him practically.

And the other point that Rabbeinu Yonah mentioned was that bitachon is ultimately the main expression of Yirah. Anyone who's even a little bit familiar with Torah literature knows that the concepts of fear of Hashem, yiras shamayim, are literally all over the place. For example, a passage like”Reishis Chacham Yiras Hashem” - The starting point of all wisdom is fear of Hashem. Rabbeinu Yonah here is teaching us that what is the main expression of fear of Hashem is Bitachon. Let us continue this most incredible journey together and b'ezrat Hashem, transform our bitachon.

Guys, we continue this amazing bitachon journey. We're discussing a really important section in this whole bitachon outline, about what the Meforishim teach us, how important exactly bitachon is. And as we discussed in the last session, the Beis HaLevi teaches us that the obligation to have bitachon, again, notice his words, bitachon is not an added something for the pious to practice, it is an outright obligation for every single one of us.

But again, says the Beis HaLevi, there are so many verses that command us to have bitachon throughout all of Tanach, that I'm not even going to give you a source, it's too many to count. And the Beis HaLevi continues his statement by saying that somebody who is lacking in bitachon is committing a great sin. Now again, it's important to remind ourselves, we're not going to get to the ultimate pinnacle of bitachon in one day. However, our take-home from a passage like this should lead us to understand and internalize that although we might not be able to get to a place of having absolute bitachon today or any time soon, however, seeing as the Beis HaLevi is telling us that if I don't have bitachon it is considered a great sin, I am called on to make my maximum effort to excel in bitachon as best as I can. Because the more I do this, the more I'm fulfilling my purpose in the world, and the more I intentionally neglect to make bitachon a priority in my life, God forbid a person can be in the category of what the Beis HaLevi is calling an aveira gedolah - committing a great sin.

We now move to the next Torah passage that we're going to be looking at. The Chovos Halevavos, right at the beginning of the Shaar HaBitachon, writes “I sought to now discuss what is more necessary than anything else for a servant of HaShem, and that is relying on HaShem in all areas of my life.” Again, let us not rush these most beautiful and powerful words of the Chovos Halevavos. He is writing here, what is the one thing that is more necessary than anything else for someone who desires to be a servant of HaShem? Bitachon.

There are so many areas to Yiddishkeit, Baruch Hashem it's a very vast Torah, with so many beautiful mitzvos, and really the sky is the limit to the whole sea of Torah and mitzvahs and everything else that it encompasses. But ultimately, if you have to boil it down to one thing, the Chovos Halevavos is teaching us the sole most important thing for somebody who is looking to serve HaShem, is bitachon in HaShem bechol devarav - relying on HaShem in any and every area of my life.

As we've discussed previously, and I'm sure it's very easy to realize when we just take a few moments to think about it, there are literally a billion levels to what it means to have bitachon. God forbid at the bottom of the spectrum there could be somebody who really doesn't live with HaShem, and just makes his own efforts in this world thinking that he's calling the shots. And then right at the top there is somebody who has absolute clarity that there is nothing in this world except for HaShem. And there are a billion levels in the middle of to what extent are we relying on HaShem.

And as the Chovos Halevavos taught us previously, when somebody relies on HaShem with absolute sincerity, one lives with complete menuchas hanefesh - with complete tranquility and peace. And that doesn't only mean when things are tranquil and peaceful, but even if I'd be surrounded by bombs falling all around me, or other situations in my life that are really anxiety-triggering and seem to have no solutions, even under those circumstances I can reach a place of absolute bitachon in HaShem, not just in one area of my life, but in all areas of my life, because ultimately the point of my life is bitachon. When the problem is too big for me, putting it on HaShem's back and realizing that not only can I do so, but HaShem desires that I do do so. B'ezrat Hashem, let's move forward in this incredible journey and transform our bitachon.

Guys, today we're moving forward, B’ezrat Hashem, to the next section that we're going to be discussing about Bitachon. We discussed in part one a bit of an introduction to what Bitachon is all about, going through numerous specifically chosen Torah sources that give us a nice introduction. Then we discussed in part two, numerous Torah sources that discuss what exactly the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon is. Before we move forward, B’ezrat Hashem, into the nitty-gritty details of how exactly we can apply Bitachon in our lives. We're going to be exploring in this section, part three, how important is Bitachon. And we begin today, B’ezrat Hashem, with the Beis HaLevi in his Kuntres Habitachon, right at the beginning.

Now before we even mention the words of the Beis HaLevi, I'd just like to highlight that this sefer, known as the classic essay of the Beis HaLevi on Bitachon, is something that's available in today's day and age in English and really easy to get our hands on. If it's not possible to get the sefer itself, then certainly online one can find very valuable resources that go through the sefer.

The Beis HaLevi writes right at the beginning - The obligation to have Bitachon is enumerated in so many pesukim that it is too many to count. And this is really a nice summary to what we discussed in the previous section, that although numerous commentaries outlined to us that Bitachon might be based on certain psukim in the Torah as the ultimate Torah source and obligation to have Bitachon in HaShem, but ultimately there are so many verses in the Torah that command us to have Bittachin. And as the Beis HaLevi opens his classic essay on Bitachon, he therefore does not even give a source for the mitzvah of Bitachon. He just says there are too many verses to count, I cannot even give you a source because it's too many.

And that is the bottom line about Bitachon. Bitachon is the foundation of all of Yiddishkeit, of all of Torah, of all of mitzvahs, something to internalize. Bitachon is the point of everything. So much so that there are verses left, right and center, commanding us to have Bitachon. The Beis HaLevi then goes on to say - And somebody who is lacking in Bitachon is committing a grave sin. It is important to read these words carefully and slowly and digest and internalize what we are being taught.

Bitachon is not an added benefit to bring in inner peace and calm and serenity into our lives. Of course it also does that and that it's an amazing fringe benefit. But rather the Beis HaLevi is teaching us, if somebody performs all the mitzvos beautifully and learns Torah and is trying his best to be a good Jew but does not have Bitachon, this is classified as a great sin. It's not something that is just an extra nice thing for the extra pious people to excel in. It is the foundation of Yiddishkeit to have Bitachon. In one line the Beis HaLevi has given us, the bottom line about Bitachon:

A. It is so foundational to the Torah that Hashem commands us about this mitzvah of Bitachon in so many verses that I'm not even going to begin to enumerate them to you because it's literally all over the place. And B. One who is lacking in Bitachon is committing a great sin. Bitachon is not an added part of our Yiddishkeit, it is the point and foundation of Yiddishkeit. So B’ezrat Hashem let's move forward in this journey about Bitachon and each one of us in our own way make our maximum effort to bring more and more Bitachon into our lives.

We continue this incredible journey about Bitachon. What an incredible opportunity each one of us has. We're literally exploring the treasures of the world. Thank you Hashem for this amazing opportunity to be learning Torah, but not only to be learning Torah, to be learning the foundation of what all Torah, what all mitzvos, what all Yiddishkeit, what all Judaism, what all my life is ultimately about.

We now move forward to the next Torah source that we're going to be looking at. The Meshech Chochmah, who comments on the verse in Devarim (10:20) where the verse states that we are to cleave to Hashem. Now the obvious question is, how can we be commanded to cleave to Hashem? Hashem is not a tangible being. He's not someone we can hug. He's not even someone that we can just try staying close proximity to. And writes the Meshach Chochmah, that this verse is a mitzvah that commands every single individual in our nation, everyone according to his level.

And this is the reason why though throughout Torah literature Bitachon has mentioned many times and is literally all over the place, however, we do not find an explicit command, commanding each one of us to have Bitachon and it is not mentioned explicitly in the Torah, because each one of us applies cleaving to Hashem, applies Bitachon and in a different way. There are so many different levels of what it can mean to have Bitachon and Hashem.

He's now gives us examples now, how you see that literally Bitachon and is all over the place. Where the prophet Yirmiyahu tells us that a person who trusts another human being is cursed in Hashem's eyes. And David HaMelech throughout all these praises, throughout Tehillim, speaks about Bitachon and all over the place. And here the Meshesch Chochmah brings an example from another verse from Tehillim, where the verse in Tehillim (26:1) states that David HaMelech trusted in Hashem. And another verse in Tehillim (115:9) states that the Jewish people are called on to trust in Hashem. And another verse in Yeshayahu (26:4), that we looked at this verse previousl, states that we are to trust in Hashem forever. And again, there are countless verses. So the Meshech Chochmah is teaching us that this verse in the Torah calls on us to cleave to Hashem.

How exactly are we to cleave to Hashem? The Meshech Chochmah is teaching us that the way to cleave to Hashem is to have Bitachon in Hashem. And again, he's pointing out to us that there are a billion levels to Bitachon. But that should inspire us and motivate us. That although, yes, David HaMelech on his level of Bitachon, and the greatest of the greats throughout the Torah, would have had a much higher level in many ways in the way they applied their Bitachon to Hashem. But little me, in my own little way, has the same opportunity to apply bitachin. And that's all Hashem expects from me according to my level. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward in this incredible journey and transform our Bitachon.

We're now moving forward to the Sefer Charedim in the section Mitzvos Hateluyos Balev, section 21, where the Sefer Charedim writes that attaining the level of complete bitachon, of complete reliance on Hashem, is a biblical mitzvah based on the Pasuk in Devarim (18:13), where the Torah states “Tamim Tihyeh Im Hashem Elokecha”. And as the Meforishim explain, this Pasuk is referring to living with simple emunah according to the things that Hashem sends in our lives. We are not to look at other avenues such as trying to look into the future to work things out for ourselves, but rather to live with simple faith, accepting and trusting that what Hashem will do for us will certainly only be for our best, because Hashem loves us more than we even love ourselves.

We've mentioned previously a beautiful example where the verse states that the Jewish people are compared to a baby being held by its mother. And as the Meforishim explain, just like a baby never feels worried because he knows that his mother is going to take care of all his needs, and even when he's finished his current meal, he doesn't cry anymore. When the baby's fed, he stops crying. Why? Is he not concerned what's going to be in a few hours time when I'm hungry again? No, because he knows that his mother will always take care of him, and she will do anything to make sure that he's taken care of.

And when we are working on our Bitachon journey, we are to make an effort to aim to get to a place of such reliance on Hashem that is actually much greater than a baby relying on his mother. Because again, as great as the extent that a mother would go to even put her life on the line to make sure that her baby is okay and taken care of, however a mother is still a human being and limited, and sometimes as well-meaning and loving as she might be, her resources might be limited, which could be detrimental for the baby. Whereas Hashem is the all-powerful, the one who created the world, the one whose source of resources can never run out, and whose love for us knows no bounds, way more than a mother has for a child. And again, although there are countless pesukim in the Torah itself as well as throughout Tanach and throughout all of Torah literature that have similar messages to this verse. The Sefer Charedim is teaching us that this particular verse is the source of the command to have Bitachon. We are commanded to walk wholeheartedly with Hashem in everything that we do.

Before we continue B’ezrat Hashem to the next Torah source, which we'll do in the next session, let's just take a few moments, each one of us in our own way. I'm going to use my own words, and the point is just to inspire and give a little bit of direction to those who are looking for an idea of how to apply bitachon practically. But ultimately it's your own personal relationship with Hashem. Hashem desires that you talk to Him in your own way. So take this as an example, as inspiration, but B’ezrat Hashem, the real work and the real point is you in your own way, finding your own time to be with Hashem and take this bitachon journey, not just to be something theoretical, but rather something truly practical that can be with us and walk with us wherever we go in our lives.

“Hashem, my dear Father, thank You so much for teaching me these incredible sources about bitachon. But Abba, it's really, actually, really, really, really difficult in this world that we're living in to apply bitachon truthfully and sincerely. There's just so much distraction all around us. In the Western world philosophy, it seems absurd to live according to the values of bitachon. Everyone's just running around trying to make things happen. And in fact, You have actually given us a mitzvah of hishtadlus, which makes it even more complicated, because I'm also called on to run around and try and make things happen. But at the same time, much more important than any hishtadlus, than any of that, is to truly digest that it's not any of that that makes things happen. Abba, it's only You that calls all the shots, that runs every single detail in my life.

And Abba, if You are commanding me that the source and foundation of the whole Torah is to have bitachon in You, this is the point of the Torah, this is the point of the mitzvah, this is the point of my life, please, Hashem, help me to succeed in this journey, not just to know this information in my head as theoretical information, but rather, Abba, I'm asking You, please help me to truly digest bitachon, me in my own life. Help me to find things that speak to me, to inspire me to have more bitachon and more emunah in my life.” And in this way, B’ezrat Hashem, let me move forward in a deep, sincere way in my journey of bitachon. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward together in this incredible journey and transform our bitachon.

Guys, let's continue this amazing Bitachon journey. We were discussing in the previous session how Rabbeinu Yonah teaches us that the source for Bitachon is actually explicit pesukim in the Torah itself, where the Torah commands us that we are not to fear. And Rabbeinu Yonah teaches us that these pesukim are actually commanding us not only not to fear in war, as the pesukim explicitly state, but also with regards to each and every one of us in our particular and specific details in our lives, that we are called on and commanded to have Bitachon in Hashem.

And we discussed that it comes out, according to Rabbeinu Yonah, that the opposite of fear is Bitachon, because again, the reason I fear is because I'm scared of something else or someone else, whereas when I'm choosing to rely on Hashem, in a sense there is nothing to fear anymore. But again, very important to mention, the Steipler that we also discussed in the previous session, where the Steipler states that automatic and natural fear is not something that we should feel bad about. We are human beings, we feel pain and we do feel fear. However we are called on to do whatever we can to move towards a place of living with absolute Bitachon and reliance on Hashem, rather than living in a place where we fear people and circumstances around us.

And how exactly do we get to that place? Well, this is exactly what we're trying to do here, building our Bitachon, working on our Bitachon, learning about Bitachon, and thereafter taking the concepts that we learn throughout our day and doing our best to apply them and meditate on them and live by the values of Bitachon. Again, as we've mentioned many times, Bitachon is our life's journey. It's one step, and a very important step, to learn the information and to do our best to have clarity about what Bitachon is all about. But then the real work starts, after that, to try to take the things that we learn and not only just know the information, but truly try to digest it in our hearts and live by the values of Bitachon through all our encounters in life. And the more we sincerely digest Bitachon, the more B’ezrat Hashem will be able to move to a place of less fear. And as Rabbeinu Yonah is pointing out to us, in this way we'll also be fulfilling the command of the Torah to not fear other people, to not fear other nations, but rather to trust in Hashem exclusively.

Just something practical that every single one of us can do right now, today, is talk to Hashem in our own words and ask Him, “Hashem, my Father, please, I don't want to fear other people, I don't want to fear other circumstances. Please, Hashem, I'm going through something now in my life that can potentially lead me to feelings of anxiety and fear. I don't want to feel those feelings. I know that I'm just feeling them because I'm a human being, but I'm trying my best, Hashem, to move towards a place of real reliance on You. And I know that when I rely on You, I'm in the safest hands in the world, and it's actually ridiculous to fear anything and anyone else, because You are looking after me, and You are only always going to do what's best for me, and You are certainly more powerful than anyone and anything else. So, Hashem, please help me to move forward in my journey of Bitachon and to really rely on You. I'm asking You, Hashem, I don't want to fear other things. I don't want to fear other circumstances.”

So although today most of us will not be able to be in a place of absolute, sincere reliance on Hashem to the point that we don't fear anyone or anything, however, each one of us certainly does have the opportunity and choice to ask Hashem and tell Hashem, “Hashem, this is my desire”. What's actually going to happen - it's a big world; life is complicated. To get to a place where I really don't fear, with my whole makeup, with all my background and everything else that makes up my life, this is not a simple feat. But “Hashem, I'm telling You, this is my desire” - this I do have bechira about. I certainly have free choice to tell Hashem, “Hashem, I desire to choose not to fear anyone and anything else, but rather to have Bitachon in You. Please Hashem, continue to help me in this amazing journey of Bitachon and that not only do I learn the information, but b’ezrat Hashem, I'm able to take the information that I'm trying to learn and truly inculcate it and truly apply it in my life in a sincere and deep way, that I can truly trust You, Abba, and reach a place like the Chovos Halevavos teaches us, that true Bitachon ultimately leads to menuchas Hanefesh, to tranquility, peace and calm. B’ezrat Hashem, in the next session, we're going to move forward exploring the next Torah sources in this section about Bitachon and b’ezrat Hashem, transform our Bitachon.

Guys, let's continue this amazing journey in Emunah and Bitachon. So we're up to part two of the series, Transform Your Bitachon, where we are yet to discuss the ins and outs and nitty-gritty about Bitachon and the many details, but first we need to discuss an introduction to where Bitachon comes from. And in the previous sessions we began discussing what exactly is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon.

It's also important to highlight that as best as we're going to do, Bitachon is a journey in its own right, and maybe one day we can do it on this platform, otherwise I encourage each one of you to further this Bitachon journey of your own, and you can look either online or alternatively there are also English books available, which go through and explore Pesukei Bitachon - the many, many, many Pesukim that we have throughout Tanach, and really if we're paying attention, what we're saying throughout all of our davening, through the benching, through the brachos, we're really stating the Torah's perspective on how Hashem wants us to act - to really rely on Him. Bitachon is literally all over the place, but for our purposes right now, we discuss three Pesukim, which kind of summarize the many Pesukim which discuss Bitachon, and really in these Pesukim, Hashem tells us that we are called on to trust in Hashem forever, we are called on to trust in Hashem through any and all circumstances, and we are also called on to trust in Hashem with all our hearts, with absolute confidence that He will come through for us. Hashem is the only truly reliable thing in the world.

We thereafter discussed a piece from Rabbeinu Yonah in Shaarei Teshuva, where Rabbeinu Yonah spells out for us where exactly the source for Bitachon in the Torah itself comes from, and we learned that there are numerous verses in the Torah that outline to us that when we are to go to war, even if it seems like our enemies are much stronger than us, and according to the laws of nature, we are completely against all odds, we are supposed to reach such a level of Bitachon - of reliance in Hashem, that we are not even to fear. And we discussed again that in many ways, Bitachon is the opposite of fear, because as the Chovos Halevavos taught us right at the beginning of the Shaar Habitachon, when one has Bitachon, this leads to menuchas ha-nefesh - to the tranquility of the soul, and the reason for this is because if I'm relying on myself or someone else, I know many things could potentially go wrong, even with talented and very well-meaning people; whereas with Hashem, who is the Creator of the world, and runs and oversees every single detail, I am in the safest hands possible.

Now sometimes people ask, but there are many things in life that I actually automatically and naturally do fear, and although I am working on this Bitachon journey and I don't want to fear those things, however am I wrong or bad for fearing certain situations when they do arise? And the Holy Steipler in His Sefer, Birkas Peretz, in Parashat Shoftim, addresses this question. He explains that of course we are not accountable for fear that we automatically and naturally experience, however we are accountable to do our absolute utmost to work towards a place that we are completely reliant on Hashem, and that fear of ours slowly dissipates.

As we've discussed many times, Bitachon is not about the end result; it's about the journey. It's not about getting there to a place that suddenly we don't fear anything, but rather it's about doing our utmost to work towards moving closer and closer to a place that we are completely reliant on Hashem. Because the more we rely on Hashem, the more we'll feel completely comfortable and confident that He is looking after us. B'ezrat Hashem, let's move forward in this amazing Bitachon journey and transform our Bitachon.

We continue our journey of Bitachon and we're discussing now part two of the sections that we're going to be discussing. And the question here is what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? In the previous session we discussed three Pesukim which highlight the importance of Bitachon, where the verse in Yeshayahu states, “trust in Hashem forever”, and the verse in Tehillim states, “trust in Hashem under all circumstances”, and the verse in Mishlei also states and commands, “trust in Hashem with all your heart.”

And as mentioned the pesukim are literally all over Tanach. And these are just three that we're pointing out to highlight the principle. And as we'll see, this is because Bitachon is ultimately the foundation of all Torah and mitzvos. Hashem wants us to build a personal relationship with Him. And not only that, Hashem wants us to realize that on our own we are limited by our human capacity and things are going to be too heavy for us to carry. And like we learned in the previous verse in Tehillim, Hashem desires that we are to throw our needs and wants onto His back so that He can carry our needs for us.

We now move to the next Torah source. We're going to be looking at Rabbeinu Yona in his Sefer Shaarei Teshuva (3:32). Rabbeinu Yona brings the verses (Devarim 7: 17-18) where the verses state, “Perhaps you will say in your heart, these nations are much more numerous than me, how will I overcome them? “These nations that I'm supposed to be going to war against are much greater than me. How in heavens am I going to be able to overcome them?” Says the Torah itself, “do not fear them.”

So again, we are learning here an explicit verse in the Torah. You're going to go to war and the people you are fighting against are going to be much more than you. The odds are against you. And you're going to say a logical, natural question, how am I going to succeed? The Torah says, you are not to fear. Why are you not to fear? Because again, I don't trust on nature or my own abilities, I trust in Hashem. And Hashem is stronger than anyone and everything in the world.

And if I am trusting in Him, I will certainly not fear those people I am going to war against even if the odds are completely against me. And the Torah continues (Devarim 20:1), “when you will go to war against your enemies and you will see an army way greater than you, do not fear them.” Again, illustrating the same principle in another verse in the Chumash itself.

Rabbi Yonah comments on these verses, we have been warned by Hashem in these verses in the Chumash, that if a person sees that difficult times seem to be coming about, we must assume that Hashem will send His salvation and we must rely on Him for that. Rabbi Yonah is teaching us that the source of bitachon is a mitzvah deoraysa - verses in the Torah itself which teach that when we go to war, even if all odds seem to be against us, we are not to fear because we are to remember that Hashem exclusively is running the show and there is absolutely nothing to fear. And Rabbi Yonah learns from these verses that this concept is applicable not only to war but to all areas of our lives that we are not to fear when any adversity might seem to arise in our lives because we are to remember that Hashem is way beyond all natural and human limitations. And Rabbi Yonah is learning from these verses that this is the source for bitachon.

Just as an aside, we've discussed previously how the antithesis of bitachon is removing fear from our hearts and it's worthwhile to highlight how the actual source of bitachon according to Rabbi Yonah is from verses in the Torah which command us not to fear. Just to highlight and realize how important it is to work on minimizing fear in our lives. Again, as we've discussed previously, natural emotional fear which comes automatically and there's nothing we can do about, we don't need to feel guilty about because we're human beings but doing our best to build our bitachon and slowly but surely removing that fear from our heart. B'ezrat Hashem, let's move forward together in our bitachon journey and transform our bitachon.

We are excited to move forward on our Bitachon journey now to part two of the sections we're going to be exploring. In part one we discussed Torah sources that give us an introduction to many of the fundamentals about Bitachon. We now move to part two, where the question that we're going to be discussing is, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon?

So we're going to quote three pesukim now that give us an idea of what exactly Hashem wants for us. Does Hashem desire that we rely on Him? Is it something that He really wants? Or is it just an opportunity that if we need something we can choose to tap into this most powerful weapon of Bitachon? So if we look in Tanach (Yeshayahu 26:4) the verse commands, “trust in Hashem forever”. If we then look at Tehillim (62:9) the verse states, “trust in Hashem under all circumstances.” And we then look at Mishlei (3:5) where the verse states, “trust in Hashem with all your heart.”

These are but three of many, many verses throughout the whole of Tanach where we are shown loud and clear that it is Hashem's desire that we are to rely on Him. It is not just an opportunity that we can tap into, but rather Hashem is teaching us, “I want you to rely on Me.” Now as mentioned many times, Bitachon is literally all over Torah literature, right from the beginning of the Chumash itself throughout Tanach, throughout all the Gemara and Midrashim, all the way down to contemporary Torah literature.

And if you make an effort to consciously pay attention, throughout your davening, benching, brachos, literally everywhere, you will see many, many verses that highlight Hashem's desire for us to place our trust in Him. Now before we move further in discussing these Torah sources about what exactly is the source, I'm trying to highlight that regardless of what type of mitzvah this is, it is very clear throughout all of Tanach that it is Hashem's desire for us to place our trust in Him. We've just quoted three of many verses which are very clearly portraying to us that Hashem is stating, as we read in Yeshayahu, “trust in Me forever”, and David HaMelech teaches us in Tehillim that Hashem is telling us, “trust in Me under all circumstances”, and in Mishlei we learn, “trust in Hashem with all your heart.” And again, these are just three of but many, many, many Torah sources which illustrate this idea.

As we continue to explore these sources, it helps just to motivate us to move forward in our Bitachon journey, as we'll see and explore how this mitzvah is so, so important and the fundamental cornerstone of all of Torah and mitzvos. But even before exploring those Torah passages, if you're interested in trying to find some more immediate inspiration, you're invited to research Psukei Bitachon, where you'll very easily online find a collection of pesukim about Bitachon, and again you will see just how many pesukim there are that exist about Bitachon, that are literally all over Tanach. What we're trying to highlight here is that many mitzvos in the Torah have a source to their obligation, but sometimes by reading the Torah and Tanach itself, even more than the obligation to a mitzvah, you get a feel for what is Hashem really interested in.

And for certain reasons, which B’ezrat Hashem will discuss at a later stage, Hashem does not always give an outright explicit command for certain mitzvos, even if they might be the most important of the mitzvos. However, when you're paying attention and noticing that in so many verses, throughout all of our daily prayers and Tanach and everything that we have and do, Hashem is telling us again and again, “please rely on Me under all circumstances, come to me”, we get an indication of how Hashem wants us to live our Yiddishkeit. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward now and explore some of the Torah sources about exactly what the source is for the mitzvah of Bitachon and gain more clarity in our journey about Bitachon.

Today we're wrapping up the Torah sources we've been exploring from part 1, and B’ezrat Hashem in the next session we move forward to part 2. Let's summarize what we've discussed from this section. We first explored the Chovos Halevavos, right at the beginning of the Shaar habitachon, in Perek Aleph, where he writes that the essence of Bitachon is menuchas ha-nefesh - tranquility of the soul. Bitachon ultimately leads to inner peace, tranquility and calm.

Ultimately, whatever is happening in our personal life or in the world at large, should not make us budge from that place of inner peace, because I know I'm 100% in Hashem's hands and He's always doing what's best for me. And although to get to the highest level of being calm under all circumstances might be the final destination of our Bitachon journey, but our job is not to get there, our job is to just take steps forward, and let's say a certain situation in my life that I might have previously experienced would have provoked a higher level of anxiety than it does now because I'm on my Bitachon journey, that's all that Hashem requires of me, just to make our maximum effort to take steps forward in our Bitachon.

We learned then a passage from Rabbeinu Yonah in Mishlei (3:6), where he taught us that Bitachon is the clear and confident belief that Hashem will send our salvation from challenging circumstances. And as Rabbeinu Yonah said, relying on Hashem to such a degree, that I have absolutely no doubt that Hashem will come through for me - Hashem will send my salvation, again highlighting the fact that Rabbeinu Yonah is expressing what is Bitachon, it's not just acceptance of what Hashem sends - it's all for the best, but rather Bitachon means that I have no doubt that Hashem will send my salvation in the way that I need.

We then explored a verse from Tehillim (55:23), which states that we are to throw our needs, wants and problems onto Hashem and let Him carry them for us, because for us to carry them ourselves it's going to be too heavy. And Hashem is inviting us to throw our problems onto Him. He is much stronger than us, He can carry anything and everything. And He's saying, “my child, it's going to be too heavy for you, let me help you out, please give me your problem and let me carry it for you.”

We then explored the Ramban who taught us the difference between Emunah and Bitachon, where Emunah is always the starting point, and it's impossible to have Bitachon without Emunah, because Emunah is like the tree and Bitachon is like the fruit of the tree. And the practical take-home of Emunah is internalizing that Hashem exclusively orchestrates every single detail in every single one of our lives, down to the finest degree.

And we then discussed a fundamental piece from Rabbeinu Bechayei in the Sefer Kad Hakemach in the section Bitachon, where Rabbeinu Bechaya discusses many of the fundamentals of Bitachon: That we are to know that Hashem is completely beyond all forms of nature, and when adversity strikes, we are to place our hope, trust, and reliance in Hashem that He will send our salvation and no natural statistic or prediction can get in the way. Hashem is way beyond all of that, and we are to have absolutely no doubt in our conviction that Hashem will come through for us in the way that we need.

We are to remember that it is Hashem exclusively who we rely on, and not to rely on any other individual or circumstance whatsoever. Because when we do rely on other individuals or circumstances, and more specifically as Rabbeinu Bechayei taught us, when we fear other individuals or circumstances, we are A) committing a grave sin because this is the antithesis of Bitachon, and B) we actually become under their auspices and attract that item that we are fearing to come about God forbid.

And even someone who is poor, to the extent that they lack the basic necessities such as food and clothing, is called on to rely on Hashem, that Hashem will provide for them exactly what they need. Not to just say, Gam Zu Letovah - this is all for the best and I accept it with love. That's also an approach, and we'll discuss that at a later stage, how to apply that to our situation. But we are learning here that what Bitachon means is to rely on Hashem that He will for sure come through for me in exactly the way that I need. B'ezrat Hashem in the next session we'll move forward to part 2 of our Bitachon journey. And B’ezrat Hashem with Hashem's help, take another step forward in our journey of Bitachon.

We've been discussing how fearing another individual or another situation is actually the antithesis of Bitachon. When we choose to rely on Hashem, that ultimately leads us to inner peace and serenity, which would mean that we don't fear anyone else nor any other situation because I know that I'm exclusively in Hashem's hands. Whereas as the Chovos Halevavos points out, our human nature is always to rely on someone or something.

So if we're not relying on Hashem, we're relying on someone else. If I wake up in the morning not feeling well, my natural human instinct is to rely on something. Either I'm going to rely on the doctor which I'm going to visit, or on the medication I'm going to take, or I'm going to rely on Hashem. I'm always relying on something. And as we learned previously, the Chovos Halevavos writes that whatever we choose to rely on, we become under their control and their auspices. Which means when I visit a doctor and I choose to rely on the doctor, that he's actually helping me out, Hashem made it as part of how things work in the spiritual realms that I actually become under the control of that doctor.

And the same would apply with any other situation of my life. And therefore it is vital to take this information that we're learning, not only to have it as a theoretical concept, but rather as we go about our days to try our best to contemplate on this information, to live by the values of Bitachon, sincerely to know and internalize that I'm not bound by anyone or any situation; I am exclusively reliant on Hashem. And by doing so, we are saved from the very grave sin of fear, which again is the opposite of what Bitachon truly is.

Bitachon is as the Chovos Halevavos taught us, the serenity of the soul, inner peace and tranquility, exactly the antithesis of fear. And as we learned, even more than the actual sin than not having Bitachon, but rather having fear leads to, when one does rely on another individual, I become under their control. Which was one of the highest forms of tragedy that can happen to an individual in this world. God forbid if I choose to rely on someone else, I actually become under their control, as opposed to having Bitachon in Hashem and being exclusively in Hashem's boat where things are going to turn out much better for me because Hashem only wants the best for me and is completely beyond any limitation. And not only that, when I choose to rely on Hashem, I am fulfilling the greatest mitzvah, which is ultimately the foundation of all Torah and mitzvos, whereas when I choose to rely on someone else or another situation, I am committing a grave sin, just to digest a little bit how important it is to work on our Bitachon on a day to day basis.

Rabbeinu Bechayei then goes to say that Bitachon is that a person is to rely on Hashem under all circumstances, whether one is a wealthy individual or one is a poor individual. Because if a person is suffering poverty and does not have food or clothing, this poor individual should trust that Hashem will take care of him, and Hashem will give him his food, and Hashem will give him his clothes, and he will not lack anything. Again, Rabbeinu Bechayei is teaching us here loud and clear, the approach for someone who is lacking food, who is lacking clothing, is not to say, okay, I guess it's all for the best; Hashem has a plan, and I accept it with love.

There may be another aspect to get into that mode of thought, which we'll address as we come to those sections. But we are learning clearly here in Rabbeinu Bechayei that a poor individual, he is lacking finances for sufficient clothing and food - he should nevertheless trust in Hashem, and as Rabbeinu Bechaya said previously, without a shadow of a doubt, that He will for sure provide for me. He will take care of me. He will give me the food that I need. He will give me the clothing that I need. He will take care of my needs. He will come through for me in the way that I need. He will send my salvation.

Bitachon is about relying on Hashem to the point that I truly internalize and understand that Hashem will take care of me in the beautiful, sweet way that I imagined for it to be. Not just in acceptance of everything is for the best and whatever happens is good, but rather I am short of food and clothing, I am trusting Hashem will take care of me and give me the food and clothing that I need. B'ezrat Hashem, let's explore this further together as we move forward in our journey about Bitachon.

Let's continue to explore this beautiful passage in Rabbeinu Bechayei with regards to many of the fundamentals of bitachon. In the previous session we discussed how Rabbeinu Bechayei teaches that the verse in Mishlei which states that a person who fears another individual or another circumstance is actually committing a sin. We are learning here that to fear someone else or to fear something else is considered a sin. Again, it's not just a nice added benefit to our lives but rather to realize that when we fear something else we are committing a sin.

Now when learning this concept people ask, but how can that be? Fear and anxiety much of the time are an emotion which would seem to be against my control. How can Hashem hold me accountable for fearing something or for feeling feelings of anxiety and worry when that's just my natural response to the situation? And as the Steipler writes in his Sefer Birkas Peretz (Parshas Shoftim), Hashem will not hold us accountable for fear that automatically comes to us because of our emotional state; rather we are called on to make an effort to minimize fear in whatever way we can. If by exposing myself to a specific activity or situation that is going to bring on more anxiety, worry and fear, that would be something that we should do our best to stay away from. And if God forbid we intentionally bring that fear on ourselves, that is classified as an outright sin.

And again, if we are doing our best to take steps forward in our bitachon journey, that's all that Hashem requires of us and we are certainly a success story. And if fear still finds its way into our lives, that's okay, because we are human beings. But we are called on to do our best to get rid of those things that are anxiety triggering and can bring more fear into our lives.

The other point that Rabbeinu Bechayei taught us was that when a person fears another situation or another individual, God forbid it becomes like a magnet which actually attracts that fear to materializing into reality. Of course to understand the ins and outs of how this works spiritually and why Hashem made this setup is beyond our capacity of understanding, but we don't need to understand the ins and outs of how it works. For our purposes as human beings in this world, we just need to have the conclusion loud and clear: When we fear someone else, God forbid, that item that we're fearing from coming about becomes much more attracted to us and possible to materialize.

But this discussion is not just limited to fearing someone else. As the Chovos HaLevavos and many others point out, that when one trusts in another individual or another situation, one actually becomes under the control and auspices of that situation and that individual. And this can explain how much of the time it could apparently appear how I am in the hands of my boss or the doctor and the like. Because when I am placing my trust and reliance in this boss of mine that he ultimately provides my salary, actually what happens is I become under his control. And God forbid one can fall into a very bad cycle because the more bitachon I have, the more I realize I am not in the hands of that boss and the more it will become clear to me that I am exclusively dependent on Hashem. But God forbid if a person goes down the other road and relies on other individuals and situations such as the doctor or my boss, then the more I choose to rely on my boss, the more I actually become under his control. And then it actually does appear more and more in my life that I do need him to provide for me because the truth is, if I am relying on him, I now do need him, as the Chovos HaLevavos points out to us.

It's so vital and important to make our maximum effort to do everything we can to internalize what we're learning. Not just to know the information that we're supposed to rely on Hashem and not rely on anything else and no one else, but rather to internalize it. It's not the doctor, it's not the boss, it's no one else. It's Hashem exclusively who takes care of me and Hashem exclusively who I am called on to rely on. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward together in discussing and exploring these Torah sources and transforming our bitachon.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Let's move forward on this incredible Bitachon journey together, the keys to the real treasures of the world. What an incredible opportunity each one of us has. Let's summarize what we've discussed so far and then move forward, B’ezrat Hashem, with the next Torah sources.

We learned in the Chovas HaLevavos that the essence of Bitachon is inner peace and tranquility of the soul - when a person realizes that Hashem is truly taking care of us and chooses to rely on Hashem, the all-powerful, the one who is completely not limited by any human limitations, that thereby leads a person to tremendous inner peace and tranquility of the soul. And in the second source that we explored together, we learned from Rabbeinu Yoina that Bitachon is the confident belief without any shadow of a doubt that Hashem can send us salvation from challenging and trying situations. It doesn't matter what it is, it doesn't matter how dire the situation might be, when we realize, as we learn in the 13 principles of faith, that Hashem exclusively runs every single detail in the world and there's no question in the world that Hashem can help us.

And as the Chovas HaLevavos taught us, there's no question in the world that Hashem wants to help us and only wants the best for us. And as we know that Hashem has the ability to help us. When we turn that knowledge into a reliance, that is what brings us to removing the anxiety from our hearts, from the challenging situations that present themselves, and brings us to the inner peace and tranquility of the soul that Bitachon leads to. Now let's read this piece in Rabbeinu Yoina again and focus on the end of the statement. Rabbeinu Yoina is teaching us that Bitachon means to rely on Hashem that He can send our salvation but to such an extent that you have absolutely no doubt that He will send your salvation.

So let's use an example, a person has an illness and there is no one in the world that has a cure to this illness. Rabbeinu Yoina is teaching us that what Bitachon would mean in this situation is to rely on Hashem that He will come through for me without any shadow of a doubt. And if as we're going to learn in the coming sections that one of the highest ways we can have Bitachon is to rely on Hashem in what appears to be good in our eyes. So for someone who is ill, what appears good in our eyes is to get better.

That would mean to say that I am going to have reliance on Hashem, that He is going to make me better, and this reliance on Hashem is beyond a shadow of a doubt. Now let us make it very clear, we're going to learn in the coming sections that Bitachon is an absolute, it always works. If it doesn't work it's not because it doesn't work, it's because I didn't fulfill the conditions for it to work.

But again let us remember the true reward for Bitachon is not about Bitachon working. Let's say a person does not get better because they were not able to have that 100% sincere reliance on Hashem to get better from the illness. That is not the main reward. The main reward is, till the last moment, relying on Hashem and expressing that reliance through prayer and speaking to Hashem, telling Him, Hashem, I know that You can come through for me, and you know what, I am relying on You, that You are going to make me better. And if a person even a little bit has that thought process, that is one of the highest possible things that we can do in this world to achieve our place for eternity in the next world.

Rabbeinu Yona is teaching us that Bitachon means to rely on Hashem to such an extent that we know He is going to come through for us, and He is going to send our salvation, but to such an extent that we have no doubt about it, and the absolute reliance on Hashem, that He is going to help me in my predicament. Let's move forward together, B’ezrat Hashem, and gain a better understanding of what true Bitachon is.

I'm so excited to move forward in our Bitachon journey, B'ezrat Hashem clarifying these Torah sources that we're going to be exploring, and with Hashem's help transforming our Bitachon. The first Torah source we visited was the Chovos Halevavos, right at the beginning of the Shaar Habitachon, where he says that the essence of Bitachon is inner peace and tranquility of the soul. And the reason for that is because one relies on Hashem to such an extent that we know Hashem will always do what's best for us. And again, to highlight, that is a high level to achieve, with full sincerity. But we're not meant to get there, not in one day and perhaps not ever, but just to take small steps of growth in our Bitachon journey.

We're now going to move to the second Torah source that we're going to be visiting. This is Rabbeinu Yonah in Mishlei, Perek Gimel, Pasuk Chaf Vav. Rabbeinu Yonah writes, “I'm going to tell you what Bitachon is. Bitachon is the absolute clear belief, without any shadow of a doubt, in Hashem's salvation, and relying on Him with absolute sincerity, without any shadow of a doubt.”

So let's break this down a little bit. The main point of this Bitachon journey is that it translates into practical application in our lives. Of course, the starting point is learning about it, to be able to thereafter apply it in our lives. But in this piece in Rabbeinu Yonah, we're learning where is the ultimate opportunity to apply Bitachon. And Rabbeinu Yonah is teaching us that when adversity strikes and things might seem scary, I don't know where the solution is going to come from. I'm stuck. That is the most tremendous opportunity that I now have to fulfill my life's mission. Of course, as human beings, we are not meant to go look for adversity and difficulties. But when they do strike, just to have this perspective, that this is now the most opportune time to practice the reason that I exist.

So Rabbeinu Yonah is teaching us what is Bitachon. Bitachon is belief with absolute conviction, without a shadow of a doubt, that when something is wrong, Hashem is going to make it right. But he says the words, Not just that knowledge, but true reliance on Hashem. I'm relying on Hashem to take care of the problem, to the point that I have no worry in the world anymore. We've previously discussed an example which can help us illustrate and digest this concept. Let's say I have a very wealthy uncle who has come over to me one day and he says, I want you to know my child, you are very dear to my heart. As you know, I am very, very wealthy and it is not a big deal for me to send you a few million dollars. So please, any time in your life that you need help, come over to me. I will most gladly help you.

Now, once in my life, I run short of money and I go over to my good-hearted wealthy uncle and I ask him to help me and he helps me gladly. And he tells me, please, if it happens again, come over right away and I will help you gladly. And after a while, it happens again that I'm short of money. And again, I go over to my uncle, who I am relying on to help me, and he helps me once again. And this repeatedly happens time and time again. When I've been to my uncle 10 different times and each time he has helped me and encouraged me that he wants to continue to help me and to please come back to him any and every time.

When it comes to the next time, I certainly will feel confident and comfortable to the point that if somebody asks me, you're in trouble financially, what are you going to do? I will say, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to my uncle tomorrow and he's going to help me. And I will not feel any sense of anxiety. Rabbeinu Yonah is teaching us that bitachon means reliance on Hashem to the point that if I have a problem in my life, I am throwing the problem on Hashem to the point that I'm not going to need to feel anxiety. B'ezrat Hashem, with the help of Hashem, let us move forward now and explore these most fascinating and incredible Torah sources together. And b'ezrat Hashem, transform our bitachon.

Let's move forward on our Bitachon journey. Remember this is the treasure of the world, the point of our lives. What a tremendous privilege just to be appreciative to Hashem that we're on this journey together. Thank you Hashem for the incredible opportunity we have to be learning about Bitachon. We're exploring now a bit of an introduction to Bitachon. What exactly is Bitachon? And as we discussed previously, the first Torah source that we visited was the Chovos Halevavos.

And again I cannot highlight enough how important it is to get your own copy of Chovos Halevavos. In today's times, it is so easy for anyone at any and every level to be able to learn so much of Torah literature that was not available previously. There is a fantastic artscroll copy of Chovos Halevavos which really walks a person through all the details with commentary and I highly recommend you get your hands on and slowly work through the fantastic Shaar Habitachon which is really one of the most classic foundational works that we have in Torah literature about Bitachon.

We discussed the Chovos Halevavos who teaches us that the essence of Bitachon is the is the tranquility of the soul, is the inner peace that we achieve when we rely on Hashem. So what we are learning here is that one of the things that Bitachon leads to is inner peace And the true litmus test eventually when we want to know how much Bittachin we truly have is how much inner peace do we have when adversity strikes, when something goes horribly wrong with my business or perhaps illness strikes or a serious family issue and the many other trials that we have in our lives. How do we respond to that situation?

Now again I cannot emphasize enough, it is not about getting there because it could be that we've been working on Bitachon for so long and something happens and we feel tremendous panic and anxiety. That's okay because if we are on the Bitachon journey that is all Hashem expects of us. We are limited by our human limitations and maybe we have a very high level of anxiety to start and maybe we're just dropping that anxiety a little bit by working on our Bitachon. That is all Hashem expects of us.

So what we've learned so far is that what Bitachon really leads to is inner peace regardless of the circumstances around me because I'm relying on Hashem that He's taking care of me and He'll always do the best for me and He is not limited by any human limitations and therefore I'm able to live with absolute inner peace, calm, serenity and happiness. The Chovos Halevavos writes that the reason that a person feels this inner peace is because the person is relying on someone else and that takes the anxiety away.

We are learning here that the real translation of the word Bitachon is reliance. It's not just the knowledge that Hashem can do anything and it's not even just the knowledge that Hashem always wants to do good for me and does good for me. It's not just that knowledge but it's the actual reliance that Hashem is there for me and has my back. Of course as we move forward in this journey and explore all the Torah sources we will see how to practically apply that reliance but just as a start we're seeing now what does Bitachon mean. Bitachon means to rely on Hashem.

Let's use a little analogy just to illustrate to ourselves what exactly it means to rely on something. Let's say I have a rare illness and there is a doctor overseas that is the only doctor in the world that can help me. Now I've researched this extensively and I know as a matter of fact that this is the only doctor in the world that can help me and I know that he certainly can help me. That stage can be translated more as the emunah, the belief that this doctor can help me whereas the reliance on the doctor would be to get up and go and visit him and take all the necessary efforts to make it work that I can be seen by him and he can help me out.

And similarly when it comes to Hashem, simply speaking emunah would translate more as the knowledge and belief that Hashem can do anything for me and has my back whereas Bitachon would be the reliance on Hashem, the taking the leap and throwing my problem on Hashem's back rather than carrying it myself. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward discussing these Torah sources and gaining more clarity in our Bitachon journey.

The Chovos Halevavos is one of the classics that we have on Bitachon, and I highly recommend that if you have not yet done so, you should get a copy to slowly work through, and B’ezrat Hashem, over time, master more and more. And if you've already been through it, to go through it again and again and again, because many of the greats have taught that one of the most foundational works that we have when it comes to the topic of Bitachon is the Shaar Habitachon of the Chovos Halevavos.

In this series, we're going to be quoting particular Torah sources that clarify a better picture for ourselves of what Bitachon is and the many questions that arise, but at the same time, there's no question that when you take a sefer like Chovos Halevavos and delve into it yourself, you will gain tremendously in your Bitachon journey. So what exactly is Bitachon? We learned the Chovos Halevavos right at the beginning of the Shaar Habitachon in Perek Aleph, where he writes, “The essence of Bitachon is the tranquility of the soul” and as the Chovos Halevavos explains, this is because when you rely on someone else, that they will do absolutely what is best for you, without exception, you feel tremendously tranquil, because you know you are in great hands.

And as we explained, when it comes to human beings, although another human being can certainly remove anxiety from us, because we do have many abilities, and when we know someone else will use their maximum ability to do the best possible for us, that can remove tremendous anxiety. However, that is certainly limited, because we are limited by our human capacity and even though we might be the most well-meaning person in the world, the situation someone might be relying on us for might be beyond our capacity, whereas when it comes to Hashem, Hashem is unlimited and we can rely on Him for anything. And therefore, as we build our Bittachin, the more we rely on Hashem, the more tranquility of soul, inner peace we will have. Because the more we digest that Hashem only wants the true best for us, but not only that, He can actually do it, beyond any statistic or natural limitation. And the more we build that belief, the more we will internalize the realization that we can live lives with complete calm throughout any and every situation.

So let's say that I'm in need of a certain amount of money, and I've requested from somebody else to help me out with this charity, and they've promised me that they will help me out, and I know as a matter of fact that they want to help me and they have my best interest in mind. There's no question that I'm going to feel much less anxious from this situation, because I'm relying on somebody to help me, I know He can help me, and He wants to help me. Whereas someone who has an illness, and there is no doctor in the world that can provide any treatment for this situation, under these circumstances there's nobody to rely on except for Hashem.

Our job in this world is to make our maximum effort to rely on Hashem exclusively, under all circumstances. Of course it's easier to rely on Hashem when nobody else can help us, but our job is not only to choose to rely on Hashem then, but throughout any and every situation, even when it seems like people can help us, to try to digest more and more that it is not people who help us, it is exclusively Hashem. People are the messengers of Hashem that He has placed in those circumstances to be there to help us out, but in truth it is Hashem exclusively who is helping us.

As we read in the well-known 13 principles of faith of the Rambam, “Hashem alone, Hashem exclusively, takes care of everything in this world with absolute divine providence”. Before delving into anything about Bitachon, the starting point is to digest that Hashem has absolute hashgacha pratis in this world - Hashem is personally looking after every single one of us down to the finest detail, personally managing and orchestrating every single one of our lives. B’ezrat Hashem, together let us take another step forward in our journey of Bitachon.

It is with great simcha and appreciation that today we begin the Torah sources of this tremendous journey of Bitachon. Today we begin to explore part one of the many sections we're going to be exploring as we've outlined in the previous sessions. So part one, what is Bitachon? Now of course this question really encompasses anything and everything we're ever going to learn about Bitachon because ultimately everything we learn about Bitachon will give us more clarity about what Bitachon truly is.

But this is an introduction to Bitachon to get a bit more clarity about what it means to rely on Hashem. What does Bitachon itself mean? How do we even translate the word Bittachon? So with Hashem's help let's begin our journey in Bitachon. The first source that we're going to explore is the Chovos Halevavos in the Shaar Habitachon, right at the beginning in Perek Aleph where he writes that “The essence of Bitachon is the tranquility of the soul of the person trusting and relying, and that the person's heart should be relying on the one he is trusting in.”

The Chovos Halevavos is teaching us here that the true essence of somebody who has Bitachon is tranquility. That means to say that anything and everything could be happening around me. On a global level or on a personal level there could be a major world war and chaos everywhere with things completely unpredictable and a person with Bitachon will have absolute inner peace and tranquility. And the reason for that is because one with Bitachon is relying on someone else to take care of them. Of course we are referring to Bitachon in Hashem but the Chovoss HaLevavos illustrates this by teaching us what happens when one relies on someone else.

I'd like to share a story that I once came across that helps illustrate this concept from the fantastic sefer Living Emunah from Rav David Ashear. He tells that there was a little girl on an airplane ride and suddenly there was tremendous unusual turbulence on the flight. Many of the passengers were quite scared as to what was going on whereas this girl was completely calm. One of the flight attendants noticed this and came over to the girl and said, “Little girl. The adults on this plane are feeling quite terrified at the moment and you seem to be completely calm as if nothing is going on. Why is that?” And the girl responded, “well my father is the pilot so why should I be anxious about anything? I know that my father will absolutely always do what is best for me.”

And as the Chovos Halevavos goes on to say in this paragraph that a person who has Bitachon in someone else has inner peace because you're relying on that other person and you know that they will always do what is best for you. Now the reason the Chovos HaLevavos teaches us about having Bitachon, reliance on other people is because ultimately that teaches us how to have true Bitachon in Hashem. This little girl understood that her father would only always do what is best for her and therefore even when things seemed like they were not going according to plan and potentially could cause anxiety, she felt calm.

Now the example is not 100% accurate because when it comes to other people we are limited in our abilities as well-meaning as we might be, we might not be able to help another individual under certain circumstances because of our human limitations, whereas when it comes to Hashem, the basics of Emunah teach us that Hashem is completely beyond any limitation and can without a doubt save us from the most unpromising situation that we might encounter.

So again what we're learning in this first passage from the Chovos Halevavos is that the essence of Bitachon is tranquility. Of course we cannot expect to get there in a day where we can have bombs exploding around us and we can remain completely tranquil, but again as we spoke about in the introduction, the point of Bitachon is not necessarily to get there - it is to aim to get there and to take small steps to go as far as we can. B'ezrat Hashem, let's continue further in our journey of Bitachon.