We've learned many times that the Torah commentaries point out that our main purpose in this world is in order to express our emunah and bitachon in Hashem. The Ramban in his commentary on the Torah writes that the purpose of all the mitzvahs is in order that we come to have emunah in Hashem. The Vilna Gaon in his commentary to Mishle says that the main reason Hashem gave us the Torah is in order that we come to have bitachon in Hashem.

And again he says there that this is ultimately the purpose of all the mitzvahs. And elsewhere the Vilna Gaon states a frighteningly powerful statement where he says that somebody who is excelling in the character trait of bitachon, even if this individual is committing severe transgressions, they are better off than somebody who is not committing any transgressions but is not excelling in bitachon. There are many Torah sources that highlight that our main purpose and endeavor in this world is to succeed and excel in emunah and bitachon and this is ultimately the reason that we were created.

Of course seeing as emunah and bitachon are the main reason that we were created for, it is certainly going to be our life's work and the more we learn about it and make efforts to grow in it, the more we will succeed in our purpose of being created. Simply speaking, basic emunah means to believe the words of the Torah which teach us that Hashem is ein od mil vado. There is nothing else except for Hashem in the world.

Hashem is the only one who calls all of the shots to all the happenings in the world, in my private life, in our experiences as a nation and to the whole universe. This statement of ein od mil vado is really the ABC of emunah. However, there are many levels to what it means to believe that Hashem is the only power.

Right at the top there could be an individual who is 100% conscious 100% of the time that nothing in the world can happen without Hashem's exclusive involvement and therefore an individual who has reached such a level will fear absolutely nothing, will devote their lives to the service of Hashem and the many other offshoots of emunah and bitachon and at the opposite extreme there could be an individual who feels that they are the boss of their own lives. Between these two levels there are millions and millions of levels of to what degree have we internalized and are we internalizing that Hashem is exclusively running the show. For many people one of the biggest challenges to a life of exclusive reliance on Hashem is the fact that the way the world works is we are obligated to make an effort, otherwise known as hishtadlus.

Hishtadlus is an obligation that Hashem has commanded us to fulfill. But again seeing as emunah is our life's work and hishtadlus is one of the biggest components to living a life of emunah and bitachon, sometimes one of the biggest deterrents if done in the wrong way and understood incorrectly. We can obviously understand that to understand hishtadlus on one foot without investigating and learning about the topic sufficiently will not do justice to the topic.

There is much information in Torah literature outlining the perspective of one with emunah and bitachon, how we are to approach hishtadlus and the like. What's most important to remember is that as discussed by many many Torah commentaries the only reason we exist in this world is to express our emunah and bitachon to Hashem, our belief and reliance on Hashem. And therefore there must be a way where we are able to perform our hishtadlus which sometimes seems to go against the values of emunah because hishtadlus means I am making an effort which sometimes contradicts the notion and mode of thinking that Hashem exclusively guides every single detail of my life.

And therefore there must be a way that we can approach hishtadlus within the light of emunah and bitachon because remember hishtadlus is a mitzvah that Hashem himself gave us. Regardless of how we understand hishtadlus, the most important fundamental to remember in achieving our purpose in this world in excelling in our emunah and bitachon is ein od mil vador. The bottom line is that there is only Hashem who runs every detail in this world.