Living Emunah

The Zechut of Real Bitachon


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When people are in need of a yeshuah and are looking to gain extra zechuyot, they naturally want to know what they can do to earn them. In general, every person knows his own shortcomings, and correcting something that a person is doing wrong is itself a great zechut. In addition, strengthening the belief that Hashem alone is in charge of giving a person what he needs is also a tremendous zechut. The pasuk says, ברוך הגבר אשר יבטח בה׳ והיה ה׳ מבטחו — "Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, and Hashem will be his security." When we truly believe that Hashem alone controls what we need, He shows us that by providing it. The Chovot HaLevavot writes in Shaar HaBitachon that one of the criteria for being considered someone who truly has bitachon in Hashem is knowing that Hashem is fully aware of our thoughts and the feelings in our heart. Therefore, it is not proper for a person to tell others that he has bitachon if, in truth, his heart is not there yet. If a person presents himself as someone who has bitachon while internally relying on other things, that creates a desecration of Hashem's honor if the salvation does not come, because people will think that someone who trusts in Hashem was not helped. A person might act outwardly like someone with bitachon, but in his heart he may still be trusting in people, effort, or natural systems. The Chovot HaLevavot compares this to the pasuk בְּפִיו וּבִשְׂפָתָיו כִּבְּדוּנִי וְלִבּוֹ רִחַק מִמֶּנִּי -describing how the Jewish people sometimes honored Hashem with their mouths, while their hearts were distant from Him. When a person truly has bitachon in Hashem, it is considered a great honor to Him. When we believe that no person and no effort has independent power over what happens, and that only Hashem controls outcomes, that itself is a form of honoring Hashem, and that is a tremendous zechut. But it is something that cannot be faked. Hashem knows whether our hearts truly believe what we are saying. When they do, in the zechut of the honor we give Hashem through our bitachon, He, so to speak, honors the person by bringing his salvation. The pasuk tells us in Divrei HaYamim that King Asa placed his trust in doctors when he became ill, and not in Hashem, and as a result he did not receive the salvation he hoped for. In every area of life, we need to do the inner work and truly believe that only Hashem can help us. If we can bring our hearts to feel that way, it is a great honor to Hashem, and Hashem rewards that. It is possible that a person was not originally destined to receive a certain salvation, but in the merit of his bitachon, he receives it anyway. Bitachon is a tremendous zechut, aside from the fact that it is a major part of serving Hashem and is a mitzvah in its own right. One of our main jobs in this world is to see past nature and truly believe that Hashem is controlling everything. I read a story about a man who needed a very large sum of money and had no natural way of obtaining it. Instead of praying for the money itself, he prayed to Hashem to help him have proper bitachon. He asked Hashem to strengthen his bitachon and give him an unwavering feeling in his heart that Hashem, and only Hashem, would be the One to provide the money, and that Hashem is full of chesed and wants to help us. He later said that when he needed the money, Baruch Hashem, it came. There is nothing that compares to true feelings of bitachon in Hashem.
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Living EmunahBy Ashear, Rabbi David

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