We continue in our Bittachon journey. So let's revise. We need to give a rundown of 15 sections of what we're going to be discussing before we actually begin exploring the Torah sources themselves in these 15 sections. Let's revise what we've stated so far.

Part one, what is Bitachon? Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon for sure always work without exception? Part five, why must Hashem come through for me in the way that I desire? Part six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite in order to be effective? As we've discussed, we're going to learn that if one applies this form of Bitachon, absolute 100% sincere reliance on Hashem, Hashem has created it as a rule of nature that He will for sure come through for us in the way that we desire. However, as we will learn, this prerequisite is vital as long as I am 100% sincere in my reliance on Hashem.

Part seven, can someone who commits sins apply Bitachon? Is Bitachon only an opportunity for the righteous, for people who are doing their best to fulfill Hashem's will and building their personal relationship with Him? Or is Bitachon for anybody, even someone who commits sins? Part eight, a most important question, why were there tzaddikim that were not always saved by their Bitachon? Certainly, tzaddikim were much more knowledgeable and righteous than any of us, and we find so many tzaddikim that suffered immensely, and if Bittachon is so powerful that one is able to tap into it and get saved from their troubles, not only is one able to, but as we will learn, it is commendable and it is a tremendous mitzvah to rely on Hashem for our own needs in the way that we desire, and that being the case, why were there many tzaddikim that seemingly did not rely on their Bitachon to be saved from their ordeals?

And part nine, we mentioned, what is the position of the Chazon Ish about Bitachon? Although this seems like an uninteresting question, this is one of the most important fundamentals about Bitachon, because as we will discuss, a very popular sefer in the Torah world is one of the sfarim of the Chazon Ish, and although many people are not so well versed in most of the Torah sources about Bitachon, however, this famous sefer from the Chazon Ish has a passage which seems to imply against what almost everyone teaches about Bittachon, and many who have not learned the topic extensively, by just coming across this passage in the Chazon Ish will draw a very mistaken conclusion that this type of Bitachon that we will discuss, absolute confident reliance on Hashem, is not an option, and is not a type of Bitachon that we are permitted to practice.

Now, we will learn and explore different passages in the Chazon Ish writings himself, where it will be made absolutely clear that the Chazon Ish is certainly on the same page as all the very many Torah sources, as would be expected from one of the greats of our generation. However, there is a very important and specific reason why the Chazon Ish chose to write this passage in the way that he did, as we will explain when we get to this section.

And as we will learn, there are different types of Bitachon. Through our whole series of daily inspiration about Emunah that we gave for about two years, and again, if one would like to refer back to any of that, one can find all of it on transformyouremunah.com, Emunah with an H. Through all of our Emunah discussions, it was not just about a theoretical concept of Emunah, it was made very clear that anybody who believes in Hashem will certainly turn that belief into practical application. In many ways, one of them that we discussed continuously and extensively was building a sincere personal relationship with Hashem and talking to Hashem.

And similarly, as we will learn, there is no question that there are many different levels to what it means to have Bitachon. The more conventional forms of Bitachon that are usually understood and taught will be the type of Bitachon that one can see as an extension of Emunah. Emunah being the concept of trying to build a relationship with Hashem, and Bitachon, the practical application of that, of speaking to Hashem, of following his mitzvos and the many other things that we discussed in our Emunah series.

And there is no question that that is certainly a form of Bitachon, as we will see in this passage of the Chazon Ish, as well as in other passages. However, the mistaken notion that people are often led to make, that this passage is a contradiction to the type of Bitachon that we've been exploring, we will investigate B’ezrat Hashem in the Torah sources in this section, and Bezrat Hashem moved forward to more clarity in our Bitachon.

Let's continue this most incredible journey about Bitachon. Okay, let's summarize. So far, we've said that we're going to break down this discussion about Bitachon to try to get things in an organized way into 15 different parts. Here are the questions that we've discussed so far. Part one, what is Bitachon? Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon always work? Part five, why must Hashem come through for me in the way that I desire? Part six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite in order to be effective? Part seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon?

Part eight, why were tzaddikim not always saved by their Bitachon? And as we spoke about, we've alluded to the fact that we're going to learn in many Torah sources that the opportunity to rely on Hashem is an absolute guarantee if one does it properly. If one is able to reach a level of absolute sincere reliance on Hashem, Hashem will for sure come through for them in the way that they desire. And that being the case, why is it that so many of our greats, both from previous generations and contemporary great scholars and tzaddikim, were not saved by their Bitachon? Surely they knew about the opportunity of Bitachon. Does that mean that Bitachon does not always work? Or is there some other reason why we find at times tzaddikim chose not to use the opportunity of Bitachon and the like? We will discuss this and more, b'ezrat Hashem, via the Torah sources in this section when we get there.

We now move to part number nine. This seems like almost an uninteresting question, but this is probably one of the most foundational questions about the whole topic of Bitachon. The question is, what is the position of the Chazon Ish about Bittachon? Now again, this might seem uninteresting because why do I particularly need to know about the opinion of the Chazon Ish about Bitachon? And the reason this is included in its own section is because this is perhaps one of the reasons that many have not understood the mitzvah of Bitachon correctly.

The Chazon Ish is one of the greatest of the great contemporary tzaddikim and Torah scholars that we have. And as we will study, there is a passage in one of the sefarim of the Chazon Ish which would seem to indicate the opposite of what many Torah sources teach. And if that would be the case, then one might be led to a conclusion that for whatever reason, we don't follow these Torah opinions.

Now it's very important to learn these Torah passages that the Chazon Ish himself would have learned and also passages that the Chazon Ish himself wrote and compare them to one another to truly understand B’ezrat Hashem with absolute clarity what he meant in this famous passage that people usually come across. Again, it should be clear to you by now that we're going to explore a form of Bitachon where one is so confident that Hashem will come through for them - one is a hundred percent sincere in their reliance on Hashem and the guarantee that we will have is that Hashem will for sure come through in the way that I desire.

Again, I may have many questions. Why is that so? How is that so? Who says so? Etc. And B’ezrat Hashem, we will get to all those sections and discuss this and the relevant Torah sources. However, just by way of introduction, in this section, we will discuss a famous passage written by the Chazon Ish where it seems to indicate that one should not have absolute reliance on Hashem. And the relevancy of understanding this passage correctly is important in the way we're going to draw our conclusion about what the halacha is, of what type of Bitachon we're supposed to apply. Are we allowed to, are we supposed to have such absolute reliance on Hashem for the things that we need and that we desire in the way that we need and the way that we desire? Or if the Chazon Ish seemingly wrote the opposite and again, it's not just one opinion that we would simply ignore.

The Chazon Ish is a very important halachic opinion. Then why does it seem to be implied in one of his passages that one should not practice this absolute confident Bitachon in Hashem? B’ezrat Hashem, as we get to this section, we will explore the exact meaning of the Chazon Ish and with Hashem's help, draw more clarity to our Bitachon.

I hope you're beginning to get excited about this incredible topic of Bitachon. We've been discussing a bit of an introduction to the topics we're going to be discussing to get a bit of an indication of where we'll be heading. I'm sure you're beginning to realize that Bitachon is one of the most important foundations of the entire Torah and all the mitzvos that we have. In fact, the foundation of the entire Torah and mitzvos as we'll see in many Torah sources. And that being the case, it's obviously easy to understand that it's not going to be a journey of one day to master this topic. It's going to be our life's work. But our journey right now, B’ezrat Hashem - with the help of Hashem, is to do our best to clarify this topic in an organized way so that hopefully, with Hashem's help, we can come out with more clarity. And once we do so, then we can have the confidence to apply Bitachon in a practical way and be confident about what we are doing.

The reason that I continuously repeat what we've discussed previously is because it's one thing just to hear the information, but it's something else to truly digest it. And in our fast-paced world, it's very easy to forget the information that we've learned. So revision is of paramount importance. So let's revise what we've said so far.

The Torah sources that we're going to discuss in an orderly, section-by-section way, B’ezrat Hashem, relate to the following questions. In part one, we will discuss what is Bitachon. Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon always work? That means to say, are there any exceptions? Or if I practice this type of Bitachon - confident Bitachon in Hashem, will it for sure work beyond a shadow of a doubt, without any caveats whatsoever? Part five, if I can rely on Hashem with confident Bitachon for the things I desire and I need, why must Hashem come through for me?

Part six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? A few moments ago, we just alluded to the fact that this type of confident Bitachon has no exceptions, as long as one fulfills the prerequisite for this type of Bitachon to be effective. Because again, if one has not fulfilled the prerequisite for this Bitachon to be effective, then it will not be effective in the way that I desire. Although as mentioned, one will certainly get rewarded immensely for any step one takes forward in Bitachon, both in this world and in the next world, but in terms of the Bitachon working without a shadow of a doubt in the way that I desire, although as we will learn, there are no exceptions to that if one does practice Bitachon with absolute sincerity, however, the precondition is that that Bitachon in Hashem has to be with absolute sincerity.

In part seven, we will discuss, B'ezrat Hashem, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Is the opportunity of Bitachon only for the super righteous? Or even somebody who is tainted by sin, not only from previous sins, but even current sin, can that individual apply Bitachon? And part number eight is that as we're going to learn in many Torah sources, if Bitachon is such a powerful absolute that has no exceptions, that if one is sincerely reliant on Hashem, Hashem will for sure come through for them in the way they desire, so many of the tzaddikim who experienced difficult times, be it financially, with their health, relationships and family, or many other things, why did they not get saved by their Bitachon? Surely they knew about Bitachon. And if that is the case, and Bitachon always works, why did they not get saved by their Bittachon?

I hope that B'ezrat Hashem, as we discuss these questions, more and more questions will come across your minds to help open up this most fascinating and incredible discussion about Bitachon, and B'ezrat Hashem, as we break down each of these sections part by part and discuss the Torah sources, with Hashem's help, we'll come to more clarity and see Hashem's true perspective of what the undistorted truth of the Torah is about Bitachon.

I hope you're getting as excited as I am with regards to Bitachon. I know we are yet to discuss Torah sources inside and gain more clarity on the issues, but hopefully just from seeing the questions, you're getting a bit of an indication of the direction we're going to be taking. Let's revise what we've discussed so far in terms of the 15-part outline of the contents we're going to be discussing.

Part one we're going to be dealing with is the Torah sources on the question of what is Bitachon. Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon always work? Part five, why must Hashem come through for me in the way I desire? And as we discussed, there's a lot to this question and we'll see more in the Torah sources inside B’ezrat Hashem. Part six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite in order to be effective? Again, as discussed and as we will discuss B’ezrat Hashem, there are different types of Bitachon, but one of the types of Bitachon which we're going to be elaborating on is a confident type of Bitachon where Hashem will for sure come through for me in the way that I desire. But what is the prerequisite in order for that to happen?

Part seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Is the opportunity to have Bitachon dependent on our deeds? So a person who's doing well spiritually, it can be argued that maybe they can tap into these amazing opportunities of Bitachon to rely on Hashem for the things that they need in such a confident way that Hashem will come through for them. It would seem that Hashem certainly would want to take care of those that do His will, but those that do not, maybe Bitachon is not available to a sinner.

Now regardless of our conclusion, in terms of Bitachon, nobody's advocating to do Aveiros because it's very clear, independent of the discussion of Bitachon, that there are very severe consequences in the next world, and even in this world for our transgressions, and on the positive side for our mitzvos, to the point that many Torah commentaries teach that one moment of suffering in the next world is way worse than 120 years of constant suffering of the worst form that you can imagine in this world.

And likewise, on the positive side, in the next world, of the reward we have the potential to earn for ourselves, experiencing one moment of that is way greater than 120 years of the greatest pleasure we can imagine in this world. So it's super important to emphasize that regardless of our discussion about Bitachon, there's no question there are very real and severe consequences for our actions in this world. However, in terms of the opportunity of Bitachon, sometimes a person might get led down the path that teaches, don't even think about Bitachon until you correct yourself. Whereas we're going to learn what Torah sources teach about this question. Can a sinner apply Bitachon?

Let's move now to part eight. Why were tzaddikim not always saved by their Bitachon? So let's elaborate on this a little bit. If it's so that Torah sources will teach that one can have such confident Bitachon that Hashem will come through for me for anything and everything that I might need and desire for those who rely on Him sincerely with an absolute 100% guarantee, without exceptions and without failure, that Hashem has built it within the nature of the way the world works, that if somebody does practice this absolute confident type of Bitachon with full sincerity, then without a doubt and without exception, Hashem comes through for them. And that being the case, that leads me to think, were there not many very great tzaddikim – way greater than me in terms of their righteousness, in terms of their Torah knowledge, and how come seemingly and apparently bad things happened to them?

We know of many great tzaddikim throughout the generations, earlier generations and contemporary generations, who suffered tremendously in terms of health, in terms of finances and in many other areas. But if we are going to learn that one has an opportunity to rely on Hashem to such a confident extent, that they will for sure receive what they desire, without exception, if their reliance on Hashem is 100% sincere, and if we're also going to learn that not only can one do this, but this is actually commendable and a huge mitzvah to aim to rely on Hashem to this extent. So if that is the case, why is it that many tzaddikim seemingly did not make use of this type of bitachon? Let's explore this further together and b'ezrat Hashem transform our bitachon.

Let's continue this most exciting journey of Bitachon. So we discussed the breakdown of what we're going to be discussing, 15 sections in total. Let's revise briefly what we've mentioned that we're going to be discussing.

Part number one, what exactly is Bitachon? Part number two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part number three, how important is Bitachon? Again this is so important just to realize how much focus we should be placing on our Emunah, specifically Bitachon journey. If it is the ultimate point of our lives, of all Torah and all mitzvos, as we're going to see B'ezrat Hashem, then certainly we should place a very high emphasis on our Bitachon journey. Part number four, does Bitachon always work? What does Bitachon mean? We're going to see that there's different types of Bitachon and what's usually understood is that Hashem can come through for me if I have any issue or anything in my life, the starting point is reach out to Hashem. He's the only one that can actually help and he's the one fully in control and he wants to help you. But can one be so confident in their reliance on Hashem that they are sure Hashem will come through for them in the way they desire?

Part number five, if that is the case, why must Hashem come through for me? Doesn't Hashem have many considerations? Who says he even owes me this? Why must he come through for me? Part number six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? Even if Bitachon is so powerful that Hashem will come through for us in the exact way we desire, but what exactly is a precondition for this to happen? Part number seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Somebody who commits sins, we might argue that not only does Hashem not owe them things, but Hashem might actually owe them the opposite. As many Torah passages teach, when we commit sins, much of the time Hashem will respond in turn by sending us suffering. And the reason for that is not because Hashem wants to catch us out. Hashem only created this world to give us good. But the reason that Hashem will at times send a person suffering in response to their sins is in order to give them the opportunity to come back to Him, to do teshuva, because when things are just going smoothly in life, we sometimes just smooth sail through our happenings in life and we don't remember to do teshuva.

And likewise, many Torah passages teach that one moment of suffering in the next world is much greater than an entire lifetime of constant suffering without interruption. And therefore it could very well be that sometimes Hashem sends a person suffering in order to give them the opportunity to either be cleansed in this world as opposed to the next world, or perhaps to be a springboard to do teshuva and to remember Hashem and to build our relationship. So because of this correlation and relationship between Hashem sending suffering as a consequence of sins, one might be led to think that similarly, one who would like to tap into this most incredible and holy avodah of bitachon will not have that opportunity if he is not yet cleansed from his sins. So yes, this amazing opportunity might be available to the very great and righteous people of our generation, but what does that have to do with me? So as we go into the Torah sources, we will discuss, that one of the basic foundations of bitachon is that although countless Torah passages emphasize the tremendous importance that we are to place on trying our real utmost best to do mitzvos and stay away from aveiros, and there are certainly very real consequences for both the positive and the negative, whilst at the same time the opportunity to have bitachon is completely independent of our actions.

We are yet to quote even one Torah source in terms of the journey of bitachon, but at the moment we are just focusing on outlining the concepts to give us a bit of an indication of where we are heading. With the help of Hashem, let's continue our journey in bitachon and as we do so, may Hashem help us to gain more clarity in all of these concepts of bitachon.

Let us continue this most fascinating journey about Bitachon. In the introduction that we've been giving to Bitachon, we've broken up the questions into numerous parts, and again, I'm just making it clear, we have not yet discussed the Torah sources and intricate details of all these questions, but just to get a bit of clarity and direction, it is helpful to go through the questions and explore them briefly just so that we can gain a little bit of clarity before we delve into the Torah sources. So let's revise what we've discussed so far.

Part number one, what is Bitachon? Part number two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part number three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Is it just an additional mitzvah, a super mitzvah, or is it the foundation of Torah and mitzvos? Part number four, does Bitachon always work for me in the way that I desire, or is it just that Hashem can come through for me, but not necessarily will He in the way that I desire? Part number five, why must Hashem come through for me in the way I desire? And as we discussed, there are many reasons why maybe it won't be good for us if Hashem comes through for us in the way that we desire. And that being the case, this type of Bitachon where one can rely on Hashem to such an extent that Hashem will come through for me, why must He come through for me?

Part number six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? And as discussed, although there is infinite reward for any level of Bitachon that one achieves, even a small step forward, even if I only have 1% of reliance on Hashem, that is a tremendous achievement and in fact, the core of the entire Torah as we'll learn. But in order for this type of Bitachon that we're going to explore, where Hashem will for sure come through for me in the way that I need, in the way that I desire, in order for that to work, then one needs to be 100% sincerely reliant on Hashem.

We now move to part seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Somebody who performs sins, can he apply Bitachon? The argument might be, Hashem coming through for me in the way that I need, Hashem sending me my desire in exactly the way that I view it - Okay, I can understand if somebody is a big tzaddik and performing Hashem's will exactly as He prescribes and doing everything right, then I can understand why Hashem would come through for them because they're such a devoted servant and child to Hashem, obviously Hashem is going to pay them back, but what does that have to do with me? I'm somebody who not only every second day but every day commits numerous sins, sometimes unintentionally, sometimes intentionally, and what therefore do I have to do with Bitachon?

So does that mean that I can only have the opportunity to tap into Bitachon once I cleanse myself from sins or can I even have the opportunity today to tap into Bitachon? Meaning to say we all understand the tremendous importance that countless Torah passages place on doing our best in this world to do as many mitzvos as we can and to stay away from aveiros and there's no question that regardless of the discussion about Bitachon, there are very definitely very concrete consequences, both for the positive as well as for the negative in terms of our actions, both in this world as well as most importantly in the next world. But is Bitachon an independent factor, completely independent of our actions, meaning to say certainly if somebody committed sins in the past and has not yet done Teshuva, again if somebody has already done Teshuva, then as the Gemara teaches, they don't actually have sins anymore. But we're speaking about somebody who has done sins, does that mean that because this person's slate is not clean, they cannot have the opportunity to have absolute reliance on Hashem?

And even more so, let's ask, if somebody is currently committing a sin, does that mean that okay, when I get clean, then I'll be able to rely on Hashem, but right now while I'm performing a sin, certainly it would seem that I do not have the opportunity to rely on Hashem. So let's discuss this further because again, many of these topics are counterintuitive like many topics in Torah and we do not use our own rationalism and reasoning to try answer these questions because as well-meaning as we might be, we certainly could be wrong. So let's b’ezrat Hashem continue to explore and eventually work our way to discussing the Torah sources themselves and gaining more clarity in our Bitachon.

The Gemara tells us that just like the initial redemption from Egypt took place in the month of Nissan, so too the redemption of the future, the coming of Mashiach, will also take place during the month of Nissan. Out of all the tremendous miracles that took place through our exodus from Egypt, in a sense the climax was the splitting of the sea when we were surrounded by the Egyptians from behind and the sea in front of us, and Hashem miraculously split the sea and allowed us to pass through it. We know that the splitting of the sea took place on the seventh day of Pesach, so in a sense the seventh day of Pesach is the climax of the redemption from the Egyptian slavery.

The Gemara tells us that one day when we are to pass on to the next world, one of the very first things that happens in the heavenly bastion is they ask us the question, “did you hope for Mashiach?” This is such an important question that it's right at the top of the list of questions that we are asked. We can obviously understand the importance that Hashem places on our wanting and hoping for the arrival of Mashiach. Now one may say, “look my life is actually okay, I don't necessarily need Mashiach.” Whether one feels that way or not, we have a mitzvah to want, pray and hope for the coming of Mashiach, and we can see that this is extremely important in Hashem's eyes to the point that this is one of the very first questions that we are asked when we arrive in Shamayim.

It is famously told about the Chofetz Chaim that he would constantly have a bag ready and packed under his bed for the arrival of Mashiach because he so eagerly awaited Mashiach's arrival that it was something real to the point that he had to be ready to go with his things packed in his bag because the Chofetz Chaim was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Mashiach at any given moment. Now although we can understand in our heads that hoping and wanting and praying for Mashiach to come is something extremely important, many of us may not feel that eagerness for the coming of Mashiach and that doesn't make us bad in any way, God forbid. In a sense it's very hard to relate to what it's going to be like when Mashiach comes. Although we are taught in Torah sources many things about the coming of Mashiach and many Torah commentaries do offer insight into the Messianic era, nevertheless ultimately we don't know exactly how it's going to be because it's meant to be something hidden and that being the case it makes it more difficult for us to relate to as something so real because it's hidden from us.

But nevertheless, as always, even if a mitzvah is difficult or for that matter if anything is difficult in our lives there is always one solution that is the solution to all problems. We can talk to Hashem, we can say, “Hashem you have commanded me to want Mashiach whether I can relate to it or whether I don't relate to it. Master of the universe, please help me to really want and hope for and pray for the coming of Mashiach.” Be'ezrat Hashem on this holy seventh day of Pesach which is ultimately the climax of our redemption from Egypt when we came to the splitting of the sea, may we all merit the ultimate redemption, the coming of Mashiach, speedily in our days.

We've discussed how following Hashem's mitzvos in this world is one of the potent ways we earn our share in the next world. We also have discussed that one who believes in Hashem and His mitzvos truthfully, will make the maximum effort to perform the mitzvos with their intricate details exactly as Hashem has prescribed, because if this is what He says to do, this is what we ought to do. We have this tremendous opportunity during Chol Moed to fulfill the mitzvos as Hashem has prescribed.

We discussed the Mishnah which mentions that one who does not honour Chol Moed in the right way, they forfeit their portion in the next world. And as the Torah commentaries explained, that refers to one who does forbidden forms of work during Chol Moed, or alternatively, one who does not eat and drink in a similar way to how one would honour Shabbos and Yom Tov with Shabbos and Yom Tov meals. Now again, one may say, “well I haven't yet learnt all of the laws of Chol Moed, so does that mean I don't have a portion in the next world?” God forbid! Hashem does not expect us to do anything beyond our maximum capacity. If we have not yet had the opportunity to learn the laws of Chol Moed, or even if we have, but we make a mistake, remember, Hashem created us only to give to us, He is not there to catch us out. Our job is to make our maximum effort to do our best in learning the laws of Chol Moed, and do our best in fulfilling the mitzvos, doing what we are supposed to do, and not doing what we are not supposed to do. But, if we try our best and still get it wrong, either because we made a mistake, or because we haven't yet had the opportunity to learn all of the intricate details, Hashem sees our efforts, and that's what will count.

In terms of the mitzvah of Chol Moed itself, the Gemara says further that one who disgraces the festivals is comparable to an idol-worshipper, and again, the commentaries explain that this refers to one who performs forbidden forms of work during the days of Chol Moed. They're comparable to an idol-worshipper. Why? What is so bad? I still believe in Hashem, I'm performing many other mitzvos, I'm just maybe not treating Chol Moed as I am supposed to. Why is the Mishna and the Gemara, which is Hashem's voice, seemingly being so strict with us if we don't treat Chol Moed in the right way, to tell us that we may forfeit our portion in the next world, as well as being compared to an idol-worshipper? These are very strong words! And the answer to this question, why the consequences of Chol Moed are so strict, is as the Gemara tells us, that the reason for the days of Chol Moed, ultimately, are to give us the opportunity to celebrate the festival together with Hashem, by having festive meals, by not doing forbidden forms of labor, thereby giving us an opportunity to have more time, to learn Torah, to connect with Hashem, to have more time in our personal relationship with Hashem.

As the Maharal explains, if Hashem's whole intention in giving us the days of Chol Moed is in order to give us an opportunity to forge a close relationship with Him, if God forbid somebody is to ignore this precious time and become busy with other things, instead of focusing on building their relationship with Hashem, that is similar to slapping Hashem in the face and saying, “You're not my God, I don't want a personal relationship with you.” And that is why the Gemara is so strict and says that if one disgraces the days of Chol Moed, they are comparable to an idol worshipper, and the Mishnah teaches us that if one disgraces the days of Chol Moed, not according to its due honor, they forfeit their portion in the world to come. May we all capitalize on the opportunity of these tremendous days to build a closer relationship with Hashem, by having festive meals, by using the extra time that we have to learn Torah, to build our personal relationship with Hashem, by talking to Him, perhaps with the extra time that we have, more than usual. May we all merit a Chag Kasher Sameach.

Let us not forget that the only reason Hashem created us is in order to share His goodness with us. We will ultimately experience that goodness in the next world, and the way to earn that goodness in the next world is by the things we do in this world. We've discussed that the most potent thing we can focus on in this world, as discussed by the Torah commentaries, is to build our emunah and bitachon.

One very potent way of expressing our belief in Hashem, our emunah and bitachon in Hashem, is by following His mitzvos. When we follow Hashem's mitzvos, we're showing that we believe that He exists. We are thereby expressing our emunah, our belief in Hashem, that Hashem exists and Hashem is the one who commanded us to do these things, and that being the case, we will do so. And in the same way, the details, and sometimes very intricate details, that are involved in the performance of each of the mitzvos - if that is the way the Torah authorities have prescribed the mitzvos to be followed, that is ultimately the way Hashem wants us to fulfill the mitzvos, and the more we believe in Him, the more we will be careful to fulfill the mitzvos exactly as Hashem has prescribed us to do in all the intricate details.

We have right now the most incredible opportunity to be celebrating the days of Chol HaMoed. All of the mitzvos are important, and as the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos teaches, one can never know which mitzvah is bigger than another. And therefore, we are to treat all the mitzvos with tremendous importance and do our best to fulfill them all in all the intricate details, thereby expressing our belief - our emunah in Hashem. Although all the mitzvos are of paramount importance, one sometimes gets a feeling of a certain importance that Hashem shines upon certain mitzvot. Let's explore the mitzvah of Chol HaMoed to try and appreciate the tremendous opportunity we have during these days.

The Mishnah in Pirkei Avos says that one who disgraces the festivals, even if he possesses the merit of Torah and good deeds, he does not receive a portion in the world to come. The commentaries explain that this Mishnah refers to somebody who disgraces the days of Chol HaMoed by doing one of two things: either by doing forbidden forms of work during these days, or alternatively, by eating and drinking as if it's a regular weekday as opposed to a more lavish, respectable meal similar to Shabbos and Yom Tov. These are very strong words. All of the mitzvos are important, but when the Torah is teaching us that somebody who does not treat Chol HaMoed in the right way, they forfeit their portion in the next world, that gives us an indication that the days of Chol HaMoed are extremely important in Hashem's eyes.

We will explore, b'zrat Hashem, perhaps some of the reasons why these days may be so important. But again, the bottom line is, if Hashem says that these days are important to the point that if we don't treat them in the right way, we could, God forbid, forfeit our portion in Olam HaBa, if we believe in Hashem, we take those words seriously and make our maximum effort to treat Chol HaMoed in the right way. So based on this Mishnah, step number one is to do our best to learn about the laws of Chol HaMoed and to try to follow them as best as we can. And secondly, to make an effort to eat and drink during these days in a similar way to how we do on Shabbos and Yom Tov, to show that we are celebrating the days of Chol HaMoed together with Hashem.

We've discussed that the message of Pesach is that we are celebrating the fact that Hashem took us out of Egypt. We discussed how we ought to learn about the tremendous atrocities that the Jewish people experienced to help us appreciate what it means to come out of the Egyptian slavery and how we ought to celebrate to the highest degree. We also discussed why is it that Hashem put us into the Egyptian slavery in the first place. And as we spoke about, the answer to that is because Hashem cares about every single one of us. Hashem wants to have a personal relationship with every single one of us. And in order to do that, Hashem requires us to need Him.

The snake, the epitome of what symbolizes evil in the world, Hashem says to the snake, “you, I don't want anything to do with, and therefore your food will be dust. Wherever you go, you will have food to eat.” But when it comes to us, on the other hand, Hashem says, “you, my children, much of the time, maybe you won't have food. Not because I don't love you, but because I love you more. I want you to reach out to me. I don't want you to be like the snake who doesn't need me and never needs to have anything to do with me.”

So, on Pesach, we celebrate two things. Number one, that Hashem put us into the Egyptian slavery in the first place, and that we have that close, intimate relationship that He wants to have with every single one of us. Otherwise, He wouldn't cause us to suffer. And we also celebrate the salvation that Hashem sent us to redeem us from Egypt. This principle applies not only to our enslavement in Egypt, and the redemption and salvation that we received from our slavery. It applies to any form of suffering that we experience. If we were given the option of paving the course to how our lives will play out, many of us would opt for a life free of suffering. However, Hashem knows better. If we were to have everything that we needed, we would have no reason to reach out to Hashem. We would not have the drive to build a personal relationship with Hashem. This is one of the main reasons that Hashem sends every single one of us challenges, as explained by many Torah commentaries.

We know that matzah is called by the Zohar “nehama dimeheimenusa” - which means the bread of emunah. Throughout the year, we're trying to build our emunah - to make efforts to grow in our belief in Hashem, because that is ultimately the only reason we exist. As discussed, numerous times, the only reason Hashem created the world is to give to us, which takes place ultimately in Olam Haba. And the main way to earn Olam Haba in this world is building our emunah and bitachon. Throughout the year, we're making efforts to grow in our emunah and bitachon. But so much of the time, it's difficult. And of course, it's meant to be difficult, because this is the main reason that we're alive. This is our purpose. So of course, it can't be simple and easy. When we have an opportunity such as Pesach, where the time period lends itself to a boost in emunah, to the point that the main food of Pesach, matzah, is called the bread of emunah - if we believe in Hashem and His Torah and His mitzvos, every single bite of matzah is another boost in our emunah. Everything we're doing towards Pesach is going to boost our belief in Hashem. Let us all take the opportunity of Pesach to boost our emunah, that everything Hashem does is always for the best.