Tefillah - 112 Bitachon & Making A Living

Having “Bitachon” Includes Effort, Prayer, and Bitachon

ותן שכר טוב לכל הבוטחים בשמך  We ask Hashem in this blessing that He should give reward to those who have bitachon (trust in Hashem).

Bitachon is a concept which encompasses all stages of our life. No matter what stage we are at in life, there is always an avodah we have with bitachon.

To give a general outline, there are three parts to the avodah of bitachon: Firstly, we need to make hishtadlus (effort). Secondly, we need to have bitachon and rely on Hashem that He will make it happen; and thirdly, we need tefillah – to daven to Hashem for success.

The tefillah stage always comes in between the hishtadlus stage and the bitachon stage. Tefillah is really another part of hishtadlus, and at the same time, it is also part of the bitachon stage. We always encounter these three stages and need to make use of them, wherever we are in life.

We are supposed to have bitachon when it comes to our material needs, and even in our spiritual needs, there is also a concept to have bitachon, as the Vilna Gaon writes. However, when it comes to our spiritual needs, there are two kinds of spiritual needs. One kind of spiritual need is something that is directly spiritual, while another kind of spiritual need is something that allows us to have more spirituality, but it is not spiritual in its essence. In either case, there is a concept to have bitachon and rely on Hashem to help us.

[Here we will cover the first two areas of bitachon: when it comes to material matters, such as our source of livelihood, and when it comes to matters that aid us in spirituality but are not spiritual in their essence. The next shiur will explain the concept of bitachon in matters that are directly spiritual].

Bitachon When It Comes To Our Livelihood: The Need To Make Effort

In every action that a person does, he looks at it in either one of two ways. Either a person looks at his actions as being actions that are up to him, or he looks at the action as being the act of Hashem, and that his action was the mere tool to bring it about. A Jew has the power to have bitachon and to view how actions are really performed by Hashem, for He is the Source of every action.

However, in every person’s heart there is a point that is unrefined, and the perspective of emunah and bitachon has not yet penetrated into it yet. This part of the person says that “I” am the one who is making an action happen – not Hashem. It is called the point of kefirah (heresy) in the soul – the attitude in a person to feel, deep down, that he is the sole performer of his actions. It’s a subtle degree of denying Hashem.

The Ramban says that emunah is to believe that Hashem is in charge, while bitachon is to actualize that belief.

But the point of kefirah inside a person goes against his emunah and bitachon, and for this reason, a person is required to make hishtadlus (effort). The reason why we have to make effort to make a livelihood is because a penalty was placed on mankind, as the Mesillas Yesharim writes.

A person has to realize that the whole need to have to make effort for a living is a penalty. It’s very possible that a person is always making effort his whole life to make a living yet he never realizes that it’s all a penalty. That is one kind of problem that exists.

However, besides this problem, there is another problem involved in making effort to earn a living: a person is very apt to feel that he’s in charge, that it’s all up to him, and he’s not aware that Hashem is behind it all. The deeper part of the problem, though, is that people are often not aware that effort to make a living is because we have some kefirah deep down. There is a part in us which does not have complete emunah in Hashem, and that is why we need to make effort for a living.

Awakening Emunah and Bitachon – Each Day

Therefore, every day, a person needs to awaken his emunah. If not, a person’s kefirah will burn more strongly inside him and fester even more. When a person doesn’t awaken his emunah every day, he is really full of kefirah towards Hashem [thinking that he is in charge of his livelihood] and he is not even aware that he keeps having kefirah. It won’t even bother him. Often a person might be completely unaware that most of what he does throughout the day is really stemming from kefirah. The person will justify to himself that “Everyone else is like that too, so why should I be different?”

So not only does a person have kefirah in his soul all the time, but it doesn’t even bother him, because he rationalizes it with this argument. This is an even deeper problem that is involved with making effort for a livelihood.

To counter this problem, we need to awaken emunah every day and lessen our kefirah; and we need to awaken our bitachon every day and lessen the amount of how much effort we make – whether it is you making a living, or whether it is your wife making a living.

Let’s say a Kolel avreich lands a “shtellar” (position in a Torah institution). His likely reaction is to feel relieved: “Baruch Hashem! Now everything will be good. Everything will work it now…” He might disillusion himself with fantasies of how life will be good now, he’ll have parnassah, and not only that, but that he’ll even get honor as well from such a position…everything will be fine now, he thinks….

Such an outlook is far from how a truthful Jew is supposed to look at life! If a person doesn’t awaken emunah and bitachon each day, he is burying his soul in a spiritual graveyard.

These words are not describing high levels. We are not asking that everyone be on the level of completely accepting how all of our efforts to make livelihood are nothing but a decree of Hashem placed on mankind. This is clearly a lofty outlook which most people are far from acquiring. We are rather describing a point which can apply to any person on any level: that all of us need to increase our emunah each day and lessen the amount we put into our efforts, somewhat. We need to at least aspire for such a thing, and we can all do this.

You need to set aside time for this. Each day, have times of the day in which you detach from effort in trying to make a living, and instead awaken your emunah and bitachon.

If we do not make this daily emunah-awakening, then our entire lifestyle is that of kefirah.

Baruch Hashem there is a lot of chessed today, with regards to the fact that there are all kinds of frum organizations that help people find parnassah (livelihood). But are there any people trying to minimize their involvement with trying to make parnassah? Are there any aspirations for such a thing whatsoever? Bitachon has become like a thing of the past, something that is not to be mentioned. There are many people who feel that “the main thing is to make hishtadlus.” This mentality is a life of kefirah!!

If someone makes hishtadlus to have parnassah – even if he knows the entire Choshen Mishpat (laws dealing with monetary matters), this is not enough. A person has to know that the main thing he needs to survive in making a living is emunah! And we must also be aware that there is a part in us that denies how Hashem is in charge. This is our point of kefirah.

When a person is putting in too much effort to make a living, he comes to feel that it’s all up to him, as it is written, “The strength and might of my hands.”  Without awakening emunah each day, a person will place too much emphasis on his efforts and he will even end up breaking the rules of Halacha [even if he knows all of Choshen Mishpat].

This applies whether a person is earning money to support either his wife or his children; each day, a person needs to lessen a little bit of his efforts to make a living, so he can chip away at some of the kefirah that he has deep down and lessen it. And along with this, a person must awaken his emunah every day and remind himself that Hashem is the source of everything.

Practically Speaking

How much hishtadlus does a person need to make?

This depends on each person’s individual situation. If someone is on a higher level of emunah, he doesn’t need to make as much hishtadlus, and if someone is weak in his emunah, he is required indeed to make more hishtadlus, for he does not believe so strongly that Hashem can take care of him. This is an area that is different with each person – some have more emunah, and some have less emunah.

But the common denominator with all people is that all people need to awaken their emunah each day and try to lessen the amount of effort they put in to make a living. By doing this every day, a person guards his emunah in the depths of his soul.

Of course, besides for this, a person will still need siyata d’shamaya (Heavenly assistance) to succeed, and he needs to daven to Hashem special for this.

In Conclusion

To anyone who recognizes what is going on, the world of “parnassah” has been destroying the holiness of the Jewish people in the last few years, by placing so much emphasis on hishtadlus to make parnassah, as if everything is up to the person as long as he makes effort.

Part 2: Bitachon In Matters That Aid Our Spirituality

We have discussed until now about having bitachon when it comes to our material needs. Now we will discuss bitachon in our spiritual matters. In this, there are two different kind of spiritual matters. There are matters which are not spiritual in their essence but they help us get closer to a spiritual goal, and there are matters which are directly spiritual, and in both of these matters, there is a concept of having bitachon.

What is the difference? When it comes to success in our Torah learning, for example, this is a matter which is entirely spiritual. But when it comes to having success in a particular yeshivah, which is where we learn Torah, this is more of a tool that brings about success in Torah learning, but it is not spiritual in its essence. Our Torah learning itself is a spiritual need, but where we learn Torah is not directly spiritual; it is rather a tool that can help us get closer to spiritual success. 

Shidduchim is another example of something that is not spiritual in and of itself; it is rather something that can help us achieve our spiritual goals (because if a person gets a good shidduch, he will be able to learn Torah better). 

When it comes to these matters – davening for something that aids our spirituality (as opposed to something that is directly spiritual), the avodah is again three-fold: 1) To have emunah, 2) To make the effort in trying to achieve what we want, 3) And to daven for what we need.

When Rebbi Eliezer ben Dordaya saw that he needed to have spiritual success, he said, “The matter is not dependent except on me.” So we see that even when it comes to spirituality, there is a concept of having to make effort, and it is not enough just to have emunah. A person has to make effort in this area no less than how much he makes effort when it comes to his material needs. If he doesn’t, it shows that it’s not important to him, and it shows that he doesn’t value his spiritual needs that much.

For example, a person wants to get into a certain yeshivah so that he will be able to learn better in that yeshivah. How much should he daven for this?  If he has a lot of emunah and bitachon, he doesn’t need to daven so much. If he is weak in his emunah and bitachon, then he needs to daven more and put in more effort. His avodah is to have bitachon in Hashem while at the same time putting in effort to make it happen, no less than when he is pursuing a physical need.

There is an argument (between the Ramban and the Chovos HaLevovos) about what Bitachon is: is it to believe that all that Hashem does is good, or that I must accept whatever Hashem does whether it’s good or bad? However, according to either opinion, a person needs to make effort even when it comes to matters that aid his spiritual success, and the level of effort he has to make depends on how much emunah and bitachon he has.

Thus, a person has to daven that he should have success in matters that aid his spirituality. If he doesn’t daven, his point of kefirah will take over.

Rav Dessler said that human nature is to feel that in every action we do, we feel like we are doing it, and we don’t attribute Hashem as being the director of the action. This is really coming from our point of kefirah. We need to realize that all results depend on Hashem, although it is who we make the effort. We must make effort and then realize that although we did what we have to do in order to achieve it, it is still Hashem who controls everything and allows anything to happen and get done.

So we need to reflect that even with all our required efforts that we must make (whether in parnassah or in matters that aid our spirituality), we must always work together with all three of these aspects – effort, prayer, and bitachon.

But when we make hishtadlus, we must always attribute that Hashem lets it happen. If a person still feels he does everything after he makes his hishtadlus, of such a person, Chazal do not want him to make hishtadlus, because he forgets all his emunah when he makes hishtadlus. Only if one can remain with his emunah and bitachon, should he do hishtadlus.

The Government Cuts In Israel: How Should We View This?

Now let us reflect into what’s going on in our times.

The Eirev Rav rules over us in Eretz Yisrael. At first when everything started here, there had been  three differing views of the Gedolim if we need to do hishtadlus by dealing with the government. At one side was the view of the Chazon Ish zt”l, and at the other end of the spectrum was the view of the Satmar Rav zt”l, while the view of the Brisker Rov zt”l was the middle view between them. But even according to the Chazon Ish, that we do need to make hishtadlus by dealing with the heads of the Eirev Rav, in today’s times if a person only makes this hishtadlus, is that the right way to act? What about tefillah and bitachon? Is there any view of our previous Gedolim that held that tefillah and bitachon isn’t needed when making hishtadlus by dealing with the government? Today, tefillah and bitachon have been pushed aside totally, and hishtadlus has become everything. It is an approach that is not founded on anything. Except for a few individuals today who aren’t falling into this, we must understand that this approach is entirely kefirah (denial of G-d), because it emphasizes hishtadlus entirely.

We aren’t even talking here about the Satmar view – which clearly held that relying on the government for help is kefirah. Even according to all other Gedolim that some hishtadlus with the government is needed - and most of Eretz Yisrael followed this view – our Gedolim of the past did not tell us that we should all become kofrim (heretics) by only making use of hishtadlus alone.

During these days, if a person separates entirely from all of this, he will remain a true Jew. If he doesn’t separate, he will be confused. When a person is mainly busy with hishtadlus and he barely davens for success – except sometimes when there is an Atzeres Tefillah to daven - then he is being ruled completely by hishtadlus. Most people are placing too much emphasis on hishtadlus, and that means that they are involved all the time with kefirah! There are only a few individuals who do it right and make sure to have hishtadlus together with tefillah and bitachon.

Nowadays, if a person wants to act correctly, he needs to fight the trend of how most people are acting. One needs to awaken tefillah and bitachon, and upon that, he can make his necessary hishtadlus. But if someone is mainly busy with hishtadlus and he barely emphasizes tefillah and bitachon, this is entirely the Sitra Achara (the “Other Side”)! If someone doubts this, he is simply not aware that there is a problem.

The views of our previous Gedolim stand as they are, and each person should go in the way of his teachers of which opinion to follow. But in our own personal avodah, we must make sure that hishtadlus isn’t taking over. Hishtadlus is only one part of what we need. We always need tefillah and bitachon whenever we do hishtadlus. Some people make sure to daven, but the area of bitachon is almost completely neglected, and this is entirely the Sitra Achara.

These words apply to all aspects of our life – material and spiritual. May we receive help from Hashem to recognize our aspects of hishtadlus, bitachon and tefillah, and may we merit to increase our emunah and bitachon, and to lessen our hishtadlus and certainly to take away our kefirah.

To Be Continued in Tefillah #113- Bitachon In Spiritual Success