18 Jun BEHA’ALOSCHA: BITACHON

It states (Tehillim
32:10) “For him who
trusts in Hashem –
Hashem’s kindness
will encompass him.”
The Midrash says on
this pasuk, “Even if a
person is a rasha if he
trusts in Hashem, he
will be enveloped in
Hashem’s kindness.”
It states (Koheles 7:20) “For there is no
righteous man on earth who does good and
sins not.” The pasuk is saying that everyone
has aveiros. Reb Elchanan Wasserman zt’l
proves from this pasuk that bitachon is for
everyone. If one needs to be perfect to be
worthy of Hashem’s kindness, no one could
have bitachon. So, it must be that regardless
of our deeds, we can trust in Hashem and
benefit from His kindness.
Another source is (Tehillim 37:3) Betach
BaShem Ve’asei Tov, “Trust in Hashem and
do good.” The Ramban says, Betach
Bashem is written in this passuk before
Ve’asei Tov. This tells us that even before
one does good, he can have bitachon.

During the times of the Chofetz Chaim,
there were different opinions among the
rabbanim on whether insurance (such as fire
insurance) was a worthwhile investment.
The Chofetz Chaim felt it wasn’t.
In the year 5663 there was a fire in Radin,
and two hundred houses burned down. The
fire stopped just before the Chofetz Chaim’s
home. His house and twenty-six houses
behind his were spared.
Insurance agents took advantage of this
tragedy and went from house to house
selling fire insurance policies. They also
went to the Chofetz Chaim’s house. The
Chofetz Chaim wasn’t home at the time,
and his family bought a policy. When the
Chofetz Chaim returned home and heard
that his home was insured, he wasn’t
pleased.
A year later, after Pesach of 5664, there
was another fire in Radin. This time the
Chofetz Chaim’s home burned down,
together with the homes of his married
children. The family said, “It is good that
we insured our homes. We would be in
trouble if we didn’t buy insurance.”
The Chofetz Chaim replied, “If we didn’t
buy the fire insurance, our houses wouldn’t
have burned down. The proof is that last

year we didn’t have insurance, and
the house didn’t burn down. This
would have occurred this year, as
well, if we didn’t have insurance.”
The Alter of Navardok zt’l had a
small hut in the forest where he
would study Torah and mussar. One
night, he was studying Torah, and his
candle blew out. He told himself, “If
Hashem desires it, He will send me
oil to light the lamp.” He trusted in
Hashem, but one is obligated to do
histhadlus, so he opened the door of
his hut.
He saw a man walking in the forest. The
Alter of Navordok asked him for oil. He had
oil, and he gave it to the Alter. It was a
miracle. It was very unlikely that someone
would be in the forest at that time and that
he would have oil with him. The Alter was
able to study Torah and mussar for the rest
of the night.
In the morning, the Alter took the leftover
oil and stored it, so he would always
remember the miracle that Hashem
performed for him.
Once, there was a fire in his home, and this
jar of oil was consumed in the flames. The
Alter commented that he was happy that
this occurred “because why should I
remember this episode more than all the
other miracles Hashem performs for me?
Every moment of life is filled with
miracles.”
We say, Teshuas Hashem Keheref Ayin.
Rebbe Yochanan of Rachmistrifka zt’l
explained that when people have Heref
Ayin, which means they stop looking to
people for help, that is when they receive
Teshuas Hashem, Hashem’s salvation.
The Chazon Ish zt’l teaches, “Hashem’s
help arrives the moment a person doesn’t
see any natural means for his salvation.”
When all hope and plans fall apart, one
turns his heart to Hashem, and that is
when he has his salvation.
The Minchas Elazer zy’a would tell the
following story while performing the
mitzvah of bikur cholim (visiting the ill):
Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev zt’l
was ill, and his students were in the next
room, saying Tehillim. Suddenly they
heard a loud sound. They quickly ran
into their Rebbe’s room to see what
happened and found him lying on the
floor. He had fallen off the bed. So they
raised him and returned him back onto
his bed.
Some hours later, the Bardichever Rav
called them in and asked for a cup of tea.
This was a good sign, a sign of

improvement.
Soon afterwards, Reb Levi Yitzchok was
standing on his feet, totally better.
He told his students, “As I was lying on
my bed, I remembered what my Rebbe, the
Magid of Mezritz taught, that Hashem put
into the rules of nature that when one has
bitachon, Hashem will help him. It states,
‘For him who trusts in Hashem – Hashem’s
kindness will encompass him.’ The Magid
said that this isn’t a segulah; it is a law of
nature. Whoever trusts in Hashem will be
enveloped in Hashem’s kindness.
“So, I thought about ideas of bitachon until
I felt confident that Hashem would heal me.
That is when I got off my bed. But when I
fell to the ground, I realized that my
bitachon wasn’t yet complete. So, I
continued to focus on emunah and bitachon
until I became perfectly healthy.”
Tax collectors came to Brisk and audited
the shops. One merchant was very scared he
would be fined or punished because they
could discover that he wasn’t reporting all
of his inventory and earnings. So, he came
in a hurry to the home of Reb Chaim Brisker
zt”l. Reb Chaim learned with the man a
section in Nefesh HaChaim, which states
that when one believes that everything is
from Hashem and that there are no other
forces and powers in the world, this belief
results in salvation, and nothing can harm
him. They studied this section three times,
and indeed, a miracle occurred. The tax
collectors left without charging the
merchant. This is what happened: When the
officials reached this merchant’s store, they
wanted to take a break. So, they put a sign
on the merchant’s store to remember where
they were up to and where to continue after
their break. When they returned, they
thought the sign meant that they had already
checked this store and went on to the next
store.
People were saying that Reb Chaim
performed a miracle. Reb Chaim corrected
them. “It wasn’t a miracle; it was natural.
Hashem implanted into the nature of the
world that He will help those who trust in
Him.”