Transcript
Automatic transcript; may contain mistakes, especially in Hebrew.
This week's question is what is the difference between Emunah and Bitachon? I've heard these words used interchangeably. Is there a practical difference between them? The Chazenish writes in his sefer Emunah v. Bitachon that there is no practical difference between Emunah and Bitachon Emunah means the theory and Bitachon means the actual practice of the theory So for example, we believe we have Emunah that Rakadosh Baruch Hu runs the world That every single thing that happens in our world happens only because Hakadosh Baruch Hu desires for it to happen And if Hakadosh Baruch Hu did not desire for it to happen, then it wouldn't happen Bitachon is taking that belief and putting it into practice They say about Rav Chazkel Levonstein that some people have Emunah in their mind Some people have Emunah in their hearts. Rav Chazkel had Emunah in his hands How do we develop pitachon?
And Menah can be challenging. A person has to think deeply about exactly what they believe in, but ultimately it's just theory. When the going gets tough, the question is do they have pitachon? Will they be able to live the way they can? If they believe in a world without the go, they don't have to. When the going gets tough, the question is do they have Bitachon? Will they be able to lead their lives in a way that says that the theory of their life should be lived with their hands, as it was by Rav Chazkom? The truth of the matter is that while I do believe some people have natural Bitachon, most of us do not. Most of us pay lip service to what we believe, but when the going gets tough, things may start to crumble. I was surprised many years ago to hear the following story.
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A man who I knew was not the most observant Jew, not that he wasn't observant but he certainly was not someone who was outwardly passionate about his observance, lost his job. He was a wealthy man and he lost his job. And I was talking to him and he said to me, God blessed me with a bit of money and I And I had the opportunity to give tzedakah. Now, Hakadosh Baruch Hu has taken away my job, and I'm davening to Hakadosh Baruch Hu that he give me the opportunity to continue to give tzedakah. If God gives me a job, and it's a job where I can afford to give tzedakah, I'll certainly do my part. And I was very surprised because this wasn't the man who, at least the outside, was particularly observant. I sat near him in shul. He was a person who Shabbos Hashem explains that Ben Yaman, he was the child of days, meaning life would be his teacher.
As we get older in life, experience teaches us how little we're in control. People get sick, people lose their jobs, they have difficulty with shadokim, difficulty with raising their children. We tend to think we're in control. And then life teaches us a cruel reality. None of it is in our control. And it forces us into a position where we understand ultimately it all comes down to the abishthir. And so as we get older, we realize more and more that emunah is not just a theory that we have to believe in, but it's something that has to be lived with our feet, lived with our hands and every moment of our lives we need to recognize that no matter how much ishtadles we're putting in, ultimately it's Hakadosh baruch Hu that's running the show. We can choose to listen to those that are older than us, to those that have pointed the way, who have that life experience, and do our best to inculcate those values in ourselves now when we're young, to prepare the road, to prepare for our journey as we get older, and life will inevitably become more difficult. For those who are having trouble with it now, I'll only urge you to remember the following. It's not just the theory. It's Kihem Chayinu Va'ul Erechimeinu. In Yiddishkeit we don't just talk about it. We live it with our feet and with our hands.
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