Daily Bitachon

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Blessing and Good
This week's parashah opens with the words: ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה Behold, I am placing before you, blessing and curse. The Gaon of Vilna is bothered by a question: why doesn't the Torah say, " I am placing before you good and bad"? Why does it say " blessing and curse"? He explains that it is not true "good" and "bad." We see tzaddik v'ra lo, rasha v'tov lo — sometimes a righteous person experiences what looks like suffering, and sometimes a wicked person experiences what looks like goodness. Therefore, the Torah makes it clear: what is given is berachah and kelalah . Berachah does not mean that the outcome will immediately be good. It means that in the end, it will lead to good. For example, Yaakov Avinu blessed Ephraim: וידגו לרב בקרב הארץ You shall multiply like fish within the land. But they did not multiply immediately. Only later, when they entered Eretz Yisrael , the did descendants of Yosef said to Yehoshua, " Why did you give us this land? We cannot fill it!" Throughout the counts in Bamidbar , it's never mentioned that the tribe of Yosef was larger. What happened was that the berachah came down, but it was not fulfilled until much later. The Gaon says that in truth, the real reward and punishment are not in this world. As it says, schar mitzvot b'hai alma leika — this is not the world of reward; this is the world of action. What happens in this world is that we are amassing berachah . Similarly, when a person receives a blessing from a tzaddik — " you should be blessed with good children, you should be blessed with success" — what do you walk away with? Not the children or the money per say, but with the berachah . This is an important principle: sometimes we see the berachah fulfilled in this world, and sometimes not. That is why the Torah says clearly: berachah and kelalah . On Shabbat we also say: כי היא מקור הברכה For Shabbat is the source of blessing. Shabbat is the source of all blessings. A person may close his store on Shabbat, and the following week he might not see financial success. Does that mean he was not blessed? No — he did not immediately see the good , but he did receive the berachah . And that berachah might show itself later, in other ways or other forms. As we approach the end of the year, we say: תכלה שנה וקללותיה, תחל שנה וברכותיה Let the year and its curses end; let the year and its blessings begin. We focus on blessing , not on good . Of course, we would like the tovah as well, and perhaps that is why our prayers so often mention both together. For example, in Zachrenu Hashem Elokenu we ask for both זכרנו ה' אלקינו בו לטובה ופקדנו בו לברכה Remember us, Hashem our God, for good , and recall us for blessing . Every day in שים שלום we say: שים שלום, טובה וברכה Grant peace, goodness , and blessing . Interestingly it comes to livelihood, we ask for parnasah tovah . We do not usually say parnasah mevorechet . We want livelihood that is tangibly good. And in Avinu Malkenu we say: אבינו מלכנו חדש עלינו שנה טובה Our Father, our King, renew for us a good yea r. So, if we pay attention, it becomes clear: there is tovah and there is berachah . Of course, we hope for both — but sometimes, even when we don't see the tovah , we still have to believe that we have the berachah .
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Like a Father Chastises His Son
Welcome to Daily Bitachon . We are continuing with pesukim from Parashat Ekev that contain powerful bitachon lessons. We are now up to: וְיָדַעְתָּ עִם לְבָבֶךָכִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר יְיַסֵּר אִישׁ אֶת בְּנו ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ מְיַסְּרֶךָ / Know in your heart that just like a man chastises his son, Hashem your God chastises you This follows the earlier pesukim that spoke about the Manna , about the clothing, and about remembering how God took us through the desert. According to many, this is a positive mitzvah - to remember and know in your heart how God chastises us like a father chastises his son. Rabbenu Yonah includes this in the all-encompassing mitzvah of remembering the forty years in the desert, and this is one aspect of it. The SeMaG ( Sefer Mitzvot Gadol ), Mitzvat Aseh 17, learns from here that there is a positive commandment called Tziduk HaDin /to accept upon ourselves any of God's justice even when it is difficult. He gives an example: Sometimes people do teshuvah , but afterward, things do not go as well as they did beforehand. When this happens a person must tell himself that this is for his own good. Before doing teshuvah , God was paying him off in this world. After doing teshuvah , God is healing him to prepare him for a better Olam Haba. When someone questions God's challenges, the SeMaG cites a pasuk in Hoshea where God says: אֲנִי יִסַּרְתִּי / I was giving them yissurim . חִזַּקְתִּי זְרוֹעוֹתָם /I was strengthening their arms. (This is like when a trainer asks you to lift heavier weights to build your muscles). וְ עָלַי יַחְשְׁבוּ רָע /And they think badly of Me. Rav Ades tells the possibly fictitious story of a man who was a new immigrant to Eretz Yisrael, coming from a poorly developed country. He had severe stomach pains and went to the hospital. They told him he did not have insurance and had to join Kupat Cholim , the public health insurance. Once he became a member they could help him. He joined, came back, got checked, and was told he needed emergency appendix surgery. They operated, and he woke up connected to all kinds of tubes. He said, What kind of corrupt country is this? I join and right away look what they do to me ! They responded, Fool. Now that you are a member, we are taking care of you. So too with HaKadosh Baruch Hu . The Sefer Mitzvot Katan , mitzvah 5, adds, from the chachamim , that when something bad happens one should say: מְעַט מֵחֻבִּי נִגְבִּיתִי /This is only a little of what I owe. Rabbenu Yonah , in Shaare Teshuvah (4th Gate, Letter 13), teaches something similar. When something happens to a person, he should tell himself that this is coming from Hashem's love. He quotes a midrash that says you know how much wrong you have done, and you know that the punishments and suffering are much less than the crime. It is like someone who is sentenced to thirty years in prison but gets off with only six months. The Sefer Mitzvot HaKatan adds that when someone suffers, even if he cannot tolerate it and is kicking and screaming, afterward he should look back, be happy, and not complain. He quotes the Gemara in Berachot : אַגְרָא דִּיסּוּרִין שְׁתִיקוּתָא /The reward for suffering is silence. This ultimately falls under the mitzvah of Bechol Meodecha/ בְּכָל מְאֹדֶךָ/which the Gemara explains to mean בְּכָל מִדָּה וּמִדָּה – With every measure that you are given, accept it wholeheartedly. Rabbenu Bachya , in Shemot 4:22, quotes from the Gaon Rabbenu Chananel a remarkable concept. When Pharaoh is introduced to the Jewish people, God says: בְּנִי בְּכֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל – My son, My firstborn, Yisrael. He explains that God is telling Pharaoh, Yes, I gave them over to you to subjugate, that is true. But do not think that is because they are light in My eyes. I had to give them musar . As it says in our pasuk : וְיָדַעְתָּ עִם לְבָבֶךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר יְיַסֵּר אִישׁ אֶת בְּנוֹ, I am chastising them like a father chastises his son. Pharaoh, these are My children. You went overboard. I still love them. Do not think you have the right to do what you did to them. A person can constantly fulfill mitzvot with this approach. There is no one without challenges, and if you keep telling yourself at every event that happens that this is from God , it's not a coincidence and you accept it without complaint , you fulfill a tremendous mitzvah . May Hashem give us the strength to fulfill this always.
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Your Clothing Did Not Wear Out
Welcome to Daily Bitachon. We continue with pesukim in Parashat Ekev that we need to remember every day. As mentioned at the beginning of the week, Rabbenu Yonah tells us that there's a command to remember how Hashem took care of us in the desert. One of the things it says there is: שִׂמְלָתְךָ לֹא בָלְתָה מֵעָלֶיךָ וְרַגְלְךָ לֹא בָצֵקָה זֶה אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה Your clothing did not wear out and your feet did not swell for these 40 years What does " your clothing did not wear out," mean ? Rashi explains that the Clouds of Gory would smooth and iron the clothing, and as the people grew, their clothes grew with them—like a snail's shell grows with the snail. The Maharal in Gur Aryeh asks: Why did Hashem perform this seemingly unnecessary miracle? After all, they could have simply made clothing on their own. Hashem doesn't perform miracles without purpose. The Maharal explains that Hashem wanted to show them that He could care for all their needs directly. Just as their food was Godly food from heaven, so too their clothing would be Godly clothing. He cites a Midrash that says that these were not ordinary garments; they were the same garments the angels clothed the people in at Har Sinai. That is why they never wore out. The Sefer Chizkuni teaches that this miracle is a lesson in overcoming lo tachmod (the prohibition against coveting) . Remembering that Hashem provided for all our needs in the desert—including our clothing—reminds us that He can do so in any situation, even in ordinary life. The Tiferet Yonatan adds a fascinating insight from Devarim 18:4, which discusses giving the kohen the first of the shearings. He explains that middah k'neged middah , since the clouds of glory—given in the merit of Aharon HaKohen—pressed and cleaned our clothing in the desert, we give the first shearings to the kohen as repayment to Aharon's descendants for caring for our clothing in the desert. The Chatam Sofer notes a key difference between the miracle of the manna and the miracle of the clothing. The clothing lasted forever, but the manna came day by day. Hashem could have made food that lasted for forty years—just as He sustained Eliyahu HaNavi for forty days from a single cookie—but instead chose to give the manna daily. Why? The Gemara explains with a mashal of a king with two sons. For the son he wanted a close relationship with, he gave food daily so that the son would come to him regularly. Similarly, Hashem wanted the manna to come each day so we would turn to Him daily, like children turn to their loving father. This explains why Hashem made us independent in one area (clothing) but dependent in another (food). There is actually a debate about whether these were miraculous angelic garments or the original clothing taken from Egypt that lasted forty years. The Baal HaTurim in Shemot 3:22 says they were the garments borrowed from the Egyptians— וַיִּשְׁאֲלוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם כְּלֵי־כֶסֶף וּכְלֵי זָהָב וּשְׂמָלֹת —and that those same garments lasted the entire forty years. The Chatam Sofer agrees and explains that this reveals two different ways Hashem interacts with us. When the Jewish people asked : t הֲיֵשׁ ה' בְּקִרְבֵּנוּ אִם אָיִן / Is God with us or not? it referred to two Divine approaches: Yesh mi'yesh – something from something – Hashem works within nature, transforming existing material. Yesh me'ayin – something from nothing Each approach presents its own challenge of faith. Open miracles make every thing clear and obvious, but living with hashgachah pratit within nature requires deeper trust. The spies, for instance, felt safer in the desert, where Hashem's miracles were obvious, rather than in the Land, where His supervision would be more hidden. Each one has its challenges The Chatam Sofer says Hashem wanted to show that He operates in both ways. The manna , "food of angels," was yesh me'ayin —something from nothing , sustained entirely by His word. The clothing was yesh mi'yesh —ordinary garments sustained miraculously through natural means. In both cases, Hashem showed that He can care for us completely—whether through open miracles or through the subtle miracles of everyday life.
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Remember the Manna
Welcome to Daily Bitachon . Yesterday, we discussed pesukim from Parashat Ekev , and quoted from Shaare Teshuvah and others the positive commandment to remember the path we took in Mitzrayim — וזכרת את כל הדרך . We explained this to mean remembering the kindness of Hashem in the desert, and in general. However, the Chida and others offer a different understanding. The next pasuk says: ויענך וירעב ך / God pained you and starved you; ויאכילך את המן , He fed you the manna, that you did not know and your forefathers did not know about — and this teaches us a lesson: כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם / man does not live on bread alone; כי על כל מוצא פי השם יחיה האדם /man lives on what emanates from the mouth of God. The Chida , in his sefer Avodat HaKodesh , section Kaf Achat , letter 6, writes that there is a mitzvat aseh to remember the manna every day — that God fed us the manna — and he quotes this pasuk . Many people, therefore, mention Parashat HaManna daily. This is actually in the Shulchan Aruch , first siman , 5th halacha , where it says tov lomar , it is good to say Parashat HaMan every single day. So, it's in the Shulchan Aruch, which says it's a good idea to remember the manna — not just the desert experience in general. People often focus on the segulah of saying Parashat HaMan on the third day of Parashat Beshalach , based on a certain, more recent, chasidic Rebbe, but in truth, the Shulchan Aruch and the Torah, is telling us to do this regularly. In the Sefer Yafeh LaLev , from the son of Rav Chaim Palagi, in the first siman of Shulchan Aruch , letter 24, he suggests that if one cannot recite it daily, he should at least recite it on Friday. The Bet Yosef explains the reason to say Parashat HaMan daily is kedei she'ya'amin /so that one should believe that, kol mezonotav /all his parnassah , comes b'hashgacha /through Hashem's Divine supervision. The Sefer Levush adds that this was exactly what happened with the manna — she'hishgiach Hashem yitbarach / Hashem supervised to give each person precisely one omer per family member . This showed clearly that Hashem knows exactly what goes on in your household. The Shulchan Aruch HaRav further notes that it says there, וימודו בעומר / they measured with the omer measuring bowl And ולא העדיף המרבה והממעיט לא החסיר /the one who gathered more had no extra, and the one who gathered less was not lacking. This demonstrates Hashem's exact hashgacha — you receive exactly what you are meant to receive, and no amount of extra hishtadlut will change it. Rabbenu Bachya , on Shemot 16:16, records a tradition from the sages: Kol ha'omer Parashat HaMan b'chol yom / whoever says Parashat HaMan daily, muvtach lo/ is guaranteed that he will never lack parnassah . This is not a magical formula; the segulah is in the emunah and bitachon that it instills. The Perisha on Orach Chaim Siman 1 quotes this from a Yerushalmi in Berachot , though it is absent from our version. Regardless, Rabbenu Bachya's words suffice to confirm its ancient tradition. *There is a halachic question about whether it should be said before or after prayers. Some rule that one should not request personal needs before tefillah , so it is customary to say it after Alenu L'shabe'ach , which is how it appears in many siddurim . If we wish to go further with segulot , the Sefer Shevet Mussar by Rav Eliyahu HaKohen of Izmir (chapter 40) says it is preferable to say it shnayim mikra ve'echad targum . And we can't let this topic pass without mentioning one of my favorite related stories- about Mr. David Mizrahi, a'h , who kept a glass jar with cotton balls in his office to remind himself of the manna . The prophet Yirmiyahu , when the Jewish people complained about parnassah and not being able to dedicate themselves to Torah, took the tzintzenet ha'man / the jar of manna from the Kodesh HaKodashim that was put there for safekeeping to show them what their forefathers lived on. Mr. Mizrahi keptt his jar as visual reminder to strengthen himself daily. Furthermore, in Ohr HaMeir ( Parashat Beha'alotecha ), it says the purpose is not some magical trick but l'orer libo b'kirbo b'bitachon — to awaken one's heart in reliance on Hashem, and lada'at u'lehavin — to know and understand — she'gam ata lo nifsak ha'man , that the manna has not ceased. Finally, in sefer Bet HaLevi (Artscroll edition, p. 15), he writes that regarding parnasa, mezonotav shel adam , all one's knowledge and hishtadlut lo yo'ilu me'umah — will not help at all to add more than what was decreed — just as with the manna , lo he'edir hamerbeh vehamamit lo hechsir /Whoever took more did not have extra and whoever took less was not lacking and The manna stands as an eternal sign that hishtadlut does not increase what is decreed. And of all this, according to the Chida , falls under the positive commandment mentioned in Parashat Ekev to remember the man na .
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Remember the Kindness of Hashem
Welcome to Daily Bitachon . Today we're going to discuss an important pasuk in Parashat Ekev , which, according to many is a positive commandment, one of the 613. It says in Parashat Ekev , chapter 8, pasuk 2: וזכרת את כל הדרך /remember all the way, the path, אשר הולך השם אלוקיך /that Hashem your God has taken you, זה ארבעים שנה במדבר /these forty years in the desert." Rabbenu Yonah, in Shaare Teshuvah , Gate 3, letter 17, lists certain mitzvot aseh that are very high levels—called maalot . One of these is ma'alat zikaron chasadav , the quality of remembering Hashem's kindnesses . But it is not enough just to remember them— ve'hitbonen bahem —we must also contemplate them, as it says וזכרת את כל הדרך / remember all the way, The Sefer Charedim says that if we are commanded to remember what happened in the desert thousands of years ago, we can learn from this a kal vachomer : if I am required to remember what happened to my forefathers, then surely I must remember what happened to me personally . So we must remember: Not only Hashem's kindnesses to the Jewish people in the desert, but also, throughout history, how we survived all the exiles, the Inquisition, the Crusades, the Holocaust, and so on And finally, all the chassadim He has done for us personally. Chayav kol echad miYisrael lizkor chassadim she'gamal Hashem yitbarach /Eevery Jew is obligated to remember the kindnesses Hashem has bestowed upon him, from the moment he was created in his mother's womb. This should lead him to humility and teshuvah shelemah , as quoted in the name of his Rabbi the chassid Rabbi Yosef Saggis. Rav Yechezkel Levenstein adds that this is not only regarding physical matters, but also for the fact that we are religious Jews who know what we are supposed to do—that too is a kindness. Rav Yitzchak Blazer, a student of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, writes in his Sefer Kochvei Or , Letter 9, that people sometimes feel, " Am I supposed to get excited that Hashem gives me a chocolate bar? That He gives me physical pleasures or wealth? That's like a little kid who likes the candy man in shul —that's not real love of Hashem. " But he says this is a mistake— lo ken ha'davar - It is Hashem's will that we should delve into and appreciate all His kindnesses, thank Him for them, and love Him for them . And he quotes this Rabbenu Yonah. Rabbenu Yonah further quotes the pasuk in which David HaMelech says, ויתבוננו חסדי ה׳ to contemplate Hashem's kindnesses. This is part of a long perek in Tehillim describing the four people who are obligated to say HaGomel . Sephardic communities recite it on Pesach . David HaMelech also says חסדך לנגד עיני /Your kindness is always before my eyes." Rav Yitzchak Blazer then shares an incredible chiddush : We are commanded to love Hashem with all our heart. The Gemara in Masechet Berachot , and the Mishnah there as well, explain this means with both of our inclinations—the yetzer tov and the yetzer hara . The yetzer tov is easy to understand- it loves Hashem through intellectual appreciation of His greatness—this is called ahavat ha'romemut /loving Hashem for who He is, by delving into His Torah and recognizing His greatness. But the yetzer hara also loves Hashem- through physical enjoyment. For example, I love ice cream, and Hashem gives me that ice cream, so I love Him for that. The more I appreciate that Hashem gave it to me—and that He wants me to enjoy it and thank Him for it—the more love I create for Him. This is a good, kosher love. The same is true with prayer. Hashem wants us to pray- not only for lofty spiritual needs but also for the small comforts: the chocolate bar, your shoes and socks, your soft pillow. And He wants us to pray for these things, not just thank Him after receiving them. This is also why we are not allowed to benefit from this world without a berachah . Even though worldly pleasures are, in themselves, nonsense, Hashem made them for us to enjoy—and He wants us to thank Him for them. He says, It is not enough just to rely on Hashem for these things. Bitachon is great, but He wants us to actively pray for them, think about them, and thank Him for them. That's why the system was set up this way—so that we would pray for rain, as Adam HaRishon did, and then appreciate it. And that is the meaning of the pasuk וזכרת את כל הדרך אשר הוליכך ה׳ אלוקיך זה ארבעים שנה —remember those forty years in the desert. It is a mitzvat aseh in our lives today to remember His kindnesses. So next time you sit down to enjoy something, know that the more you relish it and appreciate it, the greater the mitzvah . This is Rabbi Miller 101—but he didn't invent it, it's the good old tradition of yesteryear.
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