Lechteich Mussar Podcast
Join us as we explore the depth of bitachon, as explained in the timeless sefer Shaar HaBitachon.
Lechteich Mussar Podcast
Bais HaLevi #12 - Bitachon
Today's shiur is sponsored by Ephraim Weiss and family of Manchester, NJ.
Today's shiur is being sponsored by Ephraim Weiss and Family of Manchester, new Jersey. Thank you so much. Okay, everybody, welcome back to the Lech Teich Moser podcast. We continue with the Beis Levi on Betachon, parak Chaf, aleph, parak 21. Heshtadl, she'ein al piyatera.
Speaker 1:Now we're going to talk about improper effort. We've talked about the site of Betachon and about being a Baal Mechira, and, and now we're going to be introduced to the concept that one can be mishtadl, he can put in effort, but it's the wrong way. And now we're going to learn about that. Basically, he's going to draw a lesson to a person who does hishtadl in ways that go against the Torah. Now we're going to talk about the error people engage in nishtadus. That doesn't follow the Torah because it involves a taint of gzela, of robbery, cheating and other forbidden things. The Pasuk in the Shai says they hatch adder's eggs, which means that the Pasuk is talking about a person who is looking to make a parnosah through cheating and other improper behavior, and the Pasek is telling us that it's ultimately going to result in poisonous results. If you ask him, what are you doing, he too will admit that he's not acting properly, but his response is going to be that he's compelled, he has to do it and he's very dachuk, he's in a very tough, challenging situation and it's very difficult to make up our nosa and that's his justification. However, in truth, this response is misleading, fascinating, tells us Beis Alevi. One could think that, hmm, I'm in a bad situation, parnasa is very difficult, I'm not making money, I don't have any Parnasa. So you know what? I'm going to go find something that's maybe not the most befitting, that's not the most teiridik, but I'm going to make Parnasa and I have to because I'm very dachak, says the Beis Alevi. It's punkt vaker Adar Abba.
Speaker 1:This is a tremendous mistake and this person is wrapped and he's in a deep, dark hole of confusion and distortion and against the Torah. Why? Because let's read these words again Only because a person got caught up in these bad, forbidden matters. That's the reason why he's in this dark, deep hole of dearth and of pain and that's why he cannot find other parnasa. If he would not engage in this kind of activity, hashem would make available other means of parnasa. So this person is making a grave mistake by thinking that because he's in a bad situation, let me go engage in forbidden activity, let me go engage in questionable business ventures and he gets involved and he gets swept up and unfortunately then it becomes one big justification of distortion, of forbidden engagements in Parnassus. And he has to do is he has to get out. And if he wouldn't continue this, if he gets out and he does all the same, hashem is going to get out. And if he wouldn't continue this, if he gets out and he does it, hashem is going to help him. This is what it means.
Speaker 1:The Pasuk in Yirmiah, which says for my people, has committed two evils they have forsaken me the source of living waters. Hashem is the betterer Maim Chaim. And what do they do? They dug cisterns and broken cisterns that cannot hold the water. And the point over here is that the Qal Yisrael betrayed Hashem. And so first of all, we're saying that they've forsaken Hashem and second of all, they're going and they're trying to build cisterns and they're hoping that it's going to be a source of panasa, but, says the posok, at the end of the day they're going to be broken cisterns that cannot hold water, because if you're going against the eveshter, the eveshter is not going to make it happen. And the reason why you're not going to have good working cisterns is because you abandon Hashem and when you leave and stray the derach at Torah, the derach of Hashem, then ultimately you're going to be unsuccessful, because when Hashem is not in the picture you don't have anything. So you can justify yourself all day long but it's not really going to help because when Hashem is out, then you're out. We're going to skip the other few psalms and we're going to continue with the end over here, the end of the parak over here V'zehbera Mejesh Rabbah.
Speaker 1:Now we're going to see something fascinating about Yosef Etzadik, who was the paragon of Betachon, of B'tochen. It says in the Medjish Raba Peites Gimel Asher Gevesh Shosam Hashem Avtachai Ze. Yosef praiseworthy is the man who has made Hashem his reliance. Who is this? This refers to Yosef, who is the paradigm of B'tochen of reliance on Hashem. V'leifona El Rehobim Tebishvil Sha did not turn to the arrogant for since Yosef told the Saramashkim, the chief butler if only he would remember me and mention me to Paray. So this is talking about when Yosef was in prison and he told the Saramashkim to go to Paray and to remember me. At the end of Parashat Miketz, two years were added for him in prison, one year for each of the two expressions Remember me and mention me and asks the Beis Alevi that this message is very hard to understand.
Speaker 1:Why was Asif punished for appealing to the butler, to the Saramashkim, to help him? He was in a destitute situation, the whole story. He was thrown away by his brothers, he was almost killed and here he is. He has one opportunity to tell the Saramashkim to remember him when he goes to Parah. What's the big deal? What's the problem? Says the Beis Alevi.
Speaker 1:The reason is that, because of Yosef's tremendous levels of B'tochen, such hishtablus was actually sinful. Why? Because he should have understood Wow, yosef should have understood that his salvation, that is, yeshua from Mitzrayim, would not come about through the promise of a deceitful, arrogant man talking about Parai. Rather, it will only come through Hashem. And because Yosef said these two mentions mention me and remember me. That to the Rabbi was a display of a lack of Betachon, even considering where Yosef was deep down in some dungeon think Gaza, and the tunnels over there were bad. Yosef was in the same situation and he had one opportunity where someone was going to the, to the, to Pari, and he said just remember me and just for thinking for a second, from the worst place on planet Earth where he was deep in a dungeon in Mitzrayim and he had this opportunity.
Speaker 1:But he was punished because a Baal B'tochem like Yosef should have realized that, even from the worst place, the most forlorn, forsaken, dark, scary place, his Yeshua will not come from Mishdabos, of relating to an arrogant, deceitful man to Pari, remember me. Rather, it's going to come only from the Eberster. And because of that, in Toysif Loi, two years were added to servitude, two years were added To servitude, two years were added To staying in prison. He got punished for this On such a high level. But we see over here that we see, on the one hand, yes, he was punished For his, he was such a Babatachim. We see that about Yosef and because of that, that, in effect, was the reason of his punishment.
Speaker 1:But we see another thing for us. We see that sometimes we're in situations. We're in situations where in life throws us situations where we think that we're forlorn, we think that we're forsaken. We have to draw from this, from Yosef HaTzadik. This is perhaps one of the greatest examples of B'tachon, where we can exercise and utilize, leverage the B'tachon. No matter what, literally whatever situation.
Speaker 1:Wherever we are, we're never forsaken, no matter how dark, no matter how deep the Ebbishter is there and we can talk to him, we can cry to him, we can say, ebbishter, help me. I know no one can help me besides you. I know no one has any Qayyakh, any power to deliver salvation besides you. And we know that from Yosef at Tzaddik that he was punished because, even in the deep, dark, scary dungeon that he was for all those years, just for mentioning, for wanting his name to be mentioned by Parai. He was punished for that. And he should have, from the place he was in, from the depths, from the depths of scariness, from the depths of darkness, he should have cried out to Hashem.
Speaker 1:And us too, we have to draw a chizik in our bitachon, even from those situations, even when everything is dark and shut out and we think there's no communication, we can't get anywhere. How is anyone going to hear me, how is anyone going to see me, how is anyone going to recognize me? But we realize from Yeshiva Tzaddik that, no, the Eber Shter is there, he's right there. Talk to him. Pel Peh, adaber Bay. Always cry to the if she's waiting for us. May we realize this, may we internalize this. May Hashem grant us the Yeshua's that we need as individuals and the greatest Yeshua that we all need as a cloud, as a nation of Amen.