Episode 30 - Microwave Manuals and Torah: The Ultimate User Guides

Trust forms the bedrock of our spiritual lives, yet many of us struggle to grasp its true meaning. What does it mean to genuinely trust in the divine? How does this differ from the conditional trust we place in other people?

Diving into Chapter 1 of Chovot HaLevavot's Gate of Trust, we explore the essential nature of bitachon (divine trust) and why understanding its foundation is crucial before building our spiritual lives. Rabbeinu Bachya begins by distinguishing true reliance from mere hope or expectation. While human trust is always conditional and limited by circumstances - "Joe might try his best but things could go wrong" - divine trust operates without limitations. When the Creator makes a commitment, nothing in the universe can prevent its fulfillment.

The class draws a fascinating parallel between the Torah and instruction manuals. Just as a microwave comes with directions from its manufacturer who knows exactly how to maximize its potential and prevent misuse, the Torah serves as humanity's instruction manual from our Creator. The Hebrew word "Torah" itself derives from "hora'ah" (instruction), highlighting its purpose. Many of us, however, approach both appliances and life itself with minimal understanding, never bothering to read the instructions that would unlock our full potential.

This foundational understanding of trust isn't merely theoretical—it transforms how we navigate daily challenges. When we genuinely internalize divine reliance, we walk through life with remarkable confidence, knowing that regardless of appearances, we're always supported. This visible composure often leaves others wondering how we maintain such stability amid life's storms. Join us as we build the essential foundation for a life of authentic trust, and discover how this ancient wisdom applies perfectly to our modern lives. Ready to move beyond limited, conditional trust to experience the peace that comes from genuine divine reliance?

Transcript

Introduction to Gate of Trust

Speaker 0 0:00

Good morning everybody. As promised, we are starting off Chapter 1 of the Gate of Trust. Chalavot, chalavavot. We finished off the introduction yesterday and now we get into the meat and potatoes. And just like anything else in life, if you want to understand something entirely and properly, you've got to start on the ground floor. You need to build a good foundation of understanding. If your foundation is corrupt, then the entire building upon which you build becomes unstable, unreliable, and so that's exactly where Rabbeinu Bachi starts.

Defining Bitachon and Reliance

Speaker 0 0:34

He goes right back to defining the very concept of bitachon of trust, and there are many ways to define it, and there are many different, nuanced versions of trust. There's trust, there's faith, there's reliance, there's hope. There's so many different words that fit into that same family, that can be used in different contexts, and so we need to understand what we're about to learn before we actually learn it. So he starts off by talking about what the essence of bitachon of trust is, and he says that someone who has trust has peace of mind and his heart relies on the one in whom he has placed trust. What's also interesting is that he says as an introduction that it more accurately described as reliance. Trust is one word to use, reliance is another.

Speaker 0 1:28

Reliance means that you're literally relying on somebody or something to pan out Right. I can trust in it, but do I rely on it? In other words, am I taking a real action? Am I walking around with the knowledge? Am I walking around confidently, knowing that I have nothing to worry about, because I rely on Hashem? I rely on God to provide and do the right thing every time, all the time. That's a big ask, you know. The only thing we have to compare it over here is with our fellow men. You can trust people.

Speaker 0 2:01

We're living in a world where we're forced to trust people. We're forced to put our reliance in people and usually what happens there is it's incidental, it's based on an occurrence. You don't blindly walk around unless you're a child. If you're a child and that's why we've used the analogy in the past of a child and a parent a child constantly relies on a parent. But there comes a certain age where somebody becomes independent and now has to fend for themselves and produce their own living, and they have to stop relying on their parents to pay the bills, to put food on the table and to put a roof over their head and to buy them the latest technology and to make sure that they've got methods of transportation. They now have to take on all those responsibilities. So now they need to start putting their faith in systems and individuals. And, like I said, it's incident-based, which means I have a scenario where I have to rely on Joe.

Speaker 0 2:50

Joe has to produce for me. He's an employee, he's a friend, he's a whatever it is. The relationship requires that he produces for me. Is it guaranteed that he's going to produce? Am I guaranteed that he's going to do a good job at what he does produce? Obviously not.

Trust in People vs. Divine Trust

Speaker 0 3:04

He's flesh and blood, and there are about a million and one different things that can get in the way of Joe producing what he needs to produce, of him being able to maintain his commitment to do what he says he's going to do. That does not apply here. There are no limitations. There is not one thing that can get in the way of a commitment made by your creator to do the things that he says he's going to do for you. And we see that. How do we see that? Because we know that as we live in this life and as we experience people and even ourselves. But you can look beyond yourself and look at people who have no connection to their creator, who have no interest in his Torah, no interest in learning the rules and regulations as stipulated by he who created the rules and the world within which we apply those rules. That's the majority of humanity. The majority of humanity aren't religious. The majority of humanity don't know God, they don't know about his commandments, they don't understand that the Torah, the root word of Torah, is Hora'a, and for you, hebrew speakers, you know that Hora'a means instruction. So when we have a Torah, the root word of Torah is Hora'ah, and for you, hebrew speakers, you know that Hora'ah means instruction. So when we have a Torah, it's an instruction manual. It's called Torah Tchaim the instructions for life. Most people don't even know that. That's why I say you have to start with a definition before you start learning. What is the definition of a Torah that God gave us? It means instructions, you know.

Speaker 0 4:25

Just like you go to a store and you buy a microwave. Everybody knows how to use a microwave. You go to Walmart and you spend the cheapest microwave. You buy $50, whatever it is, I don't know, I haven't bought one in 20 years but you buy a $50 microwave. You open up the box. What's the first thing that you see. You see a manual. That's the first thing that's in the top of the box. Why do I need a microwave? Anybody who's got a heartbeat today knows that.

Torah as Life's Instruction Manual

Speaker 0 4:53

You put your food in the microwave, you put two minutes on the timer and you got warm food. And the other thing we do is we put our popcorn in it and we wait and we got popcorn. That's what 98% of the population uses a microwave for. But do you know what you determine? When you take five minutes or 10 minutes and read the manual, you figure out that you can defrost at incredible speed using a microwave. You find out that you can prepare entire meals from scratch in a microwave.

Speaker 0 5:21

There is so much functionality in that piece of equipment, yet 98% of us don't read the manual, so we don't utilize its functionality, we don't maximize its potential. We just use the basic amount, just the minimal amount, to be able to get by. And you know what a lot of people do when they first start using a microwave. Kids do it all the time. When they get to an age, when they start reheating their own food, they figure out really quickly that you can't put metal in. You know you put a plate inside, or a fork or whatever it is, and suddenly it starts sparking and it can cause an explosion. Right, that's the other reason that the manual is in that box, and it's the first thing you see.

Speaker 0 5:57

Because even though it's a cheap $50 appliance and everybody knows how to use it, there is still a need for the manufacturer of that microwave to put in a manual, for two reasons. One, to tell you how to maximize your money. You spent 50 bucks or 5,000 or 5 million, whatever you spent on that item. The manufacturer, and only the manufacturer, is the one who is qualified to tell you how to best utilize that appliance. There is nobody on the planet that knows how to better utilize that appliance than he who created it. So that's the reason number one. Reason number two is to limit liability, in other words, to make sure that you don't do something stupid, right, like you don't put a knife in a toaster, right? I've done that before. It's not a fun experience. Or put metal in a microwave. It's a very dumb thing to do, so they put that in there.

Speaker 0 6:51

Don't put an appliance next to a bathtub. Every time you buy an appliance that can get plugged in, there's always that image. Keep it away from water, don't put it next to it, right? We all know this, yet we still get the manual. Why? It's the same reason God gave us a manual, you would think.

Maximizing Potential Through Divine Guidance

Speaker 0 7:04

Somebody would think that somebody who's going to create a $50 microwave is better than the creator of the world? Who created the highest order? Who created humanity? Obviously not. You think. He just created you and threw you in here and said sink or swim. If that's what you think, then you're completely misguided. The reality is he gave you a manual. He gave you an instruction manual that tells you you want to maximize your life, my friend. You want to pull out 98% of your potential in this world. Read the manual, follow the instructions, take the time. Most people you go into the house today, they got a microwave and even the time the clock on the microwave is wrong, flashing 12 o'clock they don't even have the time or the inclination to stop and fix that because of our laziness. Stop. Read the manual, figure out how to use the thing. Figure out how to use it better than anybody else does, and you will maximize your dollar. Same thing with life. Read the Torah, learn the commandments, learn what to do and what not to do, you will maximize your life in this world. That's why it's important to have an instruction manual and to define for ourselves what we're doing and why we're doing it.

Speaker 0 8:15

Moving on this whole concept of trust, this concept of reliance, is not a basic reliance, like you and I have on Joe who's going to do something for us. The reliance that he's referring to over here is a godly, divine reliance. What do I mean by that? God gives us his attributes and it's our job to follow them, to be patient, to be kind, to be slow, to anger, to do all these wonderful things, to be able to build your character. That's our job in this world, right?

Speaker 0 8:44

The difference is that when we do it, we're limited by time and space. We're limited by conditions. We're limited by circumstances. I could commit all day long that I'm going to back you up, that I'm going to do for you, but if something comes up that's out of my control, if suddenly I don't have the means, for whatever reason, to be able to back you up financially or whatever it is, then guess what, you're out of luck.

Speaker 0 9:08

As much as I wanted to and I was well-intended something came up. It's out of my control. Suddenly it's not an option anymore. I'm sorry, oops, now you got to go find somebody else to rely on when we love in this world, we're limited by time and space. We're limited by the mere fact that we're mortals. We can only love to a certain extent and for so long. When you're gone, you can no longer love, right?

Speaker 0 9:32

So the reality is those rules, those principles of restrictions and limitations of time and space, they don't apply to God. He lives in a world that's eternal, he lives in the metaphysical, he lives in a place that is not bound by time and space. You understand. So, at the end of the day, when he does something for you, when he makes a commitment, it's good as gold. You don't have to think about it.

Unlimited Divine Reliance and Closing

Speaker 0 9:54

That, my friends, is the trust and the reliance that Chavot HaLevavot is talking about. He says you will walk around knowing full well that, no matter what the circumstance, no matter what happens, that God has your back and you can walk around confidently with that and you will conduct your life accordingly and, as a result of that, people will wonder why you've got your stuff together all the time. That's the class for today, my friends. We're going to chat again on Monday, so have an amazing Shabbat. Remember disconnect to connect to God, disconnect from the mundane, the stupidity. Turn off your cell phone, turn off your computers. Focus on your family, focus on your children, focus on your parents, focus on your community and focus on yourself. No-transcript.