Episode 220 - Jet Lag, Jerusalem, And A Scribe Who Should Have Known Better

What if the very thing you trust most—your skill, your boss, your market—could vanish overnight? From our temporary studio in Jerusalem, we trace the arc of trust from infancy to adulthood and challenge a belief many of us carry quietly: that security lives in what we can control or who will pay us. A stark story about a master scribe who credits his hand, only to lose it by nightfall, becomes a mirror for modern life. We talk about why self-reliance feels strong but stays fragile, how people-pleasing offers status but steals peace, and where a steadier centre can be found.

We revisit the first four levels of trust—sensation, caregiver, household hierarchy, and self-reliance—then spend time on the fifth: relying on people as the source of provision. There’s nuance here. Seeing our limits can humble us and open growth, yet outsourcing our safety to managers or markets multiplies anxiety. We unpack how to separate channels from sources, so your effort remains excellent without turning work into a god. Expect practical guidance on language shifts that anchor perspective, planning with open hands, serving stakeholders without worship, and gratitude routines that widen your view beyond immediate causes.

Throughout, we keep the tone grounded and honest: it’s okay to falter, to question, to reassess. Doubt can signal a truer foundation is calling. If you’ve ever chased the highest payer, optimized for approval, or felt your peace ride the algorithm, this conversation offers a calmer path to resilience. Listen, reflect, and share with someone who needs a sturdier kind of confidence. Subscribe for more thought-provoking episodes, and leave a review with the level of trust you think you’re living at today.

Chapters

• 0:16 Broadcast From Jerusalem
• 0:56 Recap Of Trust Levels
• 1:37 The Scribe’s Hand Story
• 2:46 Fragile Sources Of Security
• 4:20 It’s Okay To Falter
• 5:20 How Trust Develops In Childhood
• 6:39 Level Four: Self-Reliance
• 8:02 Level Five: Relying On People
• 8:51 Humility As A Step Toward Bitachon

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:16

Hello and welcome to the Trust Factor Podcast, the only podcast that guarantees your success when you implement its divine age-old teachings. This podcast episode and the coming ones this week are coming to you directly from the holiest place in the universe. Jerusalem, the holiest city in the world. That's where I'm going to be broadcasting from for the rest of the week and into next week as well. That explains why the post is late today. We're dealing with multiple issues, not the least of which is a different time zone and a little bit of good old-fashioned jet lag. But we're not going to stop. It's not going to slow us down. We're going to keep pushing forward. I want to pick up where we left off. We are talking about the different levels of trust that an individual acquires over his lifetime and how he acquires it. We've gone through the first four. The fourth one is an interesting one. The fourth one is where the individual starts to earn his own living. He starts to become self-sufficient. He goes to work, he has a trade. Whatever it is that he does, he starts to attribute his paycheck to the fact that he's able to show up and do the work, whatever the work may be. That's why he's getting paid. And he gives an example over here of a story that comes across as a pretty harsh story. It's pretty extreme. But there is a message in the extremity of the example that he brings. He says, there's a story of a pious individual who lives next to a neighbor, an individual who's an expert scribe. Scribe is somebody who writes religious documents, seferatoras, mezuzas, tfilin, all kinds, marriage contracts. He lives next door to a professional expert scribe. And one day as he meets his neighbor, he asks him, How are you? How are things? And his answer is, I'm doing well. As long as my hand continues to function, I'll be fine. In effect, saying that it's because my hand, as long as my hand is working, then I can earn a living and I will have what to eat tomorrow. And the story goes that later on that evening the individual loses his hand entirely, becomes severed or paralyzed, and is no longer able to use it. Now it's an extreme story, but the example is, and the lesson is that when we attribute our strengths and our income and our abilities to the here and now, to the mundane, to the physical, to humanity, then it can all be gone in a heartbeat. There is nothing guaranteeing you that you are going to have what to eat tomorrow. When you start to rely on all of the things that are fickle and temporary and limited by time and space, then you too, my friend, will be limited by time and space. What's also interesting about this story is that it's given over by Khovotale Vovot, which is 850 years ago. And he's talking about a scribe. We're not talking about somebody who works in waste management. We're not talking about somebody who's an electrician or a plumber or an HVAC guy. Though I don't think they had them 850 years ago. But the point is, you understand that we're talking about somebody whose livelihood comes from doing holy work. And the reason I bring that up is because oftentimes we may find ourselves second guessing ourselves. Are we good enough? Are we holding on a high enough level? Does any of this stuff even speak to us? You know, sometimes we're there, sometimes we're questioning things. That's just human nature. And this story is coming to tell you not just of an individual 850 years ago, but of a Torah scribe, a guy who writes these documents for a living. That individual is coming to give credit to his hand. The same guy who writes God's name on all these documents and knows very well or at least should know who runs this world, that individual is going to give credit to his hand. So that I think should give us a little bit of perspective to say it's okay to falter. It's okay to question where you're at. In fact, it's a good thing because it makes you reassess where you're holding. So we've said up until now, we've got an individual who starts off as an infant, doesn't know left and right, doesn't even know that the individual that's feeding him is a human being. He has no idea what a human being is. He knows that there is this fleshy substance that when I get hungry, it calms me, it provides what I need. It has no idea what to attribute that to. Then that kid grows older and starts to understand that there is a person behind this fleshy substance that is giving me my nutrition, that is keeping me alive and satiating me. Starts to establish a relationship with that individual, understands how it works. I cry, I get fed, I'm uncomfortable, I make noise, I get taken care of. Then they start to realize that there's a causal relationship. Also, there's another individual, the father. This father, when he comes home after a long day of work, mom is all of a sudden more relaxed. This individual who's feeding me is more relaxed and more at ease. This child now realizes that this father gives the mother a sense of calm and happiness. And as long as he keeps coming home and doing what he's doing, then she's in a state where she can continue to do well for him. He understands now a hierarchy. She relies on him. He must rely on somebody, but he hasn't made that connection yet. And then the fourth one we just discussed, that he goes out into the world, he's grown up now, and he's starting to recognize that he has abilities himself. His mother had abilities before, now he has abilities, and as long as he uses those abilities, then he will come out on top. He will have what to eat the next day. That was number four, and that led us into the story of the scribe. Number five seems to be very much related to number four, but with a twist. It says that when he's working for another human being, when his income is coming from another human being, and that I believe is to suggest that now he's starting to think my income doesn't necessarily rely on what I'm capable of doing, but what the people holding the money are willing to pay me. And now he starts to do an analysis. We've all been there before. When you start to try and figure out what am I going to do for a living, where's the money at? Who's willing to pay me more for my time? And whoever is going to pay me more is going to be where I'm going to focus my energy, my education, my vocation, because that place is a source of wealth. Now I start to think, wait a second, maybe it's not just me, maybe it's also human beings. I need to cater to them. I need to tell them what they need to hear. I need to solve the problems that they need solved. And as long as I can do that, then I will succeed. Similar problem, my friends. Very, very similar problem. On this level, he realizes that he is not assured of being self-sufficient, but he makes the mistake of calming his fears by relying on people rather than in God. Since it is one's natural tendency to look at the most immediate cause, he sees those people as the source of his well-being. However, at least he realizes that his own strengths do not suffice, so that he has reached a level of humility that brings him a step closer to Bitachon. You hear this, guys? While he's still not acknowledging that it's Hashem who runs the world, he's now starting to say, okay, wait a second, I get that there are other people who have talents. That may bring down his ego a little bit. But at the same time, he's now got a new problem. And his new problem is that it's no longer him, it's another human being who's responsible for his livelihood. The sixth level and beyond, we'll get in tomorrow. I'm going to cut it a little bit short for today, just because we need to acclimize over here in this beautiful country. Much more to come, my friends, in the coming days from the holiest place in the world. Thank you for spending time with us on the Trust Factor Podcast. If you've heard something today that moved you, save this episode and share it with someone who might need to hear it. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss upcoming conversations that challenge, empower, and uplift. And if you're on social media, connect with us. Leave your thoughts, drop a quote that resonated with you. Hashtag the TrustFactor Podcast. Until next time, keep growing in your trust and keep living with purpose. I'm Jesse Revivo, and this has been the TrustFactor Podcast. Thanks for listening.