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This Jewish Inspiration Podcast is dedicated to learning, understanding and enhancing our relationship with Hashem by working on improving our G-d given soul traits and aspiring to reflect His holy name each and every day. The goal is for each listener to hear something inspirational with each episode that will enhance their life.
0:03 You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Torch in Houston, Texas. This is the Jewish Inspiration Podcast.
0:11 Welcome back. Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the Musa Masterclass. Tonight, we're going to continue with the introduction of Rabbeinu Bachia on the topic of bitachon, which is reliance and trust in Hashem.
0:27 We spoke about the 10 different benefits of someone who trusts God versus someone who can manufacture his own money, the alchemist. He can create gold coins, right? But think about that. The truth is, is that what he's really doing, the author, is really giving us an understanding of what people think is their creation of money, their own work.
0:54 But he's doing it in a form of us thinking of it as someone else. It's the alchemist. But it's really all of us. It's each and every one of us.
1:02 We think that we create our own livelihood. We create our sustenance. We create our... Success.
1:10 And the truth is, is that we have the same exact fears. The 10 fears that he mentioned about the alchemist are the exact same 10 fears that we have. That, you know what, if I have too much money, what's going to be? They're going to tax me.
1:24 People might steal from me. I'm going to lose it. etc., etc. All of those fears are valid fears. The only thing that can withstand all of those fears is the connection with Hashem, the reliance, where we recognize and understand that everything is in the hands of Hashem.
1:44 Okay, now we begin day number nine on page 35. in the introduction. The first worldly benefit of bitachon. The first worldly benefit of bitachon.
1:55 As for the benefits of bitachon, of reliance on Hashem in regard to matters of the material world, one of them is, This is so beautiful. The peace of mind that comes to a person from various worldly worries that weigh on those who believe in their own efforts. The peace of mind that comes to a person when they trust in Hashem. Ah, I have nothing to worry.
2:29 We have no anxiety. We have no fear. We have no concerns.
2:42 And he enjoys serenity from the emotional unrest and distress normally brought on by failing to attain one's material desires. So someone has a desire. They want to build a new house. They want to buy a new car.
2:56 They want to buy a new watch. They want to buy new shoes. They want to buy new clothes. They want to buy new furniture.
3:01 They want to buy something material, something physical. With that comes a lot of stress. Am I going to have enough money for it? How am I going to make my payments?
3:09 How am I going to close the deal? way someone else can offer a better offer, there's constant stress and worry.
3:23 instead of experiencing worries and distress, the one who relies in Hashem is tranquil, secure, and serene in this world. The verse states in Jeremiah, blessed is the man who trusts in God. Then God will be his security. I don't have trust in myself.
3:51 I don't have trust in my boss. I was just talking to somebody yesterday who was working for a company, was getting paid very well, made a very handsome income. And then he decided, you know what? Working for somebody else, you're reliant on them.
4:08 And if I were to work for myself, I have no one to rely on but the Almighty, Hashem. Hashem will grant me my success. I don't need to rely on my boss paying me. He wants to up his level of reliance on Hashem.
4:25 And what happened? It didn't work. It didn't work. He opened up a fund.
4:30 I don't know what he does. Hedge fund, whatever. And he had to close it. Many months after he tried, he tried, he tried to raise the money, he couldn't do it.
4:38 It didn't work. So now he's trying to go back into that. So I said, maybe Hashem didn't want you to open up a fund. He wanted you to work for somebody, but not to trust and put your reliance on that somebody.
4:50 Maybe it's just to remember that the reliance needs to be on Hashem. That is the frame of mind that one should hopefully work with, is that even if we work for somebody. They're our employer. People have told me, oh, people have introduced me to other people that work for Torch and said, this is my boss.
5:09 Like, I'm not your boss. Hashem is your boss. We all work for Hashem. That's it.
5:14 Everyone has a different role and a different position, but that's not my... It's not my organization that I'm the boss. I'm not the boss. Hashem is the boss.
5:24 We all have the same boss. We have to work for him. And no one should ever convince themselves that they're working for a boss. The boss may give you directives.
5:34 They might tell you exactly, do this, do that, make this phone call, follow up with that client. But ultimately, we have to realize that the reason we are working is that we can sustain our family. So that we can earn a livelihood. Who brings us that livelihood?
5:48 Who gives us the ability to succeed in the work we do? That's the Almighty. We have to remember that every single day. What else does it say?
6:05 The next verse metaphorically describes the sense of security that he will enjoy. He will be like a tree planted near water, which spreads out its roots along a brook. It will not notice when heat comes. Its foliage will always remain fresh.
6:23 It will not worry in a year of drought, and it will never stop producing fruit. Why? Because it's sitting right there on the brook. It's getting fed the entire time water. The person with bitachon is always near the source of sustenance.
6:39 There's no such thing as inflation. with someone who trusts in Hashem. There's no such thing as a bad economy when someone trusts and is reliant on Hashem. The person with Bittachon is always near his source of sustenance, like the tree planted near a source of water.
6:57 And just as the tree never pays attention to the heat or drought that can harm other trees, so too the person with Bittachon has no concern about adverse economic conditions that cause others to worry about their income. So people are worried. Oh, what's going to be? They're firing people.
7:16 The economy is taking it. Someone who has trust has no fear. I'll tell you a story. I've said this story in other classes, but I want to repeat it because I think it's so, so...
7:28 tells the story that the author here is telling us. I had a friend of mine who was working for a financial firm. He does life insurance and he does investments and he's a wealth management advisor. I got to know him through torch classes.
7:45 One day he calls me sobbing. He says to me, Rabbi, I've been working with this company for 28 years. He says, my blood bleeds the company, right? In New York Yankee fans, they say I bleed pinstripes, you know, right?
8:02 He says, I bleed the company. He says, I love this company. I live for this company. It's my life.
8:08 It's my identity.
8:09 I just got fired this morning. That's what he said.
8:13 He says, and you know why I got fired? I got fired because my boss is an evangelical Christian. And every time he passes by me, he says, you know, you should accept our Lord and Savior. And you know, I pray for you.
8:28 And you know, and he kept quiet for 28 years. He kept quiet until one day he had it and he told him off. And the next day he had a pink slip on his desk. So I told him, what would you like?
8:41 What is your dream? What would you like for Hashem to do for you? He says, I would like to stay with the company and I would like to have my dignity back, but I would never want to work for this boss again. I want to work for a different office.
8:57 So I said, okay, ask Hashem. Ask Hashem. Hashem can give you anything. It's His world.
9:04 He says, but it's impossible. There are 55,000 employees in this company and nobody in the entire company works. in one region and reports to another region. Nobody. 55,000 employees.
9:19 It's impossible. It cannot happen. I said, is there anything Hashem can't do? Ask Hashem.
9:26 Talk to Him.
9:28 And here's a number for a lawyer.
9:30 And I gave him a number for a lawyer. And the lawyer got him a settlement of $20 million. He said, I don't want the $20 million. I want my job back.
9:43 And I want to work for a different region. And he got it. Okay? He turned down the money. He wanted his dignity.
9:51 He wanted his job. This is a true story. I can give you the guy's phone number. You can verify it.
9:56 Hashem listens to our praise.
9:58 Like it's impossible. 55,000. Nobody.
10:01 Hashem made it happen for him. You know what else? Is that he used to travel from Sugar Land to Memorial every single day. It's about an hour drive each way.
10:16 His office. is 30 seconds from his bed. He works at home. He has a home office.
10:23 He says the life has never been better for him because he's able to continue his job and he reports to the Dallas office. We always think and we limit ourselves because, oh, this is
10:37 the rules that the world has set for us.
10:39 That's not true. We're not bound by those rules. We're bound by the rules of Hashem. And Hashem has no limits.
10:49 Now, Hashem may say no. I'll give you an example. I don't know about you. You look like you're pretty fit. But if I decided that I wanted to compete with Michael Phelps at his prime, probably not going to happen ever.
11:03 Right? It's just not my thing. Oh, I have trust in Hashem. Guess what? It's not your thing.
11:10 Forget it. So just because you have reliance and you trust in Hashem doesn't mean that you're going to get it. Hashem could say no. But the best place for a person to live is live right beside Hashem where he trusts and he relies that Hashem will take care of him. Hashem will do exactly what is best for you.
11:33 not that he will give you what you want when someone is ill he's like i have trust in hashem that the person will be healed that might not be the case that's a mistake for a person to think that that's what trust means that's not what trust means i trust that hashem will do what is best Even if I don't understand it. Even if I won't appreciate it. I have complete confidence in Hashem doing the right thing.
11:58 And I'm relying on Hashem for everything He does. It says, Thus, the first worldly benefit of B'itachon is that it frees a person from the stresses associated with attaining one's desires. There's no more stress. No more stress.
12:14 We're living in a world. The more reliance a person has on Hashem, the less stress they have in their life. Got it? David, you got this?
12:23 The more reliance we have on Hashem, the less anxiety. We don't need to take the pills for anxiety, for stress, for worry. We're now pill-free. You know why?
12:33 Because the more we work on our reliance on Hashem, I trust in Hashem 100%, nothing to fear. He's the big one out there, right? He's like, he's got everything at his disposal. Hashem could do anything.
12:48 No limits. And therefore, it removes one's stress. Okay. The second worldly benefit of bitachon.
12:58 Another one of the benefits that bitachon provides in regard to matters of the material world is, That one who relies on Hashem to provide his income locally, so he enjoys relief from having to travel on distant journeys.
13:24 This is an emotional as well as a physical benefit for constant travel wears down the body and can hasten the end of one's life. The verse states, As Psalms, King David says, He has afflicted my strength through journey. He has shortened my days.
13:51 to explain why Bitachon frees a person from traveling to distant places in search of his income. A person who has reliance on Hashem doesn't need to travel. I can stay in the study hall and learn Torah all day and Hashem has got it covered. And that is a fact.
14:11 I mentioned the story recently where one of the great disciples of one of the sages, after they learned this, He said, okay, I don't need to work. I can go to the study hall. And the rabbi said, if you believe that God will give you 10,000 rubles, he will give you 10,000 rubles.
14:35 Which was a fortune of money. Imagine like a few million dollars. Like, wow. If you believe it 100%, you got it.
14:42 He'll take care of it. So you know what happened? He went to the study hall and he's waiting. He's sitting and learning Torah and he's waiting.
14:51 Finally, he meets up with his rabbi and he says to his rabbi, Rabbi, I'm waiting for my 10,000 rubles and they never showed up. So the Rabbi says, you know what? Here's what I'll do.
15:04 I'm going to offer you 5,000 rubles for your reliance on Hashem for 10,000. You'll do it? He says, sure. He says, you see you don't trust in Hashem because you would never forego 10,000 for 5,000.
15:20 If you really, really believed it, you would say no because I have full reliance on Hashem. You understand? That when you have full reliance, you let go. You let go.
15:34 I put my faith in Hashem. I put my trust in Hashem. And I know that 100% my reliance will bear fruit. It says about one of the Prushim.
15:48 Prushim is a term of people who... withdraw from physical and material pursuits. They have, I would say, it's a way of abstaining from pleasures of this world. There's actually a synagogue in Jerusalem called Purushim, which is exactly this.
16:15 They're righteous, very righteous people. I'll just tell you a quick story, not related to this topic at all, but I'm remembering about that synagogue. And the great rabbi who was the leader in that synagogue, his name was Rev. Mordechai Zuckerman. Rev. Mordechai Zuckerman was a Talmud, a disciple of the Chavetz Chaim.
16:37 He was also my grandfather's study partner. They would learn together. So one time, a yeshiva approached me. The yeshiva came to Jerusalem.
16:46 They were learning in the study hall of my yeshiva. The rabbi came over to me. He says, oh, you're a grandson of Rabbi Shlomo Wolbi. Can you get us in?
16:54 We have the whole yeshiva. We came from Tiberias. We're in Jerusalem for the weekend. Can you get us into your grandfather to get a blessing?
17:01 We want him to talk to the students. I said, oh, I'll ask my grandfather. grandfather, and my grandfather says, no, instead of coming to me, they should go to Reb Morot Chutzukaman, the rabbi from Perushim.
17:16 He says, and I'll tell you two reasons why. He says, number one, he's a student of the Chavetz Chaim. He learned by the Chavetz Chaim he's far holier than me. He says, I never merited to even see the Chavetz Chaim.
17:28 He says, that's reason number one. He says, reason number two is that Reb Morot Chutzukaman has a much nicer beard than I do. He has a much nicer beard, they should go to him. And this is where they should go.
17:40 They can see him in the shul. Sure enough, they went to the synagogue where they can meet Rabbi Zuckerman. And guess who he was busy learning with? He was learning with my grandfather.
17:51 So they got both rabbis together. And the whole yeshiva stood there. They got blessings from them. And they were able to hear words of inspiration from them.
17:59 It was a really powerful experience. That's just a reminder when I think of the synagogue Prusham in Jerusalem. Very, very holy, righteous people. They would wake up early at the crack of dawn.
18:09 They would learn Torah, which our sages teach us. The most powerful time of study is at the changing of the guards, which is night to day and day to night. always transition day to night and night to day in Torah study or prayers of psalm. And they would do that in that synagogue.
18:27 Amazing, very, very, very special people. So this person who was, I would say, an abstaining person, limiting himself from physical and worldly pursuits.
18:52 And he met at the city that he traveled. He met a certain non-Jewish person, an idol worshiper.
19:11 He's this aspiring. Parush, this person who wanted to be part of this community of people, said to him, you idolaters display such utter blindness and poor judgment in your foolish approach to worshipping idols. The heathen retorted, and what do you worship? Amrlo Ha'agmushi, the abstainer, responded, He says,
20:09 The heathen retorted. He says, your behavior contradicts your words. In what way? He responds.
20:16 In what way do I contradict myself? If the heathen replied, if this God of yours is exactly as you said.
20:32 He says, if that were the case, then your creator, your God that you commit to, would provide for you in your own city and you wouldn't have to travel to another city.
20:48 And you would not have to bother to come such a distance for your income. With that, the Porosh, his argument was cut off.
21:04 Taking the heathen's words to heart, he returned to his own land. From that point forward, he accepted upon himself to embrace the practice of pre-ishus completely, complete abstention, and never again left his city to pursue business opportunities elsewhere. Thus, the second worldly benefit of bitachon is that it relies, it relieves a person of difficulties of travel, long, traveling long distances in search of his income. So what goes on with Bitochum?
21:45 With Bitochum, the second benefit, you don't have to run around. To run around, people, sometimes, I remember I had a friend of mine, he had a service business. Service business, like someone who fixes air conditioners, like someone who does roofing, like so many different types of, so I asked him, tell me. How do you make sales?
22:07 He says, I show up in my office and there are orders in my fax machine. That's the way I sell business. I said, but how do you get those orders? He says, they just come in.
22:20 Literally. He says, they just come in. And I've asked dozens of people. I said, where do you make your sales? Because some people mistakenly think that I'm going to go, I'm going to send the salesperson out there and they're going to make sales.
22:37 But how many of us try? We try, we go, you know what, let's attack that market. Let's go to these people, make sales, and then it ends up coming from someplace else. And then we decide, okay, you know what, we're going to make sales here.
22:51 And it comes from someplace else. Just because we put forward our effort in a specific arena does not mean that that's where the results will come from. In most cases, it's not like that. All you have to do is put forward an effort and remember that the success comes from God, not from your efforts, not from your work.
23:17 You keep trying, but don't think, don't be reliant on your own doing. God, I'm just, I know that my sales aren't going to, my persuasion is not going to do it. My, my, my, my. sweet words is not what's going to make the sale.
23:36 You know what will make the sale? The Almighty. And if he decides that I'll make a lot of sales, I'll make a lot of sales. You know, I met a guy once.
23:46 I said hello at some conference. I met this guy. And someone tells me after, he says, you know who this guy is? No. He didn't look like a put-together guy.
23:58 He didn't look like he knows how to make a single sale ever. This guy is not the guy you go for if you want him to repair your house. It doesn't look like he's got it together. The guy tells me, you know, this guy is a multi-billionaire.
24:13 So I had no idea. He said, yeah. He once approached the bank with an idea. And the bank said, yeah, we like that idea.
24:23 And overnight, they gave him enormous amount of funds. Because of his idea that he should go execute it. So he hired some people and they executed it for him. Didn't lift the finger.
24:38 Where did it come from? So skilled, so talented. I've had conversations with the person. Can hardly carry a conversation coherently.
24:48 We think, oh, I'm going to be well-dressed. I'm going to persuade them. I'm going to send my crew. I'm going to buy them gifts.
24:54 I'm going to buy them. We have all of these plans, all of these ideas. We can stop all of that. And enlist the help of Hashem.
25:05 Hashem, I know you've got me covered. I know you're going to take care of it. And I'm putting my trust in you. I'm going to do my thing.
25:14 I'm going to put forward my effort. And that's it. Okay, and this concludes day number nine.
25:20 You've been listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe on a podcast produced by Torch, the Torah Outreach Resource Center of Houston. Please help sponsor an episode so we can continue to produce more quality Jewish content for our listeners around the globe. Please visit torchweb.org to donate and partner with us on this incredible endeavor.