We continue our journey of Bitachon and we're discussing now part two of the sections that we're going to be discussing. And the question here is what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? In the previous session we discussed three Pesukim which highlight the importance of Bitachon, where the verse in Yeshayahu states, “trust in Hashem forever”, and the verse in Tehillim states, “trust in Hashem under all circumstances”, and the verse in Mishlei also states and commands, “trust in Hashem with all your heart.”

And as mentioned the pesukim are literally all over Tanach. And these are just three that we're pointing out to highlight the principle. And as we'll see, this is because Bitachon is ultimately the foundation of all Torah and mitzvos. Hashem wants us to build a personal relationship with Him. And not only that, Hashem wants us to realize that on our own we are limited by our human capacity and things are going to be too heavy for us to carry. And like we learned in the previous verse in Tehillim, Hashem desires that we are to throw our needs and wants onto His back so that He can carry our needs for us.

We now move to the next Torah source. We're going to be looking at Rabbeinu Yona in his Sefer Shaarei Teshuva (3:32). Rabbeinu Yona brings the verses (Devarim 7: 17-18) where the verses state, “Perhaps you will say in your heart, these nations are much more numerous than me, how will I overcome them? “These nations that I'm supposed to be going to war against are much greater than me. How in heavens am I going to be able to overcome them?” Says the Torah itself, “do not fear them.”

So again, we are learning here an explicit verse in the Torah. You're going to go to war and the people you are fighting against are going to be much more than you. The odds are against you. And you're going to say a logical, natural question, how am I going to succeed? The Torah says, you are not to fear. Why are you not to fear? Because again, I don't trust on nature or my own abilities, I trust in Hashem. And Hashem is stronger than anyone and everything in the world.

And if I am trusting in Him, I will certainly not fear those people I am going to war against even if the odds are completely against me. And the Torah continues (Devarim 20:1), “when you will go to war against your enemies and you will see an army way greater than you, do not fear them.” Again, illustrating the same principle in another verse in the Chumash itself.

Rabbi Yonah comments on these verses, we have been warned by Hashem in these verses in the Chumash, that if a person sees that difficult times seem to be coming about, we must assume that Hashem will send His salvation and we must rely on Him for that. Rabbi Yonah is teaching us that the source of bitachon is a mitzvah deoraysa - verses in the Torah itself which teach that when we go to war, even if all odds seem to be against us, we are not to fear because we are to remember that Hashem exclusively is running the show and there is absolutely nothing to fear. And Rabbi Yonah learns from these verses that this concept is applicable not only to war but to all areas of our lives that we are not to fear when any adversity might seem to arise in our lives because we are to remember that Hashem is way beyond all natural and human limitations. And Rabbi Yonah is learning from these verses that this is the source for bitachon.

Just as an aside, we've discussed previously how the antithesis of bitachon is removing fear from our hearts and it's worthwhile to highlight how the actual source of bitachon according to Rabbi Yonah is from verses in the Torah which command us not to fear. Just to highlight and realize how important it is to work on minimizing fear in our lives. Again, as we've discussed previously, natural emotional fear which comes automatically and there's nothing we can do about, we don't need to feel guilty about because we're human beings but doing our best to build our bitachon and slowly but surely removing that fear from our heart. B'ezrat Hashem, let's move forward together in our bitachon journey and transform our bitachon.

We are excited to move forward on our Bitachon journey now to part two of the sections we're going to be exploring. In part one we discussed Torah sources that give us an introduction to many of the fundamentals about Bitachon. We now move to part two, where the question that we're going to be discussing is, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon?

So we're going to quote three pesukim now that give us an idea of what exactly Hashem wants for us. Does Hashem desire that we rely on Him? Is it something that He really wants? Or is it just an opportunity that if we need something we can choose to tap into this most powerful weapon of Bitachon? So if we look in Tanach (Yeshayahu 26:4) the verse commands, “trust in Hashem forever”. If we then look at Tehillim (62:9) the verse states, “trust in Hashem under all circumstances.” And we then look at Mishlei (3:5) where the verse states, “trust in Hashem with all your heart.”

These are but three of many, many verses throughout the whole of Tanach where we are shown loud and clear that it is Hashem's desire that we are to rely on Him. It is not just an opportunity that we can tap into, but rather Hashem is teaching us, “I want you to rely on Me.” Now as mentioned many times, Bitachon is literally all over Torah literature, right from the beginning of the Chumash itself throughout Tanach, throughout all the Gemara and Midrashim, all the way down to contemporary Torah literature.

And if you make an effort to consciously pay attention, throughout your davening, benching, brachos, literally everywhere, you will see many, many verses that highlight Hashem's desire for us to place our trust in Him. Now before we move further in discussing these Torah sources about what exactly is the source, I'm trying to highlight that regardless of what type of mitzvah this is, it is very clear throughout all of Tanach that it is Hashem's desire for us to place our trust in Him. We've just quoted three of many verses which are very clearly portraying to us that Hashem is stating, as we read in Yeshayahu, “trust in Me forever”, and David HaMelech teaches us in Tehillim that Hashem is telling us, “trust in Me under all circumstances”, and in Mishlei we learn, “trust in Hashem with all your heart.” And again, these are just three of but many, many, many Torah sources which illustrate this idea.

As we continue to explore these sources, it helps just to motivate us to move forward in our Bitachon journey, as we'll see and explore how this mitzvah is so, so important and the fundamental cornerstone of all of Torah and mitzvos. But even before exploring those Torah passages, if you're interested in trying to find some more immediate inspiration, you're invited to research Psukei Bitachon, where you'll very easily online find a collection of pesukim about Bitachon, and again you will see just how many pesukim there are that exist about Bitachon, that are literally all over Tanach. What we're trying to highlight here is that many mitzvos in the Torah have a source to their obligation, but sometimes by reading the Torah and Tanach itself, even more than the obligation to a mitzvah, you get a feel for what is Hashem really interested in.

And for certain reasons, which B’ezrat Hashem will discuss at a later stage, Hashem does not always give an outright explicit command for certain mitzvos, even if they might be the most important of the mitzvos. However, when you're paying attention and noticing that in so many verses, throughout all of our daily prayers and Tanach and everything that we have and do, Hashem is telling us again and again, “please rely on Me under all circumstances, come to me”, we get an indication of how Hashem wants us to live our Yiddishkeit. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward now and explore some of the Torah sources about exactly what the source is for the mitzvah of Bitachon and gain more clarity in our journey about Bitachon.

Today we're wrapping up the Torah sources we've been exploring from part 1, and B’ezrat Hashem in the next session we move forward to part 2. Let's summarize what we've discussed from this section. We first explored the Chovos Halevavos, right at the beginning of the Shaar habitachon, in Perek Aleph, where he writes that the essence of Bitachon is menuchas ha-nefesh - tranquility of the soul. Bitachon ultimately leads to inner peace, tranquility and calm.

Ultimately, whatever is happening in our personal life or in the world at large, should not make us budge from that place of inner peace, because I know I'm 100% in Hashem's hands and He's always doing what's best for me. And although to get to the highest level of being calm under all circumstances might be the final destination of our Bitachon journey, but our job is not to get there, our job is to just take steps forward, and let's say a certain situation in my life that I might have previously experienced would have provoked a higher level of anxiety than it does now because I'm on my Bitachon journey, that's all that Hashem requires of me, just to make our maximum effort to take steps forward in our Bitachon.

We learned then a passage from Rabbeinu Yonah in Mishlei (3:6), where he taught us that Bitachon is the clear and confident belief that Hashem will send our salvation from challenging circumstances. And as Rabbeinu Yonah said, relying on Hashem to such a degree, that I have absolutely no doubt that Hashem will come through for me - Hashem will send my salvation, again highlighting the fact that Rabbeinu Yonah is expressing what is Bitachon, it's not just acceptance of what Hashem sends - it's all for the best, but rather Bitachon means that I have no doubt that Hashem will send my salvation in the way that I need.

We then explored a verse from Tehillim (55:23), which states that we are to throw our needs, wants and problems onto Hashem and let Him carry them for us, because for us to carry them ourselves it's going to be too heavy. And Hashem is inviting us to throw our problems onto Him. He is much stronger than us, He can carry anything and everything. And He's saying, “my child, it's going to be too heavy for you, let me help you out, please give me your problem and let me carry it for you.”

We then explored the Ramban who taught us the difference between Emunah and Bitachon, where Emunah is always the starting point, and it's impossible to have Bitachon without Emunah, because Emunah is like the tree and Bitachon is like the fruit of the tree. And the practical take-home of Emunah is internalizing that Hashem exclusively orchestrates every single detail in every single one of our lives, down to the finest degree.

And we then discussed a fundamental piece from Rabbeinu Bechayei in the Sefer Kad Hakemach in the section Bitachon, where Rabbeinu Bechaya discusses many of the fundamentals of Bitachon: That we are to know that Hashem is completely beyond all forms of nature, and when adversity strikes, we are to place our hope, trust, and reliance in Hashem that He will send our salvation and no natural statistic or prediction can get in the way. Hashem is way beyond all of that, and we are to have absolutely no doubt in our conviction that Hashem will come through for us in the way that we need.

We are to remember that it is Hashem exclusively who we rely on, and not to rely on any other individual or circumstance whatsoever. Because when we do rely on other individuals or circumstances, and more specifically as Rabbeinu Bechayei taught us, when we fear other individuals or circumstances, we are A) committing a grave sin because this is the antithesis of Bitachon, and B) we actually become under their auspices and attract that item that we are fearing to come about God forbid.

And even someone who is poor, to the extent that they lack the basic necessities such as food and clothing, is called on to rely on Hashem, that Hashem will provide for them exactly what they need. Not to just say, Gam Zu Letovah - this is all for the best and I accept it with love. That's also an approach, and we'll discuss that at a later stage, how to apply that to our situation. But we are learning here that what Bitachon means is to rely on Hashem that He will for sure come through for me in exactly the way that I need. B'ezrat Hashem in the next session we'll move forward to part 2 of our Bitachon journey. And B’ezrat Hashem with Hashem's help, take another step forward in our journey of Bitachon.