In the previous columns, we explored how the concepts of mazal and tikkun help explain why seemingly undeserving individuals may at times receive good. Yet beyond these factors lies an even deeper principle taught by Chazal: the very act of trust itself becomes a source of salvation. Genuine reliance on Hashem surrounds a person with kindness and protection, and even misplaced trust can, in its own way, yield results.
Now, let’s take a closer look at how this works.
The Mechanics of Chesed
Shlomo HaMelech teaches, “Hashem has made one thing opposite the other” (Koheles 7:14), and nowhere is that polarity clearer than in the tension between trust and fear. To grasp the essence of bitachon, it helps to set it in sharp contrast with fear. Chazal note that fear is not merely a reaction to danger; it can become a destructive force in its own right – regardless of a person’s spiritual stature.
(The Steipler Gaon (Birchas Peretz, Parshas Shoftim) distinguishes between natural fear and unhealthy anxiety. He explains that a person is not held accountable for experiencing innate emotions. However, he emphasizes the importance of controlling one’s thoughts and not dwelling excessively on worries or negative ideas. His advice: actively redirect the mind away from anxious or fearful thoughts – a technique we explored in Chapter 9 – to prevent being consumed by them.)
Before battle, the Torah commands the officers to proclaim: “Whoever is afraid or faint-hearted – let him go and return home, so that he not destroy the heart of his brothers like his own heart” (Devarim 20:1-6). The Maharal explains that this weakness – rooted in a breakdown of bitachon – does not just endanger the fearful soldier but also jeopardizes the lives of those around him (Nesiv HaBitachon, chapter 1).
Fear doesn’t just unsettle us; it can help bring about the very outcomes we dread. Worry is a misuse of the imagination that can lead to dire consequences. As the eighteenth-century Kabbalist Rabbi David Solomon Eibenschutz writes:
“What I feared will come upon me” (Iyov 3:24). Fear is like a magnet that attracts metal. It can direct the object of a person’s fear toward that person. As the pasuk says (ibid., 3:25), “That which I feared has overtaken me.” That is the nature of fear: it draws forth the object of our dread and makes it real (Sefer Arvei Nachal, Parshas Vayeitzei).
Thoughts have power. “In the way a person wants to be led—they lead him” (Makkos 10b). In his commentary on the Talmud (ibid.), Rabbi Shmuel Eliezer Eidels asks, who are “they” who lead the person where he wants to go? He answers that these are angels that a person creates with his own thoughts, speech, and actions. Chassidus emphasizes that thoughts are powerful. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov writes, “Know that a person’s thoughts have huge potential. If someone focuses his thoughts on anything in the world, he can influence it” (Likutei Moharan, 193).
Fear exerts a pull – it can draw us toward the very outcome we seek to avoid. Chazal caution that, “Perhaps one will have chalishas hada’as (‘anguish or hopelessness’), and that alone will weaken his mazal” (Horayos 12a). Whether deserved or not, a moment of weakness can allow fear to overtake us, leaving us vulnerable to negative forces.
Conversely, a moment of clarity and strength can harness the power of bitachon and invite an influx of Divine assistance. The Vilna Gaon explains that the essence of bitachon lies in the act of trusting itself. By placing one’s complete trust in Hashem – to the exclusion of all other imagined alternate forces – one lifts beyond the influence of negativity. The Gemara (Berachos 60a) warns, “A person should never open their mouth to the Satan.” This teaches that fear itself can serve as an opening for harm, as it reflects a belief in the power of negativity rather than the sovereignty of Hashem. Similarly, the Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 51:1) states that when a person fully entrusts their worries to Hashem, they are no longer bound by the limitations of nature in the same way, as their reality is governed by Hashgacha Pratis.
A widely held alternative (really, complementary) view asserts that bitachon does not function independently but rather acts as a catalyst, driving us toward tefillah and teshuvah – the true forces behind our salvation. As we discussed, responding this way transforms us, ensuring that what we receive aligns with the needs of our more refined selves. The Chazon Ish writes:
When a person encounters an event that according to the ways of the world involves a personal danger to him, it is natural to fear the ways of the world… when one exercises self-restraint at such a difficult time and internalizes the truth that this is not a chance misfortune but rather it is all from Hashem… then one has achieved the trait of trust in Hashem… [H]e who trusts in Hashem will examine his deeds and turn to repentance, prayer, and charity, in order to remove the evil decree from himself (Emunah U’Bitachon 2).
Chovos HaLevavos makes clear that one cannot honestly claim trust in Hashem while willfully defying Him (Chovos HaLevavos, Shaar HaBitachon 1). He teaches that the fullest measure of bitachon becomes attainable only through sincere teshuvah, which then serves as the vehicle for genuine behavioral change. Integral to this process is proper hishtadlus: we must actively pursue legitimate avenues for success within the natural order. As we have discussed, bitachon demands that we engage the world responsibly even as we acknowledge that the ultimate outcome rests with Hashem.
To be continued.