July 3, 2026 Categories: In Print / Features
The Bitachon Blueprint (Part XXXII)
Hishtadlus Versus Bitachon
In our previous discussions, we explored how bitachon deepens when the ego recedes, allowing us to perceive reality with greater clarity. This naturally leads to a pressing question: if Hashem orchestrates every detail, how much of life is truly in our hands? At what point does responsible effort become overreaching, and at what point does trust slip into negligence? How do we balance hishtadlus (“personal effort”) with bitachon, ensuring that effort doesn’t erode our trust in Hashem and that trust doesn’t become an excuse for passivity? While approaches may vary in their emphasis on bitachon versus hishtadlus, there is broad consensus that hishtadlus is essential for all but the most exceptional individuals. The real question isn’t whether effort is necessary, but how much effort is required.Mazal and Tikkun
The interwoven forces of tikkun and mazal are pivotal to understanding how fruitful one’s efforts– both ordinary and extraordinary– may prove to be. We recall that mazal’s role is to safeguard and support our tikkun, the very purpose for our existence in this world. Each of us has a unique role in Hashem’s plan, hidden within the natural order and reflected in the stars, or mazal. Simply put, the laws of nature and the workings of the natural world are synchronized with our mazal. Because of this, we should channel our efforts along the lines of derech hateva (“the course of nature”). Straining to push beyond that natural order is usually unnecessary and can even prove counterproductive. In fact, the degree of effort we invest must fit within the framework Hashem set for us, a point emphasized by Rabbeinu Bachya in Chovos HaLevavos, where he explains that the world was made to run according to natural law, and people must also work within those laws, making their own choices. He writes that we need to make normal efforts to acquire what we need and to fulfill our obligations in life. Chazal observe that lifespan, children, and livelihood are not contingent on merit or effort but on mazal. In these matters, we usually need to do what is considered to be the normal hishtadlus. For this reason, Rabbeinu Bachya further explains that a person need not pursue every possible livelihood, but may choose the one most aligned with his nature. He notes that Hashem implants within each person love and aptitude for a certain occupation, suited to both body and temperament, and that a person should pursue this with trust in Hashem’s support – even when results appear inconsistent. To summarize, through their mazal, people are granted both intrinsic resources – such as talent and drive – and extrinsic resources, including circumstances and conditions, to optimize their path and fulfill their tikkun. Since mazal is embedded in the natural order, only natural efforts are required. With that foundation, we can now examine the impact of our actions when we choose to do either more or less than what is required.Understanding Negligence and Extraordinary Effort
Although mazal is enduring, it can be forfeited. Hashem set both spiritual and physical laws in motion to govern all of creation; just as gravity doesn’t pause because we wish to fly, Hashem doesn’t overturn reality when we choose to ignore it. Since mazal is woven into the natural order, straying too far from truth – relative to one’s madreigah – can sever its influence. At that point, the person is deemed negligent, and any standing decree may be revoked. When we operate within our madreigah and invest appropriate effort, our potential remains intact, and what is meant to unfold will arrive in its proper time and manner. Likewise, just as negligence can suspend mazal, extraordinary effort and energy can unseal a gezeirah milmaalah (“Heavenly decree”), softening or even annulling certain hardships. After Avraham and his descendants were chosen for a higher spiritual level – a direct relationship with Hashem – active Divine Providence began to operate in the world. When Hashem told Avraham to “look up at the heavens and count the stars” (Bereishis 15:5), the Midrash explains that He was teaching Avraham to disregard astrological decrees. The Talmud (Shabbos 156a) explains this: “There is no mazal for the Jewish people.” This means that mazal – the instruments of fate and fortune – is not fixed; we can acquire a different set of tools and conditions if we develop ourselves sufficiently. What we receive in the physical world depends on what we need to actualize our potential. As our potential expands, our mazal recalibrates accordingly. Mazal protects the mission; different choices = different mission = different mazal. A seeming contradiction emerges: we cautioned that excessive effort can be futile – or even counterproductive – yet we also noted that extraordinary effort can overturn a gezeirah milmaalah. The key distinction lies in where that effort is applied. Pushing harder toward the goal itself may overshoot the measure of hishtadlus appropriate for our madreigah, but investing the same energy in refining ourselves transforms us. The task, then, is not to force an outcome but to become someone who can receive it. This is why Chazal teach (Rosh Hashanah 16b) that teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah can annul decrees of suffering or even death. Some sources add changing one’s name or residence. What unites all of these is humility: they strip away ego, expand the vessel, and make us fit to receive blessing. Only by reducing the ego – and with it, allowing humility to emerge – can we expand our capacity in a meaningful way. The logic is clear: self-control elevates us above our nature, diminishes the ego, and allows humility to take root. And humility becomes the gateway to a reconfigured mazal and a transformed decree. In the next column we will explore the crucial next layer: how one’s madreigah (spiritual level) determines how much hishtadlus is required.To be continued…
