Bitachon – trust in G-d

Rabbi Danny Sackstein

Sunny Road Shul

Rabbi Schwab told him that trust in G-d does not mean all will turn out the way we wish; it means whatever happens is part of G-d’s masterplan. This is a mistake we often make.

Faith and trust (emunah and bitachon) in G-d are the foundation of the Torah. On Shavuot we relive the earth-shattering event that changed the world: the giving of the Torah.

Our sages teach (Makkos 23b-24a): Six hundred and thirteen mitzvot were given to Moses at Mount Sinai. Habakuk said they rest on one principal, as it says (Habakuk 2:4): “The righteous shall live by their faith.”

Faith (emunah) is loyalty to the knowledge that there is a Creator of the universe. An obvious fact when we look at the intricate world around us. Trust (bitachon) is living with that faith. Faith is the dress rehearsal, trust is opening night knowing G-d is behind the curtain whispering our lines.

The Talmud (Bava Matzia 15a) relates a conversation with G-d and Joab (Iyov). Joab had a very difficult life losing his money, his family and his health. Joab turns to G-d saying: “Maybe you have mixed up my name, I am Iyov – Joab not Oyav – your enemy.” G-d answers: “Where were you when the world was created?”

We are here in this world for a very short time. There is no way we can understand the true reasons why things happen. Imagine arriving an hour late to a movie and leaving after just 10 minutes. The plot and the characters are a mystery because we have missed most of the story.

Our lives in this world are the same. Our brief appearance of 70 or 80 years is less than 10 minutes in the journey of our souls. Our previous incarnations and the tikkun, rectification needed for our souls, are not apparent to us. Much of what happens and why it happens remains a mystery. Only Hashem see’s the full picture and the entire timeline of our souls.

G-d wants us to be cognisant of this process. Sometimes the events of our lives are painful, very often they are perplexing. We are sent to this world to develop spiritually through the Torah and mitzvot and our trust in G-d.

This entails living with the deep knowledge that nothing is random and everything makes perfect sense in G-d’s masterplan. This will only be revealed to us when we leave this finite world and enter the eternal world of souls.