I'm so excited to move forward in our Bitachon journey, B'ezrat Hashem clarifying these Torah sources that we're going to be exploring, and with Hashem's help transforming our Bitachon. The first Torah source we visited was the Chovos Halevavos, right at the beginning of the Shaar Habitachon, where he says that the essence of Bitachon is inner peace and tranquility of the soul. And the reason for that is because one relies on Hashem to such an extent that we know Hashem will always do what's best for us. And again, to highlight, that is a high level to achieve, with full sincerity. But we're not meant to get there, not in one day and perhaps not ever, but just to take small steps of growth in our Bitachon journey.   We're now going to move to the second Torah source that we're going to be visiting. This is Rabbeinu Yonah in Mishlei, Perek Gimel, Pasuk Chaf Vav. Rabbeinu Yonah writes, “I'm going to tell you what Bitachon is. Bitachon is the absolute clear belief, without any shadow of a doubt, in Hashem's salvation, and relying on Him with absolute sincerity, without any shadow of a doubt.”   So let's break this down a little bit. The main point of this Bitachon journey is that it translates into practical application in our lives. Of course, the starting point is learning about it, to be able to thereafter apply it in our lives. But in this piece in Rabbeinu Yonah, we're learning where is the ultimate opportunity to apply Bitachon. And Rabbeinu Yonah is teaching us that when adversity strikes and things might seem scary, I don't know where the solution is going to come from. I'm stuck. That is the most tremendous opportunity that I now have to fulfill my life's mission. Of course, as human beings, we are not meant to go look for adversity and difficulties. But when they do strike, just to have this perspective, that this is now the most opportune time to practice the reason that I exist.   So Rabbeinu Yonah is teaching us what is Bitachon. Bitachon is belief with absolute conviction, without a shadow of a doubt, that when something is wrong, Hashem is going to make it right. But he says the words, Not just that knowledge, but true reliance on Hashem. I'm relying on Hashem to take care of the problem, to the point that I have no worry in the world anymore. We've previously discussed an example which can help us illustrate and digest this concept. Let's say I have a very wealthy uncle who has come over to me one day and he says, I want you to know my child, you are very dear to my heart. As you know, I am very, very wealthy and it is not a big deal for me to send you a few million dollars. So please, any time in your life that you need help, come over to me. I will most gladly help you.   Now, once in my life, I run short of money and I go over to my good-hearted wealthy uncle and I ask him to help me and he helps me gladly. And he tells me, please, if it happens again, come over right away and I will help you gladly. And after a while, it happens again that I'm short of money. And again, I go over to my uncle, who I am relying on to help me, and he helps me once again. And this repeatedly happens time and time again. When I've been to my uncle 10 different times and each time he has helped me and encouraged me that he wants to continue to help me and to please come back to him any and every time.   When it comes to the next time, I certainly will feel confident and comfortable to the point that if somebody asks me, you're in trouble financially, what are you going to do? I will say, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to my uncle tomorrow and he's going to help me. And I will not feel any sense of anxiety. Rabbeinu Yonah is teaching us that bitachon means reliance on Hashem to the point that if I have a problem in my life, I am throwing the problem on Hashem to the point that I'm not going to need to feel anxiety. B'ezrat Hashem, with the help of Hashem, let us move forward now and explore these most fascinating and incredible Torah sources together. And b'ezrat Hashem, transform our bitachon.

Let's move forward on our Bitachon journey. Remember this is the treasure of the world, the point of our lives. What a tremendous privilege just to be appreciative to Hashem that we're on this journey together. Thank you Hashem for the incredible opportunity we have to be learning about Bitachon. We're exploring now a bit of an introduction to Bitachon. What exactly is Bitachon? And as we discussed previously, the first Torah source that we visited was the Chovos Halevavos.   And again I cannot highlight enough how important it is to get your own copy of Chovos Halevavos. In today's times, it is so easy for anyone at any and every level to be able to learn so much of Torah literature that was not available previously. There is a fantastic artscroll copy of Chovos Halevavos which really walks a person through all the details with commentary and I highly recommend you get your hands on and slowly work through the fantastic Shaar Habitachon which is really one of the most classic foundational works that we have in Torah literature about Bitachon.   We discussed the Chovos Halevavos who teaches us that the essence of Bitachon is the is the tranquility of the soul, is the inner peace that we achieve when we rely on Hashem. So what we are learning here is that one of the things that Bitachon leads to is inner peace And the true litmus test eventually when we want to know how much Bittachin we truly have is how much inner peace do we have when adversity strikes, when something goes horribly wrong with my business or perhaps illness strikes or a serious family issue and the many other trials that we have in our lives. How do we respond to that situation?   Now again I cannot emphasize enough, it is not about getting there because it could be that we've been working on Bitachon for so long and something happens and we feel tremendous panic and anxiety. That's okay because if we are on the Bitachon journey that is all Hashem expects of us. We are limited by our human limitations and maybe we have a very high level of anxiety to start and maybe we're just dropping that anxiety a little bit by working on our Bitachon. That is all Hashem expects of us.   So what we've learned so far is that what Bitachon really leads to is inner peace regardless of the circumstances around me because I'm relying on Hashem that He's taking care of me and He'll always do the best for me and He is not limited by any human limitations and therefore I'm able to live with absolute inner peace, calm, serenity and happiness. The Chovos Halevavos writes that the reason that a person feels this inner peace is because the person is relying on someone else and that takes the anxiety away.   We are learning here that the real translation of the word Bitachon is reliance. It's not just the knowledge that Hashem can do anything and it's not even just the knowledge that Hashem always wants to do good for me and does good for me. It's not just that knowledge but it's the actual reliance that Hashem is there for me and has my back. Of course as we move forward in this journey and explore all the Torah sources we will see how to practically apply that reliance but just as a start we're seeing now what does Bitachon mean. Bitachon means to rely on Hashem.   Let's use a little analogy just to illustrate to ourselves what exactly it means to rely on something. Let's say I have a rare illness and there is a doctor overseas that is the only doctor in the world that can help me. Now I've researched this extensively and I know as a matter of fact that this is the only doctor in the world that can help me and I know that he certainly can help me. That stage can be translated more as the emunah, the belief that this doctor can help me whereas the reliance on the doctor would be to get up and go and visit him and take all the necessary efforts to make it work that I can be seen by him and he can help me out.   And similarly when it comes to Hashem, simply speaking emunah would translate more as the knowledge and belief that Hashem can do anything for me and has my back whereas Bitachon would be the reliance on Hashem, the taking the leap and throwing my problem on Hashem's back rather than carrying it myself. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward discussing these Torah sources and gaining more clarity in our Bitachon journey.

The Chovos Halevavos is one of the classics that we have on Bitachon, and I highly recommend that if you have not yet done so, you should get a copy to slowly work through, and B’ezrat Hashem, over time, master more and more. And if you've already been through it, to go through it again and again and again, because many of the greats have taught that one of the most foundational works that we have when it comes to the topic of Bitachon is the Shaar Habitachon of the Chovos Halevavos.   In this series, we're going to be quoting particular Torah sources that clarify a better picture for ourselves of what Bitachon is and the many questions that arise, but at the same time, there's no question that when you take a sefer like Chovos Halevavos and delve into it yourself, you will gain tremendously in your Bitachon journey. So what exactly is Bitachon? We learned the Chovos Halevavos right at the beginning of the Shaar Habitachon in Perek Aleph, where he writes, “The essence of Bitachon is the tranquility of the soul” and as the Chovos Halevavos explains, this is because when you rely on someone else, that they will do absolutely what is best for you, without exception, you feel tremendously tranquil, because you know you are in great hands.   And as we explained, when it comes to human beings, although another human being can certainly remove anxiety from us, because we do have many abilities, and when we know someone else will use their maximum ability to do the best possible for us, that can remove tremendous anxiety. However, that is certainly limited, because we are limited by our human capacity and even though we might be the most well-meaning person in the world, the situation someone might be relying on us for might be beyond our capacity, whereas when it comes to Hashem, Hashem is unlimited and we can rely on Him for anything. And therefore, as we build our Bittachin, the more we rely on Hashem, the more tranquility of soul, inner peace we will have. Because the more we digest that Hashem only wants the true best for us, but not only that, He can actually do it, beyond any statistic or natural limitation. And the more we build that belief, the more we will internalize the realization that we can live lives with complete calm throughout any and every situation.   So let's say that I'm in need of a certain amount of money, and I've requested from somebody else to help me out with this charity, and they've promised me that they will help me out, and I know as a matter of fact that they want to help me and they have my best interest in mind. There's no question that I'm going to feel much less anxious from this situation, because I'm relying on somebody to help me, I know He can help me, and He wants to help me. Whereas someone who has an illness, and there is no doctor in the world that can provide any treatment for this situation, under these circumstances there's nobody to rely on except for Hashem.   Our job in this world is to make our maximum effort to rely on Hashem exclusively, under all circumstances. Of course it's easier to rely on Hashem when nobody else can help us, but our job is not only to choose to rely on Hashem then, but throughout any and every situation, even when it seems like people can help us, to try to digest more and more that it is not people who help us, it is exclusively Hashem. People are the messengers of Hashem that He has placed in those circumstances to be there to help us out, but in truth it is Hashem exclusively who is helping us.   As we read in the well-known 13 principles of faith of the Rambam, “Hashem alone, Hashem exclusively, takes care of everything in this world with absolute divine providence”. Before delving into anything about Bitachon, the starting point is to digest that Hashem has absolute hashgacha pratis in this world - Hashem is personally looking after every single one of us down to the finest detail, personally managing and orchestrating every single one of our lives. B’ezrat Hashem, together let us take another step forward in our journey of Bitachon.

It is with great simcha and appreciation that today we begin the Torah sources of this tremendous journey of Bitachon. Today we begin to explore part one of the many sections we're going to be exploring as we've outlined in the previous sessions. So part one, what is Bitachon? Now of course this question really encompasses anything and everything we're ever going to learn about Bitachon because ultimately everything we learn about Bitachon will give us more clarity about what Bitachon truly is.   But this is an introduction to Bitachon to get a bit more clarity about what it means to rely on Hashem. What does Bitachon itself mean? How do we even translate the word Bittachon? So with Hashem's help let's begin our journey in Bitachon. The first source that we're going to explore is the Chovos Halevavos in the Shaar Habitachon, right at the beginning in Perek Aleph where he writes that “The essence of Bitachon is the tranquility of the soul of the person trusting and relying, and that the person's heart should be relying on the one he is trusting in.”   The Chovos Halevavos is teaching us here that the true essence of somebody who has Bitachon is tranquility. That means to say that anything and everything could be happening around me. On a global level or on a personal level there could be a major world war and chaos everywhere with things completely unpredictable and a person with Bitachon will have absolute inner peace and tranquility. And the reason for that is because one with Bitachon is relying on someone else to take care of them. Of course we are referring to Bitachon in Hashem but the Chovoss HaLevavos illustrates this by teaching us what happens when one relies on someone else.   I'd like to share a story that I once came across that helps illustrate this concept from the fantastic sefer Living Emunah from Rav David Ashear. He tells that there was a little girl on an airplane ride and suddenly there was tremendous unusual turbulence on the flight. Many of the passengers were quite scared as to what was going on whereas this girl was completely calm. One of the flight attendants noticed this and came over to the girl and said, “Little girl. The adults on this plane are feeling quite terrified at the moment and you seem to be completely calm as if nothing is going on. Why is that?” And the girl responded, “well my father is the pilot so why should I be anxious about anything? I know that my father will absolutely always do what is best for me.”   And as the Chovos Halevavos goes on to say in this paragraph that a person who has Bitachon in someone else has inner peace because you're relying on that other person and you know that they will always do what is best for you. Now the reason the Chovos HaLevavos teaches us about having Bitachon, reliance on other people is because ultimately that teaches us how to have true Bitachon in Hashem. This little girl understood that her father would only always do what is best for her and therefore even when things seemed like they were not going according to plan and potentially could cause anxiety, she felt calm.   Now the example is not 100% accurate because when it comes to other people we are limited in our abilities as well-meaning as we might be, we might not be able to help another individual under certain circumstances because of our human limitations, whereas when it comes to Hashem, the basics of Emunah teach us that Hashem is completely beyond any limitation and can without a doubt save us from the most unpromising situation that we might encounter.   So again what we're learning in this first passage from the Chovos Halevavos is that the essence of Bitachon is tranquility. Of course we cannot expect to get there in a day where we can have bombs exploding around us and we can remain completely tranquil, but again as we spoke about in the introduction, the point of Bitachon is not necessarily to get there - it is to aim to get there and to take small steps to go as far as we can. B'ezrat Hashem, let's continue further in our journey of Bitachon.

This is tremendously exciting that we're moving today to wrap up the contents we've been discussing of what we're going to be exploring in the Torah sources. Again, there are many, many, many Torah sources throughout Torah literature about Emunah and Bitachon, and one can almost get lost in the Torah literature without clear direction of what to do. I thank Hashem for the inspiration that He provided for me in my own Bitachon journey to try to clarify in a very orderly way of the different questions that can arise in Bitachon and try to compartmentalize the different questions in an organized way and under each section explore the Torah sources to do with that section so that, B’ezrat Hashem, at the end we can come out with more clarity and feel more confident to move forward in our Bitachon journey.   Up until now, throughout the series, we've been outlining the different sections we're going to be discussing, 15 sections in total. Today we're going to summarize the 15 sections and B’ezrat Hashem, thereafter, we're going to move forward with the Torah sources themselves. So in part one we'll discuss, B’ezrat Hashem, what exactly is Bitachon, a bit of an introduction to Bitachon.   In part two we'll discuss what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon. Is it a Torah mitzvah, a rabbinic mitzvah, what exactly is the source? And now we move to part three, how important exactly is Bitachon? So important to digest the Torah sources we'll learn in this section, to see that this is ultimately the point of our life, Bitachon is the point of our lives. Part four, does Bitachon always work? There's a type of Bittachon that one can be so confident in Hashem that He will come through for me in the way that I desire.   And then we move to part five, if that is the case, why must Hashem come through for me? Are there not many factors to Hashem's calculations? Maybe I don't deserve it, maybe it's not good for me, am I the master of my own destiny? And if that is the case, is that not a dangerous thing to do? Is it not safer to just put it in Hashem's hands and not have a desire of my own? We then move to part six, what is the prerequisite for Bitachon to be effective? And as discussed, there is a form of Bitachon where you can be so confident in Hashem coming through for you that He will come through for you in exactly the way that you desire. But you have to be 100% sincere on your reliance on Hashem exclusively.   Part seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Part eight, why were there tzaddikim that were not always saved by Bitachon? Part nine, what is the position of the Chazon Ish about Bittachon? And although that seems like almost a random, not so interesting type of question, we will learn in that section why this is such a fundamental opinion in the way we're going to make a conclusion as to the final halacha, how we are to apply Bitachon.   Part 10, can Bitachon be applied even to mundane endeavors? Is Bitachon only something that I should aim to apply to my spiritual journey, or is it something I should bring into my day-to-day mundane endeavors, and even things that I might get involved in which are not so holy? Part 11, what is my obligation of hishtadlus? At first glance, it can very easily appear that hishtadlus and Bitachon do not work together and contradict one another. But again, of course, we've got to make sense of this great mitzvah that Hashem has given us, where on the one hand, we have an absolute obligation to believe Hashem exclusively runs everything in our lives, and on the other hand, we have to make our own efforts.   Part 12, how do I acquire Bitachon? It's not just the theoretical subject that we're learning. How do I make it practical in my life that I can truly live by the values of Bitachon? Part 13, what exactly is the relationship between tefillah and Bitachon? Part 14, what is the true reward for having Bitachon? As we'll see in the Torah sources, any small effort that we make towards growth in our Bitachon is way greater than any reward we might imagine to receive for ourselves in this world. And part 15, where in Chazal are examples of Bitachon?   “Hashem, please give us tremendous success in the next phase of what we're going to be doing, moving forward to the actual Torah sources in each of these sections, and b’ezrat Hashem each one of us, gaining more clarity in our Bitachon journeys.”

I'm so excited, we're about to wrap up the outline of the sections we're going to be discussing, outlining the Torah sources of the most important topic in our lives, bitachon. We're going to begin today's session with part 14 that we're going to be outlining. And in many ways, this is perhaps the most important section that needs to be highlighted. What is the true reward for having bitachon? Now why this is such an important question to discuss is because as we've alluded to, there are many different forms of bitachon. And one of the types of bitachon that we're going to discover together is that one can rely on Hashem to such an extent that Hashem will come through for you for exactly what you desire in the way that you desire. And if you do it in the right way, that you're 100% reliant on Hashem with full sincerity, He will for sure give it to you in the way that you desire.   But something which is much more important than that is that the true reward for having bitachon is much greater than anything you can achieve or receive in this world. So let me give you an example to illustrate this concept. Let's say I want to have bitachon in Hashem to give me 10 million dollars. Now if I do it correctly, which again is not an easy task because bitachon is the point of our lives, and if it was just as easy as going to a vending machine and putting in a coin, then that would defeat the whole purpose because this is the point of our lives. But let's say I reached such a high level that I have absolute sincere bitachon in Hashem to receive 10 million dollars. Now I might think that the true prize is receiving 10 million dollars, but in truth, much, much, much greater than receiving those 10 million dollars is the reward that I will receive both in this world and especially in the next world for just trying to take a step forward in my bitachon journey.   And the reason it's so important to highlight this is because regardless of what we actually achieve in our bitachon journey, if we are trying to take a step forward, we are achieving way, way greater than receiving 10 million dollars. And of course, we'll discuss it more extensively when we get to B’ezrat Hashem, but for our purposes right now, it's important to internalize that any small step that we take forward in our bitachon journey is achieving for us way greater than anything beyond our imagination. And why it's so important to remember this is because although to reach the highest levels of bitachon, let's say backtracking to our example before, I have bitachon in Hashem that I want those 10 million dollars, something which seems so far-fetched and I work very, very hard on my reliance and everything that entails as we'll discuss B’ezrat Hashem.   And let's say after everything's said and done, I don't get the 10 million dollars. Not, God forbid, because bitachon doesn't work. As we'll learn, bitachon works, period. But the reason it might not work was maybe I was not fully sincere. Maybe I was only 99% sincere in my bitachon endeavor. And as we'll learn, in order for it to be an absolute logarithm that Hashem will for sure come through for you, it has to be 100% reliance on Hashem. Now one might feel, but how am I going to get to 100%? What if I'm only 99%? Now again, this is why this is so, so, so vital to remember that the true reward for bitachon is way greater than receiving whatever you might be trying to receive. Because as we know, this world is temporary. Eventually, we're all going to move to a much greater world for eternity. And eternity is forever.   So as the Sfarim teach, whatever reward we can imagine for ourselves in this world is not even comparable to one moment of the true pleasure we'll receive in the next world. And the efforts that we make in our bitachon journey are one of the greatest things we can do towards achieving for ourselves the greatest places in eternity. And therefore, let us constantly remind ourselves that one of the greatest possible things that we can do is just to make an effort to grow in our emunah, in our bitachon, regardless of what we actually achieve.   Even if we feel like we've been working on bitachon for so long, and we've barely grown in the endeavor, if we've been making an effort to do so, it's as if we've done everything. B’ezrat Hashem, in the next session, we're going to wrap up the introduction of the contents of bitachon. And thereafter, we move forward to the Torah sources themselves, and with Hashem's help, move to more clarity in our bitachon journey.

We are right at the end of our journey of outlining the sections, b’ezrat Hashem, to give us more clarity of where we are heading in this bitachon journey. B’ezrat Hashem, in part 12 we will discuss the question of how do I acquire bitochen. And as mentioned previously, this is so important because as many Torah sources teach, ultimately the purpose of the Torah is to apply it in a practical way. And when it comes to practical mitzvos, it's much easier to relate to - that I can learn the details of a particular mitzvah and thereafter I can actually take those details and apply them in a practical way.   And when it comes to bitachon, yes the daily inspiration is certainly something beneficial to constantly be mindful, to live by the values of bitachon. But much more than that is how do I make it practical? How do I actually take bitachon and live by the values of bitachon? We'll learn and explore that true bitachon removes fear, leads to serenity, calm, happiness and so, so much more. Not to mention the true reward which awaits for us in the next world – in Olam Haba.   But how do I get there? Again, I hope that all of us will realize that bitachon is ultimately the point of everything and we'll be inspired to make it the focal point of our lives because it is our lives. It's about bitachon. It's about removing the false opinions and assumptions of the world around us which teach that you are your own boss; You are the master of your destiny, and try to remove Hashem from the picture. And a life of bitachon brings Hashem into the picture and teaches us that Hashem exclusively runs every single detail of our lives and therefore, of course, our only address should be Him. And yes, we've got many details to discuss such as why then should I do Hishtadlus at all? And of course, we know and we'll learn that we do have to do Hishtadlus. But how do I reconcile that with bitachon? And much more that we'll discuss in those sections.   In part 13, Bezrat Hashem will discuss the question, how do we reconcile tefillah and bitachon? Now, something which is just some food for thought for the meantime. If we really and truly trust Hashem, why do we daven for things to be any different than the way He makes it? Even if something is a challenging situation, we know ultimately that Hashem does everything for our best. And similarly, you could ask, why would I rely on Hashem for something to be different than the way He's made it to be? There is much more to discuss about this, but just a little bit of food for thought for right now: When it comes to tefillah, we've been trained over the years that we're not only allowed to pray and daven for our own needs and wants, but it's commendable in a mitzvah to do so.   But because bitachon is not as well taught of a subject, for numerous reasons, when it comes to relying on Hashem for things to be a certain way that we would like it to be, it's more difficult for us to digest that that should be Hashem's will. But again, when we reconcile that with what we know about tefillah, that Hashem desires that we daven for the things that we would like.   When our many great ancestors listed in the Torah, let's just take one example for now, Rachel Imenu was not able to have children. She very easily could have just accepted the situation and said, “Hashem only does what is best for me. I'm not going to pray for anything. He didn't want to give me children, I'm not going to pray for children.” But that wasn't her approach. Her approach rather was, “I am going to pray for the outcome to come about in the way that I desire.” And similarly, we've got to discuss how this applies to bitachon, to relying on Hashem for our own needs in the way that we desire. B’ezrat Hashem, let's discuss this further and let's move forward together in our journey of bitachon.

We're coming to the end of outlining all the sections, and very soon we're going to be moving to the Torah sources themselves, which is tremendously exciting, again, to appreciate how privileged each one of us are to be on this journey of transforming our bitachon, really the keys to the highest treasures in the world.   We outlined previously what we're going to be exploring in part 12 of the Torah sources, where the question is, how do I acquire bitachon? We've mentioned many times that Torah is replete with countless Torah sources about Emunah and bitachon, and it is very clear from many, many, many Torah sources that the entire purpose of our lives, of the whole Torah, of all the mitzvos, of everything we exist for, is ultimately for the sake of bitachon. And there is much to learn about bitachon, but how do I get it? And B’ezrat Hashem, in part 12, as well as the other sections, will explore this further.   But suffice it to say, for now, something to realize is that if bitachon is the point of my life, then certainly I should make it my life's mission to invest much time and energy into this tremendous holy endeavor. It's not just a nice added benefit to my life that will enhance my life, it is my life. And if we internalize that, we will begin to add more and more time, energy, and effort into our bitachon quest.   It's an amazing privilege, all of us, to be on this journey together, transforming our bitachon, but it is certainly only the beginning, because as we take these concepts, each one of us, into our own personal life, we will find that we're able to apply it in our own personal relationship to Hashem. And the more we internalize how important bitachon is in our life, the more effort, energy, and time we'll invest into it. But in terms of the technical side of the Torah sources, in part 12, we will, B’ezrat Hashem, discuss the question of how do I acquire bitachon.   The next question, part 13, how important is tefillah and personal prayer? There are many important terms that we throw around loosely. Emunah, bitachon, tefillah, personal prayer. How do I practically bring them all together? Throughout our Emunah series, we quoted many times fascinating sources, such as the Mesillas Yesharim in chapter 15, where he writes that more precious to Hashem than anything else is when we seclude ourselves with Hashem and talk to Him in our own words. Hashem desires our personal relationship with Him. And we discussed also many times the well-known words of the Sefer Chareidim and the Shelah Hakadosh, that the effect of secluding ourselves and personal prayer with Hashem has seven times more of a potent effect than even that of Torah learning on our neshama.   And for anybody who is even slightly familiar with Torah literature, this is a fascinatingly powerful statement, because the Torah is replete with the importance about Torah study. Torah study is one of the most powerful things anybody can do in this world. Nevertheless, we are learning here that on some level, talking to Hashem in our own words can even be more powerful than that. Now again, if you'd like to listen to our previous recordings about emunah and personal prayer, you're invited to visit our website at transformyouremunah.com.   But for our purposes right now, as we proceed on this incredible bitachon journey, how do we reconcile personal prayer with bitachon? If I have so much bitachon and reliance on Hashem, do I even need to pray to Him? Why should I daven about anything? Can't I just perhaps rely on Hashem to such an extent that I don't even need to pray? Because if I am so confident that Hashem will help me out, why should I even pray for something to be different? And if I can reach the ultimate form of bitachon, where my will is the same as Hashem's will, and I don't necessarily have a will of my own, why does prayer exist at all? Because ultimately, prayer is saying to Hashem, “Hashem, I would like this to be this way. Please make it happen this way for me.” And there's a lot more to discuss. B’ezrat Hashem, as we move further in our bitachon journey, will discuss this further, and with Hashem's help, bring more clarity to our bitachon.

I'm going to, again, very quickly recap from where we left off. Can bitachon be applied even to mundane endeavors? I want to learn more Torah. I want to give more tzedakah. I want to dress in a more tznius way, or the many mitzvos that we might strive to achieve. We'll discuss further B’ezrat Hashem in this section, how we can rely on Hashem for all those incredibly and holy spiritual achievements that we're making an effort to grow in. But how about, I'd really like a holiday house. I want a new car. Or take it one step further, I've done something wrong and I really don't want anyone to catch me and cause me an embarrassing situation. Is this something I can and should rely on Hashem for? B’ezrat Hashem we’ll discuss this further as we come to this section.   Part 11, what is my obligation of Hishtadlus? And as we discussed, there is so much to explore in this section. Hishtadlus is not a license to ignore bitachon, God forbid. Hishtadlus is a mitzvah like any other, and a great mitzvah that is, to accomplish and achieve. But just like the other mitzvos, if done, God forbid, in the wrong manner, there can be devastating consequences to its results. And especially when it comes to Hishtadlus, which so easily can be confused if done in the wrong manner. We've got to learn how to reconcile it with the basics of Emunah that Hashem exclusively can and does make everything happen in the world. He doesn't need me to make it happen, it certainly can happen without my doing. Why then do I have to make an effort? How much of an effort do I have to make? What should be my perspective when making an effort? And much much more, B’ezrat Hashem will discuss in this section.   Part 12, really making it practical, how do I acquire bitachon? It's inspiring to learn how bitachon is ultimately the purpose of all of our lives, all of Torah, all of mitzvos and everything, as we'll see as we explore further. But how do I get it? How do I achieve bitachon? I want it, I'm inspired to get it. Of course we should understand that it's not going to be something as easy as just being inspired for a moment and now having bitachon for the rest of my life. Because if this is the purpose of my life and the whole Torah and all the mitzvahs, obviously it's something that should take work and effort to achieve. More work and effort than any other endeavor in our lives, but if this is the purpose of our lives it certainly should be worth it.   We now move to part 13, how important is tefillah? We know that one of the main foundations that Judaism is built on is davening to Hashem. Be it the prescribed prayers, Shacharis, Mincha and Maariv, or our personal prayers to Hashem, just the opportunity to talk to HaShem in our own words, we elaborated it on at great length in our daily series, Transform Your Emunah, which again can be found on our website transformyouremunah.com, how throughout the generations has been placed on tefillah to HaShem. So what exactly is the connection between davening to HaShem and having bitachon in HaShem? Are bitachon and tefillah the same thing? And if not, what exactly are the differences? B’ezrat HaShem, let's explore this further together as we move forward on our bitachon journey.

Guys, here's a quick recap of what we've discussed so far outlining the sections we're going to be discussing exploring the most incredible Torah sources about Bitachon. Part one, what is Bitachon? Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important is Bitachon? So important to understand and digest that Bitachon is the point of the whole Torah, of all the mitzvos, as we'll see in that section. Part four, does Bitachon always work? Part five, why must Hashem come through for me? Part six, what is the prerequisite for Bitachon to be effective? Part seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Part eight, why would Tzaddikim not always saved by their Bitachon? Part nine, what is the position of the Chazon Ish about Bitachon? Part ten, can Bitachon be applied to mundane endeavors?   Although we might have understood that Bitachon's main purpose should be for our spiritual endeavors and spiritual accomplishments, and that understanding is certainly correct because our main purpose in this world is to strive to succeed spiritually much more than just focus on our physical enjoyment. But at the same time, we all live in a world where we are exposed to physical enjoyment and desires on a constant moment-to-moment basis. And therefore, those desires and needs and wants that we have, how do we go about them? Are we allowed to rely on Hashem for those needs and wants that are physical and mundane? Or is that something Hashem would not want?   Part 11, what is my obligation of Hishtadlus? One of the main hurdles that chases people away from living a life of true Bittachon is the excuse of, but I have a mitzvah of Hishtadlus. Hishtadlus is a big topic which we need to learn about. It is a mitzvah like any other mitzvah and a great mitzvah. But if it's misunderstood, God forbid it can be very close to the great sin of idol worship. Hishtadlus is not a green card to avoid the whole mitzvah of Emunah and Bitachon. Sometimes, unfortunately, when people hear about the concepts of Emunah and Bitachon and relying on Hashem, they say, “well, I need to put food on the table”, or “well, I need to make sure that I look after my health” and the like.   Now, those statements are certainly true. We have a mitzvah of Hishtadlus and we'll explore that. But God forbid, Hishtadlus should never become something that is just an excuse to avoiding living a life of true reliance on Hashem. The Torah perspective is unanimous that Hashem exclusively runs the world. And yes, we might have a mitzvah of Hishtadlus and we'll discuss, B'ezrat Hashem, the levels of Hishtadlus that may apply to us, how far we are to take that. And there's a lot to discuss in this and we'll get there, B'ezrat Hashem.   But suffice it to say for now, our approach should head towards having the question as follows. I have a mitzvah of Bitachon. I need to rely on Hashem exclusively. How then am I supposed to reconcile and relate to the mitzvah of Hishtadlus when I have this absolute mitzvah which underscores the entire Torah and mitzvahs to rely on Hashem exclusively? There is, of course, much more to this which we'll get to, B'ezrat Hashem. But just briefly, that is the way that we should look at things rather than phrasing the question in an opposite way as in, I have a mitzvah of Hishtadlus. I've got to do my part in the world. Therefore, how can it be that I'm supposed to rely on Hashem?   The main point of our lives is to rely on Hashem as illustrated in countless Torah sources literally throughout all of Torah literature. The point of our lives, as we'll learn, is Bitachon. So nobody's saying we therefore just avoid the mitzvah of Hishtadlus. But we certainly have to gain an understanding of how do we reconcile this mitzvah of Hishtadlus which seemingly contradicts the whole mindset of Bitachon.   Part 12, perhaps one of the most important questions: How do I acquire Bittachon? It's incredible to learn all these amazing statements, again, not even having yet explored one Torah source inside itself, but rather first just outlining the concepts. But it should be clear to everyone already that Bitachon is the purpose of the entire Torah, of all the mitzvos, and the most important endeavor that we could really aim at in our lives. But how do I get it? So B'ezrat Hashem, in part 12, we'll begin the discussion about how do I acquire Bitachon.

We discussed previously, in part 10, can Bitachon be applied to mundane endeavors? Again, of course, ultimately to remember that the whole purpose of life is for our spiritual accomplishment. Yes, the neshama and body do live together in this world, but ultimately it is all for the sake of serving Hashem. And therefore, obviously, Bitachon itself is not just meant to be a vending machine, to ask Hashem and rely on Hashem to give me a new car every day or whatever else I might want.   And again, as discussed previously, this is probably one of the reasons why this form of Bitachon, where one relies on Hashem to such a confident degree, that Hashem will give me exactly what I desire, one of the reasons this is probably not so commonly taught is because if one is not guided to learn this in the correct way, it could almost just become a magic trick that all I want is me and my desires, and I don't even care, God forbid, about Hashem anymore. And that's what the whole point of Bitachon can become about, whereas we ultimately know that the whole point of our lives is to serve Hashem, yes, eventually to reap tremendous rewards in the next world, in olam haba, but at the same time, we do live in a physical world, and most of us do have very physical desires, and sometimes a person can leave Hashem out the picture and almost feel, how do we relate to our physical desires?   Should I rely on Hashem for them, or should I just feel like Hashem doesn't really want me to do those things anyway? What if the physical desire I have is something that is not such a Torah value? Or even worse, what if it's an outright sin? What should I do then? Do I just leave Hashem out the picture? These are very important questions that we will delve into Bezrat Hashem as we get to this section in part 10.   We then referred to previously in part 11, what is my obligation of Hishtadlus? Now if you're interested and you haven't yet come across it, you're welcome to visit our website transformyouremunah.com, and under the courses section, one of the courses is titled Hishtadlus, and there briefly we go through the basic obligation of how to reconcile the fact that we have an obligation of Hishtadlus with the fact that Hashem exclusively runs the world.   It is so vital to have a good perspective and understanding of our mitzvah because if we are led to believe, God forbid, that we are the drivers of our engine in our lives, that is very close to the great sin of idol worship where we're relying on something else or someone else or ourselves. We have to be absolutely clear that Hashem exclusively runs every single detail in the world and at the same time He commands us to give charity, to learn Torah, to shake a lulav, to light Shabbos candles, and to fulfill the mitzvah of Hishtadlus, to make our own effort in our endeavors.   Why that is so? Again, if you're eager to get a brief overview, you're welcome to visit our previously cited course, but of course, when we get to the section in part 11, we'll discuss it much more at length in exactly how we're supposed to reconcile Hishtadlus. In the next session, Bezrat Hashem, we're going to move to part 12 - How do I acquire Bitachon?

We left off in the previous session outlining part 10 of the contents of what we're going to be discussing. And the question was, can Bitachon be applied to mundane endeavors? There's no doubt about it that ultimately our main purpose in this world is to strive to succeed spiritually. And of course, the spiritual and physical overlap all the time because we live in a physical world. But ultimately, it boils down to what is our motive? Are we living just for the physical gratification of the enjoyment of this world, or are we using the physical things in this world to serve Hashem, which is ultimately what the neshama's calling is for, as opposed to what the body desires. So there's no question that when it comes to bitachon itself, as we'll see from Torah sources, that the ultimate is certainly to use bitachon for our spiritual attainments.   You see, we've alluded to a type of bitachon which is not so popularly taught. And we've discussed previously some of the reasons why that is so. And of course, we've only just began to touch the tip of the iceberg about this whole topic. But another reason sometimes this form of bitachon is shied away from is because what might happen, God forbid, is a person can become so self-indulged about one's own needs and wants that one can almost forget about Hashem. So I can learn about bitachon, and I can learn that bitachon can help me get what I want, and I can now understand that I have this amazing magic potion that can get me what I want, and almost forget about Hashem in the picture. There is absolutely no question that the ultimate purpose of all of Torah and mitzvos, which includes the whole purpose of bitachon, is for our spiritual achievements. At the same time, we've all got to be real with ourselves, that most of us are not living 100% of the time at that level where we only have spiritual wants and needs.   Although many of us are trying our best to climb the spiritual ladder, at the same time we have many physical needs and wants. So now what do we do? Do we just leave Hashem out of the picture of those physical needs, or do we just live like a two-faced life, that on the one hand we have the life with Hashem, which refers to spiritual things, and then we have the other side, which is my own physical desires, which I kind of leave Hashem out of that picture, because I'm almost embarrassed to include Him in that.   I cannot overemphasize how important it is to gain clarity on this topic, because this literally makes a difference to us on a moment-to-moment basis of our lives, because so many of our decisions and needs and wants all have to do with the mundane world. So do I have a license to reach out to Hashem about those things? Is it commendable? Is it a mitzvah? What do the Torah sources teach when it comes to relying on Hashem about mundane endeavors?   We're now going to move to the next question, part 11. What is my obligation of Hishtadlus? The word Hishtadlus is a famous word and phrase that many of us are familiar with. Simply speaking, Hishtadlus means my making an effort in the picture. If Hashem does everything, and I can rely on Him, and I should rely on Him, and as we've learned that if I want to have the ultimate bitachon, I should rely on Hashem 100%, what space does that leave for any form of Hishtadlus? Now again, there are many Torah sources about this, and B’ezrat Hashem will get to them in part 11. But just for now, some food for thought.   It could happen that you see two people performing and acting the exact same way, and they're literally on two opposite sides of the spectrum, where the one is fulfilling Hashem's will to the ultimate degree, truly fulfilling his mitzvah and obligation of Hishtadlus under the true parameters of bitachon, and the other person could literally, God forbid, be under the umbrella of idol worship. It is so, so, so important to gain clarity of what does it mean that I have a mitzvah to do Hishtadlus? How do I reconcile this with bitachon? Let's discuss this further, B’ezrat Hashem, as we move forward together on our bitachon journey.

I would like us just to take a moment to appreciate what we're doing. This is literally the treasure of the world, worth billions and billions of dollars, what we're discussing. And b'ezrat Hashem, as we delve deeper and deeper into our Bitachon journey, I hope and pray that each one of us can truly transform our lives, not just to know the information as something interesting, but rather to truly take it with us and transform our lives, transform our Bitachon and live in a completely different world that we're now, b’ezrat Hashem, just beginning to explore and b’ezrat Hashem will come out with the keys to these treasures.   I'm going to recap what we've discussed so far, just outlining the headings of the sections that we're going to be discussing. And as mentioned previously, the reason I'm repeatedly going over these questions is firstly to truly internalize them, and not just that it should go in one ear and come out the other, but rather that we should truly remember these concepts and meditate on them. Because it's one thing to learn the information here, but it's another thing when we go through the day and we think about these concepts and we're able to extrapolate one thing from another, that's how true Bitachon will be built in our lives.   And another reason that I feel it's very important to keep going over these questions is because the Torah is replete with passages about Bitachon, but to have it in an organized way is not always so easy, because it's literally everywhere. And therefore when we discuss one question about Bitachon, often what happens is I think about numerous other factors. For example, if we learn that B'tochen can be so powerful that what I rely on Hashem for will come about. But as soon as we learn that, we might ask ourselves, but how come there were many great people who didn't apply this form of Bitachon? And then at the other corner of our mind we'll think, but what about the mitzvah of Hishtadlus? Have we not learned many times that we have a mitzvah to make an effort in the world?   But then we might think, but if I'm making Hihtadlus, and seemingly making my own efforts, how am I supposed to fulfill the requirement to exclusively rely on Hashem for Bitachon to work? And there's many of these factors that all intertwine, and therefore learning it in an orderly way is the objective we're trying to achieve.   Part 1, what is Bitachon? Part 2, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part 3, how important is Bitachon? Part 4, does Bitachon always work? Part 5, why must Hashem come through for me? Part 6, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? Part 7, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Part 8, why were tzaddikim not always saved by their Bitachon? Part 9, what is the position of the Chazon Ish about Bitachon? And in the previous session we left off with part 10, which B’ezrat Hashem now will explore a little bit further.   The question is, can Bitachon be applied to mundane endeavors? And of course it's easy to understand that our main purpose in this world is to strive towards what the neshama is attracted to, rather than what the body is attracted to. And therefore when we use our Bitachon to help us achieve our spiritual pursuits, it's easier to understand that that would be Hashem's will. So let's say for example I'd really like to learn more Torah, but I currently don't have much time at my disposal. This is something easier to relate to, that I might be able to take steps to rely on Hashem in terms of giving me the opportunity to learn more Torah.   But let's say something as mundane as, I would really like a new car. Is that something that's even appropriate to, so to speak, bother Hashem with? We don't realize just how important it is to get a clear understanding on what the correct approach to this is, because much of our lives are comprised of our mundane needs and wants. Let's explore this further together, B’ezrat Hashem, as we move forward on our Bitachon journey.

Guys, I'm so excited to continue our Bitachon journey. So as emphasized previously, one of our goals that we're trying to achieve is to learn this information about Bitachon because when we don't understand what Bitachon truly is and the abilities and opportunities that we are allowed to have, then obviously we can't truly tap into Bitachon. So certainly one of our goals is to try to get a better understanding of what Bitachon truly is.   But as emphasized previously, another major goal is not just to learn the information, but to truly digest the information. And with the incredibly fast-paced lives that we all live, it's quite difficult to stay mindful about these concepts all the time. So revision is truly of paramount importance. So as emphasized previously, just outlining the topics already gives us a good direction of where we're aiming at in terms of trying to understand Bitachon, and also helps us before we delve more deeply into the Torah sources themselves, just to think of the many questions that arise when we discuss the many concepts of Bitachon. So let's quickly summarize before we move on to the next section, what we've outlined so far.   Part 1, what is Bitachon? Part 2, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part 3, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part 4, does Bitachon always work? Is the correct understanding that Hashem can do anything, but not necessarily will He come through for me in the way that I desire? Or rather, can Bitachon be understood and practiced as what I would like to happen, then I will rely on Hashem for that, and that will for sure transpire? Part 5, if the latter is the case that I may rely on Hashem even for my own needs and desires, why must Hashem come through for me? Who says that's necessarily good for me, who says I deserve it, etc.   Part 6, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? And as we've already outlined numerous times, one of the most important factors when considering this dynamite kind of Bitachon, where one can rely on Hashem so confidently, that Hashem will come through for me in exactly the way that I desire, an absolute condition to this is that I rely on Hashem with absolute sincerity. Now again, it's important to highlight that one might feel, “okay it's very nice that we have this amazing dynamite opportunity of Bitachon available, but how many of us can get to such a level that we fully and sincerely rely on Hashem 100% without any backup plans whatsoever? Is that even possibly attainable? And therefore, what's the point of even learning about this or even trying to take a step forward? And as we'll discuss in the coming sections, which we'll get to soon, B’ezrat Hashem, we'll allude to the fact that the true reward for Bitachon is not actually receiving what we would like, but much, much, much greater than anything we could possibly receive in this world, is the reward that Hashem will give us, just for making an effort to take steps forward in our Bitachon journey.   We then outlined in Part 7, that we'll discuss the Torah sources, about can somebody who commits sins apply Bitachon? Part 8, if Bitachon is so powerful and so absolute that it always works if I am sincere about it, so although today I might not be able to be absolutely sincere in my Bitachon, but certainly many tzaddikim were able to. And we nevertheless find that many tzaddikim seem to have suffered tremendously throughout their lives. So why did they seemingly not tap into the tremendous power of Bitachon? Part 9, what is the position of the Chazon Ish about Bitachon? And again, although one might not initially understand the importance of delving into the particular opinion of the Chazon Ish about Bitachon, but as we've previously outlined, for numerous reasons, it is super important to gain a better understanding of specifically the Chazon Ish’s opinion about Bitachon, and B’ezrat Hashem will discuss more about that when we get to that section.   We now move to Part 10, the question we're going to explore is can Bitachon be applied to mundane endeavors? Briefly, it is easier for us to relate to the fact that when we rely on Hashem for spiritual endeavors, that He might be willing and happy to help us and come through for us. But if it's just for my own mundane needs and wants, can I rely on Hashem for that? Should I be relying on Hashem for that? Let's discuss this further, B’ezrat Hashem, as we move forward on our Bitachon journey together.

We continue in our Bittachon journey. So let's revise. We need to give a rundown of 15 sections of what we're going to be discussing before we actually begin exploring the Torah sources themselves in these 15 sections. Let's revise what we've stated so far.   Part one, what is Bitachon? Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon for sure always work without exception? Part five, why must Hashem come through for me in the way that I desire? Part six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite in order to be effective? As we've discussed, we're going to learn that if one applies this form of Bitachon, absolute 100% sincere reliance on Hashem, Hashem has created it as a rule of nature that He will for sure come through for us in the way that we desire. However, as we will learn, this prerequisite is vital as long as I am 100% sincere in my reliance on Hashem.   Part seven, can someone who commits sins apply Bitachon? Is Bitachon only an opportunity for the righteous, for people who are doing their best to fulfill Hashem's will and building their personal relationship with Him? Or is Bitachon for anybody, even someone who commits sins? Part eight, a most important question, why were there tzaddikim that were not always saved by their Bitachon? Certainly, tzaddikim were much more knowledgeable and righteous than any of us, and we find so many tzaddikim that suffered immensely, and if Bittachon is so powerful that one is able to tap into it and get saved from their troubles, not only is one able to, but as we will learn, it is commendable and it is a tremendous mitzvah to rely on Hashem for our own needs in the way that we desire, and that being the case, why were there many tzaddikim that seemingly did not rely on their Bitachon to be saved from their ordeals?   And part nine, we mentioned, what is the position of the Chazon Ish about Bitachon? Although this seems like an uninteresting question, this is one of the most important fundamentals about Bitachon, because as we will discuss, a very popular sefer in the Torah world is one of the sfarim of the Chazon Ish, and although many people are not so well versed in most of the Torah sources about Bitachon, however, this famous sefer from the Chazon Ish has a passage which seems to imply against what almost everyone teaches about Bittachon, and many who have not learned the topic extensively, by just coming across this passage in the Chazon Ish will draw a very mistaken conclusion that this type of Bitachon that we will discuss, absolute confident reliance on Hashem, is not an option, and is not a type of Bitachon that we are permitted to practice.   Now, we will learn and explore different passages in the Chazon Ish writings himself, where it will be made absolutely clear that the Chazon Ish is certainly on the same page as all the very many Torah sources, as would be expected from one of the greats of our generation. However, there is a very important and specific reason why the Chazon Ish chose to write this passage in the way that he did, as we will explain when we get to this section.   And as we will learn, there are different types of Bitachon. Through our whole series of daily inspiration about Emunah that we gave for about two years, and again, if one would like to refer back to any of that, one can find all of it on transformyouremunah.com, Emunah with an H. Through all of our Emunah discussions, it was not just about a theoretical concept of Emunah, it was made very clear that anybody who believes in Hashem will certainly turn that belief into practical application. In many ways, one of them that we discussed continuously and extensively was building a sincere personal relationship with Hashem and talking to Hashem.   And similarly, as we will learn, there is no question that there are many different levels to what it means to have Bitachon. The more conventional forms of Bitachon that are usually understood and taught will be the type of Bitachon that one can see as an extension of Emunah. Emunah being the concept of trying to build a relationship with Hashem, and Bitachon, the practical application of that, of speaking to Hashem, of following his mitzvos and the many other things that we discussed in our Emunah series.   And there is no question that that is certainly a form of Bitachon, as we will see in this passage of the Chazon Ish, as well as in other passages. However, the mistaken notion that people are often led to make, that this passage is a contradiction to the type of Bitachon that we've been exploring, we will investigate B’ezrat Hashem in the Torah sources in this section, and Bezrat Hashem moved forward to more clarity in our Bitachon.

Let's continue this most incredible journey about Bitachon. Okay, let's summarize. So far, we've said that we're going to break down this discussion about Bitachon to try to get things in an organized way into 15 different parts. Here are the questions that we've discussed so far. Part one, what is Bitachon? Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon always work? Part five, why must Hashem come through for me in the way that I desire? Part six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite in order to be effective? Part seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon?   Part eight, why were tzaddikim not always saved by their Bitachon? And as we spoke about, we've alluded to the fact that we're going to learn in many Torah sources that the opportunity to rely on Hashem is an absolute guarantee if one does it properly. If one is able to reach a level of absolute sincere reliance on Hashem, Hashem will for sure come through for them in the way that they desire. And that being the case, why is it that so many of our greats, both from previous generations and contemporary great scholars and tzaddikim, were not saved by their Bitachon? Surely they knew about the opportunity of Bitachon. Does that mean that Bitachon does not always work? Or is there some other reason why we find at times tzaddikim chose not to use the opportunity of Bitachon and the like? We will discuss this and more, b'ezrat Hashem, via the Torah sources in this section when we get there.                      We now move to part number nine. This seems like almost an uninteresting question, but this is probably one of the most foundational questions about the whole topic of Bitachon. The question is, what is the position of the Chazon Ish about Bittachon? Now again, this might seem uninteresting because why do I particularly need to know about the opinion of the Chazon Ish about Bitachon? And the reason this is included in its own section is because this is perhaps one of the reasons that many have not understood the mitzvah of Bitachon correctly.   The Chazon Ish is one of the greatest of the great contemporary tzaddikim and Torah scholars that we have. And as we will study, there is a passage in one of the sefarim of the Chazon Ish which would seem to indicate the opposite of what many Torah sources teach. And if that would be the case, then one might be led to a conclusion that for whatever reason, we don't follow these Torah opinions.   Now it's very important to learn these Torah passages that the Chazon Ish himself would have learned and also passages that the Chazon Ish himself wrote and compare them to one another to truly understand B’ezrat Hashem with absolute clarity what he meant in this famous passage that people usually come across. Again, it should be clear to you by now that we're going to explore a form of Bitachon where one is so confident that Hashem will come through for them - one is a hundred percent sincere in their reliance on Hashem and the guarantee that we will have is that Hashem will for sure come through in the way that I desire.   Again, I may have many questions. Why is that so? How is that so? Who says so? Etc. And B’ezrat Hashem, we will get to all those sections and discuss this and the relevant Torah sources. However, just by way of introduction, in this section, we will discuss a famous passage written by the Chazon Ish where it seems to indicate that one should not have absolute reliance on Hashem. And the relevancy of understanding this passage correctly is important in the way we're going to draw our conclusion about what the halacha is, of what type of Bitachon we're supposed to apply. Are we allowed to, are we supposed to have such absolute reliance on Hashem for the things that we need and that we desire in the way that we need and the way that we desire? Or if the Chazon Ish seemingly wrote the opposite and again, it's not just one opinion that we would simply ignore.   The Chazon Ish is a very important halachic opinion. Then why does it seem to be implied in one of his passages that one should not practice this absolute confident Bitachon in Hashem? B’ezrat Hashem, as we get to this section, we will explore the exact meaning of the Chazon Ish and with Hashem's help, draw more clarity to our Bitachon.

I hope you're beginning to get excited about this incredible topic of Bitachon. We've been discussing a bit of an introduction to the topics we're going to be discussing to get a bit of an indication of where we'll be heading. I'm sure you're beginning to realize that Bitachon is one of the most important foundations of the entire Torah and all the mitzvos that we have. In fact, the foundation of the entire Torah and mitzvos as we'll see in many Torah sources. And that being the case, it's obviously easy to understand that it's not going to be a journey of one day to master this topic. It's going to be our life's work. But our journey right now, B’ezrat Hashem - with the help of Hashem, is to do our best to clarify this topic in an organized way so that hopefully, with Hashem's help, we can come out with more clarity. And once we do so, then we can have the confidence to apply Bitachon in a practical way and be confident about what we are doing.   The reason that I continuously repeat what we've discussed previously is because it's one thing just to hear the information, but it's something else to truly digest it. And in our fast-paced world, it's very easy to forget the information that we've learned. So revision is of paramount importance. So let's revise what we've said so far.   The Torah sources that we're going to discuss in an orderly, section-by-section way, B’ezrat Hashem, relate to the following questions. In part one, we will discuss what is Bitachon. Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon always work? That means to say, are there any exceptions? Or if I practice this type of Bitachon - confident Bitachon in Hashem, will it for sure work beyond a shadow of a doubt, without any caveats whatsoever? Part five, if I can rely on Hashem with confident Bitachon for the things I desire and I need, why must Hashem come through for me?   Part six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? A few moments ago, we just alluded to the fact that this type of confident Bitachon has no exceptions, as long as one fulfills the prerequisite for this type of Bitachon to be effective. Because again, if one has not fulfilled the prerequisite for this Bitachon to be effective, then it will not be effective in the way that I desire. Although as mentioned, one will certainly get rewarded immensely for any step one takes forward in Bitachon, both in this world and in the next world, but in terms of the Bitachon working without a shadow of a doubt in the way that I desire, although as we will learn, there are no exceptions to that if one does practice Bitachon with absolute sincerity, however, the precondition is that that Bitachon in Hashem has to be with absolute sincerity.   In part seven, we will discuss, B'ezrat Hashem, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Is the opportunity of Bitachon only for the super righteous? Or even somebody who is tainted by sin, not only from previous sins, but even current sin, can that individual apply Bitachon? And part number eight is that as we're going to learn in many Torah sources, if Bitachon is such a powerful absolute that has no exceptions, that if one is sincerely reliant on Hashem, Hashem will for sure come through for them in the way they desire, so many of the tzaddikim who experienced difficult times, be it financially, with their health, relationships and family, or many other things, why did they not get saved by their Bitachon? Surely they knew about Bitachon. And if that is the case, and Bitachon always works, why did they not get saved by their Bittachon?   I hope that B'ezrat Hashem, as we discuss these questions, more and more questions will come across your minds to help open up this most fascinating and incredible discussion about Bitachon, and B'ezrat Hashem, as we break down each of these sections part by part and discuss the Torah sources, with Hashem's help, we'll come to more clarity and see Hashem's true perspective of what the undistorted truth of the Torah is about Bitachon.

I hope you're getting as excited as I am with regards to Bitachon. I know we are yet to discuss Torah sources inside and gain more clarity on the issues, but hopefully just from seeing the questions, you're getting a bit of an indication of the direction we're going to be taking. Let's revise what we've discussed so far in terms of the 15-part outline of the contents we're going to be discussing.   Part one we're going to be dealing with is the Torah sources on the question of what is Bitachon. Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon always work? Part five, why must Hashem come through for me in the way I desire? And as we discussed, there's a lot to this question and we'll see more in the Torah sources inside B’ezrat Hashem. Part six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite in order to be effective? Again, as discussed and as we will discuss B’ezrat Hashem, there are different types of Bitachon, but one of the types of Bitachon which we're going to be elaborating on is a confident type of Bitachon where Hashem will for sure come through for me in the way that I desire. But what is the prerequisite in order for that to happen?   Part seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Is the opportunity to have Bitachon dependent on our deeds? So a person who's doing well spiritually, it can be argued that maybe they can tap into these amazing opportunities of Bitachon to rely on Hashem for the things that they need in such a confident way that Hashem will come through for them. It would seem that Hashem certainly would want to take care of those that do His will, but those that do not, maybe Bitachon is not available to a sinner.   Now regardless of our conclusion, in terms of Bitachon, nobody's advocating to do Aveiros because it's very clear, independent of the discussion of Bitachon, that there are very severe consequences in the next world, and even in this world for our transgressions, and on the positive side for our mitzvos, to the point that many Torah commentaries teach that one moment of suffering in the next world is way worse than 120 years of constant suffering of the worst form that you can imagine in this world.   And likewise, on the positive side, in the next world, of the reward we have the potential to earn for ourselves, experiencing one moment of that is way greater than 120 years of the greatest pleasure we can imagine in this world. So it's super important to emphasize that regardless of our discussion about Bitachon, there's no question there are very real and severe consequences for our actions in this world. However, in terms of the opportunity of Bitachon, sometimes a person might get led down the path that teaches, don't even think about Bitachon until you correct yourself. Whereas we're going to learn what Torah sources teach about this question. Can a sinner apply Bitachon?   Let's move now to part eight. Why were tzaddikim not always saved by their Bitachon? So let's elaborate on this a little bit. If it's so that Torah sources will teach that one can have such confident Bitachon that Hashem will come through for me for anything and everything that I might need and desire for those who rely on Him sincerely with an absolute 100% guarantee, without exceptions and without failure, that Hashem has built it within the nature of the way the world works, that if somebody does practice this absolute confident type of Bitachon with full sincerity, then without a doubt and without exception, Hashem comes through for them. And that being the case, that leads me to think, were there not many very great tzaddikim – way greater than me in terms of their righteousness, in terms of their Torah knowledge, and how come seemingly and apparently bad things happened to them?   We know of many great tzaddikim throughout the generations, earlier generations and contemporary generations, who suffered tremendously in terms of health, in terms of finances and in many other areas. But if we are going to learn that one has an opportunity to rely on Hashem to such a confident extent, that they will for sure receive what they desire, without exception, if their reliance on Hashem is 100% sincere, and if we're also going to learn that not only can one do this, but this is actually commendable and a huge mitzvah to aim to rely on Hashem to this extent. So if that is the case, why is it that many tzaddikim seemingly did not make use of this type of bitachon? Let's explore this further together and b'ezrat Hashem transform our bitachon.

Let's continue this most exciting journey of Bitachon. So we discussed the breakdown of what we're going to be discussing, 15 sections in total. Let's revise briefly what we've mentioned that we're going to be discussing.   Part number one, what exactly is Bitachon? Part number two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part number three, how important is Bitachon? Again this is so important just to realize how much focus we should be placing on our Emunah, specifically Bitachon journey. If it is the ultimate point of our lives, of all Torah and all mitzvos, as we're going to see B'ezrat Hashem, then certainly we should place a very high emphasis on our Bitachon journey. Part number four, does Bitachon always work? What does Bitachon mean? We're going to see that there's different types of Bitachon and what's usually understood is that Hashem can come through for me if I have any issue or anything in my life, the starting point is reach out to Hashem. He's the only one that can actually help and he's the one fully in control and he wants to help you. But can one be so confident in their reliance on Hashem that they are sure Hashem will come through for them in the way they desire?   Part number five, if that is the case, why must Hashem come through for me? Doesn't Hashem have many considerations? Who says he even owes me this? Why must he come through for me? Part number six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? Even if Bitachon is so powerful that Hashem will come through for us in the exact way we desire, but what exactly is a precondition for this to happen? Part number seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Somebody who commits sins, we might argue that not only does Hashem not owe them things, but Hashem might actually owe them the opposite. As many Torah passages teach, when we commit sins, much of the time Hashem will respond in turn by sending us suffering. And the reason for that is not because Hashem wants to catch us out. Hashem only created this world to give us good. But the reason that Hashem will at times send a person suffering in response to their sins is in order to give them the opportunity to come back to Him, to do teshuva, because when things are just going smoothly in life, we sometimes just smooth sail through our happenings in life and we don't remember to do teshuva.   And likewise, many Torah passages teach that one moment of suffering in the next world is much greater than an entire lifetime of constant suffering without interruption. And therefore it could very well be that sometimes Hashem sends a person suffering in order to give them the opportunity to either be cleansed in this world as opposed to the next world, or perhaps to be a springboard to do teshuva and to remember Hashem and to build our relationship. So because of this correlation and relationship between Hashem sending suffering as a consequence of sins, one might be led to think that similarly, one who would like to tap into this most incredible and holy avodah of bitachon will not have that opportunity if he is not yet cleansed from his sins. So yes, this amazing opportunity might be available to the very great and righteous people of our generation, but what does that have to do with me? So as we go into the Torah sources, we will discuss, that one of the basic foundations of bitachon is that although countless Torah passages emphasize the tremendous importance that we are to place on trying our real utmost best to do mitzvos and stay away from aveiros, and there are certainly very real consequences for both the positive and the negative, whilst at the same time the opportunity to have bitachon is completely independent of our actions.   We are yet to quote even one Torah source in terms of the journey of bitachon, but at the moment we are just focusing on outlining the concepts to give us a bit of an indication of where we are heading. With the help of Hashem, let's continue our journey in bitachon and as we do so, may Hashem help us to gain more clarity in all of these concepts of bitachon.

Let us continue this most fascinating journey about Bitachon. In the introduction that we've been giving to Bitachon, we've broken up the questions into numerous parts, and again, I'm just making it clear, we have not yet discussed the Torah sources and intricate details of all these questions, but just to get a bit of clarity and direction, it is helpful to go through the questions and explore them briefly just so that we can gain a little bit of clarity before we delve into the Torah sources. So let's revise what we've discussed so far.   Part number one, what is Bitachon? Part number two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part number three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Is it just an additional mitzvah, a super mitzvah, or is it the foundation of Torah and mitzvos? Part number four, does Bitachon always work for me in the way that I desire, or is it just that Hashem can come through for me, but not necessarily will He in the way that I desire? Part number five, why must Hashem come through for me in the way I desire? And as we discussed, there are many reasons why maybe it won't be good for us if Hashem comes through for us in the way that we desire. And that being the case, this type of Bitachon where one can rely on Hashem to such an extent that Hashem will come through for me, why must He come through for me?   Part number six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? And as discussed, although there is infinite reward for any level of Bitachon that one achieves, even a small step forward, even if I only have 1% of reliance on Hashem, that is a tremendous achievement and in fact, the core of the entire Torah as we'll learn. But in order for this type of Bitachon that we're going to explore, where Hashem will for sure come through for me in the way that I need, in the way that I desire, in order for that to work, then one needs to be 100% sincerely reliant on Hashem.   We now move to part seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Somebody who performs sins, can he apply Bitachon? The argument might be, Hashem coming through for me in the way that I need, Hashem sending me my desire in exactly the way that I view it - Okay, I can understand if somebody is a big tzaddik and performing Hashem's will exactly as He prescribes and doing everything right, then I can understand why Hashem would come through for them because they're such a devoted servant and child to Hashem, obviously Hashem is going to pay them back, but what does that have to do with me? I'm somebody who not only every second day but every day commits numerous sins, sometimes unintentionally, sometimes intentionally, and what therefore do I have to do with Bitachon?   So does that mean that I can only have the opportunity to tap into Bitachon once I cleanse myself from sins or can I even have the opportunity today to tap into Bitachon? Meaning to say we all understand the tremendous importance that countless Torah passages place on doing our best in this world to do as many mitzvos as we can and to stay away from aveiros and there's no question that regardless of the discussion about Bitachon, there are very definitely very concrete consequences, both for the positive as well as for the negative in terms of our actions, both in this world as well as most importantly in the next world. But is Bitachon an independent factor, completely independent of our actions, meaning to say certainly if somebody committed sins in the past and has not yet done Teshuva, again if somebody has already done Teshuva, then as the Gemara teaches, they don't actually have sins anymore. But we're speaking about somebody who has done sins, does that mean that because this person's slate is not clean, they cannot have the opportunity to have absolute reliance on Hashem?   And even more so, let's ask, if somebody is currently committing a sin, does that mean that okay, when I get clean, then I'll be able to rely on Hashem, but right now while I'm performing a sin, certainly it would seem that I do not have the opportunity to rely on Hashem. So let's discuss this further because again, many of these topics are counterintuitive like many topics in Torah and we do not use our own rationalism and reasoning to try answer these questions because as well-meaning as we might be, we certainly could be wrong. So let's b’ezrat Hashem continue to explore and eventually work our way to discussing the Torah sources themselves and gaining more clarity in our Bitachon.

The Gemara tells us that just like the initial redemption from Egypt took place in the month of Nissan, so too the redemption of the future, the coming of Mashiach, will also take place during the month of Nissan. Out of all the tremendous miracles that took place through our exodus from Egypt, in a sense the climax was the splitting of the sea when we were surrounded by the Egyptians from behind and the sea in front of us, and Hashem miraculously split the sea and allowed us to pass through it. We know that the splitting of the sea took place on the seventh day of Pesach, so in a sense the seventh day of Pesach is the climax of the redemption from the Egyptian slavery.   The Gemara tells us that one day when we are to pass on to the next world, one of the very first things that happens in the heavenly bastion is they ask us the question, “did you hope for Mashiach?” This is such an important question that it's right at the top of the list of questions that we are asked. We can obviously understand the importance that Hashem places on our wanting and hoping for the arrival of Mashiach. Now one may say, “look my life is actually okay, I don't necessarily need Mashiach.” Whether one feels that way or not, we have a mitzvah to want, pray and hope for the coming of Mashiach, and we can see that this is extremely important in Hashem's eyes to the point that this is one of the very first questions that we are asked when we arrive in Shamayim.   It is famously told about the Chofetz Chaim that he would constantly have a bag ready and packed under his bed for the arrival of Mashiach because he so eagerly awaited Mashiach's arrival that it was something real to the point that he had to be ready to go with his things packed in his bag because the Chofetz Chaim was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Mashiach at any given moment. Now although we can understand in our heads that hoping and wanting and praying for Mashiach to come is something extremely important, many of us may not feel that eagerness for the coming of Mashiach and that doesn't make us bad in any way, God forbid. In a sense it's very hard to relate to what it's going to be like when Mashiach comes. Although we are taught in Torah sources many things about the coming of Mashiach and many Torah commentaries do offer insight into the Messianic era, nevertheless ultimately we don't know exactly how it's going to be because it's meant to be something hidden and that being the case it makes it more difficult for us to relate to as something so real because it's hidden from us.   But nevertheless, as always, even if a mitzvah is difficult or for that matter if anything is difficult in our lives there is always one solution that is the solution to all problems. We can talk to Hashem, we can say, “Hashem you have commanded me to want Mashiach whether I can relate to it or whether I don't relate to it. Master of the universe, please help me to really want and hope for and pray for the coming of Mashiach.” Be'ezrat Hashem on this holy seventh day of Pesach which is ultimately the climax of our redemption from Egypt when we came to the splitting of the sea, may we all merit the ultimate redemption, the coming of Mashiach, speedily in our days.

We've discussed how following Hashem's mitzvos in this world is one of the potent ways we earn our share in the next world. We also have discussed that one who believes in Hashem and His mitzvos truthfully, will make the maximum effort to perform the mitzvos with their intricate details exactly as Hashem has prescribed, because if this is what He says to do, this is what we ought to do. We have this tremendous opportunity during Chol Moed to fulfill the mitzvos as Hashem has prescribed.   We discussed the Mishnah which mentions that one who does not honour Chol Moed in the right way, they forfeit their portion in the next world. And as the Torah commentaries explained, that refers to one who does forbidden forms of work during Chol Moed, or alternatively, one who does not eat and drink in a similar way to how one would honour Shabbos and Yom Tov with Shabbos and Yom Tov meals. Now again, one may say, “well I haven't yet learnt all of the laws of Chol Moed, so does that mean I don't have a portion in the next world?” God forbid! Hashem does not expect us to do anything beyond our maximum capacity. If we have not yet had the opportunity to learn the laws of Chol Moed, or even if we have, but we make a mistake, remember, Hashem created us only to give to us, He is not there to catch us out. Our job is to make our maximum effort to do our best in learning the laws of Chol Moed, and do our best in fulfilling the mitzvos, doing what we are supposed to do, and not doing what we are not supposed to do. But, if we try our best and still get it wrong, either because we made a mistake, or because we haven't yet had the opportunity to learn all of the intricate details, Hashem sees our efforts, and that's what will count.   In terms of the mitzvah of Chol Moed itself, the Gemara says further that one who disgraces the festivals is comparable to an idol-worshipper, and again, the commentaries explain that this refers to one who performs forbidden forms of work during the days of Chol Moed. They're comparable to an idol-worshipper. Why? What is so bad? I still believe in Hashem, I'm performing many other mitzvos, I'm just maybe not treating Chol Moed as I am supposed to. Why is the Mishna and the Gemara, which is Hashem's voice, seemingly being so strict with us if we don't treat Chol Moed in the right way, to tell us that we may forfeit our portion in the next world, as well as being compared to an idol-worshipper? These are very strong words! And the answer to this question, why the consequences of Chol Moed are so strict, is as the Gemara tells us, that the reason for the days of Chol Moed, ultimately, are to give us the opportunity to celebrate the festival together with Hashem, by having festive meals, by not doing forbidden forms of labor, thereby giving us an opportunity to have more time, to learn Torah, to connect with Hashem, to have more time in our personal relationship with Hashem.   As the Maharal explains, if Hashem's whole intention in giving us the days of Chol Moed is in order to give us an opportunity to forge a close relationship with Him, if God forbid somebody is to ignore this precious time and become busy with other things, instead of focusing on building their relationship with Hashem, that is similar to slapping Hashem in the face and saying, “You're not my God, I don't want a personal relationship with you.” And that is why the Gemara is so strict and says that if one disgraces the days of Chol Moed, they are comparable to an idol worshipper, and the Mishnah teaches us that if one disgraces the days of Chol Moed, not according to its due honor, they forfeit their portion in the world to come. May we all capitalize on the opportunity of these tremendous days to build a closer relationship with Hashem, by having festive meals, by using the extra time that we have to learn Torah, to build our personal relationship with Hashem, by talking to Him, perhaps with the extra time that we have, more than usual. May we all merit a Chag Kasher Sameach.

Let us not forget that the only reason Hashem created us is in order to share His goodness with us. We will ultimately experience that goodness in the next world, and the way to earn that goodness in the next world is by the things we do in this world. We've discussed that the most potent thing we can focus on in this world, as discussed by the Torah commentaries, is to build our emunah and bitachon.   One very potent way of expressing our belief in Hashem, our emunah and bitachon in Hashem, is by following His mitzvos. When we follow Hashem's mitzvos, we're showing that we believe that He exists. We are thereby expressing our emunah, our belief in Hashem, that Hashem exists and Hashem is the one who commanded us to do these things, and that being the case, we will do so. And in the same way, the details, and sometimes very intricate details, that are involved in the performance of each of the mitzvos - if that is the way the Torah authorities have prescribed the mitzvos to be followed, that is ultimately the way Hashem wants us to fulfill the mitzvos, and the more we believe in Him, the more we will be careful to fulfill the mitzvos exactly as Hashem has prescribed us to do in all the intricate details.   We have right now the most incredible opportunity to be celebrating the days of Chol HaMoed. All of the mitzvos are important, and as the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos teaches, one can never know which mitzvah is bigger than another. And therefore, we are to treat all the mitzvos with tremendous importance and do our best to fulfill them all in all the intricate details, thereby expressing our belief - our emunah in Hashem. Although all the mitzvos are of paramount importance, one sometimes gets a feeling of a certain importance that Hashem shines upon certain mitzvot. Let's explore the mitzvah of Chol HaMoed to try and appreciate the tremendous opportunity we have during these days.   The Mishnah in Pirkei Avos says that one who disgraces the festivals, even if he possesses the merit of Torah and good deeds, he does not receive a portion in the world to come. The commentaries explain that this Mishnah refers to somebody who disgraces the days of Chol HaMoed by doing one of two things: either by doing forbidden forms of work during these days, or alternatively, by eating and drinking as if it's a regular weekday as opposed to a more lavish, respectable meal similar to Shabbos and Yom Tov. These are very strong words. All of the mitzvos are important, but when the Torah is teaching us that somebody who does not treat Chol HaMoed in the right way, they forfeit their portion in the next world, that gives us an indication that the days of Chol HaMoed are extremely important in Hashem's eyes.   We will explore, b'zrat Hashem, perhaps some of the reasons why these days may be so important. But again, the bottom line is, if Hashem says that these days are important to the point that if we don't treat them in the right way, we could, God forbid, forfeit our portion in Olam HaBa, if we believe in Hashem, we take those words seriously and make our maximum effort to treat Chol HaMoed in the right way. So based on this Mishnah, step number one is to do our best to learn about the laws of Chol HaMoed and to try to follow them as best as we can. And secondly, to make an effort to eat and drink during these days in a similar way to how we do on Shabbos and Yom Tov, to show that we are celebrating the days of Chol HaMoed together with Hashem.

We've discussed that the message of Pesach is that we are celebrating the fact that Hashem took us out of Egypt. We discussed how we ought to learn about the tremendous atrocities that the Jewish people experienced to help us appreciate what it means to come out of the Egyptian slavery and how we ought to celebrate to the highest degree. We also discussed why is it that Hashem put us into the Egyptian slavery in the first place. And as we spoke about, the answer to that is because Hashem cares about every single one of us. Hashem wants to have a personal relationship with every single one of us. And in order to do that, Hashem requires us to need Him.   The snake, the epitome of what symbolizes evil in the world, Hashem says to the snake, “you, I don't want anything to do with, and therefore your food will be dust. Wherever you go, you will have food to eat.” But when it comes to us, on the other hand, Hashem says, “you, my children, much of the time, maybe you won't have food. Not because I don't love you, but because I love you more. I want you to reach out to me. I don't want you to be like the snake who doesn't need me and never needs to have anything to do with me.”   So, on Pesach, we celebrate two things. Number one, that Hashem put us into the Egyptian slavery in the first place, and that we have that close, intimate relationship that He wants to have with every single one of us. Otherwise, He wouldn't cause us to suffer. And we also celebrate the salvation that Hashem sent us to redeem us from Egypt. This principle applies not only to our enslavement in Egypt, and the redemption and salvation that we received from our slavery. It applies to any form of suffering that we experience. If we were given the option of paving the course to how our lives will play out, many of us would opt for a life free of suffering. However, Hashem knows better. If we were to have everything that we needed, we would have no reason to reach out to Hashem. We would not have the drive to build a personal relationship with Hashem. This is one of the main reasons that Hashem sends every single one of us challenges, as explained by many Torah commentaries.   We know that matzah is called by the Zohar “nehama dimeheimenusa” - which means the bread of emunah. Throughout the year, we're trying to build our emunah - to make efforts to grow in our belief in Hashem, because that is ultimately the only reason we exist. As discussed, numerous times, the only reason Hashem created the world is to give to us, which takes place ultimately in Olam Haba. And the main way to earn Olam Haba in this world is building our emunah and bitachon. Throughout the year, we're making efforts to grow in our emunah and bitachon. But so much of the time, it's difficult. And of course, it's meant to be difficult, because this is the main reason that we're alive. This is our purpose. So of course, it can't be simple and easy. When we have an opportunity such as Pesach, where the time period lends itself to a boost in emunah, to the point that the main food of Pesach, matzah, is called the bread of emunah - if we believe in Hashem and His Torah and His mitzvos, every single bite of matzah is another boost in our emunah. Everything we're doing towards Pesach is going to boost our belief in Hashem. Let us all take the opportunity of Pesach to boost our emunah, that everything Hashem does is always for the best.

We are so privileged to have the opportunity to celebrate Pesach every single year. What exactly are we celebrating? Simply speaking, we're celebrating the fact that we were redeemed from the slavery in Egypt. It is worthwhile learning about what the Jewish people went through and experienced to appreciate what we're celebrating. It's important to highlight that our slavery in Egypt is not a fairy tale that didn't really transpire, God forbid. Just like we can relate to the Holocaust and similar atrocities throughout history, in the same way our enslavement in Egypt was something real that was experienced on a very real level by the Jewish people.   To just give one example of one of the atrocious things amongst many others: We know that the Jewish people were tricked into working for Pharaoh and they were given a certain quota of what they had to complete on a given day. If they had to collect material in order to make bricks to build a wall and they were short just of one brick of their expected quota, which was almost impossible - it was so much, they were forced to bring their own little cute precious child and stuff the child into the wall, thereby killing them, thereafter applying cement on top of the child. So painful even to say such a thing, but it's so important to digest what the people went through, and this is just one of many, many tremendous atrocities that the Egyptians imposed on the Jewish people.   So, on Pesach, we are celebrating that we came out of Egypt. What a tremendous celebration. “Thank you, Hashem, for taking us out of Mitzrayim.” But many of us would ask, “why Hashem did you put us there in the first place? Why did you cause us to suffer all those years? Why did Hashem put us in Egypt in the first place?” And the answer to this question is because Hashem wants to have a personal relationship with every single one of us. Let's explain this a little bit further. The Torah records that during the first few days after the creation of the wrodl, the snake sinned, and part of his punishment was, “your food snake will be the dust of the earth.” And the question that the commentaries ask is, what type of punishment is this? One of the biggest struggles that we all have to deal with throughout our lives is our parnassah - our sustenance. We have to be able to put food on the table. And here, Hashem says to the snake, “your food will be dust”, meaning to say, wherever you go in the world, there's always dust around. So, you, Mr. Snake, you will never ever lack parnassah. The snake is never ever short of food. So where was the curse that Hashem gave to the snake?   And the answer is, Hashem was saying to the snake, “I hate you so much that I never want you to talk to me again. I don't want anything to do with you.” So much so that if you one day would lack food, I know that you will reach out to me and say, “Hashem, I'm hungry. Please help me”, In the snake's own language. Hashem didn't want the snake to talk to him anymore because Hashem is not interested in a personal relationship with the snake, which represents something so evil and disgusting. Therefore, Hashem says, “you, Mr. Snake, you will have your food wherever you go.” When it comes to the Jewish people, however, Hashem says, “you, my children, I want to have a close, intimate, personal relationship with every single one of you.”   And in order to do that, very often He sends us challenges and very often He saves us from those challenges. One who is building their emunah and has their eyes open to bring Hashem into the picture uses both the challenges as well as the salvation from the challenges to build their relationship with Hashem - to build their love for Hashem. “Yes, Hashem, you are the one who put us into Egypt, into the Egyptian slavery in the first place so that eventually you could redeem us with the most phenomenal miracles that showed us how you were there all along. And it was you who placed us in there in the first place. And just like you are the one who redeemed us in the most unnatural, miraculous way, so too you are the one who placed us there in the first place because Hashem wants that personal relationship with every single one of us.” This is the message of Pesach. Hashem is interested in having a personal relationship with every single one of us. And that's why He put us into the Egyptian slavery in the first place and eventually redeemed us from that slavery. So, what we are celebrating on Pesach is that Hashem wants to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us.

Let's continue our Bitachon journey. Okay, so we're dividing this up into 15 parts, just in terms of explaining the questions to give us a bit of a direction of where we're going to be heading, not only to gain the daily inspiration about Bitachon, but also to give us clarity and direction. Again, this is a journey.   It's not going to take one day, but we're going to get there, B’ezrat Hashem. Before even exploring the Torah sources, as mentioned, I'd like to first go through the questions in an orderly, organized way to give us clarity and direction, B’ezrat Hashem, in our Bitachon journey.   So we mentioned part number one, we're going to be discussing what exactly is Bitachon. Part number two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part number three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Is it just another regular mitzvah? Is it a super mitzvah, or is it ultimately the point of all the mitzvos and all of Torah? Part four, does Bitachon always work? Can I be confident Hashem will come through for me in the way I desire and the way I see it? Or is it just that I know Hashem can do anything, but not necessarily will He come through for me in the way I desire?   Part five, why must Hashem come through for me. If it's true that I can rely on Hashem to such an extent that He will for sure come through for me in the way that I desire, why does He owe me that, that He must come through for me? Who says there's no other considerations, that maybe He shouldn't come through for me? And again, B’ezrat Hashem will elaborate on these points further as we move forward into the Torah sources of each of these sections. But for now, we're just going through the contents to again, give us clarity and direction and raise some of the questions before we explore the Torah sources.   Part number six, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? And as we mentioned, this is so important, and one of the reasons that perhaps this is not so widely taught, where one relies on Hashem to such an extent that He will come through for me in the way that I need, in the way that I desire, is because an absolute prerequisite for this to happen is that one's Bitachon has to be 100% sincere, and this is a very high level to achieve. Now, as we'll discuss, it's not even about getting there. It could be that we will get there in certain aspects of our lives, and certain times we may be able to tap into this form of Bitachon and even receive the things that we are relying on Hashem for in the exact way that we desire. But not necessarily is that even the goal. It's just about taking a step forward to the right direction. There are many levels in Judaism, and it's not about getting there, not in one day and not even in 100 years. It's about just taking the steps forward to moving in the right direction. So yes, to get to a level of 100% sincere reliance on Hashem is not an easy endeavor. But at the same time, to aim to get to that level and just to climb higher in our sincere reliance, even just a little bit higher, that is ultimately our goal, just to grow in Bitachon.   What does it mean to be sincerely reliant on Hashem? So let's use an example just to illustrate this. Imagine you have an uncle who is so extremely wealthy. He's a billionaire beyond. But not only that, he's a very good-hearted person, and he wants to help people. But not only that, he is particularly fond of you. And he calls you up one day and he says to you, As you know, I am extremely wealthy, and giving out money is very easy for me. And in fact, I like to give out money. But not only that, he says to you, you're the one person that I particularly want to help in any and every area I can. And he says to you, if at any point you need money, please come over to me.   Now one time it happens, you need money, you go over to him, and he so willingly and gladly helps you out exactly with what you need. And he says to you, please, if you ever need this again, come over immediately. And it happens again that you need money, and you go over to him, and he helps you graciously with everything that you need. And you do this 10 times, and each time he helps you graciously and tells you to please come back any time you need.   It happens one night, you're speaking to a friend, and you're currently in a situation where you need money. Now you know that tomorrow you're going to pick up the phone and you're going to call your uncle. Are you pretty confident that he is going to give you exactly what you need? Or are you feeling doubtful about it? Meaning are you saying to your friend, listen, I'm going to call my uncle, and I think he'll help me, but you know, if he won't, then this is the other avenue that I have. Now although there is some reliance on one's uncle, but that won't be classified as 100% sincere reliance, whereas if one says, after these 10 times that he's helped me, I have no doubt about it that he is going to help me, that can just give us a little bit of an indication of what it would mean to rely on Hashem with 100% sincerity. I have no doubt about it, He'll come through for me. So let's continue to discuss and explore these most fascinating topics about bitachon.

I can't stop expressing the tremendous excitement I have for sharing this tremendous information about Bitachon. I'm just so excited about the topic because again, it is just the keys to life. We already know from Emunah, a life without Emunah and a life of Emunah are literally completely different worlds. And again, a life with true Bitachon and a life without Bitachon are completely different worlds. And while we can maybe call Emunah level one, we're now moving to B’ezrat Hashem, Emunah level two, which is really the practical application even more so of turning Emunah into Bitachon.   So B’ezrat Hashem, let's continue the outline we've been giving to give a bit of an overview and direction of where we're going to be heading and many of the questions that will arise and that B’ezrat Hashem is going to deal with in an organized and structured way in each section dealing with the Torah sources that deal with those questions and thereby B’ezrat Hashem coming out with clarity, not only in terms of daily inspiration, but in terms of gaining clarity and direction about these questions.   Of the 15 sections we're going to be discussing, B’ezrat Hashem, we've outlined so far. Question one, what exactly is Bitachon? Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon always work? Is it that Hashem can come through for me, but not necessarily will He come through for me in the way I desire, or can I rely on Hashem to such an extent that I am confident He will come through for me in the way that I desire? Part five, if the latter is true, that I can rely on Hashem for whatever I need and whatever I might desire, why must Hashem come through for me? Who says that's good for me? Who says Hashem owes me that? Who says that's going to happen? Why must Hashem come through for me? And part six, which we left off in the previous session, does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective?   So I'd like to elaborate on this a little bit further because this is one of the most fundamental components of Bitachon. As we're going to explore, one of the highest types of Bitachon is to be able to rely on Hashem to such an extent that I am sure He's going to come through for me in the way that I desire. Now as we're going to learn inside and as we get to those sections, we're not just going to talk theoretically about this concept, but rather we'll learn the actual Torah sources inside. But just for now, to give a bit of a direction, we're going to see that according to many, many, many, many Torah sources, not only can one rely on Hashem to an absolute extent that Hashem will come through for me in the way that I need and in the way that I desire, but it is commendable to do such a thing. Not just commendable, but it is actually what true Bitachon is all about, to rely on Hashem to come through for me for my needs in the way that I need, in the way that I see it, in the way that I desire.   But what is most vital to remember and internalize is that a prerequisite and precondition for this type of Bitachon to be effective is to be 100% sincere in one's reliance on Hashem. Now as we've repeatedly mentioned, many of these questions intertwine and one might say, how do I get to such a stage? We'll get there, B'ezrat Hashem. But for now we're just honing in on this point, that this type of Bitachon, where one is so confident that Hashem will come through for them in the way that they need, in the way that they desire, has a prerequisite.   Not a prerequisite in terms of one's reward. Any little step that one makes in terms of their efforts to grow in emunah, to grow in bitochen, is immensely rewarded for and has tremendous benefits for eternity and also in this world. But in terms of this form of bitochen, of relying on Hashem, for Hashem to come through for us in the way that we would like, we're going to see that a most important prerequisite to this happening is that one's bitochen needs to be 100% sincere.   Let's explore this further as we continue in the next session with B'ezrat Hashem.

I'm so excited to continue our Bitachon journey. So let's revise. We divided the sections into 15 parts. So far we discussed, in terms of the headlines of the sections we're going to be discussing, Bezrat Hashem. Part one, what is Bitachon exactly? Part two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part four, does Bitachon always work? Is the correct perspective that Hashem can do anything but not necessarily will He do it in the way that I need and desire? Or is the correct perspective that I can have reliance on Hashem to come through for me in the way that I need and the way I desire? Part five, if the latter is the case, that I can rely on Hashem to the extent that I need and I desire, why must Hashem come through for me? Hashem has many reasons and considerations why it might not be good for me if He comes through for me in the way that I desire. And therefore, why must He come through for me?   Let's move on now to discuss part number six. Does Bitachon have a prerequisite to be effective? Now this is so important to elaborate a little bit on what this means. As I'm sure you self-understood from the way I've presented the questions, we're going to see that there is a type of Bitachon that one can be so confident in Hashem that one will for sure receive exactly what they desire. This is honestly one of the greatest and most exciting keys to our life. And after I had the opportunity to learn this topic, I wondered to myself and also had the privilege to discuss it with some great Torah authorities, what is the reason that this type of Bitachon, which is such a powerful weapon that we have available, why have I never heard of this concept before in all the many Torah lectures that I've explored over the years? Why have I not come across this topic? Again, if it was just like a side topic for someone who's very learned, who's exploring intricate topics beyond the scope of what usually people explore, then I'd understand. But if, as we're going to learn, it is the most basic foundation to all of Torah and to all of mitzvos, and we're going to see how not only is this a possible type of Bitachon that we are allowed to tap into, but it's actually one of the higher levels of Bitachon that we should aspire to arrive at, B’ezrat Hashem.   But one of the reasons one doesn't usually come across this topic, and rightly so, is because if this prerequisite and precondition is not met, then of course one's absolute reliance on Hashem is not going to work. So let's clarify what we're trying to say. If somebody is looking for a marriage partner and has Bitachon to Hashem, and again we need to define exactly what does it mean to have Bitachon in Hashem, but let's assume somebody reaches out to Hashem and reaches a space of full reliance on Hashem that they're going to find their marriage partner in the near future. As we're going to learn, there has to be such a sincere reliance on Hashem that one has absolutely no doubt that Hashem will come through for them. Now again, many questions are going to arise as we learn these topics because so many of them are intertwined.   One might ask, if I am so reliant on Hashem, why should I do any Hishtadlus? Why should I make any of my own efforts to make anything happen? Because if I know Hashem is going to take care of it, then why should I make any of my own efforts? And if I am making any of my own efforts, does that mean that I don't have true, sincere reliance? Again, B’ezrat Hashem, we're going to get to this section of Hishtadlus as we proceed to discuss these topics. And another question that will arise is, okay that's very nice. If one has such sincere reliance on Hashem that they're 100% sure Hashem will come through for them, then Hashem will come through for them in exactly the way they desire. But as we're going to see, that's quite a high level. So does that mean that bitachon is only for the elite? Because I don't even know if I can ever get to such a level. And again, as we're going to discuss in the coming sections, what is the true reward for bitachon? Is it just receiving what I'd like? Or even if I'm not able to have the full sincerity in bitachon, do I reap tremendous benefits in both the spiritual worlds as well as this physical world? B’ezrat Hashem, let's continue to explore these topics and transform our bitachon.

We continue our Bitachon journey and as discussed, so many of these concepts are intertwined and it's so beneficial therefore to have a bit of a direction of where we're going to be heading to explore the topic of Bitachon, not just to get the daily inspiration of the Emunah and Bitachon, but more now to get a clear and focused direction of exactly how Bitachon works and thereby be able to answer the many questions which arise and have clarity to feel confident in the Bitachon that we're going to take.   It's also worth pointing out that even though we haven't yet quoted even one Torah source, but just going through the questions is already a building block for Bitachon because it already opens up a bit of a direction of where we're heading, of what there is to ask, what there is to discuss, and it just expands our mind a little bit before we even explore what the Torah sources are going to teach us. So let's revise.   Of the 15 parts we're going to be exploring, b'ezrat Hashem, we've so far discussed part number one, what is Bitachon, a bit of an introduction. Part number two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part number three, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part number four, does Bitachon always work in the way that I need and in the way that I desire? And part five, if Bitachon does work in the way that I need and I desire, why must Hashem come through for me?   And as we discussed in the previous session, there could be many reasons why Hashem might not want to come through for us, not because He doesn't want to share His goodness with us. Remember, we've discussed many times the only reason Hashem created the world is to share His goodness with us. So He does want to share His goodness with us, but as we know, there are often many considerations, some of them within our understanding and some way beyond our understanding that might be a reason for Hashem not wanting to come through for us in the way that we desire.   So let's say, for example, a person is an overly confident person because of the tremendous wealth that Hashem has blessed them with, and let's say Hashem has decided that for the benefit of this person, for their eternity in the next world, which is much more important than their life in this world, He wants to give them an opportunity to humble themselves and therefore He takes away this person's money. Now by this person losing their wealth, Hashem understands they're going to be humbled and they're going to have an opportunity to come back to Hashem and build a relationship which is much more important than all the money in the world. So let's say this person would apply Bitachon and they ask Hashem and they rely on Hashem, please Hashem, give me all the wealth back. Let's say we're going to learn that Bitachon has this magical power, that whatever you have true Bitachon for will come about, but who says that's going to be good for me? Perhaps having Bitachon will be a bad thing if I'm going to make it happen because as we can see in this situation, this guy should not get his wealth back because if he does, he's not going to have the humility that he should have and he's going to continue to be an overly confident person. So how is all that going to work out?   Again, I'm elaborating on each of these points because as one can see, there's so much to talk about in each of these points and yes, as we go more extensively into each of these sections and begin to explore the Torah sources, we will see the way the true perspective of Hashem, the Torah sources teach us how all these questions come together and b’ezrat Hashem in that way build for ourselves a real path to Bitachon.   I want to just emphasize again, I'm feeling so tremendously passionate to be able to share this Torah information. I'm so excited because again, without knowing this information of what true Bitachon really is, of course one is not able to take the next necessary steps to be able to truly apply this information sincerely in our lives and live by the values of Bitachon. We have spent a lot of time learning about Emunah and getting the daily inspiration about Emunah which is tremendously important because it's just about bringing Hashem into our lives and making Hashem real into our lives and realizing we can and should talk to Hashem about anything and everything and all the many other things that Emunah leads to. But at the same time, Bitachon is a whole another world which we're just beginning to explore and I'm so excited to be sharing this with you because to me it's literally like a gift of $10 billion and the truth is much more than that because all the money in the world cannot buy the gift of what true Bitachon is, the ability to truly rely on Hashem. So let's continue b’ezrat Hashem with our journey in Bitachon.

Again, I can't express enough how excited I am to be sharing this Torah information. Something that is such an incredible discovery for myself. Firstly, when I found Emunah, it was completely life-changing just to realize every single one of us can have this most incredible personal relationship with Hashem, the One Being that truly counts, that can do anything and everything for us.   And Baruch Hashem, we had the privilege to spend much time on our daily inspiration about Emunah, but now I'm so excited to continue our journey in what we've called Transform Your Bitachon, in our Bitachon journey. And as we discussed, it's so important always to come from the real Torah sources that provide us with the real perspective, the only truthful, undistorted perspective. Many people can have different ways of looking at things, but ultimately it boils down to who's better at arguing the point and presenting the point.   Even if one might be completely mistaken, if one is talented in arguing a certain point, either to others or even to oneself, we might be convinced of many untruths. So B'ezrat Hashem, let's continue with the contents of the way we're going to break up Bitachon to provide us with a clear direction of where we're going to be heading in this journey of Bitachon. As mentioned, we're going to be breaking this up into 15 parts.   Part 1 is what is Bitachon? A bit of an introduction. Part 2, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Part 3, how important exactly is Bitachon? Part 4 we began to discuss, does Bitachon always work? The two sides of the coin are as follows. A. I know Hashem can do anything, but not necessarily will He do it for me in the way that I desire. He has many considerations. Or B. I know Hashem can do anything and what I need and what I desire, not only can He do it for me, but He will do it for me and I'm going to rely on Him and have Bitachon that He's going to come through for me in the way that I need and in the way that I desire.   Let's move now to part number 5. As I'm sure you've picked up already from the way that I've illustrated the questions, you can understand that there's going to be a type of Bitachon that we're going to be exploring, that we can be so confident in our requests, in our reliance on Hashem, that not only do we know that He has the capability to come through for us, but we have such confident Bitachon in Him that we are sure that He will come through for us in the way that we desire.   And therefore in part 5, we will explore, B'ezrat Hashem, why must Hashem come through for me? Does Hashem not have many considerations? Who says Hashem owes me anything? And therefore if I am asking Hashem and relying on Him for something, who says that He must come through for me? He doesn't owe me anything, why must He come through for me? And by extension, again we could add, who says it's going to be good for me? And therefore that might be the reason that Hashem does not come through for me. Because as we know, there are many considerations beyond our understanding. And if I'm asking for something that might not play out to be good for me in the bigger picture of things, why would Hashem give it to me? And if He would give it to me, is that even a good thing? Should I even desire that? So this B'ezrat Hashem will be our discussion in part number 5, why must Hashem come through for me?   And again, as we discussed in our gratitude course in our Emunah series, one of the things that prevent us from feeding gratitude to Hashem is having the mistaken perspective that Hashem owes us things. For example, if a person becomes sick and his perspective is that Hashem owes him good health, then when one becomes sick, one might be led to complaints and the like. Whereas if one's starting point is, Hashem doesn't owe me anything, Hashem didn't even need to create me in the first place, and the whole reason that He did it, as we learned many times, is because He just wanted to share His goodness with me in this world. And that being the case, He doesn't owe me anything.   So if somebody is then ill, they don't have a reason to complain. Anytime they're healthy, they have a reason just to share their feelings of gratitude with Hashem for the amazing health that He's blessed them with, but never to complain because He doesn't owe me anything. And that being the case, if I have Bitachon in Hashem, that He will make me better when I am sick, why must He make me better? Did we not learn that He doesn't owe me anything? Let's continue to explore, b'ezrat Hashem, the journey we're going to be making and the direction we're going to be taking in our Bitachon journey.

I'm really excited to be sharing this incredible information with all of you. Any bit of Torah is exciting to be able to share because it's Hashem's will and ultimately much greater than any other information we're going to learn in this world. But the reason I'm so passionate and excited about this is because this has been a discovery for myself to truly get a clear direction from early to contemporary Torah sources about what exactly bitachon is.   And many of these concepts are counterintuitive in some ways and not so popularly taught for certain reasons that we'll discuss. But once one is able to access these keys, we literally are able to access chambers and gates in terms of our relationship with Hashem that we certainly could not have previously accessed.   We discussed in the previous session part number one of a rundown of 15 parts which we're going to be going through. Again, just to give a bit of clarity of direction of where we're going to be heading because again so many of these concepts are intertwined and when one question comes up one thinks of many other aspects. So just to get a bit of direction in terms of how we're going to be exploring the topic of bitachon. We discussed in the previous session part number one, what exactly is bitachon? A little bit of an introduction to bitachon.   Part number two, what is the source for the mitzvah of bitachon? Part number three, how important exactly is bitachon? And where we left off in the previous session was part four, does bitachon always work? And again, to elaborate on this a little bit more, just in terms of the question, we again haven't explored any Torah sources yet. It's so important to emphasize one can say whatever they want in terms of anything and if one is a better lawyer than someone else you will win the argument. But the only true perspective is Hashem's perspective. So we want to come from the Torah sources, the true perspective of what is the absolute truth. Does bitachon always work? Again, let's try to illustrate this in a clear way.   I'm currently short of money, I need an extra thousand dollars. And again, we're not going now into the mitzvah of hishtadlus, which is a component we're going to get to later. As you can already see, that already is a concept which is intertwined. But forgetting hishtadlus for a moment. One qualifies to be able to have bitachon, to receive their thousand dollars. And one reaches out to Hashem to please give them their thousand dollars and one relies on Hashem to give them a thousand dollars. Because again, we'll discuss, B'ezrat Hashem, each of these concepts: What does it mean exactly to have bitachon? How do I practically apply bitachon? Do I have to be qualified to be able to have bitachon? We'll get to everything, B'ezrat Hashem. As I'm mentioning, everything is quite intertwined. But that's why it's so important to try to get a bit of a direction.   So is my approach, if I have asked Hashem and I'm relying on Him to give me a thousand dollars, that of course He can give it to me, even if all circumstances seem to point against me. Of course Hashem is not limited to those circumstances. That is basic emunah that is according to every opinion. One has to know that Hashem is Ein Od Milvado. In one second, He can turn all nature upside down and He can make it look like it's not going against the laws of nature and He can certainly in one moment give me the thousand dollars that I need.   But at the same time, Hashem has many considerations as we know. Maybe I don't deserve this, maybe I've sinned, maybe a previous reincarnation would dictate that it's not good for me to receive the thousand dollars now, or many other millions of factors that might be beyond our human understanding. So as is usually understood, not necessarily will Hashem come through for me. Of course He can come through for me, but not necessarily will He come through for me in the way that I desire. In other words, maybe I will ask for something and He will say no, because it is better for me. That is one way of viewing it.   Another way of viewing this, again without yet going into the answer, but again just presenting the question in a clear format so that we can just get a better understanding of where we're heading. Those thousand dollars that I currently need and I'm relying on Hashem to give me, and again I've applied practical bitachon which we'll discuss. Not only do I know that Hashem can give it to me, but I've reached such an extent of trust that I know and I rely that Hashem will for sure give me the thousand dollars.   Now again, if that would be the case, then many might ask, but how do I know it's good for me? And why would Hashem necessarily give it to me? And who says I deserve it? And even if I do, again, doesn't Hashem have many considerations? And how do I know that I shouldn't even be asking for anything and having bitachon in Hashem for the things that I desire; isn't it wiser to just rely on Hashem that He should call the shots for me? B’ezrat Hashem, we will continue in the next session in our journey of bitachon.

Okay guys, here we go. I am so excited to be embarking on this journey. As mentioned, I'm holding here in my hands a collection of many Torah sources, 75 to be exact, that B’ezrat Hashem we're going to be exploring in a very focused direction of what exactly Bitachon is.   As mentioned, and I'm sure as many are aware, there are literally countless Torah sources about Emunah and Bitachon, and while it is certainly very beneficial to receive daily inspiration about our Emunah, our Bitachon, our relationship with Hashem, to talk to Hashem in our own words and the like, at the same time I've found that it can be quite confusing many of the questions that are asked, and without having a clear direction in an organized way, many of the concepts about Emunah and specifically about Bitachon can be in the air and not so clear to understand. So B’ezrat Hashem, I ask Hashem should help us on this incredible journey.   So what I'm going to do now is read the table of contents of what we're going to be exploring, just to get a little bit of an idea and a glimpse of the direction of what needs to be clarified. And of course, each of these things will branch out to many more aspects. But just to give a little bit of an idea of where we are B’ezrat Hashem heading, and also to just put it out there, as it's easy to understand, many of these concepts are intertwined, and as we learn about one, we will have questions about the other. But that's why I'd like to just give a rundown of the table of contents of how we're going to be exploring it, so that B’ezrat Hashem, we can hopefully come out in a clear way, not only to know the information, but again, to be able to feel qualified and confident to be able to apply these incredible gifts into our lives.   So we're going to be dividing this into 15 parts. Part number one, what is Bitachon? Just a bit of an introduction to what exactly Bitachon is, the difference between Bitachon and Emunah, coming from the actual factual Torah sources, as opposed to just information that we might just have heard, but again, sometimes in an unorganized way that leaves a lot of questions and room for grey areas.   Part number two, what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon? Is it actually a mitzvah? Is it an obligation? Are we dealing with a mitzvah from the Torah, from the rabbis, etc? Part number three, how important exactly is Bitachon? B’ezrat Hashem, we're going to explore some amazingly powerful passages, Torah sources, from early Torah sources to contemporary Torah sources, that discuss just how important Bitachon is, being the foundation of the entire Torah, all the mitzvos, and ultimately everything we are aiming to do as a Jew.   Part number four gets very interesting. Does Bitachon always work? Much of the time when we explore the topics of Emunah, and by extension Bitachon, the way it's usually understood is, of course, Hashem can do anything, and can even save me and send my salvation and whatever I might need, in a miraculous manner, because Hashem is in absolute complete control of the world.   As we discussed previously, that is basic Emunah – ein od milvado - there's nothing else in the world except for Hashem. Hashem exclusively runs every single detail in every single one of our lives. So that being the case, of course Hashem can do anything. But does that mean Hashem will do anything?   If we have Bitachon for a certain situation, such as I need money and I'm applying Bitachon that Hashem will give me that money, or perhaps a person is sick and they want to have Bitachon, that they will have a full recovery, or perhaps somebody wants to find a marriage partner or the many other things that encompass the details of all our lives. If I have Bitachon that it will work out in a certain way, does that mean that I can have Bitachon to the extent that Hashem must come through for me in the way that I desire and in the way that I am having Bitachon for? Or is it only that I must internalize that Hashem can send me absolutely anything at the blink of an eye, whilst at the same time not necessarily will it be in the way that I might expect?   I guarantee you that the information that we're going to be learning might be one of the most interesting topics that one has ever come across, both in a theoretical way in terms of the concept of how Bitachon works, but much more importantly, once one is able to take these theoretical concepts to heart and B’ezrat Hashem sincerely apply them, life can be a completely different life. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward and continue to explore these topics together in the next session.

Before we begin our Bitachon journey, I would like to just give an overly simplified summary about what Emunah is. Again, if anyone would like to refer to our previous audio inspiration, the place to look is transformyouremunah.com and there you can find the archives of the last two years of daily inspiration, as well as all the courses and more. But for our purposes right now, B'ezrat Hashem, in just one slot, to give an overview of what exactly is Emunah, so that B'ezrat Hashem we can continue from there in our Transform Your Bitachon journey.   As we will learn, it is very clear that in order to have Bitachon, one has to have Emunah. It is impossible to have Bitachon without having Emunah, but as the Torah commentaries teach, it is very possible to have Emunah whilst not necessarily having Bitachon. So therefore, in order to be able to embark on our Bitachon journey, we have to first clarify and remind ourselves what exactly is Emunah.   So while there is a lot of information, simply speaking, Emunah means digesting the words Ein Od Milvado, sincerely. The words from the verse in the Torah – Ein Ad Milvado – really mean that there is nothing else in the world except for Hashem. That means that anything that transpires throughout our lives, although much of the time it might seem like other people in our lives and other circumstances are the engines driving those forces of the things happening to us in our lives, however, truly digesting Ein Od Milvado means that there is nothing else in the world except for Hashem. That means that every single detail, down to the last degree, is orchestrated exclusively by Hashem in every single one of our lives.   In the 13 principles of faith, based on the Rambam, that are printed at the back of many siddurim, we read the words, “I believe with my full heart and with full sincerity, that Hashem creates and manages the details of every single one of His creations, and He alone arranged everything that happened in the past, currently arranges everything that happens in the present, and is the only one exclusively who takes care of everything in the future.” Now why this is such an important foundation to Bitachon is because, as we will see, there are so many different details about how we are able to apply Bitachon to our lives. But a basic and most important foundation to any and all of those applications is to work on internalizing more and more each day that Hashem exclusively runs every single detail in every single one of our lives.   And that being the case, as we've discussed so many times in our daily inspiration, that Hashem exclusively orchestrates every single detail to every single one of our lives, and without a doubt can hear every single one of our words that we say to Him, it is one of the most basic extensions of Emunah, to talk to Hashem. The more one builds the belief in Hashem, the more one automatically won't have so many questions about how much should I talk to Hashem, is it okay if I just talk during davening and the like, but rather it will be an obvious go-to that I want to talk to Hashem and I need to talk to Hashem, because it is obvious that that is the greatest effort that we can make in terms of solving our problems, trying to find the right direction in our lives, and anything and everything else, because Hashem runs every single detail in every single one of our lives. So let us make an effort to remember this most important information. The ABC of all of Judaism, and certainly a prerequisite before exploring Bitachon, is to truly digest Emunah.   Hashem exclusively runs every single detail in every single one of our lives, nobody can contradict Hashem's will. And therefore the most obvious and logical thing to do is to always reach out to Hashem about anything and everything to the best of our degree. B'ezrat Hashem, in the next session let us begin our journey in Bitachon.

So before we begin exploring the giant world of Bitachon, which I'm so passionate and excited to be sharing, there is just so much incredible information – some of it we might be familiar with in some ways, but some of it we may have never heard before. And these are the real keys to the success of our lives in this world, and of course also for eternity.   I'm holding in my hand a collection of 75 Torah sources, which I've been working on for a long time. Don't think by any means that Bitachon is limited to 75 Torah sources. If there's anything we learnt in our Emunah journey, we know that the whole point of all Torah and all mitzvos is ultimately for the sake of Emunah and Bitachon, as so many Torah commentaries taught us. And as we open our eyes, we'll just see that it's literally left, right and center. everywhere we look is just full of Emunah and Bitachon. But this particular collection of Torah sources that I'm holding in my hand is so dear and precious to me, because it's ultimately been a journey of trying to clarify for myself, which I'm so excited and passionate to now be sharing with you, a more organized journey through what exactly Bitachon is.   When I've encountered some people and I've shown them this collection of Torah sources, I've said, honestly, this looks like a little pamphlet with a little bit of writing on it that might be worth just a couple of dollars. But honestly, to me, this is worth at least 10 billion dollars. As we learn this information, we will see that the more we learn about and truly digest what true Bitachon is, the more we will realize that we have the true keys to life way greater than winning the lottery or any other security we might feel for ourselves.   Before we move forward to learning about Bitachon, which we can maybe call Emunah level 2, let's just give a summary about what we've learned so many times about what Emunah, simply speaking, is. So, B’ezrat Hashem, we're going to use the next session to give an overview about what we've learned so many times about what exactly Emunah is and how to practically apply that. And then, Bezrat Hashem, after that, we're going to move into Bitachon and begin our journey in the world of Bitachon.   Success is a word that is relatively subjective to what an individual considers to be successful. But we know that in Hashem's undistorted eyes, there is a truthful perspective to what true success is. And therefore, as we discussed so many times, one of the most powerful things that we can do is a basic extension of Emunah, just to simply speaking, ask Hashem that we should be successful in our endeavors. And specifically now, as we're about to embark on this amazing journey, I want to use this opportunity once again to ask Hashem in my own words, and I encourage every single one of you to ask Hashem in your own words, as we embark on this journey, this most incredible and exciting journey, because as you will see, as we proceed on this journey, you will receive the keys to many gates that you either thought never existed or might have thought that those gates will always be locked to you.   “Hashem, we're about to begin our Transform Your Bitachon journey. I'm so excited that you've shared this Torah information with me, and I'm so excited to be sharing it with others. Please Hashem, help every single one of us, me from my part, to give over the information in a truthful and clear way. And at the same time, anyone who might be listening, to b’ezrat Hashem, receive the information in the right way, but not only to learn the information as a theoretical subject, but to truly b’ezrat Hashem, be able to sincerely apply this information in our lives. Thank you so much Hashem for the incredible gift of Emunah, and the incredible gift of Bitachon.”

Hey everyone, I'm so excited to share with you, we're about to embark on our new journey, our new project, Transform Your Bitachon. We've been working on our daily inspiration about Emunah for about two years, and I hope, B’ezrat Hashem, that we've all gained even just a little bit of growth in our Emunah journey. As we've discussed many times, Emunah is not something we ever graduate from truly because, as so many commentaries teach us, Emunah is ultimately our life's work, and there are countless levels, and it's not just about knowing the information about Emunah, but it's about truly digesting that information and incorporating it into our lives as best as we can.   Just like Emunah is a whole world unto itself, Bitachon is a whole incredible world, and while it might seem to many of us that since we have been learning about Emunah, Bitachon is almost an extension of that, on the one hand, that is certainly true; on the other hand, Bitachon is a huge world unto itself, and I'm so excited, B’ezrat Hashem, to share this with you all. Just before we do begin our journey on Bitachon, I would just like to mention a couple of things. For anyone who's interested in referring back to the daily inspiration that we've been sharing over the last two years, the place to look is transformyouremunah.com, and one can find there the archives to all the shiurim that have been posted via the podcast platforms that are listed there. Our series of courses related to Emunah that we've been posting on our daily inspiration can also be found on our website transformyouremunah.com.   I would also like to mention that we had the privilege to release a sefer called Transform Your Emunah in just 60 seconds a day, a sefer which is really a collection of more than 300 Torah sources about inspiration about Emunah. If you'd like to get a copy of the sefer for yourself and you haven't yet done so, you can get it on all the classical platforms such as Amazon, Feldheim, or your local bookstore, and all these links can also be found on our website transformyouremunah.com.   May Hashem help every single one of us to grow in our Emunah and our Bitachon journeys, not only transforming our future for eternity, which is ultimately the most important thing, but at the same time, may we all merit to truly transform our lives, even in this world, the world that we live in.   I'd like to use this opportunity to thank every single one of you for the opportunity to be able to share the Torah wisdom that Hashem has given us about Emunah and Bittachon, and I hope and pray that just like I have grown tremendously throughout this journey, that Hashem should bless every single one of you to grow tremendously in your Emunah and Bittachon endeavors.   And as we've discussed extensively in our Emunah daily inspiration over the past two years, that one of the most basic expressions of Emunah is to talk to Hashem in our own personal words and develop a personal relationship with Hashem, I'd like to use this opportunity to make a small prayer to Hashem in my own words, and I encourage every single one of you, just before we commence on this most exciting and incredible project, to make a small tefillah of your own to Hashem for success in this endeavor, and by extension, in all our endeavors of Emunah and Bitachon and everything else that is truly important in our lives. “Hashem, my dear Father, thank You so much for the past two years of the most incredible Torah information and inspiration that we've gained from, and we're about to embark on this most exciting journey, Transform Your Bittachon, which as You know is the most incredible and exciting world unto itself. I beg You, Hashem, please guide every single one of us in our individual capacity to be able to take the information, digest it, and incorporate it into our lives as might be applicable to each and every one of us, and thereby, b'ezrat Hashem, not only transform our lives in this world to the most meaningful lives of tremendous value, but most importantly, to fulfill our life's purpose, which is ultimately to earn eternity for ourselves, and as we've learned so many times, the ultimate and most important way to do so is by making our maximum efforts to excel in Emunah and Bittachon. Please Hashem, help every single one of us on this incredible journey to be able to truly transform our Emunah and our Bitachon.”

We know that there are two days that Purim is celebrated. The first of the two is usually referred to as Purim, while the second is usually referred to as Shushan Purim. Whilst most places in the world observe Purim on the first of the two days, Yerushalayim and some other places observe Purim on Shushan Purim. However, it is important to highlight that the Megillah states that the miracles and celebration of Purim was enacted as Yemei Mishteh V'simcha, days of celebration. Meaning to say, that although the main celebration for most of the world applies on the first of the two days, whereas in Yerushalayim it applies on Shushan Purim, however, ultimately, we all have a mitzvah to celebrate and rejoice on both of the two days. Halachically speaking, although one performs the main mitzvos of the day, such as the reading of the Megillah, Mishloach Manot, Matanot L'evyonim and the like, in most of the world only on the first of the two days, and in Yerushalayim on Shushan Purim, however, there is a mitzvah for everyone to increase their festivities on both days by having a meal with meat and wine and the like, and singing songs and words of praise and gratitude to Hashem.   We've discussed many times what so many Torah commentaries teach us, that our ultimate job in this world is to develop our emunah, our belief in Hashem. And although there are many things that a life of emunah will lead to, as we've been discussing on this daily inspiration, however, ultimately, perhaps the highest form of true emunah is when one reaches a state of complete joy and happiness. Although it is certainly a tremendous accomplishment when one has a difficult time in their life to reach out to Hashem and pray for things to change, and that is certainly a value which an emunah will lead to. However, perhaps even higher than that is when I stop thinking about my own life and needs and I'm just grateful for the fact that I have been chosen to have a personal relationship with Hashem. I have the opportunity every single day to learn Torah, which if we've learned any Torah sources about, one will understand very quickly, is the holiest of the holy. To fulfill Hashem's mitzvos, words cannot describe the tremendous opportunity that we have. And every single moment we have the opportunity to reach out to Hashem in our own words.   "Thank you Hashem for these tremendous days of Purim that You've given us the opportunity to experience. Days that all the gates of heaven are open, and we are able to reach the highest heights. Please Hashem, help me to take the energy of Purim with me to the rest of the year, to truly be able to internalize what a tremendous gift I have, that I have been chosen to serve You and tap into the holiness of what it means to have a personal relationship with You. Thank You so much, my Father, for the tremendous gift to be able to perform all Your mitzvos. Hashem, there are many things that I can take with me from Purim to the rest of the year, but perhaps one thing that I ask You in particular to help me, is Hashem, I know that the ultimate expression of emunah is to just be happy, because I trust that You will always only do what is best for me. And therefore Hashem, I ask You, please help me to be so grateful for the opportunity to have been chosen to perform this mitzvah, which as we've been taught, is more potent than anything in this world that I can even begin to imagine. Of course, I'm only going to be able to witness that in the next world, because this is the world of emunah, of belief. But help me, Hashem, to internalize that true emunah, that true belief.   And similarly, Hashem, in general in my life, even when I'm not actively performing a mitzvah, please help me to constantly be in a state of true joy and simcha, because if I trust that I am in Your hands, the Creator of the world, the One who has planned my life from beginning to end, already from the time of creation, and who has power over anything and everything, and is watching over every single step. I have so much reason to just sing and dance, even when things do not look rosy in my situation, because I do not live my life by what I see. I know that as the Gemara teaches, this world is an upside-down world. What we see is upside-down to what true reality is. But we are so privileged to have been given the gift of emunah, to trust and believe, that Hashem, everything that You do will always only be for my best."

What a tremendous opportunity we have today to be experiencing the holiest day of the year, a time where all the gates of heaven are open. Let us make use of these 24 hours in the most potent way. Let us remind ourselves that Purim is a day that will never cease to exist because this is a day on par with the holiness of the future, a day so holy beyond even Yom Kippur and all the other tremendous festivals that we have in the Jewish calendar.   "Thank you Hashem for the tremendous privilege you've given me to be chosen to perform your mitzvos, so many mitzvos every single day, and in particular right now the tremendous mitzvos of Purim. But not only to perform them with the intricate details exactly as you've prescribed to us in your halacha, but also to do my best to perform them with true enthusiasm and joy and simcha. What a tremendous opportunity I have to be a Jew. Thank you Hashem for the tremendous opportunity to fulfill your mitzvos."   And the climax of Purim, as we've discussed, is that a person is obligated to get so happy and elated on Purim to the point that we don't know the difference anymore between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordechai. And a beautiful idea that the Nesivos Shalom brings from the Maharal is that there are three types of relationships. One type is our relationship with Hashem. The second type is our relationship with other people. And the third type is our relationship with ourselves. And on Purim, we are obligated to reach such a state of happiness where we don't know the difference anymore between the cursed is Haman times and the blessed is Mordechai times.   And as the Nesivos Shalom explains so beautifully, when it comes to our relationship with Hashem, sometimes Hashem sends us beautiful rosy times. Those are the times that are signified by blessed is Mordechai. And at other times, we endure tremendous suffering and hardships. And those times are signified by the cursed is Haman times. On Purim, we reach a state of such happiness and closeness to Hashem that it doesn't matter anymore, Hashem, whether You send me the greatest gifts in the world or the greatest suffering in the world. I love You so much, Hashem, with all my heart, because I know that You created this world just to give to me. And I trust, even when I can't see with my own eyes, that You will only do what is best for me. Thank You so much, Hashem. I love You so much. Thank You for all those times that You gave me all the money I needed. And thank You for all those times that I was so short of money. Thank You, Hashem, for all those amazing times with tremendous health. And thank You for all those times that I suffered from tremendous illness, because although I cannot see why that is good for me, but I trust that You will only do what is best for me.   And on Purim, we are also obligated to get so Livesumei that we don't know the difference between the blessed is Mordechai times and cursed is Haman times, with regards to our relationship with other people. Some people are in the category of blessed is Mordechai. You're such a good friend; You always do good for me. I love You so much. Whereas some people might be in the category of cursed is Haman. I really don't like You; I have many reasons why I don't feel good feelings towards You. On Purim, we are obligated just to be so happy and friendly to everybody around us, to not know the difference anymore whether someone is truly the closest friend or perhaps an enemy, because I just love everybody. I have a mitzvah of Ahavas Yisrael; I have a mitzvah to love all those around me. I love everybody to the highest degree; everybody is my best friend.   And thirdly, when it comes to my relationship with myself, there are times of blessed is Mordechai when things are going so well and I'm succeeding spiritually. I woke up today on time, I davened beautifully; I learned Torah; I gave charity; I dressed in a modest way, and I'm truly succeeding spiritually and I feel great at the end of the day that I'm so close to Hashem. And then there are other times of cursed is Haman where I didn't wake up on time; I missed davening; my Torah learning didn't exist today; I didn't dress in an ideal manner, and I might have committed other sins. And on Purim we reach a state of happiness that regardless of what we've done, of course usually if we have transgressed, we make our maximum effort to repent and for going forward, we do our best to only do mitzvos and stay away from aveiros, whilst at the same time on Purim we reach such a state of simcha that regardless of whether I'm feeling inspired and upbeat from how I've been succeeding spiritually, it's not about what I see and experience about myself but rather what I believe Hashem has taught me - that I am His precious child regardless of my actions, regardless of anything. This close relationship with Hashem can never be tainted.   "Hashem, my dear Father, please help me to internalize Your true perspective that although I am to make my maximum effort to do Your mitzvos and to do my best in the best way, whilst at the same time my personal relationship with You, the relationship of a parent and a child, can never be broken. And on this day, Purim, Hashem, help me to reach the true state of just being b'simcha and singing and dancing for the fact that I have a personal relationship with You and help me to love everyone around me and help me to love myself and Im Yirtzeh Hashem, Hashem, help me to take this energy not only for Purim but throughout the year. Thank you Hashem for the most incredible opportunity to be a Jew. Thank you Hashem for the most incredible opportunity to have the great and holy day of Purim." A Freilige Purim to everyone!

What a tremendous privilege and opportunity each one of us has, that shortly we will be moving into a spiritual time period of the future. As we've been discussing, Torah commentaries teach that Purim is the holiest day of the year, to the point that all the other festivals will cease to exist in the future, because the holiness of the future will be so great that the holiness of the festivals will be diluted. Whereas Purim will be with us forever, because right now as we are about to move into this holy period of Purim, this is a time period of holiness on par of the holiness of the future. What a tremendous privilege each one of us has.   And as we've been discussing, seeing as our purpose in this world is to practice emunah, specifically belief, whether we understand or not, whether we connect or not, our starting point should always be to make our maximum effort to fulfill Hashem's commandments exactly as prescribed by Halacha. And in addition to that, to make our maximum effort to perform the mitzvos with true simcha and joy, appreciating the fact that we have been chosen to perform the holiest work in the true real world. After having read the Megillah and performing all the mitzvos of the day, Matanot L'evyonim, Mishloach Manot, and the like, we reach the Purim Seudah. And as we are taught by Torah commentaries, the climax of the Purim Seudah is the mitzvah of Livesumei.   We are taught by many Torah sources that to get drunk throughout the year is a tremendous sin because we are always supposed to be in control of ourselves to be able to serve Hashem to the best degree that we can. However, on Purim there is a specific mitzvah, Livesumei Bepuraya, to get drunk in the holiness of Purim itself. It is not the time and place now to discuss the laws of drinking on Purim, but rather we will be discussing now the real message and idea behind what it means Livesumei Bepuraya, and as the Gemara states, to the point that we are so ecstatic that we don't even know the difference anymore between Cursed is Haman and Blessed is Mordechai. What some Torah commentaries explain, Cursed is Haman refers to the times of our lives that are dark, that in a sense we curse them away because we wish they wouldn't have existed because of the pain and suffering, whereas the Blessed is Mordechai times in our lives refers to those happy and joyful times of bright lights and success.   On Purim we are obligated to reach a state of such closeness to Hashem that we begin to praise Hashem to the point that we cannot distinguish anymore between the times of Blessed is Mordechai and Cursed is Haman, meaning to say, whether things are smooth and happy in our lives, or whether things are the darkest times that we might begin to imagine, on Purim we are aiming to reach such an elated state that it makes no difference to us anymore whether we are experiencing bright times or dark times because we have emunah in Hashem. We trust that Hashem will always do what's best for us and even when times appear to be so dark, so painful, we trust that Hashem would only do that for our best.   Now throughout the year it is not always easy to remain with this perspective because when things are very difficult and we are undergoing sometimes tremendous forms of suffering, it is a real challenge to remember and remind ourselves that Hashem is truly in control and only created the world just to give to us and would only do what is best for us. But there is a special energy that we are all privy to experience on the holy day of Purim, where combined by the gift of the holiness of the Purim day itself, as well as our own efforts to truly connect with the holiness of Purim, we can reach the state of truly thanking and praising Hashem just for the fact that I am a Jew and I have the privilege to perform your mitzvos and have a personal relationship with Hashem.

What a privilege we have that very soon each one of us will have the opportunity to tap into the holiness of the day of Purim. And as we learnt, Torah commentaries teach that Purim is the holiest day of the year, to the point that Yom Kippur is called Yom k-purim, a day almost as holy as Purim. And to the point that just like the halacha states by when someone asks us for charity that we are entitled to investigate the matter, however, when it comes to Purim as the halacha states, when one asks for charity, we do not ask questions, but rather give generously. And similarly, when we make requests of Hashem on Purim, the heavenly courts do not ask questions, but rather give generously.   And we learnt further a fascinating midrash which teaches that in the time of the future, all the Jewish holidays will cease to exist, because the holiness of the future will be so great that there will be no need for the holiness of the Jewish festivals. Whereas as the midrash teaches, the only exception to this is the festival of Purim, which as we are taught, will never cease to exist, because right now, today, the holiness that we are able to experience on Purim is on par to the holiness of the time of the future. So seeing as we have this short period of 24 hours of a tremendous holiness beyond imagination, let us make our maximum effort to prepare ourselves in advance, so that when we begin this 24-hour period, b'ezrat Hashem, we can use every moment to its fullest, and reap its maximum benefits.   So what exactly are we to focus on during Purim? Of course, as always, the first thing is to follow Hashem's guidelines as He is prescribed to us by halacha, because again, whether we understand or not, whether we connect and feel inspired by the mitzvos we might be performing or not, I perform Hashem's mitzvos in exactly the way that He has prescribed, with all of the intricate details involved in each of the mitzvos. So step number one to focus on during Purim is to make our maximum effort to fulfill all the mitzvos of the day, exactly as prescribed by halacha, such as the mitzvah of reading the Megillah, Mishloach Manos, Matanos L'evyonim, eating the seudah according to the details prescribed by halacha, and the like.   Besides actually performing the mitzvos with the intricate details, which again is certainly step number one, we should certainly make our maximum effort during Purim to perform the mitzvos with tremendous simcha, joy and happiness. Many Torah commentaries teach that performing a mitzvah exactly as prescribed by halacha with all its intricate details, but doing so without a feeling of simcha and joy, cannot even begin to be compared to performing that same mitzvah with true simcha and joy. And of course throughout the year, every mitzvah we perform, ideally we should aim to perform with tremendous simcha and joy.   However, especially when we come to Purim, the holiest day of the year, let us remind ourselves about the Torah passage which deals with the curses that might befall the Jewish people. And the Torah passage states that the reason that might happen is because we did not serve Hashem with simcha, meaning to say, even if we might have performed all of the mitzvos exactly as prescribed by halacha, with all the intricate details, but we forgot the element of simcha, then God forbid we could be susceptible to those terrible curses. And similarly the great and holy Arizal testified about himself that the reason that he reached such great spiritual heights was not due to his Torah learning, fasting, or any other forms of dedication to Hashem, but rather due to his tremendous simcha that he felt whilst performing the mitzvos.   "Hashem my dear Father, throughout the year I often get distracted by the fast-paced world that we live in, and forget to truly appreciate what a tremendous privilege I have to be a Jew, to be able to be chosen to perform your mitzvos. Please Hashem help me, as we approach Purim, and especially on Purim itself, and B'ezrat Hashem to extend this message to the rest of the year too, to begin to appreciate what it means to be able to perform a mitzvah. Thank you so much Hashem for the mitzvah of mishloach manot. Thank you so much Hashem for giving me the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of giving tzedakah. Thank you so much Hashem for giving me the opportunity to say berachos throughout the day; to wash my hands in the morning upon awakening; to learn Torah; to light Shabbos candles; to have the privilege to listen to the megillah; and Hashem I could spend the whole day here thanking you. Hashem please help me that before I perform your beautiful mitzvos, to stop and be mindful of what a tremendous privilege I have. Thank you Hashem for the tremendous opportunity and privilege to be able to fulfill your mitzvos."

We are all so privileged that in just a few days, B'ezrat Hashem, we will experience the holiest day of the year. As mentioned, the Arizal teaches that although Yom Kippur is ordinarily viewed as the holiest day of the year, and in a sense easy to relate to why that is, however, Yom Kippur in the Torah is referred to as Yom Kippurim - Yom k-purim - it is a day like Purim, meaning to say that although Yom Kippur is tremendously holy, it is almost as holy as Purim, because the holiness of Purim surpasses all other days of the Jewish calendar.   And similarly we discussed that throughout the year, when one requests charity, we are certainly entitled to investigate where the money is going to and if this is truly a worthy cause. Whereas on Purim, the halacha states that whoever stretches out their arm, we should just give freely, rather than investigating and asking questions. And as the Torah commentaries teach, Hashem abides by this halacha too, meaning to say that throughout the year, when we make requests, many a time the heavenly courts will investigate the matter to determine whether we are truly worthy to receive what we have requested. Whereas on Purim, Hashem too abides by the halacha that states that when one stretches out their hand to ask, we just give without asking questions. What a tremendous privilege we have in this 24-hour period of the holy Purim day, that all the gates of heaven are open, and it is certainly worth our while to try to prepare ourselves in advance for this holy day to make maximum use of this 24-hour dynamite period.   There is a fascinating midrash which teaches that in time to come, all of the Jewish holidays will cease to exist, except for one - Purim. Meaning to say, there will be no more Pesach, no more Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur. Although each of the Jewish holidays are imbued with tremendous holiness, however when it comes to the tremendous holiness that B'ezrat Hashem we are due to experience when this world terminates and we move to the future, the holiness of the Jewish festivals are considered insignificant in comparison to the tremendous holiness that will be prevalent in the time of the future, and therefore there is no need for them to exist. Whereas when it comes to Purim, as the midrash teaches, the day of Purim will never cease to exist. And again, the reason for that is because although we will be experiencing such tremendous holiness in the time of the future, however the holiness of the day of Purim is on par with the holiness of the time of the future.   We are so privileged that in just a few days time, B'ezrat Hashem, we are going to experience such a holy day that is on par with the time of the future beyond the holiness of any and all other Jewish festivals that we have. There are many sources that highlight and explain the intense and incredible kedushah that we are able to attain during this 24-hour period of Purim. Suffice it to say that we certainly want to use these 24 hours in the most efficient way. 24 hours that are a true semblance of the next world, completely beyond our world.   "Hashem my dear Father, in just a few days, B'ezrat Hashem, I will have the privilege to experience the holiest day of the year, a time which is imbued with the same holiness of that of the future. Hashem although this is certainly beyond my understanding, because as we go through Purim, the way You have prescribed, does not always connote feelings as if we are experiencing the holiest day of the year; I might have expected to be saying tehillim, learning Torah all day, fasting and the like. But again Hashem, my job in this world is not to understand, but rather to believe. And as You have taught us via Your many Torah commentaries, that Purim is the holiest day of the year. Please Hashem help me to truly be able to tap into the power of the day and make use of this tremendously powerful 24-hour dynamite period in the most efficient way according to Your Torah guidelines. Thank you Hashem for the tremendous privilege that You have given me to be able to be a Jew, to be able to follow the guidelines of Your Torah which is Your true perspective, the only true perspective, and to be able to experience the holiest day of the year."

We are so privileged that every single one of us will have the opportunity b'ezrat Hashem in just a few days, to experience the holiest day of the year. A well-known Torah teaching that many Torah commentaries bring down in the name of the Arizal is that although we are accustomed to referring to Yom Kippur as the holiest day of the year, and in a sense it's easy to relate to that fact when we are all trying to be at our top form, repenting, and making our maximum effort to surround ourselves in holiness through our fasting, prayers, and the many other mitzvos of the day, however, when it comes to the day of Purim, the first thought that might come to our minds in connotation of this day is wine, feasting, and the like. However, as the Arizal famously teaches, that in the Torah, Yom Kippur is referred to as Yom Kippurim, which can also be read as Yom k-purim; it is a day like Purim. Meaning to say, Yom Kippur is an extremely holy day - so holy it is that it is almost as holy as Purim. But it does not match the holiness of Purim, because Purim is the holiest day of the year which surpasses every other day of our Jewish calendar.   Throughout the year when one is approached for charity, especially if it's a significant sum, one is certainly entitled and sometimes encouraged by halacha to investigate if this is a legitimate and worthy cause. When it comes to Purim, however, the halacha dictates that when one stretches out their hand asking for charity, we don't ask questions; we just give. Of course, that does not mean that we are obligated to give millions of dollars to the entire world, but rather the principle that is being taught is that although throughout the year one is entitled to ask questions, on the day of Purim one's attitude should be that of complete generosity, and within one's budget of what one intends to give to charity, one should just give freely to those who are requesting, rather than investigating by asking the person questions to see if this is truly a worthy cause.   And many Torah commentaries extend the idea behind this law to our relationship with Hashem. Every single one of us is considered like a very poor person standing before Hashem. Throughout the year, when we ask Hashem for things, many a time the heavenly court begins to investigate the matter to see if we are truly worthy. There are many considerations and do we truly deserve what we are requesting. Whereas on Purim, Torah commentaries explain that the heavenly courts do not ask questions whether we are worthy or not, but rather this is the most opportune time to receive what we might be requesting.   Now, of course, this does not mean that whatever we do ask for on Purim we will for sure receive, because there are many considerations beyond our understanding. Sometimes when we ask for something, Hashem knows that in the bigger picture it will be detrimental for us, and therefore the reason He will not give us what we have requested is not because our prayer did not make its way up, but rather because Hashem understands that this will not be good for us. There could be many other considerations, such as if a person is asked for health or wealth and the like, there are many ways to measure what true health or true wealth is. For a person who was supposed to suffer from tremendous illness, if they now after their prayers will be blessed to only experience mild illness, that could certainly be considered healthy in comparison to what was supposed to be. And similarly when it comes to wealth, if a person has requested that Hashem bless them with financial success, there are many levels as to what is considered to be financially wealthy.   As we've discussed many times, our job in this world is not to understand things, but rather to believe, to have emunah. And what we are being taught here, loud and clear, from many Torah commentaries, is that Purim is a tremendously holy day, to the point that if any time is going to be the opportune time for our prayers to be answered, Purim is the day. What a tremendous privilege each one of us has that in just a few days' time, we will experience the great and holy day of Purim.

We've been discussing the tremendous opportunity that every single one of us has to perform the great mitzvah of giving somebody a smile. And as the Gemara in Kesubos, page 111b states, that a person who smiles at his fellow is better than one who gives him milk, and as mentioned, although we certainly are encouraged to invest both in terms of our time, energy and money to perform all of the mitzvos, because what is anything worth in this world compared to the eternal value of a mitzvah, however, some mitzvos are so easy to fulfill both in terms of our time, energy and financial investment that they are available to us constantly throughout the day, every day.   Smiling at another individual is a huge mitzvah that is available to us constantly. Many a time, just giving a smile to somebody else can turn around their day from feelings of hopelessness and anxiety to just that little bit more upbeat. One of the reasons that it is such a big mitzvah to smile and bring happiness to another individual is because as Torah commentaries teach, when one is in a happy state, we are much, much more productive and able to excel in our endeavors, both with regards to the day-to-day activities that we might need to perform, and in particular with regards to excelling in our spiritual endeavors. When one is not feeling upbeat and happy, it is much more difficult to reach out to Hashem and talk to Him, to learn Torah, to perform an act of kindness and the like, whereas when one is feeling happy and in a good space, much of the time there is much more feeling of motivation to do good. With just a little bit of an effort to give somebody a sincere smile, one can change the day and the life of an individual who is experiencing loneliness, depression, anxiety from whatever challenges they might be going through.   The Gemara in Taanis 22a records the following episode and states, Rabbi Beroka often spent time in the marketplace and Elijah the prophet - Eliyahu Hanavi, would appear to him. Once Rabbi Beroka said to Eliyahu Hanavi, "Of all the people who come here, is there anyone worthy of the world to come?" And as the commentary of the Torah Chaim to Sanhedrin 88b explains, that although the overwhelming majority of people do have a portion in the world to come, however for many people there is first a need for suffering in this world and to experience some suffering in Gehinnom in the next world to first cleanse their soul. And what Rabbi Beroka was asking Eliyahu Hanavi was, "is there anybody in this marketplace that is on such a high level that they are immediately worthy right now of the world to come without needing prior suffering neither in this world nor in the next world before earning their eternal share?" And the Gemara continues that Eliyahu Hanavi pointed to two individuals and said to Rabbi Beroka, "These two individuals are currently worthy of the world to come." Rabbi Beroka then went over to them and inquired, "What is your occupation?" They said to him, "We are jesters and we cheer up the depressed."   Let us internalize what Hashem's perspective, the only true perspective is. Although at times it might not seem like such a super mitzvah to make an effort to make other people happy, however in this Gemara we are learning that out of all the people in the marketplace, many of whom may have been involved in great and holy endeavors, there were only two who were on such a high level that they were ready for the next world without a need for any cleansing. And these were two people who were constantly involved in cheering people up, in making people happy. Each one of us is presented with many opportunities in different forms to help others and bring happiness into other people's lives. Let us internalize that whatever efforts we might be able to do to bring happiness to those around us is a huge mitzvah.

We've been discussing what the Torah commentaries teach with regards to the tremendous benefit of living a life of happiness. And as pointed out by the Vilna Gaon to Mishlei, chapter 18, verse 14, as well as other Torah commentaries, when one is in a happy state, even when illness strikes, God forbid, one will come out of that illness due to the state of one's happiness.   And as we've been discussing, much of the time, feeling feelings of happiness as opposed to anxiety is an extension of living a life of emunah and bitachon. Because the more I believe that I am in Hashem's hands exclusively and there is nothing to worry about because He is in absolute control and He only does what is best for me, the more I will feel feelings of calm, serenity, peace and tranquility. Because if I am learning about emunah, although I might know that in truth I am immune to circumstance and other individuals, but to truly internalize that knowledge is our life's work, as we've discussed many times. And as mentioned, we are only called on to make a little bit more effort each day to try and grow more and more to living a life of true emunah and bitachon, which will lead to a life of true happiness.   The Gemara in Kesubos, page 111b, states that a person who smiles at his fellow is better than one who gives him milk. Imagine for a moment that someone were to go around giving people free milk every day. That would certainly be a notably commendable act. Whereas when someone walks around just smiling at those around them, instinctively it doesn't appear to us like such a commendable act. From Hashem's vantage point, smiling at people is considered even greater than going around and giving people milk.   We've discussed previously how to internalize the concept of what it means to go to the next world, to Olam Haba, in comparison to this world. There's a famous analogy offered by Torah commentaries. Imagine you have a large stadium filled to the top with sand, and every 1,000 years a little bird comes and removes just one grain of sand. Let us try conceptualize how long it will take to empty out the stadium. This is not a number that can fit on the calculator, it is so big. When we compare 120 years of living in this world to what it means to live for eternity, our lives in this world is not even like one grain of sand in that stadium.   Certainly then, when it comes to the opportunity to performing a mitzvah, even though we might have to invest financially in terms of our time or in other areas, in order to be able to perform this mitzvah, one with the right perspective will certainly be prepared to do so, because again, what is the point of all the money or all the time in this world compared to the eternal reward and blessing of one mitzvah in the next world? However, after all is said and done, we do have to choose into where we're going to invest, both in terms of our time, our money, and the like, because as human beings we are limited. For many mitzvos, there might be a great time investment, as well as it might cost a lot of money to have the opportunity to perform them. And although we are certainly encouraged to do so, as mentioned, we are limited and won't be able to do that on a constant basis.   Whereas there are some mitzvos, such as giving somebody a smile, which is so easy, doesn't cost anything, and nevertheless the Gemara is teaching us that giving somebody a smile is more of a mitzvah than giving him milk, taking the time and investing the money to bring him his supplies. We are certainly encouraged to help out in all areas, even when we do have to invest time and financially. However, it is motivating to internalize that each one of us has the constant opportunity to perform a huge mitzvah many times a day, just by giving somebody a smile.