From: sg04@gte.com (Yechezkal Shimon Gutfreund)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Bitachon (Trust)
Date: 25 Jan 93 18:37:57 GMT
Reply-To: sg04@gte.com
Organization: GTE Laboratories, Inc.


What is Bitachon (Trust?) in G-d?

The common perception of this concept is that we trust in G-d that
whatever happens to us will be good. That is, we believe G-d is good,
and that whatever endeavor we undertake and any situation we find
ourselves in, then because G-d is good, things will be good.

Of course, there are two possible outcomes. Either the even will turn
out good, or it won't. So what happened? The usuall explanation is that
it depends on whether we are worthy or not. That is, if we merit it,
then it will be for the good, if not, then it won't be for the good.

Now, even those who explain Bitachon this way, will qualify things
slightly.  That is, if a bad occurance happens, then true, it is a bad
occurance to us. That is, on the revealed plane to us this appears bad.
However, on the hidden level it is good. That is, everthing that occurs
to us G-d intends for our good. At a particular time and event might
appear to us to be bad, however, the inner intent is for our good.
Sometimes, after the passage of time this inner goodnes in the event
will become apparent to us, and sometimes it might never become
revealed. Still, our Trust in G-d is that G-d is good and that we
believe even the revealed bad contains within it a deeper inner good
(just not perceivable by human-kind).

This is where things usually end. But the Rebbe asks a further
question.  What is the simple meaning of Trust? Does not trust mean
that we trust that G-d will give us a revealed good? What would the
point be in trusting that G-d is going to deliver us a revealed bad,
but a concealed good? Something is really not very good until we can
really see in a revealed way that the thing is good. Until then, for
all practical purposes it is bad. Besides, what would the use of our
trust be? Sure we trusted, but we got bad. Our trust had nothing to do
with what we got. It was our merits. The same thing would have occured
if we did not trust.

The Rebbe brings a quote from Chovos Levavos. That we trust in G-d, the
One who grants good to those who deserve and those who do not deserve.

From this he goes on to point out that Bitachon is not a philosophical
priniciple. It is an avodah (service) in itself. By actively trusting
in G-d, we make a change in our situation. 

Tefillah (Prayer) & Teshuva (Repentence [or better Return]) have the
ability to change our situation. Through teshuva we become
meritorious.  Though before we were not deserving of a certain thing,
through teshuva we transform ourselves.

The same is through Bitachon. By trusting in G-d, that G-d is good and
that all we receive from G-d is good we transform ourselves.

If we insisted that the only good is that which is that which is openly
revealed to our intellect as good. Then we have set ourselves up as
gods. We have closed the system and bounded and deliminated good
accoriding to our own dictates. We have left no room in the world for
G-d, we want the world to operate according to our dictates, and we
leave no room for the possibility that it operates according to higher
dictates.

However, by Bitachon in G-d that G-d is the source of all, and thus by
definitions all is good - we open upen up the world. We allow ourselves
to be open to G-dlyness. That ourselves, our situation, and our world
operates according to G-dly dictates. And though we might not perceive
the goodnes of G-ds plan, we have Bitachon that it indeed is good.

This change in our outlook is itself a change in our situation. This
Bitachon itself transforms us and makes us worthy. The avodah of
Bitachon has the possibility to change our situation so that all that
we will receive will indeed be good, and an open clear and undisputable
good.

This is what David says in Tehillim: (Psalm 55)

Hashlech al HaShem yavcha, v'hu y'chalklecha, lo yitan l'olam mot l'tadik

Throw on HaShem your needs, and he will support you, he will never
allow the tzaddik to fall.

By having an active positive bitachon in Hashem, one changes one's
situation and becomes worthy of all good things - even if we don't have
the merits otherwise. Just having this Bitachon is itself an avodah
which will provide us will all we need, and never let us fall.

This is done by changing Bitachon from a philosophical priniciple
to an avodah. By actually dealing with our day-to-day worldly
situation in a manner of Bitachon in HaShem, we transform ourselves
and our world.

In yiddish there is an equivelent statement:

Tracht Gut - Vet Zein Gut.

Think Good, and it will be Good.

This all applies to the individual. An individual might sometimes
and some point in his/her life be less than perfect and perhaps less
than totally meritorious. However, when speaking about the totality
of the Jewish people, then certainly we are meritorious. Thus
certainly via our Bitachon in HaShem, and our trust in our redeption,
he will certainly bring Moshiach and the true and final redemption.


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Yechezkal Shimon Gutfreund		 		  sgutfreund@gte.com
GTE Laboratories, Waltham MA			    harvard!bunny!sgutfreund
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