Behar 5784: When Hashem Becomes Your Relative

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Shiur presented in 5783 & 5782

Part 1: When Hashem Becomes Your Relative (5783)
Part 2: The Taharah of Shabbos (5771)

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Part 1: When Hashem Becomes Your Relative (5783)

In the Absence of a Rich Uncle…

In the Torah it says, כי ימוך אחיך, “if your brother becomes impoverished,” ומכר מאחוזתו, “and he’s forced to sell his field” (to raise funds), ובא גאלו הקרוב אליו, “and a redeemer that is related to him comes to him,” וגאל, “and redeems,” את ממכר אחיו, “that which his brother sold” (Vayikra 25:25). That means, the redeemer goes to the guy who bought the achuzah and gives him money and then he gets his relative’s field back for him. The passuk continues,ואיש כי לא יהיה לו גאל, “and a person who doesn’t have a redeemer” and  והשיגה ידו, “and he comes into money.” Let’s say the original owner, who had to sell his field, comes into money somehow. He wins a lottery ticket. ומצא כדי גאלתו, “and he finds the amount of money that he needs to redeem his field” (v. 26).

The Torah is teaching us here that when a person comes to a situation of dachkus, of poverty, and is forced to sell his fields, he has two possibilities to redeem what he was forced to sell. The first possibility is if he himself doesn’t acquire the necessary funds but has a relative who comes to redeem the sale. That’s one possibility. Another possibility is if the guy himself who sold the field comes into money somehow and now he has the ability to redeem it on his own, without having to rely on others.

Now, the Netziv (R’ Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, 1816-1893) asks a question in his commentary on chumash called Ha’amek Davar.^[i] (In Brisk they refer to the Netziv as “the Zeide, Rav Hirsch Leib.”^[ii] He used to give a shiur to balebatim every day in Volozhin). The question is why does the Torah preface the first possibility by saying ואיש כי לא יהיה לו גאל? There are two ways to redeem. Either a relative redeems it or you redeem it  yourself. So the Torah should have simply said ובא גאלו הקרוב אליו וגאל את ממכר אחיו או השיגה ידו ומצא כדי גאלתו. Why does the Torah have to write ואיש כי לא יהיה לו גאל?

So the Netziv tells us that it comes to teach us an important yesod. If you don’t have a relative with money to redeem it, how are you going to get the money? You know how you’re going to get money if your family is not paying the bill? You yourself will receive it from Hashem. Hashem will give money to you.

Poverty, The Golden Opportunity For Bitachon

With everything in life, whenever we have an expense, what do we typically do? If a person faces an expense what does he do? He comes to his parents. He comes to his daddy and his mommy and says, “Could you ‘redeem’ me? Could you buy me this suit? Buy me this hat? Buy me these shoes?” Buy me this. Buy me that. Buy me, buy me, buy me. Most people live their life with the perspective that their relatives will redeem them when they’re in a pinch, whenever they need money.

The Torah tells us that that’s not a good way to get something, because when somebody relies on his relative for something, he’s being boteach in his relative. He’s boteach in his parents – and as such he removes his bitachon from Hashem. But when someone doesn’t have someone to rely on, that person is forced to rely on Hashem. He has no alternative. Sadly, what people without bitachon say is, “I’m stuck.” If you don’t have in-laws or out-laws or somebody who can help you with the bar mitzvah or with the wedding or with the monthly expenses and you have no bitachon in Hashem, you know what happens? You’re up the creek without a paddle, my friend. You try to drive up the creek and you don’t have a paddle. Without a paddle you can’t get up the creek. You’re stuck.

A person has to know when he doesn’t have something to rely on, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is providing him with an opportunity to be boteach in Him and by being boteach in Hashem, you will definitely get what you need. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is יודע חוסי בו, He knows those people who are relying on Him – and then Hashem will give him (Nachum 1:7). Hashem will provide him כדי גאולתו.

This is a moradige yesod from the Netziv that the Briskers lived by. The Briskers never tried to rely on people. It was never their thing; to go out of their way and say, “Who can I get my money from? Which connections do I have to try to make the money?” Rather, what did they do? They said, “We have no connections and we’re being boteach in Hashem,” and Hashem provided their needs for them.

The Beis Halevi talks about this at length in his famous Kuntres Habitachon and says that the more a person relies on something, that generally causes him to minimize his bitachon in Hashem. Let’s say a person is boteach on his wife’s job, which kollel yungeleit do. Even balebatim rely on their wife for a second income. They remove their bitachon from Hashem via that because they’re not putting their entire bitachon in Hashem. And bitachon hashalem, he says, is when you don’t make any hishtadlus and you say, “Hashem, I’m putting myself completely in Your hands.”

Cars Acquired with Bitachon

For example, the last car that I needed, I gave up my old car and I needed another one. Now, from time immemorial, as far back as I could remember, Hashem always provided me with a car. Always. And Hashem provided me with clunkers, cheaper used cars, and then as I progressed, Hashem provided me with newer cars and better cars and eventually even brand new cars. Hashem was very kind to me. Because I believed He could give it to me, so He did.

So this time my wife asked me, “What are you going to do? Are you going to get a new car?” I said, “No.” I said, “Hashem never disappointed me by not giving me a car. I don’t feel it’s an emergency for me to have a car. If I need a car, I have who to borrow it from.” We have a second car that if my wife is not using it, I can use it. I figured we could always figure something out. I said, “I’m going to put my bitachon in Hashem. Let’s see what happens.” I’ve done this before. This is the second time I’m doing it.

The spot where I parked my car remained empty for one week. For two weeks. People asked me, “What happened to your car?” I said, “I got rid of it. It was time to give it back.” “So what are you getting next?” I said, “I have no idea. I’m waiting for Hashem to provide for me.” And after four weeks, somebody came to visit me and he said to me, “Where is your car? How come your car is not parked out there?” I said, “I don’t have a car right now.” He said, “You know what? This is nonsense. Go get yourself a car right now. And I mean it. Get yourself a car. I’ll take care of it.” That was Hashem telling me, I’ll take care of it. This was a shaliach.

And the same thing happened the last time. Except, the last time, Hashem gave me a bigger chiddush because until then for quite a few years I had leased cars and the last time somebody called me up and he said, “I’m indebted to you for many many years. There’s not an area in my life that you weren’t involved in and did not put me on my feet. So I’m buying you a present.” I said, “That’s very nice of you but it’s not necessary.” He said, “I already arranged it.” I said, “What is it?” He said, “A car.” I said, “A what?” Now, this guy never drove a new car in his life. He’s one of these guys who knows how to drive clonkers and keep them going. You put socks around the radiator to keep the belt going. And the guy said, “I got a car.” I said, “What are you giving me? Your own shmatta you’re going to bequeath to me?” He said, “I got you a new car.” I said, “What?! You can’t afford a new car!” He said, “I have a new car.” And he gave me a new car. And he took out financing for five or six years. He financed the whole thing. It’s now about a year and two months after he financed it. And he told me, “It’s all paid off already.” I said, “Wow! That’s amazing. It’s all paid off.” Hashem took care of things. I had no safek Hashem was getting me a car. I just didn’t know how or when. People get nervous so they try to push things along.

Go Straight to Hashem

Here is a guy making a wedding. Weddings cost money. They are expensive. The numbers that they have out there that it costs to make a wedding today are more than people could imagine. But if Hashem gave you the shidduch, Hashem will no doubt provide you with the money.

So, sometimes you rely on your relatives, your father-in-law, your parents, you rely on this, you rely on that and you remove your bitachon from Hashem. Or you say, “I don’t have relatives who are willing to donate, or able to donate, so I’m forced to rely on Hashem.” When you rely on Hashem, I’m telling you, that’s the way to go. You have to realize that if you don’t have a גואל, if you don’t have relatives, you’re exempt from hishtadlus. You’re exempt from hishtadlus! If Hashem gives the person the shidduch, He’s going to give him the money for it. But you have to be mechazek yourself and to know that. And the more bitachon you’re going to have, it will come in a better package. It will come quicker. It may come this way, or it will come that way. But you’re going to get it.

My rebbi used to say that in hoshanos we say אדון המושיע, the Master Who brings salvation, בלתך, without You, אין להושיע, there’s no salvation. He used to say what does that mean? Only when you know that without Hashem you have no salvation, then Hashem saves and becomes אדון המושיע, the Master Who brings salvation.

This passuk teaches me an extra chiddush, my rebbi used to say, that even if a person was yarad minechasav legamrei, he went down, he lost all his money as it says in the passuk כי ימוך אחיך and he was forced to sell his field because of his matzav, the Torah tells us he can go back to to his original position through bitachon in Hashem.

The Best Mussar Sefer for Bitachon

Now the big question that everybody always asks is: How do you get bitachon in Hashem? So my rebbi said that the Brisker Rav, his father, used to say the best mussar sefer for bitachon  is to study your own life. Study the different situations you were in in your life. You will see that there are situations you couldn’t get past or you couldn’t get through them without Hashem’s intervention. He said, the biggest mussar sefer for bitachon is the “leben alein,” life itself, because there are matzavim in life where there is no way to get through without bitachon.

So let’s say a person is facing a matzav where he is sick or he has a sick child. Most people very quickly realize that most doctors are ‘play doctors.’ They’re playing doctors. What does that mean they’re ‘play doctors’? That means the emes is that they don’t know much more than me and you. And the emes is even though they sat in school for years upon years and then they went to do residency and they trained and trained, the emes is, if there’s something a little bit more complicated and not so simple that they have to face, they don’t know what to do.  So what they do, is they suggest a battery of tests and then they test you. And if they find out what the problem is מה טוב ומה נעים – but a lot of the times they never discover what the problem is and you’re stuck. Or what if they discover that you have a problem that can’t be healed medically? Most people lose themselves completely. If they hear they have a disease that medicine has no cure for, they lose themselves because they’re boteach in medicine. They aren’t boteach in Hashem. They are boteach completely in medicine, in the doctor with the white coat. He may be a nice fellow but what can he do for you?

Refuahthrough Bitachonin Hashem

You have to realize, you have to be mechazek yourself in bitachon. Because when you’re facing a situation like that, you have to tell yourself, “Okay Hashem, You want me to be boteach in You. That’s what You want me to do. If there’s no one there to help me, I have to be boteach in You. You are the רופא חולי עמו ישראל. You will cure me.”

I remember getting a report on a child of mine who was in a yeshivah out of town. I was called by a doctor who he had gone to for a checkup and he said, “It’s a very serious matzav.” I said, “What is it?” He didn’t want to tell me on the phone. I said, “I can handle it. Tell me on the phone what is it?” He wouldn’t tell me. He said, “I’m sending him right now to a major hospital.” My wife and I drove there. We got there in the evening and met the doctor and he told us the news. “Your child has got a very serious illness.” I remember it was in the winter. We walked out of the hospital. My child turned to me and he said, “Tatty, was that my death sentence?” and I said, “No.” I said, “One thing you should know, that every single person in the world has a death sentence, but machalos, illnesses are made to be healed. Hashem is the רופא חולי עמו ישראל.”

And then he mentioned to me, “How about your friend?” I had a friend who had that same illness for twenty four years until he died. He struggled for twenty four years! I said, “My dear friend did not want to follow bitachon in Hashem. He wanted to follow a course of bitachon in medicine.” He ran around the world to any country that offered any snake oil or any magic tricks that made no sense. He ran to them. Every morning, he would have a ten ounce cup of vitamins. I used to look at it and say to him, “My dear friend,” I said, “What a bizbuz mamon. If you took the money you paid for that cup and put it in the pushke, it would be much better. What are you doing?” But he was convinced.

I told my son, “We’re going to go straight to Hashem and we’re going to see how Hashem is going to heal us.” He said, “But there’s no cure for this.” I said, “There’s no medical cure. Doctors don’t know a cure. But that’s not to say there’s no cure for this. Hashem has a cure.” Hashem made the machalah. It says in the passuk כל המחלה אשר שמתי במצרים לא אשים עליך and Rashi says you know what that means? ואם אשים, if people get sick, don’t worry about it, Hashem says. I’m going to heal you. It’s going to be, Rashi says, כלא הושמה, it’s going to be as if it wasn’t put there, כי אני ה’ רפאך.

Marriage and Sustenance through Bitachon

You have to train yourself. Look back in your life at so many things that happened. People always ask me, “How should I have bitachon?” I said, “Did you look in the mirror?” I told a guy, “Do you have a wife?” I said, “If you have a wife and you don’t have bitachon, you must be out of your mind.” I said, “For you to get married was a miracle. Who was going to marry you? Who would want to marry you? What did you have to offer a wife?” And sometimes the wife is not 100% and if she was the last woman in the world, people wouldn’t marry her, and still she got married. That’s a miracle to me! That shows me that Hashem creates marriages. You have to have bitachon in Hashem after you see that. And you have kids too? How do you have kids? I know a lot of people who got married and I thought they’re never going to have kids. I can’t tell you why I thought that, but I had good reason to believe they would never have kids. And then they shocked me. They had kids! You know why? Because Hashem made them have kids. You look in your life and notice how you got through situations and succeeded only with bitachon.

You see people who have food in their refrigerators. They never have milchigs on Shabbos. I went into a guy’s house once on Shabbos, and Shabbos morning he was eating cantaloupe and cottage cheese. I told the guy, “What is your problem? Who eats cantaloupe and cottage cheese?!” “That’s what I prefer.” I said, “Is it because you can’t afford it?” “No.” He was a lawyer as a matter of fact. He wasn’t a rich attorney, but still. I said, “Don’t do that. It’s not pas for Shabbos. It’s not kavod Shabbos. You’re supposed to have a seudah. What you’re eating is a ‘meal.’” On Shabbos there are some people who call what they eat ‘meals.’ You don’t eat ‘meals’ on Shabbos. On Shabbos, you eat seudas Shabbos. It’s a moed Hashem. You’re celebrating with Hashem.

“As-Needed” or “In the Bank”

I want you to know there’s a shitah in Brisk that many people may not be aware of. The Brisker Rav writes this shitah clearly in his commentary on Tehillim on the passuk of ‘קוה אל ה.^[iii] The Brisker Rav says that there are two madreigos of bitachon. There is one madreigah of bitachon where a person is boteach in Hashem that he will receive what he needs. But there’s another madreigah, a much higher level, where his bitachon is so strong, that he feels as if it’s already in the bank. He already has what he needs. So here is a person who has a child who needs a shidduch. He says, “I’m boteach in Hashem I’m going to find a shidduch. My child is going to find a shidduch.” Then you have another person whose child already has a shidduch already, and now he says, “I know for certain Hashem is giving me the money for the chasuna. There’s no question. It’s like the money is in the bank already.” These are examples of the higher madreigah of bitachon that the Brisker Rov is talking about.

The Brisker Rav learns it up in the passuk, and he says the passuk teaches me that a person whose bitachon is so strong in Hashem that he feels he already received what he needs is zocheh to וְיִתֶּן לְךָ מִשְׁאֲלֹת לִבֶּךָ, Hashem will grant youthe desires of your heart (Tehillim 37:4). That’s what a person has to know.

Sometimes people want things. There are many people who tell me they need something, and I tell them, “Have bitachon in Hashem.” They say, “I can’t live like that. I have to have the money upfront. I’ve got to know it’s there upfront before I can proceed. I just can’t have menuchas hanefesh like that.” So I always think about the guy who was running a yeshivah and came to the Brisker Rav saying that he wants to travel to America to collect money for his mosad. He was in a difficult financial matzav. The Brisker Rav told him, “You don’t have to travel. You need the money today? When you’ll actually need the money, Hashem will figure out how to get it to you. Ela mai,you don’t want that. You want that the money should be in your bank right now and you should know for sure you have the money. Nu, that Hashem is not giving you yet min haShamayim. Hashem hasn’t granted you that just because you want it.”

The Brisker Rav lived like this. The Brisker Rav was certain that when Rosh Chodesh would roll around, he would have the money. And many, many times, on Erev Rosh Chodesh, in the morning, he would sit down and he would make a cheshbon of how much money he must have and how much money he still needs to pay for the kollel that he was holding out. And when he saw that he was missing a lot of money to allocate to the avreichim and he had nowhere from where to get the money, he used to say, “Nu, by the time the chalukah – the actual distribution rolls around – the money will certainly be here.” And many times what happened was that somebody would come to the Brisker Rav and ask him, “How much money are you missing?” He would tell him, and the guy would give him the money on the spot.

Universal Needs and Credit Cards

So of course, most people are not holding at that madreiga. But you have to understand that if there’s something that everybody else has (i.e. it is a universal need that is satisfied for everyone), you will have it too.

That’s what you have to realize. And if you don’t realize that, that’s called removing your bitachon from Hashem. Being boteach in credit cards is not boteach in Hashem. You should put your credit cards away, and say, “Hashem, I’m being boteach in You.” Not in Chase Bank. Unless you want miles. If you’re trying to rack up miles, then you can take a credit card but then you’re obligated to be boteach with 100% bitachon that by the end of the month you’re going to pay it up. You never carry debt to the next month. I’ve never ever carried a credit card debt over Rosh Chodesh and it wasn’t American Express.

A person should mechazek himself in bitachon.And you’ll have more menuchas hanefesh in your life and you’ll get sechar for that. 

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Part 2: The Taharah of Shabbos (5771)

Shabbos Purifies Us from Our Sins

Shabbos brings out the true tzura, reflects the reality of the chayei hayehudi and a person has the ability through this day to be mechazek his kesher with the Ribono Shel Olam. You should know that the fact that we stand an entire day before Hakadosh Baruch Hu, we are zocheh to tremendous taharas hanefesh from all of our past sins and attain a tremendous chizuk hanefesh to enable us to go forward with some degree of purity.

The Kuzari (מאמר שלישי) writes devarim niflaim on this subject. He says as follows: The involvement that people are drawn to during the weekdays darken a person’s nefesh constantly and certainly if the person comes in contact with chevrah of nearim and nashim and friends, from whom hears devarim mechuarim, disgusting things, schmutzige zachen. Or, he says interestingly, one hears nigunim that muddy the purity of his nefesh. That is the koach of nigunim, to directly muddy the purity of one’s nefesh. Therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us, he says, the yom haShabbos, a yom kadosh, when we are prohibited from doing all melachah and any sinful thoughts and then a person is separated from the avodah of one’s guf to this world and he becomes attached to avodas Hashem. This creates a desire in a person to become closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu and he now aligns himself with spiritual beings and he distances himself from his animalistic side and animalistic people. Through this, the nefesh becomes tahor and is cleansed of its previous sins, and it prepares you for the coming week.^[iv]

Every Tefillah Purifies Us

He says, can a person go an entire week without some taharas hanefesh? He says, no. So therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us an opportunity to daven three times a day. A person is omed lifnei Hashem during his tefilos and that is a taharah shower that one takes. Because then also, when you are omed lifnei Hashem, you become attached to Hakadosh Baruch Hu and you purify yourself from everything you picked up prior to this and it now helps you move forward for the future.

He says, the brachah that a person receives in shacharis holds him until minchah. Minchah has the koach to hold you until ma’ariv. And he says, if a person prepares himself and detaches himself from olam hazeh or bad things some time before the tefillah, that helps enhance the kochos of the tefillah. However, he says, the tikun hanefesh that one receives beshaas the tefilos of the yemei hashavua are incomparable to the tefilos of yom haShabbos. Because with the regular tefilos, all you accomplish is a tikun me’at, just to ‘stabilize’ you. But when menuchas haShabbos comes and a person mamash makes a shvisa, a complete cessation and a complete separation from inyanim hagashmiyim and he’s osek in ruchniyus for one yom shaleim, that brings him closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu  much more than anything else. And then, he can benefit on Shabbos what the weekday tefilos cannot do for him.

The tefilos and Shabbos basically enable a person to become attached to Hashem. When you see a person who is skipping davening or not davening, that person is losing his ‘immunization,’ his protection to be able to withstand the onslaught of the choshech and the nonsense that he picked up from rei’im, nashim vechaveirim ra’im. Now, he says, besides for the tefilos and Shabbosos, Hakadosh Baruch Hu also gave us Rosh Chodesh. It’s a זמן כפרה לכל תולדותם. And on top of them, Hashem gave us three regalim which are also yemei menuchah vetaharah. That’s why Chazal say, חייב אדם לטהר עצמו ברגל. Taharo beregel is a condition in order to have what the regel offers you. And on top of all those, Yom Kippur. That is the ultimate richuk from gashmiyus and that’s where a person tries to emulate a malach, increases his humility, stands up a lot before Hashem, there are krios, he recites many more tishbachos and tehilos, and all the kochos hagufniyim are fasting, they are being osek in ruchniyus as if there is no teva behami, as if there is no animalistic side to a person. That’s when a person could get cleansed from even the greatest sins, even from those things that the tefilos or Shabbosos or roshei chadashim or the regalim cannot cleanse.

That means, a person has to know that there is a comparison between Shabbos and Yom Kippur regarding a person’s matzav haruchni.

Every one of us has a feeling sometimes and thinks, can I make it? I can’t make it. It’s too hard for me. I’m not used to this. I keep on falling. Can I make it?

You have to know that the tefilos hayom are the injection that is going to enable you to move forward. If you don’t daven, or utilize those tefilos and get yourself an injection, then it’s going to be difficult. You have to know that the essence of all these things, tefilos, Shabbos, Yom Kippur, is all one. They are all one and the same. Just with one of them you get a greater dose, and with others you get a smaller dose.

Hakadosh Baruch Hu is tahor, His servants are tehorim and therefore, if you stand in the presence of a metaher, you know what happens? That gives you taharah. לפני מי אתם מטהרים ומי מטהר אתכם. If you ever had the experience of standing in the presence of an adam gadol, you get a sense of what taharah is. When you go before that adam gadol, you stand in his presence, you become humbled, you become shriveled. There is no sense of self. And all of a sudden, the last thing you’re thinking about is olam hazeh. You’re not thinking about hotdogs, you’re not thinking about devarim ra’im in their presence. You become completely humble yourself. And that is the idea of standing before Hakadosh Baruch Hu on Shabbos. This is what heals us from the sickness of all our avonos.

You have to know that on Shabbos, the worst thing you could possibly do is to be rodef olam hazeh. The whole purpose of Shabbos is to separate ourselves from the pursuit of olam hazeh. Instead, we need to focus and think about how we want to get healthier. And now especially, in light of the fact that Rosh Hashanah is coming up and Yom Kippur, who doesn’t want the next week and a half to be free of the weight of his chataim?^[v] Who wants to be weighed down by his chataim? And therefore, who doesn’t want to be prepared for this coming week, to come to the Yom Hadin feeling a little bit cleaner and uplifted?

So this Shabbos, you should make it an amazing Shabbos.

Every Tefillah is a Yom Kippur Katan

R’ Yerucham, when he used to speak about this Kuzari, he would say that you know what comes out from this? That every tefillah is Yom Kippur katan. Every single tefillah that a person has is mei’ein Yom Kippur katan. And a Shabbos is mei’ein Yom Kippur katan. And a Yom Tov is mei’ein Yom Kippur katan. And Rosh Chodesh is mei’ein Yom Kippur katan. In other words, they give a person a chance to become close to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

So, rabbosai, let’s be mechazek ourselves this week in order to make it. Let us try to think. Don’t talk about things that you know are going to be metamei you and not be metaher you. Don’t think about things that are going to be metamei you and not be metaher you. Focus on those things and dedicate yourself to Hashem. You need to rest, that’s fine. If you have to rest, that’s fine. But don’t run away from Hashem because that is called pursuing tumah, not pursuing taharah. Come to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Think about this a number of times, זכור את יום השבת, לפני מי אתם מטהרים, Whom am I standing in front of? Hakadosh Baruch Hu is tahor, His mesharsim are tahor. Try to picture that you are omed lifnei Hashem on this wonderful Shabbos. Im yirtze Hashem, if you’ll do that, you’ll be zocheh to taharah beyond your imagination.

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^[i] והשיגה ידו. הכי מיבעי או השיגה ידו. ואיש כי לא יהיה לו גואל מיותר. ובא להורות לנו דרך מוסר כי זה שלא יהיה לו גואל יבא לידי כך שתשיג ידו. דמי שיש לו גואל והוא בוטח עליו מסיר בטחונו מה׳ משא״כ אם אין לו על מי לסמוך ה״ה חוסה בו ית׳ והקב״ה יודע חוסי בו וממציא לפניו כדי גאולתו. (ואח״כ ראיתי שהקדימני בזה בס׳ מלאכת מחשבת) וכתיב ואיש. ולא ואם לא יהיה לו גואל. ללמדנו דגם הבוטח בה׳ מכ״מ צריך להיו׳ איש היודע את בוראו ומשתדל בתפלה ובקשה ממנו ית׳. וכמבואר בויקרא רבה פ׳ י״ז טוב ה׳ לקויו יכול לכל תלמוד לומר לנפש תדרשנו. פי׳ גם יבקש בתפלה.

^[ii] Presumably because R’ Chaim Halevi Soloveitchik (1853-1918) married Netziv’s granddaughter, who was the daughter of R’ Refoel Shapiro (1837-1921), the famed Volozniner Rosh Yeshiva, and Sarah Resha (Berlin) Shapiro.

^[iii] נראה להסביר כוונת הפסוק, כי הכתוב אומר שהתשלום הגדול שיזכה לזה הבעל בטחון הוא שהקב”ה יחזק ויאמץ לבבו, ויהי’ בטחונו עוד יותר גדול ויותר חזק. ואבאר דברי בדרך משל, לשני אחים אחד עשיר ואחד רש, והאח העשיר הי’ טוב לבב והעניק מעשירותו לאחיו העני בכל מלא מדת ההרחבה, הן באכילה ושתי’ והן בלבישה ודירה נאה ושאר דברים, הכל ביד רחבה עד שלא נשאר בהנהגתם שום חילוק ביניהם. פ”א אמר העשיר לאחיו העני, הן אמת כי לא יחסר לך שום דבר, אבל זה בעצמו הוא לא טוב כי יהי’ כל מצבך תלוי בי, וכל מחסורך יהי’ נשען על טוב לבי מה שאני אתן לך. ולכן הציע לו כי יקציב למענו סכום גדול ויעשה לו ממנו עיסקא שימצא בה כל פרנסתו ברווח ולא יהי’ עוד תלוי בו ובטוב לבו. והנמשל מזה לענין בטחון, שהכתוב מעיד שעל ידי מדת הבטחון יכולים להשיג כל דבר, כענין שנאמר ‘והתענג על ה’ ויתן לך משאלת לבך’, ביאור הדבר, שאם תהי’ בטחונך בה’ כל כך חזק עד שתתענג ע”י זה, אז יתן לך משאלות לבך. וכן הכתובים מעידים להלן, ‘גול על ה’ דרכך ובטח עליו והוא יעשה, והוציא כאור צדקך ומשפטיך כצהרים’, ‘וכן דום לה’ והתחולל לו שכפי’ פי’ חז”ל ענין הכתוב שאם יש לאדם שונאים המבקשים רעתו ידום וה’ יפילם לפניו חללים חללים, הכל לפי ערך שלימות הבטחון ככה ישלם מאתו ית”ש לפי אותה מדה, וישיג כל משאלות לבו בהרחבה. אבל האם נוכל לומר גם שהקב”ה ישפיע לו עשירות גדולה עד שלא יצטרך עוד לבטחון, זהו דבר שא”א לאומרו, כי הנה בחובת הלבבות בשער הבטחון מסביר והולך שמדת הבטחון יתירה בערכה על כל מה שיש בעוה”ז, כגון שדות ובתים וכרמים וכל עשירות שבעולם, וגם מבעל האלכימיאה שבידו להפוך כל מיני מתכות לזהב, שכל אלו יש להם פחד מבנ”א ומגנבים וליסטים ושאר דברים, ואילו הבעל בטחון יש לו תמיד מנוחה שלימה ואין לו דאגה משום דבר עיי”ש בדבריו. באופן שהבטחון בעצמו יתירה ערכו על כל עשירות שבעולם, ואיך נאמר שה’ ישלם לו בעד מדת בטחונו דבר שהוא פחות במעלה מהבטחון, אלא מה הם התשלומים יותר גדולים שיכולים להשיג ע”י מדת הבטחון, הוא שהקב”ה יחזק ויאמץ לבבו ויזכה לבטחון עוד יותר גדול ויהי’ עוד יותר מאושר, והן הן דברי הכתוב קוה אל ה’ חזק ויאמץ לבך וקוה אל ה’, שבזכות הבטחון יזכה לבטחון עוד יותר גדול וזהו שכרו, ודו”ק, עכ”ל. (חדושי מרן רי”ז הלוי) [מצאתי סיכום טוב על דברי הרי”ז בס’ שעורי רבנו משולם דוד הלוי, וז”ל: מרן ז”ל שאל בהא דכתיב קוה אל ה’ חזק ויאמץ לבך וקוה אל ה’ אמאי נכפל שוב בסוף הפסוק וקוה אל ה’ וביאר מרן ז”ל דמי שיש לו מידת הבמחון נאמר בו והתענג על ה’ ויתן לך משאלת לבך דהיינו שמי שיש לו במחון עד כדי כך שהוא מתענג על זה כאילו הכסף כבר ברשותו אז יתן לך משאלות לבך ואמר מרן ז”ל דלאיש כזה שיש לו מידת בטחון כזו גבוהה אין הקב”ה נותן לו עשירות גדולה עד שלא יצטרך עוד לבטחון אלא נותן לו רק צרכו לפי שעה והטעם בזה לפי מש”כ בחובות הלבבות שער הבטחון דהאדם הכי מאושר בעולם הוא בעל הבטחון משום שמי שיש לו עשירות גדולה חי תמיד בפחד מגנבים וגזלנים ואינו בטוח בעושרו אבל בעל הבמחון יש לו תמיד מנוחה שלימה דאף שאין לו עשירות גדולה אין לו שום דאגות כיון שבוטח בה’ וזהו דקאמר קרא קוה אל ה’ ושוב חזק ואמץ לבך וקוה אל ה’ שלעולם הוא נצרך שוב למידת הבטחון.]

^[iv] וכו’, וְאַחַר זֹאת הַהַצָּעָה יַנְהִיג הַכֹּחַ הַחֶפְצִי כָּל הָאֲבָרִים הַמְשַׁמְּשִׁים אוֹתוֹ בִּזְרִיזוּת וַחֲרִיצוּת וְשִׂמְחָה, וְיַעַמְדוּ בְעֵת הָעֲמִידָה מִבְּלִי עַצְלָה, וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ עֵת שֶׁיְּצַוֵּם לְהִשִׁתַּחֲווֹת, וְיֵשְׁבוּ בְּעֵת הַיְשִׁיבָה, וּמַבִּיטוֹת הָעֵינַיִם הַבָּטַת הָעֶבֶד אֶל אֲדוֹנָיו, וְיַעַמְדוּ הַיָּדַיִם מִמַּעֲשֵׂיהֶם, וְלֹא תִתְקַבֵּץ הָאַחַת עִם הָאַחַת, וְתִשְׁתַּוֶּינָה הָרַגְלַיִם לָעֲמִידָה, וְיַעַמְדוּ כָל הָאֲבָרִים כְּנִבְהָלִים הַיְרֵאִים לַעֲשֹוֹת מִצְוַת מַנְהִיגָם, לֹא יַרְגִּישׁוּ עַל מֵחוּשׁ וְלֹא עַל הֶפְסֵד אִם יִהְיֶה לָהֶם, וְיִהְיֶה הַלָּשׁוֹן מַסְכִּים עִם הַמַּחֲשָׁבָה לֹא יוֹסִיף עָלָיו, וְלֹא יְבַטֵּא בִתְפִלָּתוֹ עַל דֶּרֶךְ הַמִּנְהָג וְהַטֶּבַע כְּמוֹ הַזַּרְזִיר וְהַבַּבָּגָא אֶלָּא עִם כָּל מִלָּה מַחֲשָׁבָה וְכַוָּנָה בָהּ, וְתִהְיֶה הָעֵת הַהִיא לֵב זְמַנּוֹ וּפִרְיוֹ, וְיִהְיוּ שְׁאָר עִתּוֹתָיו כִּדְרָכִים הַמַּגִּיעִים אֶל הָעֵת הַהִיא, יִתְאַוֶּה קִרְבָתוֹ שֶׁבּוֹ מִתְדַּמֶּה בָרוּחֲנִיִּים וְיִתְרַחֵק מֵהַבַּהֲמִיִּים, וְיִהְיֶה פְרִי יוֹמוֹ וְלֵילוֹ הַשָּׁלֹשׁ עִתּוֹת הָהֵם שֶׁל תְּפִלָּה, וּפְרִי הַשָּׁבוּעַ יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא מְעֻמָּד לְהִדָּבֵק בָּעִנְיָן הָאֱלֹהִי, וַעֲבוֹדָתוֹ בְשִׂמְחָה לֹא בִכְנִיעָה, כַּאֲשֶׁר הִתְבָּאָר. וְהַסֵּדֶר הַזֶּה מֵהַנֶּפֶשׁ כְּסֵדֶר הַמָּזוֹן מֵהַגּוּף, מִתְפַּלֵּל לְנַפְשׁוֹ וְנִזּוֹן לְגוּפוֹ, וּמַתְמֶדֶת עָלָיו בִּרְכַּת הַתְּפִלָּה עַד עֵת תְּפִלָּה אַחֶרֶת, כְּהַתְמָדַת כֹּחַ סְעֻדַּת הַיּוֹם עַד שֶׁיִּסְעַד בַּלַּיְלָה, וְכָל אֲשֶׁר תִּרְחַק עֵת הַתְּפִלָּה מֵהַנֶּפֶשׁ הִיא הוֹלֶכֶת וְקוֹדֶרֶת בְּמַה שֶׁפּוֹגֵעַ אוֹתָהּ מֵעִסְקֵי הָעוֹלָם כָּל שֶׁכֵּן אִם יְבִיאֵהוּ הַצֹּרֶךְ לְחֶבְרַת נְעָרִים וְנָשִׁים וְרֵעִים, וְיִשְׁמַע מַה שֶּׁיַּעְכִּיר זַכּוּת נַפְשׁוֹ, מִדְּבָרִים כְּעוּרִים וְנִגּוּנִים שֶׁתִּטֶּה הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲלֵיהֶם וְלֹא יוּכַל לִמְשָׁל־בָּהּ. וּבְעֵת הַתְּפִלָּה מְטַהֵר נַפְשׁוֹ מִכָּל מַה שֶּׁקָּדַם, וִיתַקְּנָהּ לֶעָתִיד, עַד שֶׁלֹּא יַעֲבֹר שָׁבוּעַ עַל זֶה הַסֵּדֶר עַד שֶׁיְּתַקֵּן הַנֶּפֶשׁ וְהַגּוּף, וּכְבָר נִקְבְּצוּ מוֹתָרִים מַקְדִּירִים עִם אֹרֶךְ הַשָּׁבוּעַ לֹא יִתָּכֵן לְטַהֲרָם וּלְנַקּוֹתָם אֶלָּא בְהַתְמָדַת עֲבוֹדַת יוֹם עִם מְנוּחַת הַגּוּף, וְאָז יִרְצֶה הַגּוּף בַּשַּׁבָּת אֶת אֲשֶׁר חָסַר לוֹ מִשֵּׁשֶׁת הַיָּמִים, וְיִהְיֶה נָכוֹן לֶעָתִיד. וְכֵן הַנֶּפֶשׁ תִּזְכֹּר מַה שֶּׁחָסְרָה עִם טִרְדַּת הַגּוּף, וּכְאִלּוּ הִיא בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא מִתְרַפְּאָה מֵחֳלִי שֶׁקָּדַם וּמִתְעַתֶּדֶת לְמַה שֶׁיִּדְחֶה מִמֶּנָּה הֶחֳלִי בֶעָתִיד. דּוֹמֶה לְמַה שֶּׁהָיָה עוֹשֶׂה אִיּוֹב בְּכָל שָׁבוּעַ בְּבָנָיו, כְּמוֹ שֶׁהוּא אוֹמֵר: ‘אוּלַי חָטְאוּ בָנַי’, וְאַחַר כֵּן יִהְיֶה עָתִיד לָרְפוּאָה הַחָדְשִׁית שֶׁהִיא זְמַן כַּפָּרָה לְכָל תּוֹלְדוֹתָם, רְצוֹנִי לוֹמַר: תּוֹלְדוֹת הֶחֳדָשִׁים וְחִדּוּשֵׁי הַיָּמִים, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר: ‘כִּי לֹא־תֵדָע מַה־יֵּלֶד יוֹם’. וְאַחַר כֵּן יִהְיֶה עָתִיד לְשָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים. וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן אֶל הַצּוֹם הַנִּכְבָּד אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ יִנָּקֶה מִכָּל עָוֹן שֶׁקָּדַם, וְיַשִּׂיג בּוֹ מַה שֶּׁחָסַר לוֹ בַּיָּמִים וּבַשָּׁבוּעִים וּבֶחֳדָשִׁים, וְתִנָּקֶה הַנֶּפֶשׁ מֵהַבִּלְבּוּלִים הַמַּחֲשָׁבִיִּים וְהַכַּעֲסִיִּים וְהַתַּאֲוִיִּים, וְתָשׁוּב מִנְּטוֹת אֲלֵיהֶם תְּשׁוּבָה גְּמוּרָה בֵּין בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה בֵּין בְּמַעֲשֶׂה. וְאִם לֹא תִתָּכֵן הַתְּשׁוּבָה מֵהַמַּחֲשָׁבָה בַּעֲבוּר גְּבוּרַת הָרַעְיוֹנִי עָלֶיהָ, בְּמַה שֶּׁקָּדַם לָהּ מִזִּכְרוֹן מַה שֶּׁשָּׁמְעָה מִימֵי הַנְּעוּרִים מִשִּׁירִים וְחִידוֹת וְזוּלָתָם, תִּנָּקֶה מֵהַמַּעֲשֶׂה וְתִתְוַדֶּה עַל הָרַעְיוֹנִים וּתְקַבֵּל שֶׁלֹּא תִזְכְּרֵם בִּלְשׁוֹנָהּ כָּל שֶׁכֵּן שֶׁתַּעֲשֵׂם, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: זַמֹּתִי בַּל־יַעֲבָר־פִּי. וְצוֹמוֹ בַיּוֹם הַהוּא צוֹם שֶׁהוּא קָרוֹב בּוֹ לְהִתְדַּמּוֹת בַּמַּלְאָכִים, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא גּוֹמְרוֹ בִכְנִיעָה וּבְשִׁפְלוּת וּבַעֲמִידָה וּבִכְרִיעוֹת וְתִשְׁבָּחוֹת וּתְהִלּוֹת, וְכָל כֹּחוֹתָיו הַגּוּפִיִּים צָמִים מֵהָעִנְיָנִים הַטִּבְעִיִּים, מִתְעַסְּקִים בַּתּוֹרִיִּים, כְּאִלּוּ אֵין בּוֹ טֶבַע בַּהֲמִי. וְכֵן יִהְיֶה צוֹם הֶחָסִיד בְּכָל עֵת שֶׁיָּצוּם, שֶׁיְּעַנֶּה בוֹ הָרְאוּת וְהַשֵּׁמַע וְהַלָּשׁוֹן, וְלֹא יַטְרִידֵם בְּזוּלַת מַה שֶּׁיְּקָרֵב אוֹתוֹ אֶל הָאֱלֹהִים, וְכֵן הַכֹּחוֹת הַפְּנִימִיִּים מִדִּמְיוֹן וּמַחֲשָׁבָה וְזוּלָתִי זֶה, וְעִם זֶה יִהְיוּ הַמַּעֲשִׂים הַטּוֹבִים.

^[v] This shiur was given on 17 Elul, 5771