A generation ago, bingo games were serious fundraisers for Torah institutions. Most Yeshivas ran them, and as the staff at the game could only be volunteers, many a yeshiva bachur found himself \u201cvolunteering\u201d to work the game.<\/p>\n
Every game had its version of Sadie\u2014an older woman in her housecoat, sitting at the end of the third row. On the table were her good luck charms\u2014her lucky rabbit foot keychain, her lucky pennies, her winning card from last month\u2014all laid out in exact \u201clucky\u201d order. And, she sat there, waiting for her special number to be called.<\/p>\n
\u201cI-19.\u201d And she would say, \u201cI-19, that\u2019s my number!\u201d as she held her rabbit foot even closer for better luck.<\/p>\n
To many people, when they tell you to have bitachon, they mean something like this. A sort of good luck charm, a kind of wishful thinking, as in, \u201cHave faith. Keep good cheer. Things will work out in the end.\u201d But, like Sadie, they don\u2019t really believe in this stuff, they surely don\u2019t know it to be so\u2014they just sort of, kind of, hope that, things will work out.<\/p>\n
And while many people \u201cfrum speak,\u201d and use the vernacular, they aren\u2019t any more sophisticated than Sadie\u2014they just use different terms. \u201cIt\u2019s all mazel.\u201d \u201cHe has a good mazel.\u201d \u201cOf course he does well in business; he has mazel.\u201d \u201cTo succeed in life, you need mazel.\u201d<\/p>\n
And it could well be that when they say, \u201cIt\u2019s bashert,\u201d they don\u2019t know the difference between bitachon, or mazel, or Karma, or voodoo\u2014or whatever. But it doesn\u2019t matter\u2014because it\u2019s all the same. Just some sort of, hazy, confused, wishful thinking.<\/p>\n
This has nothing to do with bitachon. Bitachon is based on knowing that Hashem is active in the running of the world. Bitachon is founded on the knowledge that Hashem is with me throughout my day, observing, protecting and helping me. Bitachon rests on the understanding that Hashem controls every outcome. It isn\u2019t mazel, it isn\u2019t lucky rabbit feet\u2014it\u2019s Hashem.<\/p>\n
And before a person can reach any real level of bitachon, he has to have a firm grasp of the fourth level of emunah. He has to understand that Hashem is here\u2014right here. Active. Involved. Present and accounted for, in the running of my<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s one more point that requires understanding. Many times when people use the word bitachon, they mean \u201cfaith,\u201d as in, \u201cWe can\u2019t really know\u2014but we have faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
But faith and bitachon have very little to do with one another.<\/p>\n
Faith is something that we have in people. Imagine that you offer to buy my car. You name a price, I agree, and then you ask, \u201cIs it okay if I pay you by check?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hmmmm… Do I take your check or not? Well, it depends. If the amount is small, and I know you well, I probably have faith that you\u2019re good for the money. But if I\u2019m selling my car for fifteen thousand dollars, and I don\u2019t know you that well, do I have faith that your check won\u2019t bounce?<\/p>\n
Bitachon isn\u2019t supposed to be some sort of wistful, foggy \u201cI hope it\u2019s true,\u201d sort of sense. It is knowledge. Knowing that Hashem is present. Knowing that Hashem is involved in my life. Knowing that Hashem will come through for me.<\/p>\n
Once upon a time there were people who had rock solid powerful trust. The Avos were on that level. Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov walked with Hashem. Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel and Leah spoke to Hashem. Of course they trusted. Of course they weren\u2019t afraid\u2014how could they be? Hashem was right there with them.<\/p>\n
For us, our work lies in making our beliefs tangible. We have to come to see Hashem. We need to train ourselves to find Him\u2014hiding, yet controlling all. We start with the big picture issues. Looking at the world and seeing that it has a Creator. Studying the astonishing system of nature and getting a sense of awe of the One who formed it. Then we study life on this planet. We review history\u2014the history of the world and the history of our lives. And we discover Hashem. We see the Orchestrator behind the scenes, coordinating, choreographing all of the events of mankind\u2019s tumultuous existence. And eventually we reach that goal of seeing Hashem. Not sort of hoping, or praying, or wishing\u2014but knowing that Hashem is with us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A generation ago, bingo games were serious fundraisers for Torah institutions. Most Yeshivas ran them, and as the staff at the game could only be volunteers, many a yeshiva bachur found himself \u201cvolunteering\u201d to work the game. Every game had its version of Sadie\u2014an older woman in her housecoat, sitting at the end of the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132836,"featured_media":37768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\n