Parshas Shoftim - The Secret to Overcoming Fears Through the Power of Emunah (Faith)

"Who is the man who is fearful and fainthearted..." (Devarim 20:8)

It is written in the Torah portion: "Hear, O Israel, today you are approaching the battle against your enemies" (Devarim 20:3). Rashi explains: "Even if you have no merit other than the recitation of the Shema alone, you are worthy that He should save you." Yet, immediately afterward, the verse states: "Who is the man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house." The Talmud (Sotah 44a) explains that "fearful and fainthearted" refers to one who is afraid because of the sins in his hands, even a minor transgression such as speaking between putting on the tefillin of the arm and the tefillin of the head.

This seems contradictory. Earlier we said that the merit of even a single mitzvah is enough to win the war—the mitzvah of reciting the Shema is sufficient for victory. But then we are told that because of a minor sin, such as speaking between the tefillin of the arm and the tefillin of the head, a person becomes "fearful and fainthearted" and cannot go out to battle?

Everything Depends on the Level of Emunah (Faith)

The truth is that everything depends on a person's level of Emunah (faith)! (The recitation of the Shema is the ultimate mitzvah of Emunah). If a person has trust in Hashem, if he has Emunah in Hashem, and he knows that even if he has fulfilled only one mitzvah, by the power of that single mitzvah he can go out to battle and succeed in all his ways! However, if he lacks Emunah, then with every little thing that goes wrong, and with every minor sin he stumbles into, he immediately thinks that Hashem has abandoned him. He thinks Hashem is no longer with him, and because of this, he falls into fears. Consequently, Hashem indeed does not help him.

This is the true meaning of "fearful and fainthearted because of the sins in his hands." Do you have sins?! Do teshuvah (repentance)! Do not be afraid! Everything depends on a person's Emunah! You must know: even if I am full of sins, Hashem is with me. Why? Because Hashem created me; He is my Father! No matter how much trouble a son causes, a father is always looking for a way to save him. Hashem is constantly searching for ways to save us; He is always looking for ways to help us.

A person might ask, "Is Hashem really walking with me? Am I worthy of Hashem being with me?" What does it mean, "Am I worthy?" Hashem created you, so He cares for you! He walks with you! He has walked with you until today, He has helped you until today, and so He will continue to help you for the rest of your life! Never be afraid! Hashem is with you! As long as a person harbors external fears and anxieties, he cannot pray with proper intention and he cannot study Torah. He is afraid of this, and he is afraid of that; he is terrified about what will happen to his children and what will happen with his parnassah (livelihood). Therefore, Rebbe Nachman teaches that our entire goal is to break free from these fears!

Elevating Fear to its Root

Rebbe Nachman says, "Whoever wants to taste the flavor of the Hidden Light, which refers to the secrets of the Torah that will be revealed in the future, must elevate the trait of fear to its root. And how do we elevate fear? Through the concept of judgment, etc... meaning that a person should judge and evaluate all his own affairs. Through this, he will remove all fears from himself and elevate a pure and clean fear, leaving only the fear of Hashem and no other fear. etc... But when he judges himself, and there is judgment below, there is no judgment above, and the fear does not clothe itself in anything to awaken the person, because he has awakened himself. etc... And this is why a person becomes afraid of something, whether a government minister or thieves and other fears - it is because the fear has clothed itself in that thing, for if the fear had not clothed itself in that thing, it would have no power to frighten the person."

If a person wants to taste the flavor of the "Hidden Light," meaning the secrets of the Torah that will be revealed in the future, he must elevate the trait of fear to its root! This means we must break free from all the worldly fears we have and elevate them to Hashem. We must elevate the very trait of fear within us to its root, so that we fear only Hashem, may He be blessed! A person spends his whole day afraid. He is afraid of this, he is afraid of that... what will this one do to me, what will that one say about me, what criticism will they level against me? A person is surrounded by fears 24 hours a day without a break. He cannot study, he cannot pray with intention, he cannot do anything because he is so overwhelmed by fears!

Fear is a natural emotion that every person has. It stems from the soul, which senses the awe of Hashem, the fear of Hashem, for "the whole earth is filled with His glory." The soul feels that Hashem is standing over it, and because of this, there is constantly something inside that trembles and fears! This is where a person's fears originate. However, if a person judges himself and reflects—"Hashem is standing over me, Hashem sees how I behave, how I speak, and how I think"—through this, he nullifies all other fears. But if he does not engage in self-judgment, he transforms the trait of fear into external anxieties and fallen fears.

Breaking Fear in Every Generation

The primary work on the trait of fear takes place during Hisbodedus (personal prayer and meditation)! This is when a person should make a spiritual accounting: What am I afraid of? What do I fear? Why do I care what they will say about me? If I am in doubt about whether to do something or not, then I need to reflect and truly weigh whether it is the will of Hashem. But if it is clear that this thing is Hashem's will, then there is nothing to fear! Even if the entire world stands against me, I am ready to be thrown into the fiery furnace like Avraham Avinu (our Patriarch)! "Avraham was one"—alone against the entire world.

In every generation, there is a certain stage, a certain event, a specific reality that is created in order to break fears. In every generation, there is a reality that will always frighten a person! It could be fears of family, fears of friends, fears about parnassah (livelihood), illness, fears of all sorts of things! In the past, the fears were of the Russians, of the Nazis; today, there are fears of the Arabs! In the past, our sins clothed themselves in the Russians; today, our sins clothe themselves in the Arabs.

If a person does not break all his fears, he has no Emunah (faith)! In every generation, there will always be realities of fear. And every few years, it will be replaced by a different reality. If the Arabs are calmed down, there will be something else to frighten people. Therefore, a person must break his fear! If a person does not break his fears, he loses his Emunah! A person must break the fear! Because he himself created the fear through his own sins and transgressions! Only when a person breaks his fears does he demonstrate his Emunah, because all of creation declares, "Hashem is King, Hashem was King, Hashem will be King forever and ever." There is nothing besides Hashem! There are no Arabs, there are no terrorists; apart from Hashem, nothing exists.

Salvation is Ready at Every Moment

You must know that before every person comes into the world, Hashem has already prepared for him all those who will help him, save him, and support him. Wherever a person goes, at every step, someone is standing by to help him. Even if you are in the heart of the desert or the middle of the sea, someone is always standing beside you! You are never lost! There is nothing to fear! Hashem is everywhere! Everywhere you go, Hashem is with you! A person's salvation is ready at every single moment! He only needs Emunah! He just needs to give one cry to Hashem, one genuine cry, and he will immediately have his salvation. If he only cries out, "Hear, O Israel, Hashem is our God, Hashem is One," "Please Hashem, save us now," "In the merit of Rebbe Nachman"... then he will be saved instantly.

Parnassah (Livelihood) Chases After the One Who Trusts in Hashem

A person needs a little bit of trust, a little bit of Emunah, to sing a little, to pray with a little intention, and not to be afraid of "Where will I get money?" After all, the One who created you created the money! He created everything! He created you even before the money!! All the money in the world belongs to you! Hashem wants you to study Torah... but you have committed many sins, so it doesn't just fall to you directly; it doesn't just drop right from the ceiling.

What are you worried about? Everything has been announced in Heaven! Forty days before a person is formed, it is planned in Heaven that on this day he will have a house, and on this day he will have a field, parnassah (livelihood)—everything is announced even before a person is born! Because the Geulah (Redemption) can only come when a person trusts in Hashem! When his eyes look to Hashem! "The eyes of all look to You with hope, and You give them their food in its proper time." In its proper time!! Everything happens in its proper time, in its designated moment. Whatever a person is meant to receive—an apartment, furniture, etc.—everything comes exactly at its appointed time.

Because the very preoccupation with money, the very thought of wealth, pushes away a person's salvation! It pushes away his home! It pushes away his parnassah (livelihood)! A person spends his entire life thinking about parnassah! He does not realize that the moment he stops thinking about parnassah and immerses his mind in Torah and prayer, the parnassah will come to him! It will run to him! What is the root of the word "parnassah"? It sounds like "par nosea" (the bull travels away)! You run after the bull, and the bull travels away! The bull flees! If you chase after parnassah, the parnassah will flee from you.

Do not fear any creature in the world.

The primary purpose of the world's creation was to reveal His awe and His kingship, as it is written, "The fear of Hashem is pure, enduring forever." One must know that there is only the fear of Hashem! A person must only fear Hashem! Only be afraid of Hashem! Do not fear anyone! Do not fear any human being! Not Haman, not Pharaoh, not the Nazis—one must only possess the fear of Hashem. It is forbidden to harbor any fear of a government minister, a master, a thief, a robber, or a terrorist. The entire creation exists solely to reveal the kingship of Hashem in the world.

Rebbe Nachman teaches that the very first prerequisite for serving Hashem is to have absolutely no fear! The main lesson you must receive from me is to have no fear whatsoever! The Rebbe does not need cowards! The Rebbe cannot tolerate the faint of heart! What are you afraid of? Hashem is in the world! Hashem lives and endures! There are tzaddikim! There is Moshe Rabbeinu! There is Yehoshua bin Nun! They are the true rulers of this world! They are the prime ministers! If a person wants to succeed in serving Hashem, or if a person wants to succeed in any endeavor, the very first step is to eliminate all fear, without leaving even a spark of fear. Rabbi Natan Shapiro (author of the Megaleh Amukot) states that fear is the greatest impurity in the world! When a person is afraid, it simply means he has no faith! Therefore, when a person experiences fear, he must uproot it entirely from its source.

The secret of Daniel in the lions' den.

Rabbi Nosson explains that when Daniel was thrown into the lions' den, the king, who loved Daniel and did not want him to be killed, prayed for a miracle! He prayed that the pit Daniel was in would be covered and not left exposed! Because if the pit remained open, there was a chance that people would shoot arrows at him; the king feared that human beings would shoot arrows at Daniel. The king knew that the lions would not harm him, that they would have no power over him, and he was certain the lions would not devour him. However, he was terrified that a person might shoot him with an arrow. But Daniel was not shaken by anything! He maintained his pure faith. Daniel declared that if Hashem protects me from a lion, He will certainly protect me from an arrow as well.

The king said, "I am afraid of a person shooting an arrow! I am not afraid of a lion!" Regarding this, Rabbi Nosson asks: What is the difference between an arrow and a lion? Rabbi Nosson explains that when a person faces a wild animal, he can easily maintain his faith. Even if a lion attacks him, he will cry out "Shema Yisrael" with absolute faith and with all his might! Through this, he will completely nullify his fear of the lion. A lion cannot cause a person to lose his faith! On the contrary, seeing the lion fills him with even greater faith in Hashem! He cries out to Hashem with even more intensity, and Hashem saves him from the lion. But if a human being comes and aims an arrow at him, and this person is a murderer! A heretic! A wicked person devoid of faith! Then this person is far worse than a lion! He is worse because he has the power to cause the victim to fall from his faith!

Rabbi Nosson explains that this murderer is essentially a demon! He is not a human being at all! He is filled with heresy! When he comes to murder, he transfers all of his heresy to the person standing opposite him! He projects his heresy onto his intended victim, and that heresy clings to him! The victim becomes confused by this heresy, by this dark projection! He begins to wonder, "Why am I being killed? What did I do wrong?" He becomes filled with questions and doubts in his faith! This is exactly what causes a person to fall from his faith and stops him from crying out to Hashem.

Withstanding the test through the power of the tzaddik.

However, if a person overcomes these thoughts and these fears, he can be saved. There is a true story from the Holocaust about a Nazi who was about to shoot a Jew. He stood the Jew against a wall and declared, "Now I am going to kill you!" The Jew replied, "You cannot kill me! Only Hashem can kill me!" The Nazi became enraged and shouted, "I am killing you! Look, I am shooting you!" The Jew calmly answered, "It is Hashem shooting me! It is not you!" The Nazi screamed, "I am shooting! I am the one who decides!" The Jew replied, "No! It is only Hashem! Only Hashem can shoot!" Suddenly, the Nazi fell silent and fled for his life. He thought to himself, "If everything is Hashem, then I refuse to be Hashem's messenger." And so, that Jew was saved. Therefore, even if a Nazi murderer points a gun at a person's chest and screams, "I am shooting you," if that person does not become confused by the murderer's heresy and remains pure and steadfast in his faith, absolutely nothing can harm him.

Everything we experience throughout our 120 years of life is nothing but a series of tests. We face tests involving Nazis, terrorists, murderers, and harsh decrees. Through it all, we must reveal the faith hidden deep within our hearts. We must reveal this faith so that our minds do not falter because of any government minister, any human being, or any enemy. We must truly strengthen ourselves with the knowledge that there is only Hashem! We must stand firm in the faith that Hashem is One, and everything else is mere illusion—completely null and void!

Above all, the main thing is to believe in the true tzaddik! One must believe in a tzaddik who has the power to impart the profound faith that there is only Hashem! We must believe in a tzaddik who can illuminate this level of faith and reveal the inner point of faith within us! Because on our own, it is incredibly difficult to attain such faith! Only when a person is deeply attached to a truly authentic tzaddik can the tzaddik awaken this faith within him and develop it, enabling him to actually utilize this point of faith! This is because the tzaddik is completely nullified to Hashem! He has no independent reality! He has no ego! He exists in a state of total self-nullification before Hashem, blessed be He, and therefore, he fears absolutely nothing! Whoever merits to draw close to such a tzaddik and receive this nullification and this faith from him—which is an exceedingly high and awesome spiritual level—will see all his enemies bow and fall before him. All the enemies, all the Nazis, all the terrorists, and anyone like them, will completely collapse and fall away.

Rebbe Nachman teaches: "In truth, when a person passes away from this world and lies on the ground with his feet facing the door, he will finally possess true clarity of mind. He will look at himself and see the absolute truth: that all the fears and anxieties he harbored—fearing certain people, worrying about parnassah (livelihood), and stressing over other matters—were all complete foolishness and vanity. He will realize that his fears and anxieties of other human beings were entirely in vain. After all, what could a mortal man truly do to him? The same applies to his worldly desires; he will clearly see that he wasted his days in vain, consuming his life with foolishness, confusion, and evil thoughts."