The Secret of Bitachon: The Only Way to Hold Fast to the True Tzaddikim
Lesson No. 79 | * Sunday, Parashat Vayechi, 12 Tevet 5757 - Lesson at a Brit Milah Seudah
Our holy Rebbe wanted us to have a conduct of absolute trust, similar to the Baal Shem Tov and the Noam Elimelech, who did not leave money from one day to the next. Even though we are not at the high levels of the tzaddikim who fasted and purified themselves, our only way to connect to them is by casting away worries about parnassah (livelihood) and having complete faith that Hashem will help.
All the water we have in our faucets until the end of generations is in the merit of Miriam's well. Moshe Rabbeinu is alive and endures, walking with us and illuminating for us, for tzaddikim are greater in their death than in their lifetime. At the Exodus from Egypt, Moshe Rabbeinu showed that the entire Geulah (Redemption) depends on the holiness of the covenant of Yosef the tzaddik. Only because Moshe occupied himself with the bones of Yosef, did Israel leave Egypt and merit the spoils of the sea. Moshe searched for Yosef, and this is what bestowed the great wealth upon the Jewish people, because the main purpose of property and wealth is to merit the illumination of Divine Will.
The Conduct of the Tzaddikim: Not Leaving Money for Tomorrow
However, to truly hold money is something only the true tzaddik can do. Our holy Rebbe said to his disciples: "I wanted you to have a conduct like the Noam Elimelech and like the Baal Shem Tov, who did not leave money from one day to the next." The Baal Shem Tov would distribute all his money to charity every day. When he boarded a ship on his way to the Land of Israel, he did not even take matzot or wine with him, but rather said with absolute trust: "Matzot and wine will fall to me from Heaven." This was also the practice of other tzaddikim, such as the Rebbe of Biala, who never left money from one day to the next.
Our Rebbe wanted us, too, to live with such faith, where a person distributes his money and does not leave any funds from one day to the next. But he knew this is a difficult level. An ordinary person immediately begins to worry: "What will be tomorrow? I need to buy bread for the children, pay debts, electricity, and water. They will disconnect my electricity!" But one who has true trust knows that Hashem will help at the last moment. Like the story of a woman who went to beg the electric company not to cut off her power due to a massive three-month debt, and the company clerk himself paid her debt out of his own pocket.
The Supreme Level of Holding Money
There is an even higher level than that of the Baal Shem Tov and the Noam Elimelech, and that is the level of the holy Patriarchs—Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, as well as the level of our holy Rebbe. Avraham Avinu was heavy with silver and gold, and he had four hundred silver shekels in negotiable currency to redeem the Cave of Machpelah. Yaakov bought the parcel of land for a hundred kesitah.
This spiritual work of holding money is much heavier and more difficult than distributing it. When a true tzaddik holds money in his pocket, he literally smells a foul odor; it pricks him like needles. He holds the money only to perform high tikkunim (rectifications) and deep secrets with it. This is a work that requires a strong and courageous mind, but this is not our level. Our level is to distribute the money to charity and not to worry.
How Will We Have a Grasp on the Tzaddikim?
The question arises: How can a simple person ascend onto the path of the true tzaddikim? After all, we cannot fast all week or be cleaved to Hashem twenty-four hours a day like them. It is told of the author of the "Baruch Ta'am" of Brod, the father-in-law of Rabbi Chaim of Sanz, that he would concentrate during the Shemoneh Esrei prayer until the veins in his forehead would burst from the intense effort. In contrast, Rabbi Chaim of Sanz said that he merits to have the same intentions without such effort, because he prepares himself all night with hitbodedut, melodies, and songs in preparation for the prayer.
If so, what connection do we have with giant tzaddikim like the Chozeh of Lublin or the Maggid? How will we have a grasp on them? The answer is one: The only grasp we have on the tzaddikim is by not worrying about what will be tomorrow. When the wife asks, "What will we eat tomorrow?", do not answer in anger, but rather say with simple faith: "Hashem will help, there will be miracles."
Nor Bitachon - Only Trust
Worrying about parnassah (livelihood) blemishes the blessing. The Torah says:
"And if you should say, 'What will we eat in the seventh year? Behold, we will not sow, and we will not gather in our crop.' I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will yield a crop for three years."
Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian explained that this is actually a curse and not a blessing. Hashem wants to give a person fresh fruits every single year, but because the person asks and worries, "What will we eat?", he receives everything all at once in advance for three years.
Therefore, our Rebbe says that the only way to connect to the tzaddikim is solely through the spiritual work of trust. I am not demanding of you to distribute all your money until not a penny remains, but you should know that your work is 'nor bitachon' (only trust). Whoever pays attention sees that Rebbe Natan's entire book, "Likutey Halachot," essentially speaks about only one thing—about trust in Hashem, may He be blessed.
Lesson No. 79