Description
A Search for Trust – By Pinchas Winston
SOME CONCEPTS ARE easy and some concepts are difficult. But then there are the concepts that are both easy AND difficult. They’re easy to understand and figure out, but very difficult to actually implement. Trust in God falls into this category.
What’s there to understand? Just TRUST in God. You don’t know how you’ll pay a bill? Don’t worry, God will take care of it. You’re having shalom-bayis problems? It’s just a matter of time until God works it out. Can’t solve a problem? God can, and will—so wait.
If only it were easier to trust in God! But then again, if it were, we wouldn’t receive so much reward for it. If developing trust weren’t so important, God would not have interfered in history and performed countless miracles to destroy Egypt and free the Jewish people. If it weren’t so fundamental to Creation, then God would not be willing to undo it just because man chooses NOT to trust in Him.
So what’s the problem? Why do we have such a tough time trusting in our Creator? Do we doubt His ability to give us what we need? Of course not! He’s GOD. He can do ANYTHING, just by thinking about it.
Do we doubt that God WANTS to give us what we need? Hasn’t He promised to do so many times in Tanach? Many times throughout our life, and throughout the millennia? Why make Creation with needs if You’re not going to fulfill them?
So then why do we hold back? Why do we choose to rely on limited human beings rather than an unlimited God to take care of us, especially when THEIR success is dependent upon HIS will anyhow? Why don’t we believe that God has our back?
Is it because we’re not sure if God is really there? The Jews who witnessed the ten plagues, the splitting of the sea, and even the giving of the Torah, CERTAINLY knew that God was there, and yet they too had a difficult time trusting in Him:
Because you did not believe in God and did not trust in His salvation… (Tehillim 78:22)
Nevertheless, they sinned further and had no faith in His wonders… (Tehillim 78:32).
Is it because God doesn’t talk to us and tell us what He plans to do? Avraham spoke with God, and in the midst of actually hearing what God was planning to do, asked God for reassurance:
He said to him, “I am God who brought you out of Ur Kasdim, to give to you this land as an inheritance.”
So he asked, “Lord God, how can I know that I will inherit it?” (Bereishis 15:7-8)
When Ya’akov Avinu dreamed of the heavenly ladder and was told to climb it, he refused—and we’re still paying for that refusal:
At that moment Ya’akov became afraid and said, “God forbid, just as these [angels] descended, I too will descend!”
The Holy One, blessed is He, said to him, “Do not be afraid, my servant Ya’akov. If you ascend, you will never descend.”
However, he did not believe Him and would not ascend…“Nevertheless, they sinned further and had no faith in His wonders” (Tehil-lim 78:32)…[this] refers to our father Ya’akov, who did not believe and would not ascend. The Holy One, blessed is He, told him, “Had you believed in Me and ascended, you would never have descended. Now that you did not believe in Me and ascend, your children will undergo four exiles in this world in the future”… (Vayikra Rabbah 29:2)
Wow! These were great people, the GREATEST. And yet they too had difficulty with trust in God. Where does that leave us? And then there’s this:
Moshe lifted up his hand with his staff and hit the rock twice; water came out in abundance. The people and their animals drank. God told Moshe and Aharon, “Since you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me before the Children of Israel, you will not bring this people into the land which I have given them.” (Bamidbar 20:11-12)
Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen? If any two people had the ability to COMPLETELY trust in God, it would be those two. But they didn’t. And we’re supposed to? Are we supposed to be able to fly as well, WITHOUT wings?
On the other hand, even far simpler people have thrown their trust in with God, and have witnessed great miracles. Coincidence? Not when the Talmud states:
No person stubs a finger if it is not first decreed Above. (Chullin 7b)
True, very true. But there was also the Holocaust, and thousands of years of pogroms before that. Undeniably God-trusting people suffered similar fates as those who didn’t trust, which is one of the reasons it is so hard to trust in God with any real confidence. “They trusted,” the yetzer hara says, “and look what happened to them!”
Probably one of the greatest to have ever trusted in God was Rebi Akiva. He not only died at the hands of the Romans, but in the worst way imaginable. Indeed, he even died while saying the “Shema” with the greatest of intention! What about those who race through it twice a day with minimal if any intention?
All good questions on this most important topic, which desperately needs intellectual and emotional clarity. Although many books have already been written to try to provide clarity, this one will be somewhat unique. Why? Because it is based on the teachings of someone who was VERY unique, Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv, the “Ba’al HaLeshem,” someone who clearly understood what it means to trust in God.
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Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv was born January 5, 1841, in Šiauliai, Lithuania. He made aliyah to Eretz Yisroel in 1924, where he died on March 13, 1926. He is called the “Ba’al HaLeshem,” or just “the Leshem,” after his works which he titled “Leshem Shevo v’Achlamah.”
The Leshem was a great kabbalist who had a vast knowledge of ALL aspects of Torah, and exceptional ability to clarify complicated concepts. It resulted in some of the most important kabbalistic works in the last few centuries.
The Chofetz Chaim met with Reb Shlomo during his stay in Hamla, and commented that while our avodah is in this world, and we hope to achieve things in the higher worlds, Reb Shlomo, being so knowledgeable of the happenings in Heaven, “builds” there directly.
It is also known that the Chofetz Chaim said of Reb Shlomo that in this world it is still possible to stand next to him, but who knows if in the World of Truth it will be possible to stand in his realm. The Chazon Ish said that Reb Shlomo was the last kabbalist. You can’t get any better credentials than THAT.
All excepts from the Leshem are from his major work, titled “Drushei Olam HaTohu,” Chelek 2, Drush 5, Anaf 4, Simanim 3-5.
