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Translator's Introduction

Part A: Letters

   1.
"A guide for all the troops under your influence..."

2.
"Endeavors to create a medium within the natural order
do not contradict the concept of bitachon..."

3.
"One should not be too dejected or doubtful,
for this, too, is exploited by the [Evil] Inclination."

4.
"I do not know where you stand
with regard to bitachon."

5.
"If this blessing is sometimes delayed..."

6.
"In words that are appropriate to her present state of mind..."

7.
"One must have appropriate vessels to accommodate all these blessings."

8.
"Consider: Is G-d really in need of your worry...?
Or will He succeed in finding good solutions even without your worrying?"

9.
"I saw in a little book - it's called the Tanach..."

10.
"...a weakness in your trust, and
the remedy for this is to study Shaar HaBitachon."

11.
"And when a person is strong in his trust...,
he then sees [the result] with his fleshly eyes."

12.
"People study, and study - but when it comes to practical application, where's the trust?"

13.
"Just as He has a say in the big world,
He certainly has a say likewise in our little personal world."

14.
"This very thought - as to what will happen if,
G-d forbid, a misfortune occurs - is itself a misfortune."

15.
"Medical matters are not your Divinely-ordained mission in this world."

16.
"The income that G-d fixed for you [on Rosh HaShanah], which I am sure is generous,
no one can lessen and certainly no one can take away."

17.
"If you occasionally feel that this certain trust is wavering...,
you should avert your attention from this weakness, for it is no doubt only imagined."

18.
"Since you place your trust in G-d in questions of materiality and your livelihood,
surely that trust should be firm when it comes to one's children and their conduct!"

19.
"Several well-known incidents testify that
with staunch bitachon one can accomplish whatever is needed."

20.
"David HaMelech says, 'I will fear no evil, for You are with me.'
And 'for You are with me' relates to every single Jew."

21.
"Even when one does not see how this operates within the realm of nature,
G-d will carry out His [Will]."

22.
"It is disappointing and painful to encounter certain dispensable expressions in your letter.
Why do you do this?"

23.
"If a person thinks that his livelihood is meager,
he should donate more tzedakah than previously.
In that way he shows G-d that his charitable needs are greater than heretofore...,
and He will then provide a greater income."

24.
"At the same time, one must create a vessel on the natural plane
and follow the doctor's orders."

25.
"A man's trust is the measuring-stick..."

26.
"The tzitz was worn on the forehead,
and thus represents a trust that transcends mortal reason."

27.
"Not merely pushing through one day after another..."

28.
"You are already wealthy but do not know it."

29.
"One should not initiate - and introduce into the world - depressing lines of thought."

30.
"Especially in the present month of Elul, the month of Divine mercy,
each of you - or you together with your wife - should talk for at least a few minutes
on the subject of trusting in G-d."

31.
"It seems to me that this is the only organization within the precincts of Lubavitch
that is conducted in this way."

32.
"In the course of the year one only does accounting that will certainly not weaken
one's avodah, and - obviously - that will leave no room for the faintest trace of despair."

33.
A descent ought to arouse... greater powers of faith and trust,
whose external manifestation is a courageous spirit
and a lack of emotional reaction to an unpleasant phenomenon."

34.
"When you are firm in your trust and actually perceive the situation [as a trial],
the trial will cease to exist, and you will return to your former standing."

35.
"The Splitting of the Red Sea was actualized by [Nachshon's] strong trust and faith in G-d.
From this we learn the approach to be followed in finding one's match."

36.
"As I read there, you are worried about your children's health,
and you conclude by asking what you can do apart from weeping and lamenting.
First of all, one should stop weeping etc."

37.
"There is a well-known teaching of the Sages that
'a son can bring merit upon his father' - and upon his mother, too."

38.
"This is 'something concerning which none of us knows' - determining a specific time,
and not later, by which G-d, Who makes matches, should do so."

39.
"These days of Pesach are days of faith and trust,
when the Jews of those times went out with their wives and children
to a wilderness of venomous serpents and scorpions, relying only on a word from G-d."

40.
"Divine Providence applies in particular...
to a person whose position enables him to influence a certain circle.
After all, 'even the superintendent of the local irrigation well is appointed in Heaven.' "

41.
"We have seen it proved in practice that the greater a man's trust,
and the more he looks toward his future with joy,
the faster do these things materialize."

42.
"Let him take G-d as a partner, by pledging to contribute for tzedakah
a little more than a tenth of the profit, and preferably close to a fifth. His Partner will then undoubtedly bring him blessings and success."

43.
"The end of your letter, about your lack of joy, contradicts the beginning of your letter."

44.
"One states as a fact, and regards as certain (G-d forbid),
that in a month's time his father's health will not be as it ought to be?!"

45.
"The instances in which doctors are mistaken in such matters are innumerable."

46.
"And G-d, Who since the Six Days of Creation has been 'arranging matrimonial matches,'
will no doubt make available to you, too, the match that will be suitable for you,
materially and spiritually in unison."

47.
"You ask whether the gates of Heaven have been closed (G-d forbid)
and why the way of the worthless prospers."

48.
"There can be nothing that is not good,
for in that place no one has any dominion apart from G-d alone."

49.
"This [mood] itself will increase the good tidings."

50.
"And may G-d grant that my trust in the ultimate victory of good and truth will be vindicated -
even with regard to political parties."

51.
"Despairing, and seeking miracles especially for one's battles with the [Evil] Inclination -
these are simply the wiles and the incitement initiated by the [Evil] Inclination."

52.
"It is self-understood that one cannot point out to G-d on the calendar
that this must happen at the time that appears right to oneself."

53.
"Bitachon is the conduit through which one receives outstanding success from Above."

54.
"They're cutting him up! He's groaning in pain,
but he can't free himself from these kidnappers and murderers!"

55.
"You write that it appears to you that your lot does not bring you success, and so forth.
Avert your attention from all of that, because it is not true."

56.
"When there is a full measure of firm trust - without learned debates or explanations -
that He is 'my light and my salvation,' then 'whom shall I fear?' "

57.
"With regard to the temporary inadequacy in your income,
it is a pity that you are taking it so hard."

58.
"In the spirit of lechat'chilah ariber, it could be suggested
that rejoicing over the improvement in one's health
should be advanced ahead of time, even though the improvement is not yet manifest."

59.
"When there arrives a moment that is not as one would have liked it to be..."

60.
"If so, what room is left for worry?"

61.
"It is my unequivocal opinion that [involvement in the Chabad institution in your locality]
is also the conduit through which the local members of the chassidic brotherhood
will receive their material livelihood."

62.
"I hope, too, that you will participate in the farbrengens...,
which heal and strengthen and raise the spirits of those who are downfallen
and of those whose hearts are bruised."

63.
"When a person is weighing in his mind what he should decide and how he should act,
at that time, too, G-d is watching over him and helping him."

64.
"When one realizes that this is only a test, it utterly ceases to exist,
and what is revealed is the inner meaning of that phrase: 'For the L-rd your G-d is elevating you' - over all the obstacles that veil and obscure [His Countenance]."

65.
"If people had made a habit of sharing [their] good news and writing about it frequently,
they would have had less - or no - need to set up bonds of communication by writing about things that are the opposite of good news."

66.
"When a soldier sets out to the battlefield,
he strides forth to the joyful rhythm of a triumphal march."

67.
"And as it becomes increasingly engraved in one's understanding
that one is standing before the King of kings,
...there will be a corresponding decrease in one's anxiety
about what others will say about the manner of one's speech."

68.
Through the Zohar, G-d opened up a new wellspring that provides a profounder
G-dly understanding, and faith, and trust.

69.
"Repentance, too, must be done out of a firm trust in G-d, and not (G-d forbid) out of despair."

70.
"You write that you would like to have more children, but that there is a financial question."

71.
"There were a few reasons for my not answering your previous letters.
One of them was that I wanted to see how Divine Providence
would guide you in the course of the summer."

72.
"My intent [in writing of Divine Providence] is not to act as defense counsel (G-d forbid)
for the above-mentioned [medical] situation."

73.
"The stronger and more disproportionate is one's trust,
the more disproportionately will one's trust be manifestly vindicated -
by the bestowal of G-d's blessings, both material and spiritual."

74.
All the above [regarding responses to the Gulf War] relates to action.
As to how one should feel, I have made my position clear on several occasions.

75.
"You will then have less time to think the opposite of the directive to think only good."

76.
"You see miracles..., yet you insist on seeking out depressing subjects."

77.
"You have been promised that G-d is your guardian."

Part B: Talks

"A Weighty Task Indeed"
A Thought from the Rebbe Rashab

"When there is still a straw to hang on to"
A Thought from the Rebbe Rayatz

In Good Hands
100 Letters and Talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson
on Bitachon: Trusting in G-d
Part A: Letters
2.
"Endeavors to create a medium within the natural order
do not contradict the concept of bitachon..."
Compiled and Translated by Uri Kaploun

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  1.
"A guide for all the troops under your influence..."
Search this book:
3.
"One should not be too dejected or doubtful,
for this, too, is exploited by the [Evil] Inclination."  

By the Grace of G-d
2 Kislev, 5707 [1946]
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greetings and Blessings!

In[27] response to your questions:

  1. With regard to the concept of bitachon, and the question of whether it is necessary to create a medium[28] [for Divine blessings]: [You write that] you have heard it said that righteous men do not require a medium. Accordingly, [you raise] the question why Avraham found it necessary to employ a tactic, [telling Sarah],[29] "Please say that you are my sister."

    In resolution: It is obvious that as a rule, apart from having bitachon, one must also create a medium. Indeed, the entire Tanach[30] and the teachings of the Talmudic Sages are filled with [illustrations of] this concept. Endeavors to create a medium within the natural order do not contradict the concept of bitachon, since [every Jew] has been told by G-d, the L-rd in Whom he trusts, that He will bless him in all that he does,[31] and not when he sits idly (Sifri, Devarim 15:18).

    From this one can conclude two things:

    1. Employing a vessel, and the reason for making the vessel, must be dictated only by the fact that we were thus commanded. If, however, one considers [the vessel and its rationale] to be beneficial or harmful in their own right, he is debasing the attribute of bitachon.

    2. One is commanded to do only what he is capable of doing, for[32] "the Holy One, blessed be He, does not confront His created beings with unfair demands." Accordingly, if [at some point] one is incapable of making a vessel, that itself is a sign that the Merciful One has exempted him[33] from [the responsibility in this instance]. And this [should] not weaken his bitachon that his request will be fulfilled.

    Two questions remain unresolved:

    1. Why were we commanded to create a vessel, when it appears that the vessel in its own right neither helps nor harms?

    2. What will happen if one does not create a vessel?

    With regard to question (i), the reason [for making a vessel] is given in Chassidus[34] (Derech Mitzvosecha, Mitzvas Tiglachas Metzora KesheYit'har, sec. 3), as follows: By reason of a profound Divine intent, the benevolent influence from Above that is designated for the World of Asiyah[35] must be drawn down by natural means.[36] Man,[37] therefore, reflecting the image of G-d,[38] must likewise create a garment and an occupation for his livelihood. (See Kuntreis U'Maayan, Discourse 25, at length. See also Chovos HaLevavos, Shaar HaBitachon, ch. 3, which is cited in the maamar entitled VeLo Zachar Sar HaMashkim 5677 with a different thrust, but the two stances can be bridged. This is not the place [for further discussion of the issue].)

    With regard to question (ii), concerning one who does not create a vessel even though he is able to do so, the Sages (Shabbos 32a) teach: "[In a dangerous situation] a person should never say that a miracle will be performed for him, for perhaps a miracle will not be performed for him." In such a case, not only will his trust not have been vindicated, but he will certainly be punished for this, for he is "robbing his soul." (See Derech Mitzvosecha, loc. cit.; Chovos HaLevavos, loc. cit., ch. 4.) And "if a miracle is performed for him, his merits are reduced" (Shabbos, loc. cit.), and he (so to speak) is troubling his Creator (Ramban, Shaar HaGmul, cited in the above-mentioned maamar entitled VeLo Zachar).

    [Let us first consider] the case of tzaddikim,[39] even those whose souls are [of the World] of Atzilus[40] - i.e., the soul that is vested in their physical bodies is actually at the level of Atzilus (Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim, the maamar entitled Od Biur al pasuk Yonasi, end of sec. 1). Notwithstanding [their stature], if they are still distracted by the [mundane] affairs and bothersome troubles of the World of Asiyah - and in the World of Asiyah, as explained above, the downward flow of Divine blessings is elicited by natural conduits[41] - such tzaddikim, too, [are obliged to] endeavor to create a worldly medium, for the above reason.

    This is not the case with regard to those tzaddikim whose attachment to G-d[42] is not at all disturbed by the world's troublesome stresses, [and] even while they are strenuously involved in worldly matters they still cleave as truly to G-d as they do on the Heavenly plane. Since even when they are involved in worldly matters the world counts for nothing, they have no need to make a vessel.

    As explained at length in Toras Chayim, in the maamar entitled Ben Poras Yosef, and also in the maamar entitled VaYe'esor Yosef 5656, the Patriarchs were at the former level. This is why they were shepherds, isolated from worldly matters. Hence Avraham, as mentioned above, and likewise Yaakov when confronted by Esav, employed various tactics. Yosef, by contrast, living at the latter level, had no need to create a vessel. Indeed, he was even punished when he did do so.[43]

    At first glance, the above point raises a query. The question is asked (in Toras Chayim, loc. cit., sec. 13, and in the maamar entitled VeLo Zachar... 5677): Why was Yosef punished for employing tactics to secure his release? After all, Yaakov employed various tactics and was not punished. In those sources, the answer is given that Yosef's spiritual stature transcended the spiritual cosmos,[44] higher than the realms of Tohu and Tikkun. Those sources do not spell out the reason presented above in the present letter. Yet this is not at all problematic, because those sources are also addressing another question: Why was Yosef not anxious "lest sin [incriminate him]"[45] - unlike Yaakov, who was afraid? The answer there adds to what was already explained in previous chapters [of Toras Chayim] - that Yosef was not distracted by the bothersome troubles of this world, since he transcended all adversaries.

    A point to note (from the maamar entitled U'veVoah Lifnei HaMelech 5654): "I saw it stated in the name of one of the men of stature that a person who is confronted by a distressful crisis, Heaven forfend, should place his trust in G-d. This means that he should not pray concerning this matter nor should he do anything, such as immersing in the mikveh. He should only place his trust in G-d. This is like remaining silent in a way that expresses awesome self-effacement."[46] This is a wondrous statement.

    Another point to note: There is sustenance that comes as "bread from the earth" and there is sustenance that comes as "bread from Heaven." However, this distinction is only marginally related to the concept discussed above. (See also the beginning of the maamar entitled Ki Savo 5666. [The apparent contradiction] from the beginning of the second maamar entitled Ani LeDodi in Sefer HaMaamarim can be easily resolved.)

  2. [You write that] on the verse, "Please say that you are my sister," the Midrash comments: "From this [we derive] that one may slaughter [an animal] on Shabbos for the sake of a sick person." [You add that] certain sources interpret that statement simply: From the fact that Avraham followed a path of tactics, and did not merely rely on his trust in G-d, we learn that with regard to a sick person, too, "one does not rely on miracles."[47] You ask for further explanation.

    Now, you did not cite the source of the Midrash or of the works that explain it. [This is regrettable, for] "letters make one wise."[48] Now, the explanation you cite is problematic, for if [it were to be accepted], the Midrash should have stated, "From this [we derive] that one does not rely on miracles." Yet, quite to the contrary, we see from the Zohar (I, 82a) that Avraham did rely on a miracle and therefore went down to Egypt. This is explained in the Zohar (III, 52a) as follows: Avraham saw an angel proceeding before Sarah but not before himself, and said, "Behold, she is protected, but I am not protected." And this was why he said, "Please say that you are my sister."[49]

    At first glance, the Midrash would appear to indicate the following: From the fact that Avraham asked Sarah to say that she was his sister in order to save Avraham, we derive that a person may transgress in order to save his fellow.

    However, this explanation, too, is unsatisfactory. According to this, the statement should have said: "From this we derive that one may desecrate the Shabbos for the sake of a sick person." Why does it single out the case of slaughtering an animal?

    In resolution: There is a well-known question that is posed [only] for the sake of intellectual acuity.[50] How did Avraham know that the Egyptians would kill him, transgressing the prohibition against murder in order to avert the prohibition against adultery, and so he said, "Please say..."?

    One of the answers proposed is that if they killed Avraham, they would violate a prohibition only once. If instead they took Sarah while he was alive, every act of intimacy would be a violation of the prohibition against adultery.

    The Midrash applies this principle to the case of a sick person. We slaughter an animal on Shabbos for the sake of a sick person. We do not say, "Let us rather feed him meat from an animal that was not ritually slaughtered."[51] The rationale is similar. If [one partakes of the meat of] an animal that was not slaughtered ritually, each kazayis[52] that one eats constitutes a transgression. By contrast, slaughtering [an animal on Shabbos] violates a single prohibition. (See Rabbeinu Nissim, as quoted in the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch, Hilchos Shabbos 328:16.)

    Another question may well be asked. We have yet to understand how the Midrash can derive the permission to slaughter [an animal on Shabbos] for the sake of a sick person (a one-time violation that is punishable by death) instead of feeding him the meat of a neveilah (an oft-repeated violation that is merely a prohibitive commandment[53]) - from the incident involving Avraham. In the latter instance both transgressions, murder and adultery, are punishable by death.

    The rationale underlying this derivation may be understood from [the request made by] Avraham. How could Avraham have known that [the Egyptians] would kill him and thereby violate the capital offense of murder once, in order to spare themselves the repeated violation of the prohibition against adultery, which is also a capital offense? [At this point the letter reviews a battery of halachic sources, and concludes that] the Egyptians would certainly kill him, because it is preferable to violate a severe prohibition once, in order to avert the repeated violation of a lesser prohibition. Thus [this is an appropriate source] from which to derive [the principle] that [an animal] may be slaughtered [on Shabbos] for a sick person.

    An alternative resolution: If the Egyptians had abducted [Sarah] and [Avraham] was unable to restrain them, this would constitute despair [on his part], which in the case of robbers dissolves one's claim to ownership (Bava Kama 144a). It could be argued that in such circumstances, [Sarah] would be considered divorced, for Noahides[54] are not required to have a formal bill of divorce, only to separate (Rambam,[55] Hilchos Melachim 9:8). If so, [Sarah] would no longer be considered a married woman. Nevertheless, since this would be a reprehensible course of action, [the Egyptians would certainly have opted to kill Avraham].

With blessings of "Immediate teshuvah:[56] immediate Redemption,"[57]

(...)
Chairman of the Executive Committee

Just now I saw that Torah Shleimah (Parshas Lech Lecha, sec. 145) cites the above Midrashic teaching in the name of Midrash Peliah and interprets it as above according to the rationale enunciated by Rabbeinu Nissim.[58] However, that source does not discuss the disparity between the case of Avraham, where the two prohibitions are of equal weight, and the case of Shabbos, where the options of shechitah and neveilah are prohibitions of unequal weight.

[...]

   

Notes:

  1. (Back to text) Igros Kodesh, Vol. 2, p. 179, Letter 256, addressed to a young chassid by the name of Rabbi Y. Partovitch.

  2. (Back to text) In the original, keli (lit., "a vessel") - i.e., a conduit for the downward flow of Divine blessings.

  3. (Back to text) Bereishis 12:13.

  4. (Back to text) Acronym for Torah (i.e., the Chumash, the Five Books of Moses), Nevi'im (the Prophets), and Kesuvim (i.e., the Hagiographa).

  5. (Back to text) Paraphrase of Devarim 15:18: "G-d your L-rd will bless you in all that you do" - implying that one must initiate appropriate activity on the worldly plane that will serve to elicit and contain the blessings anticipated from Above. (See Likkutei Torah, Devarim, p. 37b, et al.)

  6. (Back to text) Avodah Zarah 3a.

  7. (Back to text) Cf. Bava Kama 28b.

  8. (Back to text) The teachings and philosophy of the chassidic movement (and, in this context, of the Chabad-Lubavitch school of thought in particular).

  9. (Back to text) The lowest of the Four Worlds.

  10. (Back to text) In the original, al-yedei levush hateva (lit., "by means of the garment of nature") - i.e., vested in nature.

  11. (Back to text) In the original, adam atem (cf. Yevamos 61a).

  12. (Back to text) In the original, bedugma shelemaalah.

  13. (Back to text) I.e., (pl. of tzaddik), the righteous.

  14. (Back to text) Lit., "even those who are souls [of the World] of Atzilus."

  15. (Back to text) In the original, al-yedei levush (lit., "by means of a garment"); cf. footnote 14 above.

  16. (Back to text) In the original, dveikus.

  17. (Back to text) Yosef, seeking to be released from Pharaoh's dungeon, pinned his hopes on the chief butler. And "because Yosef made himself dependent on [the butler's] memory, he was obliged to remain imprisoned for two years, as it is written, 'Happy is the man who places his trust in G-d and does not turn to [the Egyptians]' " (Rashi on Bereishis 40:23, quoting Tehillim 40:5).

    See also Items 78, 86(d), and 94, below.

  18. (Back to text) In the original, lemaalah miseder hishtalshelus.

  19. (Back to text) Berachos 4a.

  20. (Back to text) In the original Heb./Yid., bittul gadol (a shtarker avek-leig).

  21. (Back to text) Pesachim 64b.

  22. (Back to text) In the original, Osiyos machkimos (Shelah, Maseches Shavuos, p. 191b; Migdal Oz, Hilchos Ishus 4:9).

  23. (Back to text) This is discussed in Shem MiShmuel (Parshas Vayeira) by R. Shmuel of Sochatchov.

  24. (Back to text) For according to the straightforward meaning (the pshat), the intent of the verse is: "They will say, 'This is his wife,' and they will kill me" (Bereishis 12:12) - "because they will not anticipate that I will give you to them," as explained by Sforno.

  25. (Back to text) In the original, neveilah.

  26. (Back to text) A piece the size of an olive.

  27. (Back to text) And hence punishable not by death but by lashes.

  28. (Back to text) In the original, bnei Noach (lit., "the descendants of Noah"). This was the halachic status of Avraham and Sarah at the time of the incident discussed above.

  29. (Back to text) I.e., Maimonides.

  30. (Back to text) I.e., repentance.

  31. (Back to text) In the original, LeAltar LiTeshuvah: LeAltar LiGeulah - the slogan publicized by the Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak in the 1940s.

  32. (Back to text) That it is preferable to violate a severe prohibition once than a lesser prohibition repeatedly.


  1.
"A guide for all the troops under your influence..."
Search this book:
3.
"One should not be too dejected or doubtful,
for this, too, is exploited by the [Evil] Inclination."  
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