Bitachon From The Saba M' Slabodka (Bitachon #11)

1:36The Saba Mislovotka says to him, I told you B'ezrat Hashem, just next time B'ezrat Hashem is gonna come to somebody else. Hashem will send me the tickets someplace else. Meaning the whole thing was him training himself. He didn't say B'ezrat Hashem. Like a lot of people say, but it's like, it means nothing. It means nothing. It's like sometimes, you know, people say to each other, you see couples that can't stand each other, say, I love you, honey. Love you too. And the guy says, I can't wait to die. Why? Hopefully, you get a stroke. I love you. I love you, honey. Hopefully, you get a stroke before I get home. It's fake. Why? They say it so many times, they can't stand each other. Why? Because in reality, just words mean nothing. Sometimes we say, I love you to Hashem, like that. We say B'ezrat Hashem, but we're violating Shabbat. We say B'ezrat Hashem, but we're looking at every woman that moves. We say B'ezrat Hashem, but we're stealing in our business. We say B'ezrat Hashem when it comes to the mitzvah of tzedakah, and all of a sudden, we don't have any money.

2:45We always have money when we see all of our wealthy friends. We always say, "Oh, look, I just got the car. You got the car too? I got the car too. Oh, I just ordered one. I'm on the back order. I'm on the front order." Everybody's comparing houses, comparing cars, comparing watches. "Oh, is yours real? Yeah, $35,000. I got it. I got it." But when the guy comes with the car and asks for tzedakah, the response is, "Ah, yeah. You know, times are rough. Hold on. Let me see if I have a five on me. Hold on a second. Hold on a second." Suddenly, he seems to be struggling to find a small bill to give. However, when it's time to be generous, he says, "Hey, you know what? I'll give you $20,000," giving the impression of generosity. Then he says, "Remember me in Olam Haba (the World to Come)," as if he just purchased his place there. You're talking about million-dollar cars and hundred-thousand-dollar houses, all this stuff. But when it comes to tzedakah, all of a sudden, nobody has any money. See, Rabotai, we say, but when it comes to money, we forget Hashem. When it comes to watching our eyes, we forget Hashem. When it comes to learning Torah, we forget Hashem. That's like a husband telling his wife, "I love you," but in reality, he's cheating on her. That's like a wife telling her husband, "I love you," but she never ever makes any food for him. She never cleans the house. She never does anything that he wants. All of a sudden, anytime he wants something to eat, she makes exactly the opposite. Like in the Gemara, there's actually a story like that. One of the Tannaim had an evil wife. She would definitely make the opposite. Whatever he wanted, she'd make the opposite. So his son caught on to this.

4:03He says, "Abba, she's doing the opposite." "It's okay, it's okay, son," the father replies. The son felt bad for his father. For all these years, every time he asked for rice, she made beans. When he wanted beans, she made something else. Everything was always the opposite. So one day, the son caught on to it and wanted to do something good. He started telling his mom the opposite of what his father wanted. After a couple of weeks, the father noticed that, all of a sudden, his wife seemed to have done teshuva; everything he asked for, she was now doing. He says, "You know, son, your mom is really giving me chizuk; she's doing serious teshuva." The son replies, "No, no, Abba, nothing's changed." Then he tells him the whole thing. He says, "Really, I caught onto everything she's going to do, and I'll do the opposite, just like she's doing to you." The father responds, "Oh, I appreciate what you're doing, but the Torah says, 'mi'dvar sheker tirchak' (from a thing of lies, run away from). So even though I appreciate what you're doing, you need to stop doing it." You're gonna get used to lying. You get used to lying, and I get used to sinning, used to sinning. Our problem is not gonna be bad food. It's gonna be much bigger. So now, the Sabba of Slabodka didn't only try himself at the train station; he constantly gave himself tests. He writes in the book about all types of tests that he gave himself, where one time he told himself, "I'm gonna go and…"

5:27to study in my cabin in the middle of the woods because I believe with full emunah, 100% bitachon that Hashem will provide me light. I believe. Not, "hopefully it happens," or "hopefully the money comes somehow so that I'm able to pay the rent." No, no, no. I believe that I will have everything I need. If we need it, we buy it. Yeah, but how are you going to pay for it? If we need it, Hashem will provide. That was his mentality. He went to the woods, 100% certain that Hashem will provide him light. How did he show that he's 100% certain? He brought sefarim. He didn't tell anybody where he's going. And he went to the woods. Now, if you go into the middle of the woods, already it's dangerous. With no light... Might as well do Kaddish on yourself. Why? Because all the animals go there. He goes into the woods. He starts learning. The sun starts going down, going down, and going down. The light gets darker and darker and darker. And as soon as it gets to a point where, mamash, there's a total loss of light, he reaches back to grab someone's hand.

6:50Somehow comes out of somewhere because no one knew he was, he never saw. The person gives him a candle, and he uses the candle. What's the proof the candle continued being lit for over 20 years? People from all over the world would come and look at this candle as proof, because anytime somebody had problems at home, they would say, "Oh, what's the proof that Hashem really watches everything?" "Oh, go to the Beit Midrash, which one? The Yeshiva Volozhin." There's a candle over there; it never goes out. For 20 years, the candle was lit—the same candle never goes down. Why? Because he said "B'ezrat Hashem," because he believed "B'ezrat Hashem." He believed "B'ezrat Hashem." In a shiur Torah, we explore the rich teachings of our sages and delve deeply into the wisdom of the Torah. It is essential to approach these discussions with respect and accuracy, particularly when referring to revered figures or texts. For example, when discussing the teachings of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zatzal, or the sefer Chafetz Chaim, we should ensure the names and concepts are properly conveyed. Additionally, when we mention terms such as "talmud Torah" or "halacha," they should be spelled consistently and appropriate to their meaning within our community. In doing so, we honor the authenticity and depth of our tradition. Thank you.

8:29Thank you.