It seems to be that this year there has been a surge in the
publication of works on Emuna, on faith, and Bitachon, trust in Hashem. The
works, both old and new, line display tables of the Jewish bookstores, and it
is impossible not to recognize the tremendous need that Jews today feel for
connecting to our True Source.
The topic of emunah in the 21st century can be
complicated. Those of us raised in the mixture of western society know that
emunah means far more than faith or belief, even as we live surrounded by a
society in which faith and belief are the end goals of religion. Indeed, even
in the most recent of movements of wokeism, what you believe is what defines
truth. That is not emunah.
Emunah takes work. That work is defined almost succinctly by
Devarim 10:12: “And now, Israel, what does Hashem your God ask from you all,
just that you fear with awe Hashem your God to walk in His path and to love Him
and to serve Hashem your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Neither Moshe nor the Torah define this as Emuna, but our tradition teaches us
that true emunah and bitachon (faith and trust) in Hashem means knowing that
all that Hashem does is for the good and therefore trying to do everything in the
way that Hashem wants.
If the Torah makes clear what we need to do to serve Hashem,
why do we need so many books on emunah? Perhaps part of that answer comes from
our very human desire to ignore the idea that Hashem created and runs the world
on a concept of consequences, on cause and effect. Hashem controls every aspect
of the universe (as the parsha also notes: Behold, the heavens to their
uttermost reaches belong to your God Hashem,
the earth and all that is on it!) but He set that universe up to specific
parameters and then set even more specific parameters for the Jewish people.
This week’s parsha, which talks so much about what Bnei
Yisrael must do and feel, is parshas Eikev. which opens: “And it will be the
consequence if you obey these rules and observe them carefully, your God Hashem will maintain faithfully for you the
covenant made on oath with your fathers” (7:12). Eikev, consequence, that which
comes from an action… this is how Hashem created the world. The world has
consequences. Emunah has consequences. In the Shaar Habitachon it is pointed
out that if a person is determined to believe in the power of money or avodah
zarah or even himself, then Hashem allows him to live life with that delusion,
allows him to experience the consequence of that false faith.
When one lives with emunah and bitachon, however, the
consequences result not in a demonstration of wealth and glory but in the
symbiotic relationship in which a person truly
lives to love and serve Hashem and therefore feels the constant wealth
of Hashem’s blessing.
We today publish so many books on emunah because in the age
of technology and in an era of hedonism, those consequences are harder and
harder to witness. We live in a time where things seem to be going so very
wrong and yet understanding how it is wrong is a critical part of emunah and
bitachon. Even in the darkest moments, Bnei Yisrael must hold fast to the fact
that “Yet it was to your ancestors that Hashem
was drawn out of love for them, so that you, their lineal descendants, were
chosen from among all peoples—as is now the case” (10:15).
This Shabbas, or whenever you can throughout your days, take
a moment and think about that most critical relationship. Start with gratitude,
with the recognition of what Hashem has provided, and take the steps to let
your emunah grow. (There are probably several books I might suggest!)
We are all works in progress on emuna and bitachon. It’s a
journey; it’s work – But it’s worth it.
Wishing you an uplifting Shabbas.
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