Parashas Behar

Topics

• Shemitah and Har Sinai
• Shemitah, Emunah, and Bitachon
• Shemitah as a Foundation for Kabbalas HaTorah
• Shemitah, Har Sinai, and Kabbalas HaTorah
• The Gra on Why Hashem Gave the Torah
• B’tachon as the Foundation
• Shemitah, Har Sinai, and the Gra
• The Chazon Ish and Two Worlds
• Two Worlds
• Two People, Two Worlds
• Shmita, Har Sinai, and the Question of Emunah
• Bitachon as the Real Gift
• Eretz Yisrael, Galus, and Lifnei Hashem
• Galus, Eretz Yisrael, and Lifnei Hashem
• The Ramban on Shemitah
• The Ramban on Shemitah and Shabbos
• Shemitah as a Test of Emunah in Creation
• Shemitah and Maaseh Bereishis
• Bitachon as the Natural State
• A Child’s Trust
• The Gra on Tov lachsos baShem
• Psychological Security and Hope
• The Segulah of Ein od milvado
• The Child as a Model of Trust
• The Meaning of Lo ira
• Fear and Chisayon
• The Child Analogy
• Segulos and the Rashba
• The Mishnah in Yoma
• Segulah and Refuah in the Sources
• The Chasam Sofer on Segulos and Refuah
• Issur D’rabanan, Issur D’Oraisa, and Refuah
• Rabbi Shlomo Kluger and Tefillah on Shabbos
• A Story About Segulah and the Lottery
• Tefillah, Segulos, and Chilul Shabbos
• Kamei and Writing Shemot on Shabbos
• Kaf HaChaim and the Practical Halachah
• A Practical Question
• Machlokes Among the Poskim
• A Story About Rabbi Elyashiv
• Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky’s Explanation
• The Main Point
• Living in a Different World
• A Story of Perspective
• The Alter of Vardig on Shevi’is
• Hashem and Teva
• The Haftarah and Bitachon
• What Bitachon Means
• Torah as a Different World
• Bitachon, Olam HaBa, and Shmita
• Shabbos, Tzar, and Living Beyond This World
• Shmita, Eretz Yisrael, and a Different Lifestyle
• Shmita, Olam Haba, and a Different World
• Torah, Shmita, and Eretz Yisrael
• Eretz Yisrael Is Meant for Shabbos laShem
• Bitachon, Security, and Worry
• Refa’eini Hashem and Bitachon
• Eretz Yisrael and Its Proper Purpose
• Bitachon as Security, Not Acquisition
• Refa’eini Hashem and Worry
• Bittach and Security
• Childhood Innocence
• The Yesod of Shemitah and Shabbos LeShem

Transcript

## Shemitah and Har Sinai

This week’s parashah — really last week’s parashah — was Parashas Shemitah. But in truth, Shemitah is not only about one week or one year; it is about a person’s daily life. I want to explain what I mean.

The Torah says, “Vayidaber Hashem el Moshe b’Har Sinai,” and then it continues with the laws of Shemitah: “V’shavsa ha’aretz Shabbos laHashem.” What does Shemitah have to do with Har Sinai? Har Sinai represents the whole Torah. The entire Torah, all 613 mitzvos, was given at Har Sinai. So why does the Torah introduce Shemitah specifically with “b’Har Sinai”?

Rashi, based on Chazal, asks this famous question: what is the connection between Shemitah and Har Sinai? The answer is that Shemitah was given at Har Sinai, and the Torah is teaching that just as Shemitah was given with all its details at Sinai, so too all the mitzvos were given with all their details at Sinai. The Torah could have chosen any mitzvah to make this point. Tefillin has many halachos. Tzitzis has many halachos. Klayim has many halachos. Every mitzvah has countless details. So why did the Torah choose Shemitah?

## Shemitah, Emunah, and Bitachon

The answer, I want to suggest, is that Shemitah is all about bitachon and emunah. During Shemitah, a person does not plant, sometimes for an entire year, and he has to trust that Hashem will provide his food. That is the essence of Shemitah: emunah, bitachon, trust in Hashem. And Har Sinai, Kabbalas HaTorah, is also about bitachon.

## Shemitah as a Foundation for Kabbalas HaTorah

Shemitah is singled out because it reflects the very foundation of Har Sinai and Kabbalas HaTorah. The Torah was given to a people who trust in Hashem. That is why Shemitah is the example the Torah chooses.

We are saying that Shemitah is connected to Har Sinai because Shemitah, which is about emunah and bitachon, is the same yesod as Har Sinai and Kabbalas HaTorah.

## Shemitah, Har Sinai, and Kabbalas HaTorah

Because Shemitah is connected to Har Sinai, to Kabbalas HaTorah, to Torah. What do I mean? I’ll explain it to you.

As we get closer to Shavuos, we learn that the Archaim says there were three points necessary for Kabbalas HaTorah. He also says a third thing was necessary: the Midbar, which is a symbol of anavah. A Midbar is a place where nothing grows. I want to add a fourth point: Shemitah was also necessary. It was a necessary mitzvah, an ingredient, for Kabbalas HaTorah.

Rabbi Rucham, the Mashgiach, zt”l, points out something very interesting. When we say, “Because of our fathers who trusted in You,” what does that mean? Just say they trusted in Hashem. But the Avos did much more than that. Still, you see that the tefillah emphasizes bitachon. Rabbi Rucham says: you say it every day, but have you ever thought about why? Because “You taught them Torah,” and why? “Because they trusted in You.” Bitachon is a very important ingredient in receiving Torah.

I’m putting this back into the Rashi. It fits very much. Shemitah was necessary in order to have Har Sinai. Let me go further.

## The Gra on Why Hashem Gave the Torah

The Gra clearly states this yesod. If someone asks you, “Why did Hashem give Torah?” what would you say? At first you might think of the Chazal: Hashem wants to give us mitzvos so we can earn Olam Haba. Or you might say that Torah is the yesod of Yiddishkeit. But the Gra gives an entirely different picture.

The ikar, the main reason, is not what you might think. Let me show you an interesting point. Many people here are osek in kiruv; they help people and teach people. So if someone asks you, “Why did Hashem give us the Torah?” what would you answer? A simple, basic question. You would say: to have emunah. Who taught you that? How do you know that? Where does the Ramban say this? By the nisim, that famous long Ramban, where he says the ikar is the nisim to bring a person to emunah? Not bad—you knew the Ramban.

But the question is: why? Why does Hashem want us to have Torah? Torah is not an easy thing. What is He giving us the Torah for? What does He want by giving us the Torah? So I’ll read to you again the Gra: “Ikar netinas Torah liYisrael heh kedei sheyashimu bitchonam baShem.” Why is Torah about bitachon?

## B’tachon as the Foundation

The ikar of everything is **b’tachon ha’shalem**, the foundation of all mitzvos. Just as Chazal say that *“V’ahavta l’rei’acha kamocha”* is a *klal gadol baTorah*, so too **b’tachon is a klal gadol b’chol ha’mitzvos**.

## Shemitah, Har Sinai, and the Gra

This brings us back to the connection between **Shemitah** and **Har Sinai**. There is a Gra in **Mishlei**, and also in another place, that sheds light on this. In **Devarim**, there is a pasuk about the children who did not follow in the path of their fathers. The Gra explains that this means they did not remain faithful to the same approach; the Torah did not remain in their hands because of a lack of **b’tachon**.

The first generation, as we will soon learn, had tremendous b’tachon when they left **Mitzrayim**. The next generation did not have the same level. It is like what happened in other places too: the first generation was full of energy and commitment, and then the next generation was not the same. When Yisrael left Mitzrayim, they had b’tachon. They received the Torah, and then that b’tachon began to weaken. So the Torah was not preserved in their hands because of a deficiency in b’tachon.

## The Chazon Ish and Two Worlds

I want to show you something very interesting. Who was the greatest farmer in **Eretz Yisrael** in the last hundred years? The **Chazon Ish**. He knew farming better than anyone. His expertise was **Shemitah**, **sh’mias**, **hilchos hat’luyos ba’aretz**, **shumyas**, **maizvyas**, and all of **Zera’im**. Do you have any idea how much knowledge in farming is needed to know Zera’im? It is unbelievable.

And yet, when you think of a farmer, what comes to mind? A worker in overalls, someone earthy, someone tied to the ground. The Rishonim say that a person who works the **adamah** becomes part of the adamah, as in *“Ish ha’adamah.”* The closer a person is to the earth, the more earthly he becomes.

At the same time, you can have someone who knows all about farming and is still an angel among men, as the Chazon Ish writes about **talmidei chachamim** in **Kovetz Igros**. A talmid chacham looks like a man and sounds like a man, but in truth he is an angel. It is well known that people say the Chazon Ish was referring to himself, though he wrote about talmidei chachamim in general.

So on one hand, he knew all the earthly details of planting and farming. On the other hand, he spoke about a person who lives in the sky.

### Shemitah and Har Sinai

The answer is this Rashi. What does Shemitah have to do with Har Sinai? Shemitah is farmer’s work, agricultural law. Yet the Torah says that Shemitah was given with all its details, its general principles, and its specifics at Sinai. Just as we say about other mitzvot, like *dinei mamonot*, that they are all from Sinai, so too Shemitah is from Sinai. It is a tremendous *chiddush*: something that seems purely practical and earthly is in fact rooted in Har Sinai.

The same idea appears in the Rashi on *"ve’eileh hamishpatim."* You would never think that the laws of a *shor shenagach* or other monetary cases are part of Sinai in the same way as the Aseret HaDibrot. But Chazal teach, *"ma eilu miSinai af eilu miSinai."* The Torah includes even these seemingly ordinary matters. So too with Shemitah: even with all its laws and farming regulations, there is Sinai there.

### Two Worlds

This is the point I want to explain. There are two worlds. One world is the ordinary world, where a person lives as though life is only waking up, going to work, and dealing with the practicalities of this world. But there is another world, where a person lives in the same physical world and yet experiences it differently.

The farmer is occupied with farming, and in one sense he is an *ish adamah*. But the Chazon Ish could be involved in the same subject and yet live in a completely different realm. He is not an *ish adamah*; he is an *ish Elokim*.

A person can walk the same streets and live in the same world, but one person takes out *Olam Hazeh*, while another takes out *Olam Haba*. I’ll give you an example. A person goes to look at a house and immediately thinks about the pool in the backyard, the barbecue, and all the comforts of the home. A Yid looks at the same house and thinks: where will the beis knesses be, where will the sukkah go, where will the mezuzah be placed? He sees the same house, but he is living in a different world.

That is the point: the same physical reality can be approached from two entirely different perspectives.

### Two People, Two Worlds

The same point applies here: two people can look at the very same house and see entirely different things. If you work in real estate, you know this well. Show the house to one person, and he immediately starts thinking about where to put the pool. Show it to a Yid, and he is already asking where the shul will be, where the sukkah will go, and what the kosher kitchen looks like. That is the first question: the kosher kitchen. It is a completely different world.

### Shmita, Har Sinai, and the Question of Emunah

Now pay attention, because I am going to say many things, and eventually they will all fit together. Shmita rests on Har Sinai. Avodas karka, with all its klalim and pratim, is connected to Har Sinai. What does that have to do with pitachim? We will discuss that now.

The Kli Yakar, following the Ramban, asks a very strong question: why is it that if a person does not keep shmita, such terrible things happen to him? The Torah says severe consequences, and Chazal say that exile comes for three sins: arayos, shefichas damim, and shmita. The Ramban asks: how can you even compare them? How can shmita be placed in the same category as arayos and shefichas damim, with the same punishment?

The Kli Yakar explains that shmita is about emunah, and emunah is the ikar of the Torah. But shmita requires not only emunah in Hashem, אלא also emunah in the nisei Hashem, the miracles of Hashem. After all, there is a tremendous miracle here: a person does not plant, yet he still has food. Chazal say that the miracle is that he eats and is satisfied. He may not necessarily grow more produce, but there is brachah in the food itself, and he becomes full from it. If a person does not trust in that, the punishment is as severe as that of a shofeich damim.

### Bitachon as the Real Gift

This fits with what the baalei mussar and the mefarshim say about the idea that Hashem is your shadow. The Yerushalmi explains that the way a person behaves is the way Hashem behaves with him. As much movement and bitachon as a person has, that is how the Ribbono Shel Olam is with him. The baalei mussar explain that if a person lacks bitachon, the punishment is that Hashem leaves him to himself. If he has bitachon, then the gift he receives is that Hashem is with him.

The Brisker Rov says this beautifully. The greatest brachah a person can have is the ability to trust in Hashem. That itself is the gift. A person lives with bitachon, and he is the richest person in the world—not because Hashem necessarily gives him money, but because Hashem gives him bitachon. Whatever else He might give could only make things more complicated. The real gift is emunah itself. That is what the Brisker Rov means.

This is why people sometimes wonder: how come it does not change? We say, “I have bitachon; it should have worked.” But the Brisker Rov is teaching us that it did work. Hashem gave you the very situation in which you still need bitachon. If you need bitachon for parnassah, then what do you want? You want Hashem to give you parnassah. But then you would still need bitachon about what happens after that. Hashem never gives in a way that removes the need for bitachon, because bitachon itself is the ikar. Bitachon is the present.

The Brisker Rov illustrates this with a very nice story about two brothers. One brother was not successful in business and never made much money. The other brother was very successful and always had plenty. Being a good brother, he supported him. But then he realized that simply giving him money was not ideal, because the brother would still worry: what if I lose the money? What if he is not around to help me anymore? So he decided on a better idea: he would put the money in the bank for him. That way, he would have security.

The Brisker Rov says that this is not enough either. Hashem does not merely give a person money; He gives him something better—security itself, which is bitachon. That is the real gift. And then what do you get for it? You get the ability to trust in Hashem. So we have learned an important yesod: a person in this world can either live with bitachon or go through life without it.

### Eretz Yisrael, Galus, and Lifnei Hashem

Now the question is: what is the chomer of galus? Why does a person have to go into galus if he lacks bitachon? I want to discuss this, because I believe it very strongly. Eretz Yisrael was created to be the ultimate situation, like Gan Eden. Eretz Yisrael was created to be lifnei Hashem.

I can prove it from Kayin. The Torah says that he was driven out, and it says by Kayin, “vayigarish.” He was sent away from lifnei Hashem. But what does that mean? Everything is lifnei Hashem. How can someone be thrown out from lifnei Hashem? The answer is that he was no longer in Gan Eden; he was in Yerushalayim. The Kuzari says that by Yetzias Kayin, he was in Yerushalayim, and from there he was thrown out from lifnei Hashem.

The Ramban in this week’s parashah says that by shmita it says, “Shabbos laHashem.” Notice that shmita is called Shabbos laHashem. The Ramban explains that shmita is like Shabbos, and these are deep secrets. I am going to read you the Ramban. It is a very interesting Ramban. Don’t worry if you do not understand yet what I want; it will all fall into place soon.

## Bitachon as the Real Gift

How come it doesn’t change? We always ask ourselves: I have bitachon, so why didn’t it work? The Brisker Rav is teaching us that it did work. Hashem gives a person the very situation in which he still needs bitachon.

If a person needs bitachon for parnassah, what does he really want? He wants Hashem to give him parnassah. But then he still needs bitachon afterward, because he has it, right? So Hashem never gives in a way that removes the need for bitachon, because bitachon itself is the ikar. Bitachon is the gift.

The Brisker Rav gives a very nice mashal. There were two brothers. One brother was unsuccessful in business and never made money. The other brother was very successful and made a lot of money. So he took care of his brother and would always give him money.

One day he told him: this is not really good, because you rely on me, but in the back of your mind you are always worried. What if I lose my money? What if I am no longer around to give it to you? So I have a better idea: I’ll give you the money and put it in the bank for you. Then you’ll have security that it will always be there.

The Brisker Rav says that this is how Hashem deals with a person. Hashem gives you something that you can always be secure with, and that is bitachon itself. Giving him money does not solve the problem, because he still worries what will happen if circumstances change. Hashem gives something much better: security itself. And what do you get for that? That is what you get for it. Hashem helps a person have true bitachon.

## Galus, Eretz Yisrael, and Lifnei Hashem

So we have learned an important yesod: in this world, a person can either live with bitachon or live without bitachon. The question is, what is the chomer of galus? Why does a lack of bitachon lead to galus? I want to discuss this. I believe this very strongly: Eretz Yisrael was created to be the ultimate situation, like Gan Eden. Eretz Yisrael was created to be lifnei Hashem.

I can prove it from Kayin. It says that he was driven out, and the pasuk says he went out from lifnei Hashem. What does that mean? Everything is lifnei Hashem. How can someone be thrown away from lifnei Hashem? The answer is that he was no longer in Gan Eden; he was in Yerushalayim. The Kuzari says that by Yetzias, by lifnei Hashem, he was in Yerushalayim, and that is where he was thrown out from.

## The Ramban on Shemitah

The Ramban in this week’s parashah says that by Shemitah it says *Shabbos laShem*. Notice that Shemitah is called *Shabbos laShem*. That is why Shemitah is like Shabbos.

The Ramban says that Shemitah is very deep, and he introduces it as a secret. He says, “L’kof aznecha,” bend your ear, as if he is telling you something private. He is saying that this is very deep and cannot be explained fully.

The Ramban explains that the six days of Bereishis correspond to the days of the world, and Shabbos corresponds to the future, to the day that is all Shabbos and menuchah for life. The days correspond to the creation of this world, and the years correspond to the existence of the whole world.

Therefore, Shemitah is much more severe than a regular prohibition. One who is chayav galus for Shemitah is like one who is chayav galus for arayos or other severe sins. The Torah emphasizes it many times because one who is kofer in Shemitah is kofer in maaseh Bereishis.

## The Ramban on Shemitah and Shabbos

The Ramban is saying that Shemitah is like Shabbos. The Torah is hinting to us, in a very hidden way, that there is a deep connection here. He begins with the words, *“L’kof aznecha, lishmoa mah she’ani rishai l’shmi’acha mimenu b’lo sh’nasher ha’shmi’acha”*—bend your ear and listen to what I am permitted to tell you. In other words, the Ramban is speaking in the language of a secret, because this is something very deep.

He explains that the six days of Bereishis correspond to *yemei olam*, the days of this world, while Shabbos corresponds to the future, to *yom shekulo Shabbos u’menuchah l’chayei ha’olamim*. Shabbos is a remez to what is beyond this world. Likewise, the years of the cycle are a remez: the six years correspond to the structure of this world, and the seventh year, Shemitah, points to something higher.

## Shemitah as a Test of Emunah in Creation

That is why the Torah is so strict about Shemitah. The Ramban says that one who is *kofer b’Shemitah* is not *modeh b’ma’aseh Bereishis*. In other words, denying Shemitah is not just denying a mitzvah; it is denying the whole framework of creation. The Torah therefore speaks about this many times, and the punishment of galus is connected to it as well. The idea is that Shemitah is tied to the recognition that Hashem created the world and runs it.

The speaker then pauses and asks: what is the connection between being *kofer b’Shemitah* and not being *modeh b’ma’aseh Bereishis*? What does one have to do with the other? That is the point he is building toward.

### Shemitah and Maaseh Bereishis

Shabbos laShem: whoever is kofeir in Shemitah is kofeir in Maaseh Bereishis. Do you hear what is being said here? It is unbelievable.

Let me explain what this means. A person can live in a state of Olam Haba, and a person can live in a state of Olam Hazeh. As I began earlier in the shiur, the Rambam says clearly at the end of Zeraim that Shevet Levi had a tremendous zechus: they stood apart, separated from all worldly concerns. Shevet Levi did not go to work.

And the Rambam says, *lo rak Shevet Levi bilvad*. It is not only Shevet Levi. Anyone who wants to be like Shevet Levi, to separate himself and live as Hashem originally intended—meaning, to be *yashar*—can do so. Hashem creates a person *yashar*, but then the person begins making *hashbonos*. This person is going in the way Hashem created him, without those *hashbonos*.

### Bitachon as the Natural State

I will explain what that means. The Gra says that when a person is young, he has a great deal of *bitachon*. As he gets older, he loses that *bitachon*. The Gra goes so far as to say that this is why, in the Mishkan, the main *hashraas haShechinah* was *mibein haKeruvim*. The Keruvim had the image of a child, because the child represents *bitachon*, *emunah*, and trust. That is the *ikar kiyum haShechinah*.

There is another Gra. The Gra says that *bitachon* is like *gomal alav*. What is *gomal alav*? Like a child nursing from his mother. Does the child have even one moment of fear or worry that the mother is not there for him? No. That is the meaning of *gomal alav*, as the Gra explains in *Deir Eliyahu* on *Tehillim* kuf lamed aleph.

### A Child’s Trust

I want to explain this point. We are born *yashar*. The yetzer hara drags us into *bikshu hashbonos rabim*. A child is pure, and part of that purity is the middah of *bitachon*, trust. A child is naturally trusting.

Man was created healthy—healthy meaning the way Hashem wanted him, *yashar*. *Yashar* means to have *bitachon*, to trust. But as he gets older, the *hashbonos* begin to set in. He becomes dependent, fearful, and worried. He starts making *hashbonos*, not only about what if, but about the people around him—trust, not trust. That is the effect of *hashbonos*.

But when a person is born, he is born trusting.

I will tell you another interesting Gra. The Gra says, and it says, *Asher haGever, Asher yiftach*... no, I do not want this one.

## The Gra on *Tov lachsos baShem*

The Gra explains a different reading of the pasuk, **“Tov lachsos baShem mi-bito’ach b’adam”**—it is better to take refuge in Hashem than to trust in people.

At first glance, the simple meaning seems to be that when a person begins to rely on people, he should instead learn to rely on Hashem. But the Gra says there are actually two levels of bitachon.

The first level is that a person trusts Hashem after receiving a promise or reassurance. That is certainly a good level, but it is not the highest one. The higher level is called **chisayon**—a state in which a person does not even need a promise. He does not question, and he does not require a haftachah at all. That is a deeper form of reliance.

The speaker explains that this is why the pasuk is read as **“tov lachsos baShem”**—it is better to take refuge in Hashem in a way that does not depend on a promise, than to trust in a person only because he promised.

## Psychological Security and Hope

Psychologically, people often feel secure because of the promise itself. For example, when someone is sick and hears that there is a doctor who may help, the hope alone can give him a sense of safety. But that is still not the deepest level of bitachon.

## The Segulah of *Ein od milvado*

The speaker then brings a well-known segulah from **Rav Chaim of Volozhin**: saying **“Ein od milvado.”** This is described as a tested and effective segulah, and the Brisker Rav would use it often.

But the speaker emphasizes that the real point is not to treat it as a segulah. If a person says it only because he thinks the words themselves will protect him, then he is still relying on the segulah. The true yesod of **Ein od milvado** is **chisayon**—living with the reality that there is nothing else besides Hashem.

## The Child as a Model of Trust

He compares this to a child. A child does not sit and think, “My father promised to take care of me, so I am safe.” He simply lives in a state of safety. He does not need to generate reassurance for himself.

That is the kind of trust the speaker is describing: not fear that is answered, but a deeper state in which fear is absent.

## The Meaning of *Lo ira*

The discussion then turns to the meaning of **“lo ira.”** The speaker distinguishes between not being afraid of something and being a person who is simply not afraid.

A person may have fear approaching him and then tell himself not to be afraid because he has protection. But there is a deeper state in which fear is not present as an emotion at all. That is the level he is trying to describe through the example of a child who naturally knows his father will provide for him, without needing to think about it.

## Fear and *Chisayon*

The speaker continues to draw a sharp distinction between ordinary fear and a deeper state of trust. He says that the right way for a Jew to live is not merely to feel fear and then overcome it. Rather, *chisayon* is something deeper than that.

He asks what *lo ira ra* means. It does not mean, “I will not fear from bad things.” It means, “I will not be afraid.” The point is not that danger is approaching and I am simply managing my fear because I have protection. The point is that I am not a fearful person at all.

He explains that a person may be afraid and then tell himself not to be afraid because he has a good, strong gun or some form of protection. But there is a deeper state in which fear is simply not present. That is the distinction he is trying to make.

## The Child Analogy

He compares this to a child. A child does not walk around worrying whether his father will be there, or whether he will get lunch. He does not need to think about it. He is simply safe. That, the speaker says, is the model the Gra is describing: not a person who is anxious but reassures himself, but a person who lives in a state where fear is absent.

He gives a simple comparison. One person leaves his doors open and is not afraid. Another person installs an alarm system and is also not afraid. But these are not the same. One person is not afraid because he has protection; the other is not afraid because fear is not part of his state.

## *Segulos* and the Rashba

The speaker then shifts to the topic of *segulos*. He says the Rashba, in Siman Reish Pei Vav in his responsa, writes that there is no real explanation behind *segulos*, but they work, and Chazal taught that there are such things in creation.

He gives examples from nature, such as water, rocks, and minerals, and says that although science may later offer explanations, the Rashba’s point is that these things do not really fit in a rational sense.

## The Mishnah in Yoma

From there he brings a Mishnah in Yoma, perek 8, Mishnah 6. The Mishnah discusses a case where a *kelev shoteh* bites a person, and the question is whether the person may be fed the dog’s liver as a cure. The Chachamim prohibit it, while Rav Masya permits it.

The Rambam explains that the lenient view is based on a remedy that has been tested and is considered rational and accepted. In other words, it is not an unusual or unconventional treatment. Since it is a recognized medical method, it is treated differently from a strange or unproven remedy.

The speaker continues the child example: a child is not afraid that he will not get lunch, because he knows his father will take care of him. It is not merely that he has become accustomed to it. Rather, if the father misses lunch a few times, the child comes to know that there are situations in which he does not get lunch. But when everything is normal, the child does not walk around worrying that something terrible may happen while his father is standing there watching over him.

That, the speaker says, is what the Gra means. The Gra is saying that a segulah is like the child who receives milk from his mother: he is not afraid, and he does not need to come and say, “You know what? I’ll do this just in case.” The point is not the verb form of fear. It means not having fear at all. Sometimes a person is afraid and tells himself not to be afraid because he has protection. But that is different from a person who simply is not afraid.

He gives a comparison: one person leaves his doors open and is not afraid. Another person installs an alarm system. In both cases, the person may say he is not afraid, but there is a difference between someone who is worried and has protection, and someone who is not afraid in the first place. The speaker says that this is what he is trying to explain.

He then pauses and says he is tired and not sure he is explaining himself properly. He notes that he fell asleep at 4:30 in the morning, woke up at 6, and then traveled. He says he will continue with the next part of the shiur and then tie everything together.

## Segulah and Refuah in the Sources

He turns to the question: what is a segulah? He cites the Rashba in Siman Reish Pei Vav in his teshuvot, who writes that there is no real explanation behind segulos, but they work. Chazal taught that in creation there are things called segulos. He gives examples from water, rocks, and minerals, and says that although today science often provides explanations, the Rashba’s point is that the matter itself does not really “fit” in a straightforward way.

He then brings a Mishnah in Yoma, Perek Kaf-Heh, Mishnah Vav: if a kelev shoteh bites a person, there is a refuah, namely to feed the person from the liver of that dog. The Mishnah records a machlokes whether one may feed the person that liver. The Chachamim say no, while Rav Masya says yes. What are they arguing? The Rambam explains in his Pirush HaMishnayos that the lenient view is based on a refuah that has been tested and is a davar sichli, something that makes sense. In other words, it is not an unconventional or irrational treatment. A conventional medicine, even if it involves a prohibited substance, is treated differently from a strange or untested remedy.

The speaker says that if a therapy is conventional and accepted, then in principle it is different from an unusual remedy. He then continues into the next discussion about the criteria for segulos and refu’os.

## The Chasam Sofer on Segulos and Refuah

The Chasam Sofer uses this principle and gives an example: if there is a very sick kohen, and the refuah is said to be that he should touch the hand of a dead non-Jewish baby, the Chasam Sofer rules that it is permitted, because it is a refuah that is expected to work, and there is no issue of standing in the way of pikuach nefesh. He is therefore lenient in that case.

He notes that a kohen is not allowed to touch a dead body, and even though a kohen may go to a cemetery because there is no tumas ohel in that situation, he is still prohibited from touching. Tumas maga applies even to a non-Jewish baby. The speaker then mentions that this is why there are problems with kohanim and milah involving non-Jewish babies: one may not touch a dead baby, even though one may go to the ohel. The distinction is that tumas ohel is one matter, but tumas maga remains prohibited.

## Issur D’rabanan, Issur D’Oraisa, and Refuah

The Tosafos Yom Tov makes a classic distinction between an issur d’rabanan and an issur d’oraisa. For an issur d’rabanan, one may do it for healing; for an issur d’oraisa, one may not. So, for example, if something would be an issur d’oraisa, such as the speaker’s example of the veil of the trapes, then it would not be permitted. The Bikkur Yosef also says that it is not allowed. He is very famous for this in Siman Shin Aleph, where he writes that the Chachamim forbade all types of refuah through issurim.

## Rabbi Shlomo Kluger and Tefillah on Shabbos

The speaker then turns to a sefer by Rabbi Shlomo Kluger, who wrote many teshuvos on this topic. He tells a story about a dayan who came to him with a very sick person on Shabbos. The dayan had a non-Jew write a letter and bring it to the Belzer Rebbe, or perhaps to the Tzaddik Shalom, asking him to daven for the patient. Rabbi Shlomo Kluger and the Marsham later decided to remove that dayan from his position. Their conclusion was that even if the request is only for tefillah, one would not be allowed on Shabbos to ask him to daven. In their view, this is not a refuah but only a tefillah, and not every tefillah is answered; it is not a guaranteed remedy, only a tefillah and perhaps a segulah.

## A Story About Segulah and the Lottery

The speaker adds that sometimes a person is a rasha, and then the segulah will not work. He tells a story about a man in Queens buying 500 lottery tickets. The man, who was not wearing a yarmulke, said he was definitely going to win because he had called an ex-Israeli and a mekubal had given him the winning numbers. The speaker asked him how he could expect to win that way, especially while walking around without a yarmulke.

## Tefillah, Segulos, and Chilul Shabbos

The point is that even for tefillah, and even for nisim or *ma’asei nissim*, one cannot simply say, “I’ll be mechalel Shabbos for this.” Tefillah is one matter, segulos are another, and it is a different sugya altogether. Since nothing here is clear-cut, a person is not allowed to rely on it so easily and say that he will be mechalel Shabbos for this purpose.

## Kamei and Writing Shemot on Shabbos

The speaker then turns to the question of *kamei* and writing Shemot on Shabbos. He notes that some sources discuss whether one may write a *kamei* on Shabbos, and he cites a story brought in the *Torah Temimah* and *Mikor Baruch* about the mekubal, the Rashash, who was once approached by a girl who had drunk poison. In order to save her, he wrote Shemot and a *kamei* for her on Shabbos, and the *Mikor Baruch* records that she was saved. From there, the speaker says, it seems that tzaddikim and mekubalim were able to do such things even on Shabbos.

## Kaf HaChaim and the Practical Halachah

He then says he wants to show the halachah lema’aseh from the *Kaf HaChaim*. He explains that a *kamei* is a piece of parchment on which one writes the Shemot of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and that many Rishonim say we no longer know how to do this properly. Still, he wants to see the practical halachah.

He reads from *Kaf HaChaim*, siman Shin-Vav, os Ayin-Zayin, where a story is brought from the time of a mageifah. In that story, a sick person’s brother was far away, and a sofer was instructed to write a letter on Shabbos in a foreign language so that the brother would know to daven, say Tehillim, and give tzedakah. The *Kaf HaChaim* says that this was permitted because there was no prohibition involved.

## A Practical Question

From this, the speaker draws a practical question: if someone is sick on Shabbos, may one send a text message, fax, or other message asking people to daven for him? He says that if the message can be read, then perhaps it is comparable. But he emphasizes that this is still a halachic question and asks again: what is the halachah lema’aseh?

### Machlokes Among the Poskim

Rabbi Shlomo Zalman writes that since there is a machlokes among the poskim, it is better not to do it. The Kaf HaChaim says one may do it, while the Eshel Avraham says one may not.

So what is the practical takeaway? The point is this: sending on Shabbos that someone should daven for you, not merely to make a segulah but to ask for tefillah, is something one should be hesitant to do on Shabbos when the poskim disagree.

### A Story About Rabbi Elyashiv

He then brings a story related by Rabbi Zolty, involving Rabbi Elyashiv and Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky. Benny Fisher, who helped arrange medical care in Eretz Yisrael, once went with a woman whose husband was dying to Rabbi Elyashiv.

Rabbi Elyashiv said that he would daven for him. The woman then asked: if her children later asked whether she had done everything possible for their father, could she honestly say yes? She explained that in America there was a doctor who might help, and perhaps her obligation was to trust in Hashem and pursue that option.

Rabbi Elyashiv told Benny Fisher to arrange a ticket immediately so she could leave that Friday morning for America. They traveled, and the story continued that the treatment worked and the man was saved.

### Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky’s Explanation

Later, they asked Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky why Rabbi Elyashiv had first said only to daven, and then changed his mind and instructed them to travel, even though it involved chilul Shabbos.

Rabbi Chaim explained that at first he heard only that there was nothing else to do. But once he heard from her words that she had emunah and bitachon that something good would happen, he understood that this was a matter of sakanas nefashos, and in such a case one goes even on Shabbos.

### The Main Point

The speaker returns to the original point: with a segulah, one cannot be mechalel Shabbos. Even with emunah and bitachon, one cannot be mechalel Shabbos unless there is true danger.

He emphasizes that the greatest power in the world is bitachon in Hashem.

## Living in a Different World

The word *segulah* doesn’t even apply here. That is the point. It is not a *segulah*; it means that a person is living in an entirely different world, a different *beriah* altogether. There is *sheishet yemei bereishis*, there are the ordinary days of the world, and then there is something called *me’ein ha’olam ha’ba*—a different *Gan Eden*, *lifnei Hashem*. It is something completely different, not part of the ordinary framework of *yemei bereishis*. It is *Shabbos laShem*.

*Shemitah* means that a person lives in a world where planting is part of that world. Planting, *nichush*, *ikkur*—these are things that belong to *avodas ha’adamah*. But even *avodas ha’adamah* can be lived in such a way that it is not merely natural; it is the Eibershter.

## A Story of Perspective

I’ll tell you a beautiful story, and maybe through that you’ll understand what I mean.

They say about Ov Nekapishon Tzerebi that he was in the war, and the Nazis forced him to wash the streets of Czechoslovakia, wherever it was. Why did they do it? To degrade him, to humiliate him, to make him *zazelbo*—to mop the streets. But as the Nazi yelled at him to do it, he was laughing.

They asked him, “What are you laughing about?” He said, “You think you are humiliating me by making me clean the streets of Poland. But what I’m really doing is cleaning the streets of the Rabbenu Shel Olam. I’m cleaning the streets of the Rabbenu Shel Olam.”

A person can plant, or not plant, as an *ish ha’adamah* in this world. And then there is another person who lives *Shabbos laShem*, who lives in a completely different world. It is a different planet. He is *menachesh* and *maakir*, and everything is *laShem*—it is Hashem’s *karka*, Hashem’s *Eretz Yisrael*. Eretz Yisrael was meant for that. If you do not keep *shemitah*, then go somewhere else and do that. That is not what Eretz Yisrael was meant for.

## The Alter of Vardig on Shevi’is

The Alter of Vardig has a tremendous question. If a person does not plant during *shevi’is*, he gets a prize. What is the prize? *V’tzivisi es birchasi*—the crop grows, and it grows abundantly. But does it say anywhere that if you do plant, Hashem punishes you and does not let it grow? It doesn’t say that anywhere, says the Alter of Vardig. Beautiful.

He explains: imagine a person plants. What do you tell him? If you had not planted, you would have had a *berachah*. He says, “I plant and I have the same thing. What do you want from me?” Imagine you put a guy to the test—whether he behaves or not, whether he studies or not. In both cases he passes, right? So then the one who did not study cannot come and say, “Look at the one who studied. I didn’t study and I also passed.”

Does it say anywhere that if you plant on *shevi’is* it won’t grow? It doesn’t say that anywhere. You don’t even understand how beautiful the heart is. The heart is so beautiful. The point is that the one who did not do anything also received, but he had to work on his *bitachon*.

What is easier: for a person to wake up in the morning and make money, or to wake up and say, “I’m not going to do any work; I’ll rely on Hashem,” and then end up getting the money? A person would rather work and make his money, because then he knows it is guaranteed, right?

So the way to reach a person, says the Alter of Vardig, is to make it so that when he works, he does not get his money. That would be the right way to train him: if you don’t work, I’ll give you; if you do work, I’ll take it away from you. That’s how it should have been. But the Alter of Vardig says something beautiful: the Rebbeinu Shel Olam never stops *teva*.

### Hashem and Teva

Hashem says: if you work, it will grow. If you say, “You don’t want Me in the picture? Fine. You’re on your own now. I won’t help you,” then let’s see how your tomatoes come out. You will see the difference between tomatoes that grow with Hashem’s help and tomatoes that grow on their own. That is how the Altar of Vardig explains it: Hashem says, “I’ll leave you in your teva.”

### The Haftarah and Bitachon

There is a similar idea in the Haftarah. It speaks about bitachon, and then it says that Hashem judges a person according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. What does the double expression mean? The answer is that Hashem deals with a person the way he behaves. If a person has bitachon, Hashem acts with him in that way as well. Then the reward is the fruit of his labor. And if a person does not have bitachon, Hashem says, “I’ll give you the fruit of your labor,” but then you are left only with your own effort. You are just a single person, on your own.

The point is that sometimes we tell a person, “Hashem won’t help you. If Hashem doesn’t give you the house, you can work and try, but you won’t get anything from it.” But the double language in the Haftarah teaches something deeper: when you trust Hashem, that itself is your reward. It is not that one person gets something and the other does not. The trust itself is what you receive.

### What Bitachon Means

What is bitachon? It means that if there is a problem, you do not even have to worry about it. Hashem takes care of it as if it is not there. That is the whole idea of bitachon. Hashem handles the matter in a way that it does not even register as a problem.

A person lives in a different world. He thinks, “I am cleaning whose world?” His world. But באמת, he is living in a different world — Hashem’s world. In that world, there is no room for fear. A Yid can live in that world, and that is what Hashem wants.

Torah was given to place us in an entirely different world. That is what the Gaon means. The question is: how does Torah tell me to have bitachon? It is more than that.

## Torah as a Different World

It is even more than that. Let me explain what I mean. I began with an important Gra. The iker nesina sa Torah is that it should be by ter, by shef. What does that mean? How do you get there?

When a person learns Torah, he is in a different world. It is not the same world, and he does not have the same da'agos or the same issues. It is like a baby—an entirely different world.

I want to tell you something personal. I was zocheh to see my father learn in the most difficult times, and I saw something in him. People who knew my father would say this, and I do not even mean simcha in the usual sense. When he began ללמוד תורה, it was an escape from all the problems of this world. He learned Torah as an escape. He was on a different planet, in a different place altogether. Torah makes a person not live in the oylem hazeh with all its problems.

## Bitachon, Olam HaBa, and Shmita

That is the iker nesina sa Torah liYisrael, and that is the klal of kol ha-mitzvos. How is bitachon the klal of kol ha-mitzvos? Because the yesod of bitachon is that you are not here; you are in the oylem as the Ramban says, in Gan Eden. Isn’t that what Torah is? Tzadikim yoshvim.

Tell me something, Raphael: answer me this Ramban. The tzadikim did not want Olam HaBa because of what? It is the last Ramban, remember, in Hilchos Teshuvah. Bring the Ramban; let us learn it together. What is the ma'alah of Olam HaBa? I do that here also. No worries.

I was thinking about it on Shabbos a little. Read the Ramban. I am very, very tired, but read it. Why did they want it? The end of Hilchos Teshuvah—the last Ramban in Hilchos Teshuvah. So why did tzadikim want Olam HaBa? What did they have from it? Here it is. What does the word mirgoyah mean? What is Olam HaBa? Olam HaBa is... Here it is. These are the brachos.

The Ramban writes clearly that all the yisurim of this world can fall away, lost in love. Shmita was meant to take away all the olam hazeh in its province for one year, just like Olam HaBa. That is what the Ramban is saying. It is an escape into a world.

## Shabbos, Tzar, and Living Beyond This World

I was thinking on Shabbos: are you allowed to have tzar on Shabbos? If you look at all the zemiros, what kind of yagov anocha are we talking about? Only from parnassah? What yagov anocha are we referring to? You are not allowed to feel any yagov anocha on Shabbos. Why not? Because it takes away from the yesod of Olam HaBa. Olam HaBa is that there is no yagov anocha—that is what it is.

Shmita was supposed to be this yesod, and Torah was given for that. What am I trying to get at? I will tell you what I am trying to get at. Tzadikim, because they live in a different world, are really not affected by what is around them. They are not affected. Whether they have parnassah or do not have parnassah, it does not affect them whatsoever. Because in the real world they are supposed to live in, that world is not subject to the me'urei hazman. Things that happen here are just this world. A Jew lives in an entirely different world.

## Shmita, Eretz Yisrael, and a Different Lifestyle

Shmita is shayach to Har Sinai. Kabbalas HaTorah is about living in the world of Shmita. That is what it means. Shmita is to live in Eretz Yisrael and not work the field, and the Eibershter will give you what you need. This is the meaning of Shmita etzel Har Sinai. So even the avodas hakarka, all these things that are meant for parnassah, if you turn them into chol yisam, if it is all about Hashem’s Torah and His halacha, then you become Shmita. That is what Shmita is.

But if you make Shmita like a farmer—if it is all about farming and making parnassah—then you do not belong in Eretz Yisrael. Eretz Yisrael was not meant for that. It was meant for an entirely different lifestyle.

It is interesting: when the Chazon Ish came to Eretz Yisrael, the first thing he put himself into was the ענין of Shmita and zera'im. That was the first thing he involved himself in. What happened? Eretz Yisrael flourished in the beginning. Now, piece by piece, they want to take it away from us. With all their might and strength, they say Israel is the strongest country in that part of the world, but from within it is disintegrating. It is not meant to live the life of din zagav. That life was not meant for Eretz Yisrael, for Yerushalayim.

You do not understand what I am trying to bring out. Eretz Yisrael was meant for a different lifestyle. I do not mean only Shmita; I mean Shabbos laShem. It is meant for something completely different. So if you come and institute in Eretz Yisrael things that are like the rest of the world, if you want to make Eretz Yisrael like America, then it gets taken away from you. Imagine you have a country like the Swiss Alps—would you want to make a highway out of the Swiss Alps? It is not meant for that. To take a land that is meant for beauty and mountains—Eretz Yisrael is meant for Shabbos laShem. That is what it is meant for. That is what it is cut out for. You want to take it and use it. You know, the parnassah in Eretz Yisrael is very weak, very, very weak.

## Shmita, Olam Haba, and a Different World

The Ramban is saying that Shmita was meant to take away the ordinary concerns of this world for one year, just like Olam Haba. It is an escape into a different world.

I was thinking on Shabbos: are you allowed to have tzaar on Shabbos? If you look at all the zemiros, what kind of *yagov anochah* are we talking about? Only from parnassah? What *yagov anochah* are we referring to? On Shabbos, you are not supposed to feel any *yagov anochah*. Why not? Because it takes away from the yesod of Olam Haba. Olam Haba means there is no *yagov anochah*; that is what it is.

Shmita was supposed to express this yesod, and Torah was given for that purpose.

## Torah, Shmita, and Eretz Yisrael

What am I trying to get at? I’ll tell you what I’m trying to get at: tzadikim live in a different world. Jews who live that way are really not affected by what is around them. They are not affected by parnassah, whether they have it or not. It does not affect them at all, because the real world they are supposed to live in is not subject to the *me’urei hazman*. It is not subject to the changes and events of time. A Jew lives in an entirely different world.

Shmita is connected to Har Sinai. Kabbalas HaTorah is about living in the world of Shmita. Shmita means living in Eretz Yisrael and not working the field, with the understanding that the Eibershter will provide what you need. That is the meaning of Shmita at Har Sinai. Even avodas karka and all these matters that are normally for parnassah, if you turn them into *chol Yisrael*—if it is all about Hashem’s Torah and His halachah—then you become Shmita. That is what Shmita is.

But if you turn Shmita into the life of a farmer, if it becomes only about farming and making parnassah, then you do not belong in Eretz Yisrael. Eretz Yisrael was not meant for that. It was meant for an entirely different lifestyle.

## Eretz Yisrael Is Meant for Shabbos laShem

It is interesting: when the Chazon Ish came to Eretz Yisrael, the first thing he involved himself in was Shmita, zera’im, and related matters. That was the first thing he took upon himself. And what happened? Eretz Yisrael flourished in the beginning. But now, piece by piece, they want to take it away from us. They say Israel is the strongest country in that part of the world, but from within it is disintegrating. Why? Because it is not meant to live the life of *din zagav*. That life was not meant for Eretz Yisrael or Yerushalayim.

Eretz Yisrael was meant for a different lifestyle. I do not mean only Shmita; I mean Shabbos laShem. It is meant for something completely different. If you institute in Eretz Yisrael things that are like the rest of the world, if you want to make Eretz Yisrael like America, then it gets taken away from you. Imagine a country set up like the Swiss Alps—would you want to make a highway out of the Swiss Alps? It is not meant for that. Eretz Yisrael is meant for Shabbos laShem. That is what it is cut out for.

You know, the parnassah in Eretz Yisrael is very weak. It is tough over there. America is meant for making money. If you try to make Eretz Yisrael into that, it just does not work. Where does it flourish? It flourishes when it is used for its proper purpose, when it is Shabbos laShem. It was meant to be a place that is different from the rest of the world. It is chayei Olam Haba. Then, naturally, there are no da’agos. The people who live in Geula—do they have da’agos? The people who learn in Ponovezh in Bnei Brak—do they worry? That is not where the worry is. The worry is elsewhere. It was not meant for the lifestyle they are pushing into Eretz Yisrael.

## Bitachon, Security, and Worry

I know I went on a long tangent and brought together many ideas, but I think we can work with it. The idea of bitachon is not to get something. The idea of bitachon is to live—to live in security. The more bitachon you have, you know what you get? More bitachon, so that you can live with security. That itself is what the Ribbono Shel Olam gives you. It does not say that you are going to get; if you are not going to get, then you will not have bitachon. No—the point is security.

The greatest security is to have bitachon. The British used to say that the richest person in the world is someone who has the highest level of love. You ever see rich people? What do they do all day? They are constantly under stress and pressure, constantly. They are running from one meeting to the next, worried about the next deal, afraid of losing, afraid someone will steal from them. Have you ever lived the life of a businessman? The Torah says, “He who is rich is happy with his life.” That is a different kind of wealth. The wealth of life is security—you do not have to worry about it. It is a tremendous thing.

Hashem put into a person this mechanism that he worries and worries, and to fill that worry he does not stop working.

## Refa’eini Hashem and Bitachon

I also want to mention something interesting that went through my mind on Shabbos. It says, “Refa’eini Hashem.” How did this come into the haftarah? What is it talking about? Heal me from what? Does it say there in one word that he is sick? I do not see it.

So perhaps you have to say it has to do with bitachon—meaning, I have bitachon in You, Hashem, that You will heal me. And it is really talking about bitachon. You know what I learned from Shabbos? When a person does not have bitachon, he is sick. He is sick with worry. “Refa’eini Hashem”—heal me, Hashem. They even speak about it in science: what causes sickness? Worry. Stress and worry. You see what the pasuk is saying? “Refa’eini Hashem”—what does it have to do with this? Maybe it has to do with the beginning: bitachon in You, Hashem, that ...

## Eretz Yisrael and Its Proper Purpose

It’s difficult there. America is meant for making money, but Eretz Yisrael is not meant for that. If you try to force there what belongs here, it simply does not work. It flourishes only when it is used for its proper purpose, when it is **Shabbos LaShem**.

Eretz Yisrael was meant to be a place that is different from the rest of the world, a place of **Chayei Olam Haba**, where there are no **da’agos**. The people living in Geula, or those learning in Ponovezh in Bnei Brak, are not the ones living with worry. The worry is elsewhere. It was never meant for the lifestyle that is being pushed into Eretz Yisrael. That is a different world.

I know I went long and I know I’m bringing together many ideas, but I think we can work with it. Yes, what is your question? Usually, maybe with the phone, you want something out. So let me explain what I mean.

## Bitachon as Security, Not Acquisition

I already spoke about this in the beginning: the idea of **bitachon** is not to get. The idea of bitachon is to live in security. The more bitachon a person has, the more bitachon he gets—meaning, the ability to live securely. That itself is what the **Ribbono Shel Olam** gives a person. It does not say that if you do not get, then you will not have bitachon. Rather, the point is security itself.

That is the greatest security: to have bitachon. The British used to say that the richest person in the world is the one with the highest level of love. But look at rich people: what do they do all day? They are constantly under stress and pressure, running from one meeting to the next, afraid of losing, afraid someone will steal, afraid of being overtaken. That is not wealth. The real wealth is the security of life, not having to worry. Hashem placed in a person a mechanism of worry, and to fill that worry he keeps working and working.

## Refa’eini Hashem and Worry

I also want to say something interesting that went through my mind over Shabbos. It says, **Refa’eini Hashem**. How did this come into the haftarah? What is it talking about? Heal me from what? Does it say there in one word that he is sick? I do not see it. So perhaps you have to say it is connected to the bitachon: I have bitachon in You, Hashem, that You will heal me. And the haftarah is speaking about bitachon.

But I want to say something deeper. A person who does not have bitachon is sick. He is sick with worry, and worry makes him sick. **Refa’eini Hashem**—Hashem, heal me. Even science speaks about this: what causes sickness? Worry, stress, pressure. The pasuk is saying, Refa’eini Hashem. What does it have to do with this? Perhaps it is because of the beginning: bitachon in You that You will heal me. That is what I said—it is all random ideas of bitachon.

I want to say it more deeply: the person who does not have bitachon is sick from worry, and worry makes him ill. Refa’eini Hashem—I have You in my life, Hashem, and I am healed. The scientists cannot ignore this either; what do they say? They say that if you have a positive attitude, it helps.

## Bittach and Security

Positive attitude is what helps. It is not stress; it is the bittach of Rav Yisrael. It is not stress; it is the bittach of Rav Yisrael. "Eini Hashem v'nei rofeh" — ideally, secure, secure.

You can train yourself. We are born with it, and that is what I want to bring out. We are actually born with it, but we ruin it as we get older. We ruin it more and more, and as we get deeper into business, we ruin it even further. We run around and say, "I don't care"—the opposite. Try to go back and cultivate it.

## Childhood Innocence

Think of how a child is. You know, every person looks back at childhood memories, unless he had a major problem. What is it in your childhood that you liked? Think about it. No worries. Think about it. It is burning, no? What are you talking about in my childhood? What was so special about your childhood? And this is the nekudah: there was no worry. I had security.

Security, Rav Yisrael, is the biggest barakah a person can have: to be able to go to sleep and not have to worry. Guess what? It is doable in one second. And you know what the answer is? Be tough on it. Be tough on it. Be tough on it. That is what it is. We have it in us to be able to be innocently secure. We ruin it.

## The Yesod of Shemitah and Shabbos LeShem

This is the yesod of Shemitah and Rav Yisrael and Shabbos LeShem. Everybody say, have a wonderful weekend. I am sorry—the ideas were not... we were cheated.