0629 - Bitochon 02

00:01 I'd like to tell a story, a famous story, that illustrates what Bitachon is and that Bitachon actually helps. It's a story of the Baal Shem Tov. The story is that Baal Shem Tov was once told in Hashemayim in a dream that he should travel to a certain village and there he should learn the middah of Bitachon from a certain innkeeper and he should teach that to other people also. So the Baal Shem Tov took his talmidim and they traveled to that village. They came, they came to the inn and the innkeeper actually received them very nicely, graciously, and they were very, he was very happy that he was able to have such nice guests, et cetera, et cetera. The next day when they stood up to daven, they saw that a certain policeman, he was a messenger of the porets, of the landowner which owned the land that this inn was on. And he came with a big stick, thick stick, and he banged on the table three times and he left. So the guests, the Baal Shem Tov and his talmidim didn't say anything, but they didn't understand what this means. What's he doing? They looked at the balabos, they looked at the host, at the innkeeper, and it didn't seem it bothered him at all. After a half hour when they finished davening, the same person came again, again banged three times on the table, and again he left. So the Baal Shem Tov asked this balabos, this innkeeper, "What does this mean?

01:19 What's the banging?" So he said like this, "This is a warning. Today I have to pay the rent to the landowner for the year, and this is the seder. He comes three times, comes once and bangs three times on the table, then he comes a second time, bangs three times, and then a third time, and after that we have to bring him the money. And if we don't bring him the money, the landowner will throw us, meaning me and my whole family, into the dungeon." So the Baal Shem Tov said, "Okay, I see on your face that nothing's bothering you. Obviously you have all the money, and therefore go to the porets, give him the money, and now we'll wait with breakfast. Don't worry, because at least you get it off your head." So he said, "No, I don't have a penny now, but I'm sure Hashem will give me. I trust Hashem. Hashem will give me the money. Let's sit down. Let's eat. There's no rush, because I still have three hours till I have to pay, till the time of payment." They sat down to eat, and he didn't rush at all, and you could see on his face that there was nothing, you know, wrong with him. He didn't worry about anything. They finished eating. Then the shater, the, this policeman came a third time, and he banged on the table again three times. And again, the balabos, the innkeeper did not move, did not show any worry, did not do anything.

02:29 They bench, they did benching slowly, calmly, and then afterwards the balabos, this innkeeper got dressed, covered with big Shabbos, because he was going to see the porets, and he put on his belt, and he said, "Now I'm going to pay the money to the landowner." The Baal Shem Tov said to him again, "So obviously you have the money." So he says, "No, I don't have a penny, but I'm so sure I know Deibesh that takes care of everything, and Deibesh that makes sure it happens, so I am sure Hashem will give me the money." And he got up and he left. He was walking down the road, going to the porets' house, to this innkeeper's house. Baal Shem Tov and his talmidim were standing on the porch. With their eyes they were following him, seeing what, what's gonna happen. As they're watching, they saw a wagon was going slowly towards the person, towards the innkeeper. Baal Shem Tov saw from far that this innkeeper stopped next to the wagon, and he spoke a few words to the wagon, to the person in the wagon, and then he left. And then also the wagon started continuing slowly, and all of a sudden the wagon stopped, and the one sitting in the wagon screamed out and called the innkeeper back, and he came back, and they were watching, and they saw. They started talking for a moment, and then the guy in the wagon took out a whole bunch of money, and ga- they couldn't see what

03:44 and when, but he gave it to this innkeeper, and the innkeeper continued. The wagon continued going closer to the Baal Shem Tov's place where he was standing, and when he came there, the Baal Shem Tov asked this person what was going on, what happened there. First he spoke to him for a few minutes, then he left, you left, then you, you ga- you spoke to him again, and you gave him some money. What was going on there? So he says, "When I saw him, I offered him a deal that all the mashke that he's going to produce throughout this winter, I want to buy, and I'm ready to give him the money right now." And he gave me a price, and I said, "No, it's too, too expensive. I don't want to pay." So he said, "Okay, nisht." So you don't want to pay nic- and he started walking. Says, "As he walked away and I moved away, I was thinking to myself, I know this person. He's an honest person. He's not going to cheat me, and I need the deal. So you know what? I'll do it and pay him the money that he wanted. So that's why I called him right back, and we spoke for two minutes. So he told me, I can't speak to you too long because I have to go straight to the porets. The time is almost up. So I gave him all the money that we made up, and he went to the porets. And he

04:49 went to the porets, and the, the wagon drove away. He got his deal, and he went to the porets, and he got exactly the amount of money that he needed to pay the porets." And the Baal Shem Tov, when he heard this, he said, "See what Bitachon can do." First of all, you see what Bitachon means. Bitachon means when he's going there, when he has no way to get any money. He's just walking to the porets empty-handed, but he had the real, real Bitachon, and it worked. And that's for us a lesson also. The Baal Shem Tov was told in Hashemayim to teach us a lesson that we have to try to reach this level of Bitachon. It's a high level. Not everyone can reach it, but at least we see what it really is. And the fact is, if you really, really, really, really have the Bitachon, it is going to work.