The Trust Factor
A daily lesson that focuses on achieving unparalleled success in life using ancient wisdom in modern times.
We will be discussing critical concepts as they are laid out in the book Sha'ar Habitachon - The Gate of Trust. Written 1000 years ago, the author reminds us of the values and wisdom that have allowed humanity to thrive throughout history.
The concept of trusting in a higher power that exists purely for our benefit, puts us in the drivers seat with absolute confidence to achieve greatness.
Eliminate: Fear, Hatred, Anxiety, Depression, Jealousy, Greed...forever!
* Note that some terminology will be in the original Hebrew or Aramaic which I will always follow with the English translation.
The Trust Factor
Episode 21 - When You Trust God, He Takes Control of Your Problems
Passover stands as more than just a historical commemoration—it creates a powerful gateway for spiritual transformation. As we approach this sacred time, we're given an extraordinary opportunity to connect with the divine and request special assistance in breaking free from our modern forms of bondage.
We may not experience literal slavery today, but many of us remain shackled to different masters—technology, substances, unhealthy relationships, or even our careers and ambitions. Society pushes us toward extremes, while balance becomes increasingly elusive. Even fundamentally beneficial activities become destructive when pursued obsessively. Those working endless hours, sleeping in offices, or unable to disconnect from professional demands are experiencing a subtle form of captivity that limits their freedom and wellbeing. This Passover represents the optimal time to seek liberation from these constraints.
The profound difference between self-reliance and divine trust becomes clearest in our mental state. When we believe we alone determine our success or failure, we become consumed with replicating past victories and avoiding previous mistakes—an exhausting cycle of anxiety and frustration. By contrast, trusting in God's providence brings remarkable peace, understanding that while we control our decisions and efforts, ultimate outcomes remain in divine hands. This perspective liberates us from excessive self-blame and worry, creating space for genuine contentment.
The divine-human relationship functions through reciprocity—we demonstrate willingness to help ourselves before heavenly assistance manifests. When we focus on fulfilling divine commandments, our personal concerns receive divine attention. The Torah's guidance ultimately exists for our benefit, not as arbitrary restrictions but as a path toward wholeness and wellbeing. This Passover, whether deeply established in observance or newly exploring these traditions, take time to connect with family, share wisdom, and seek authentic liberation from whatever constraints you face. Listen to this episode to discover how trusting in something greater than yourself might be the key to finding true freedom and peace of mind.
Good morning friends. It's the Friday right before Passover. Passover starts tomorrow night and goes straight from Shabbat into the holiday of Pesach, so it's going to be an extended opportunity for all of us to be able to connect back to our Creator. It's going to be an extended opportunity for us to request assistance, special divine assistance from the Creator. Remember, we said and it's worth reiterating because we're on the eve of Passover that God creates auspicious times. He creates and he puts in the world around the time of the holidays. We talked about this. It bears reiterating that this time of the year around Passover is a critical time to be able to pray for the things associated with the holiday. So if you find yourself being shackled, if you find yourself overdoing it in any area of your life not just people who are addicted to substances or to relations or to gambling or to their technology computers and iPhones or whatever it may be clearly those people need extra assistance. Computers and iPhones or whatever it may be Clearly those people need extra assistance. But more than that, if you're bound to your office, if you're not able to balance your life, even the things that are acceptable when they're done in moderation, you take them to an extreme, because you are an extreme character and, by the way, we're living in a society of extremism. You've heard the terms uber left, uber right, everybody's extreme. Nobody understands balance anymore. The reality is, if you're taking any dimension of your life that, on its own or in moderation, in a balanced fashion, is healthy and good for you, once you take it to an extreme, it becomes unhealthy. And I don't care what the subject matter is, it becomes unhealthy. The trick to success in this life is balance. So if you find yourself working seven days a week, if you find yourself working 15, 16, 18 hours a day, sleeping in your office, if you find yourself doing these things, then this is a spectacular time. Right now and over the course of the next eight days, more powerfully than any other time during the year. This is the time to request special divine assistance to be able to conquer and to be able to change and to be able to learn about balance and be able to remove from your life the difficult and challenging and negative things that are weighing you down Today.
Speaker 1:We don't necessarily have modern slavery, certainly not in the Western world, but we are slaves to substances, we are slaves to technology, we are slaves to the concept of amassing wealth, whatever it is. Now's the time, my friends. There's something special in the air that you can tap into to be able to conquer that. Now. We've finished off the last of the spiritual benefits of having trust in God and we're going to start off the first of the material or the worldly benefit of having trust in God. And he starts off in what would seem like a very generic fashion and something that we've touched on in one way or another many times. He says as for the benefit regarding material matters of the world, one of them is منוחת הלב מן הדעגות העולמיות that one who relies on God, is content with what he enjoys, has peace of mind from the various worldly worries that weigh on those who believe in their own efforts.
Speaker 1:Again, we said are you the type of person who believes that you're in charge, that you're the reason that things are going well or, god forbid, you're the reason that everything failed? If that's the case, then you are going to be consumed day in and day out with what you did right and what you did wrong. If you did something right, you're going to constantly try and figure out how to repeat. That worked out for me really well. How do I do that again and again, and again. And guess what happens? When you can't, you get frustrated beyond all means. You go crazy trying to figure out how to reproduce that thing that you did, great, that really worked out for you. And when it doesn't work out again, you get upset. How do you avoid the pitfalls that you've ran into in the past? Yeah, you saw that there was an opportunity to invest in something and you, at the last minute, backed away because you didn't feel right about it. And later on you realize that it was a great thing because it fell apart. It would have cost you a lot of money, it would have cost you a lot of stress and anguish, but you got away from it. Now you're constantly trying to figure out what, why. You're still getting into bad deals and you can't figure out how to get out of them. Like you did back then. You're constantly beating yourself up for the good and for the bad. How do I repeat, how do I avoid Me, me, me? It's a very difficult place to be in.
Speaker 1:My friend, somebody who believes and trusts in God and knows that God is running the world and God provides, doesn't have to deal with any of those things. We understand full well where our money is coming from. We know that we are not in charge, that the only thing that we control in this world is our decision. That is all. Do we do good, do we do bad? Do we show up or not? Do we put in an effort or not? We know God does not help those who don't help themselves.
Speaker 1:There are stories throughout the Gemara. There are examples such as you're driving down the road and you see an individual whose cart has fallen over and he's sitting by the side of the road and asks you to help him lift his cart back up, but in the meantime he's sitting down and watching you lift the cart while he does nothing. He's perfectly capable, but he's watching you do the work. You're not allowed to help him. You are not allowed to help that individual. If he's not ready and willing to help himself, you're not allowed to help him. Yeah, you have to help yourself first before you request divine assistance.
Speaker 1:There are also verses in the Torah that explain that the way that God desires to have a relationship with us is that he says listen, make your problems my problems, because I can take care of them. Yeah, the real verse is make your will my will so that I make my will your will, which basically means if you're occupied day and night taking care of the things that I'm telling you to take care of, then I will take care of the things that you need to take care of. In other words, if you're doing the things that I know are good for you that you maybe don't know. Yeah, we've used the analogy before of the kids eating their vegetables. I'm telling you to eat your vegetables. If you eat your vegetables, you're going to get a reward and I'll take care of you and I'll do the things you want. I'll buy you your new game, I'll buy you your new toy, whatever. It is Same thing over here, except that we're the child and God's the parent.
Speaker 1:He says go out and do my commandments. Do what I tell you to do, because I know that they're good for you. Maybe you don't know, but I know. So go out and make sure you take a day off a week. Make sure you connect back to your family and to your creator on the Sabbath. It's a very important day. Make sure you don't treat it like any other day of the week. Make sure you eat kosher food. I know what I put in this world, I know what's good to eat and I know what's not good to eat. Focus on the things that I tell you to eat, because you will, god forbid, end up in a very bad place if you don't Not.
Speaker 1:Coincidentally, last night I saw a video. Somebody sent me a video of an individual who had an x-ray and in that x-ray it looked like their legs were littered with what looked like rice grains all over the place thousands and thousands of them. And it turns out it's a parasite, an illness from a parasite A person gets when they eat raw or undercooked pork. It is devastating and it can easily cause death or serious, serious, life-changing illness from raw or undercooked pork. Guys, pork is a filthy, filthy animal. That's not the reason we shouldn't eat it. The reason we shouldn't eat it is because it says it in the Torah very clearly. It gives us all the animals we're supposed to stay away from and it highlights a few of them which are very, very dangerous, and one of the few that it highlights is the pig. We should not be touching that stuff.
Speaker 1:You do what he tells you to do, not because he wants you to do it, but because it's good for you. If you don't know that it's good for you, then do it, because he tells you to do it, and eventually you'll learn that the reason that you should be doing it is not because he's telling you to do it, but because it's good for you. Everything he tells you to do is good for you. So do the things he tells you to do. Stop doing the things he's telling you to stop doing, and he will take care of all of your problems. He will take care of your will. You want to have a good life. You want to have peace of mind. You want to have children. You want have children. You want to find a soulmate, you want to have a good job. The things that concern you he will take care of. And the converse is true.
Speaker 1:Also, he says that if you've got this, if you're so consumed with it, you're working on it and you think it's within your means to control it, have at it. He says go nuts, if you don't need me, then I'm going to go somewhere else. I'm going to withdraw my divine providence over you in that matter, in that field, in that subject, and I'm going to let you manage it. And I don't know about you guys, but for me, if I have a choice of giving my problems over to he who creates and manages and controls every single instance on planet Earth, versus myself, little old me, taking care of my problems, it doesn't take a lot of thought process to be able to recognize that the answer is give it over to God, let him take control, let him fix your problems.
Speaker 1:Now, if you don't know what I'm talking about, if all of this sounds alien to you and you may even think that it sounds like a cop-out, I'm telling you from personal experience. Those of you who know me, have known me long enough, know that I wouldn't say something like that if it wasn't true. You know how I live, you know how I operate. I've experienced it for the last 20 years, day in and day out, day in and day out. Oftentimes I stop myself and I wonder, while I'm being grateful and while I'm thanking God for all the amazing things he's given to me, just how difficult my life would have been, just how I would have coped and managed had I not become what's called a Baal Tshuva, started to become more observant in my faith and my trust in God almost 20 years ago. My life would have been extremely, extremely difficult.
Speaker 1:Let's hold it over here, because we're all getting ready for Passover. I want to wish you guys all a amazing hug. I want you to have a meaningful and kosher holiday. Take the time to connect with your family and your friends. If you're used to keeping the holidays and this is an important time for you anyway then try and ratchet it up a step. Take a few minutes today and learn some extra things you hadn't known before. Listen to some words of wisdom that you could share over at your table.
Speaker 1:If you're not used to keeping the holiday, if you're not used to keeping Shabbat, then make that extra effort, my friends, because now is the time to pray for it. Now is the time to ask for real divine assistance, and you shall receive. That brings today's class to a close If you've been enjoying this program. First of all, I thank you for tuning in, but you're going to have plenty of opportunity. I'm sure you're going to be surrounded by friends and family and loved ones. If you know that other people will benefit from this, feel free to share. They can get on the WhatsApp group. You can add them yourself. It's on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, as well as other places and, god willing, when we get back from Passover we can start fresh on Tuesday and we will continue on with the worldly benefits of having trust in God. Have an amazing Shabbat, have a spectacular Passover, a meaningful and kosher holiday.
