[Avodah] "OUT OF HAND LEADS TO OUT OF OUR HAND"

[Micha Berger]

On Sun, Sep 28, 2008 at 02:34:38AM -0400, Cantor Wolberg wrote:
: The above is so apropos to what has happened to our economy and  
: probably the worst situation since the Great Depression. However, this  
: may be a blessing in disguise -- a message to let us know that we are  
: NOT in control.  Only the Almighty is in control and when things get  
: out of hand, then our material possessions get out of our hand.

>From <http://divreichaim.blogspot.com/2008/09/credit-crunch.html>,
by R' Chaim Brown (former regular here):
> R' Elchanan in one of his ma'amarim, which if I recall correctly has
> no date attached but must have been written in the '30s, writes that
> the failing of the economy (at the time of his writing) was not caused
> by a lack of money, as plenty of people still had fortunes and great
> wealth. The economy failed because of a loss of confidence in the
> institutions of finance - a loss of faith in the economic system. What
> was true then is certainly true today, as the credit crunch is
> primarily a loss of confidence and trust. The key to understanding
> this phenomenon is the principle of middah k'neged middah. R' Elchahan
> writes that a loss of faith in worldly institutions comes about
> because of the greater loss of faith in our spiritual institutions - a
> failing of emunah. And only through the strengthening of emunah can we
> find the tools to emerge from such a crisis.

> I am not a big fan of prophetically trying to attribute specific outcomes
> or events to specific sins, but I pass on R' Elchanan's insight for
> whatever it's worth. It's certainly worth spending a minute thinking
> about as the Dow and S & P find their way to lower and lower depths.

Given that the A-lmighty gave me a front seat for wathing this crisis,
while BH and ba"h so far keeping its harm down to my 401(k), I took
these words very much to heart. I have been exploring the topic of
what is bitachon and how to develop it, much of which ended up on my
blog. <http://www.aishdas.org/asp/category/bitachon>

I won't rehash the discussion of the CI's attack on the
chassidish/Novhardoker definition of bitachon, as it's been done here
with wome regularity, and I mention it in the above linked page.
However, I staked out this position for myself which is actually a
synthesis (IMHO) of the "everything will be as I want" and "everything
always is as per His plan" positions:
> Bitachon is awareness that the A-lmighty is acting in a covenental
> partnership with the you. It is from there that Rav Dessler's formula for
> hishtadlus emerges, one partner picking up what he does not expect from
> the Other's contribution. It is the Chazon Ish's awareness that every
> event in our lives is part of a plan. And yet we can avoid simplistic
> dismissals of suffering. Yes, Nachum Ish Gamzutells us that everything
> is for the best, eventually. But since I must remember that no story,
> no "eventually", is ever over, I can not find meaning or redemption
> in that fact. Pain remains pain. And yet, having bitachon demands that
> trust in "kochi ve'otzem yadi-- my strength and the might of my hand"
> is misplaced, and through my activities I can not avoid the tragic. It
> is part of the role I play in the Divine Plan, and to not accept them
> as from Him and part of the covenant would be disloyalty to it.

If people have pragmatic ideas as to how to gain more bitachon, I'm
in the market for them. For that matter, I am pretty bullish on that
market, as I'm sure I'm not alone.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             The purely righteous do not complain about evil,
micha at aishdas.org        but add justice, don't complain about heresy,
http://www.aishdas.org   but add faith, don't complain about ignorance,
Fax: (270) 514-1507      but add wisdom.     - R AY Kook, Arpilei Tohar