Video summary
The video explores the profound Jewish concept of *bitachon*, or trust in God, through the transformative story of David Rosemarin, a university student who struggled with severe anxiety and insomnia in 1999. After consulting a rabbi, David was given six pages from the ancient text *Duties of the Heart*, specifically the chapter titled "The Gate of Trust," which he studied for ten to fifteen minutes each night before sleeping. Remarkably, within eight weeks, his anxiety vanished and he could sleep easily, even though the external stressors of exams and social pressures remained unchanged. This experience highlighted that *bitachon* is not about ignoring reality or assuming everything will go perfectly, but rather about fundamentally changing one's attitude toward life's difficulties by recognizing that ultimate control lies with a capable Creator.
A crucial distinction is drawn between intellectual faith (*emunah*) and emotional trust (*bitachon*). While faith involves the rational belief in God's existence as the creator of the universe, trust is an emotional reliance on Him for daily life. The transcript uses the analogy of falling backward into someone's arms to illustrate this difference: knowing someone is there represents faith, but actually letting go and relying on them to catch you represents true trust. This concept is further exemplified by the story of the Brisker Rav, a renowned Torah sage who lost his entire real estate fortune in Warsaw due to fraud during World War I. Instead of despairing, he immersed himself in studying the "Gate of Trust," eventually realizing that spiritual wealth and inner peace are found not in material possessions but in one's fluency in trusting God.
The video also addresses common misconceptions about trust, clarifying that *bitachon* does not mean believing that every outcome will be favorable or that bad things won't happen. Rabbi Abraham Yeshayahu Karelitz, known as the Chazon Ish, explains that since the future is not yet revealed, one cannot claim certainty about specific outcomes; rather, trust is the conviction that nothing happens by chance and that all events are decreed by God. This perspective is illustrated by a disciple of the Chazon Ish who faced new competition for his printing business. Despite the threat to his livelihood, he felt no stress because he believed that God had already determined his earnings for the year, rendering his competitor's actions unable to alter his fate. Ultimately, the message concludes that true trust brings a heart at rest and freedom from worldly cares, allowing individuals to navigate life with serenity regardless of whether events align with their hopes or fears.
Read the full video transcript
Back in 1999,
David Rosemarin was a sophomore in
university here in Toronto.
Academic stress
and social pressures eventually led to
frayed nerves and growing anxiety.
It got to the point
where he had difficulty falling asleep
at night.
David considered going to a doctor to
get some drugs to deal with his anxiety
and his insomnia.
He also spoke about his difficulties to
a rabbi
that he studied with each week.
Without responding, the rabbi left the
room
and went to photocopy
some pages from a book.
David later recounted
how these 61 pages changed his life.
They were a chapter from a book written
about a thousand years ago
called Duties of the Heart, Chovot
Halevavot,
and the chapter that was given to him
was entitled The Shaar Habitachon, the
Trust the Gate of Trust, the Gate of
Trust.
The rabbi advised David to study
this text for about 10 to 15 minutes
each night
before he went to sleep
and to carefully contemplate
what he had read.
And David later wrote about his
experience.
He said, "To my surprise,
within 8 weeks,
not only was I able to fall asleep
without difficulty,
but my anxiety had almost completely
vanished.
Even more remarkable
was that the improvement in my
psychological state
had occurred despite the fact
that none of the anxiety-producing
factors in my life had disappeared. In
actuality,
at this later period of time,
I was facing a grueling exam schedule,
worse social challenges than before,
and I remained completely uncertain
about my future.
What had changed, though,
was my attitude toward my difficulties
and toward life in general.
I had increased my level of trust in God
and had gained the spiritual abilities
and tools necessary to navigate through
the world of anxiety.
In the same way that a medical patient
faithfully places themself
in the hands of a highly skilled and
competent physician,
I had come to realize that the events of
my life
were ultimately controlled by God's
highly capable hands.
And that at the end of the day,
I had little to worry about.
This ancient piece of Jewish wisdom
elucidated
a method of eliminating human anxiety
based upon spiritual wisdom.
Trust in God,
which is called bitachon in Hebrew,
is an extension
of the idea of faith.
Faith, or emunah in Hebrew,
is primarily intellectual.
It is the belief
and the knowing
that God is the creator of all that
exists.
However, trust
goes beyond this. Trust is relying
on God in your life.
This is more of an emotional
experience, not so intellectual.
Faith in God is somewhat intellectual.
Based upon my mind and my reasoning,
I know that there's a creator. I know
the world is not here by accident.
But that doesn't mean that a person will
necessarily place their trust and rely
on God. This is a more emotional,
psychological step where a person feels
that they are able to rely on God.
There are people who believe in God.
They believe God exists,
but they don't live with trust in God.
There's a popular party game
where you stand with your back to
someone
and they're behind you with their hands
outstretched.
And the idea is that you're supposed to
fall backward
into their waiting arms and they're
going to catch you.
Now, you may know that there is someone
standing behind you,
but that fact doesn't mean necessarily
that they will catch you if you fall
backward.
How much trust do you have
that this person is going to catch you?
Do you feel totally comfortable falling
back and letting go?
So, you will know
because you just saw the person
walk behind you.
You know there's someone there.
That's faith. That's emunah.
But would you put your life into their
hands?
Will you rely on them? Will you trust
them to catch you?
That is called bitachon.
The author of Duties of the Heart was
Rabbi Bachya ibn Pakuda. In his
introduction
to the Gate of Trust, he writes the
following.
He says, "Among the benefits of trusting
in God are the following:
a heart at rest,
freedom from worldly cares,
a tranquil spirit,
a sense of calm, security, and peace."
And he quotes Jeremiah chapter 17 verses
7 to 8. "Blessed or fortunate
is the person who trusts in God.
God will be their refuge.
They will be like a tree planted by
water that sends out its roots by the
stream."
Rabbi Yitzchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik,
who was born in 1886,
was known as the Brisker Rav, very great
Torah sage.
And when he got married,
his wealthy father-in-law
wanted to free him from financial
worries, so he'd be able to dedi-
dedicate himself fully to study of
Torah.
And what was the generous gift that his
father-in-law gave him?
It was an entire block of real estate in
Warsaw.
Now, the rabbi didn't want the headache
of having to manage all of these
properties, so he hired a property
manager to take care of all the real
estate.
Then World War I broke out.
And the Brisker Rav had to flee.
When the war was over, he returned to
Warsaw,
but he couldn't find the property
manager anywhere.
The rabbi went to the Department of
Records
and discovered that the property manager
had forged his signature,
had transferred the titles of all of the
property into his own name, and left all
of the buildings for his own children to
manage.
The Brisker Rav was swindled out of all
his property,
and was now penniless.
What did he do?
He took out his copy
of the Duties of the Heart,
and he opened the Gate of Trust, and he
studied it 10 times until he knew it
virtually by heart.
And then he said the following,
"Until now, I thought that a wealthy
person is someone who owns a block of
real estate in Warsaw.
But now I know
that a truly wealthy person
is someone who is fluent in the Gate of
Trust.
This chapter will bring him peace of
mind, serenity, tranquility, and
happiness."
Now, there is this general idea
of trusting in God that we find
throughout the Bible.
For example, King David says in Psalm
55, verse 23, cast your burden upon the
Lord and he will sustain you.
Now, exactly how is this understood?
How is this understood
that we trust in God? What is going to
happen
when you trust in God?
And this is the subject of extensive
discussion
among our Torah sages over the
centuries.
Rabbi Abraham Yeshayahu Karelitz, who is
better known as the Chazon Ish,
he lived in Israel, he died in 1953.
He wrote a book entitled Emunah
U'Bitachon,
faith and trust.
And he took issue with the way many
people understood the topic of bitachon,
the topic of trust.
And he writes the following.
There is an old misconception rooted
in the hearts of many when it comes to
the concept of trusting in God.
The term has mistakenly become
a term to describe the obligation
to believe that in any situation
a person finds himself in
where they face an uncertain future with
two possibilities,
one good and the other not so good,
that surely the good outcome will be the
one to occur.
If one is doubtful
and fears that the negative possibility
may occur,
he is considered to be lacking in trust.
The rabbi says this understanding of
trust is not correct.
For as long as the future has not been
revealed through prophecy,
the future is not decided.
Who knows God's judgments and rewards?
No. Trusting in God is not that.
But rather,
it's the belief
that nothing happens by chance.
And that everything that occurs under
the sun
is a result of a decree of the almighty.
So, he's explaining that bitachon
is not some Pollyannaish view
that whatever happens to me, it's going
to work out. It's going to be great.
He says, "Not necessarily.
What happens to you may not be what
you're hoping for,
but it's what God has determined."
There was a disciple of the Chazonish
who ran a small printing company in Bnei
Brak in Israel.
And one day, someone else opened up
another printing company down the
street.
This disciple of the Chazonish went to
visit the new business
and welcomed him warmly into the
neighborhood.
He offered him advice on how to get the
business off the ground. He offered him
help with any spare parts if the
machinery would break down, and he
generously said, "I'd be happy to share
my customer list with you."
Now, when this fellow's family found out
about what he had done,
they were shocked.
"How could you offer so much help
to a competitor?
He's going to end up taking away some of
your business."
And he turned to his family,
and he said, "No.
God determines every year on Rosh
Hashanah, on the Jewish New Year,
exactly how much money
each person is going to earn that year.
This man
is not able to diminish the amount that
God has determined for me by even 1
cent."
This person did not assume
that his trust in God meant that his
business would flourish.
That's not necessarily what trust in God
meant to him.
It didn't mean that in the coming year
he was necessarily going to do really
well in business.
His view was simply
that God was in control
and that his new competitor had no
ability whatsoever
to interfere with God's decree.
And as a result,
he did not stress.
He lived with a wonderful inner peace
in his life.
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