And He will guard your feet from being caught: He will guard you so that you shall not be caught in the guilt of the city, in the sense of “his [own] sins shall ensnare the wicked man,” (Mishlei 5:22) [and in the sense of] “I have laid a snare for you and you have [even] been caught.” (Yirmiyahu 50:24) And along this very line we have found [in Tanach] that [when] together with the keeping of the Torah [a person conjoins] bitachon, Hashem Yisborach shields the one who takes refuge in Him from every manner of trouble, as it is said, “The word of Hashem is refined; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.” (Shmuel II 22:31; Tehillim 18:31) And behold, [both] David and Shlomo [HaMelech] have joined this matter [of Torah observance and bitachon] together, to inform [us] that [only] with the keeping of the word of Hashem and [the quality of] bitachon does Hashem shield the one who takes refuge in Him from every trouble. [The pasuk] may further be explained [thus]: “He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him”, and [the ones who] do not raise [questioning] thoughts after the reasons of His words. And behold, it is [further] written, “Hashem is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.” (Nachum 1:7) The explanation: He will make for them a fitting place [of refuge], for [those] who take refuge in Him [will] not be caught in a time of trouble, [namely, those who take shelter in Him], even though it has been decreed upon that very place that it be made a complete destruction.

And now we will speak concerning the explanation of bitachon, for it stems from the very root of emunah, as it is said, “Trust in Hashem and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate emunah”; (Tehillim 37:3) [and] “And he believed in Hashem.” (Bereishis 15:6) And know that bitachon [is] the pure emunah and the strengthening of the heart in the salvation of Hashem Yisborach and the leaning upon it in truth, in the sense of “and he believed in Hashem,” and leaned upon Him. But [nevertheless] we have found that the tzaddikim [are] fearful and anxious about cheit, as it is said, “And Yaakov was exceedingly afraid”; (Bereishis 32:8) and it is said, “How shall I go, and [lest] Shaul hear, etc.”; (Shmuel I 16:2) and it is said, “Fortunate is the man who fears continually”; (Mishlei 28:14) and it is said elsewhere, “The dread of man lays a snare.” (Mishlei 29:25) [It is therefore necessary to] explain the essence of the matter.

Know that bitachon [consists in this:] that there be mixed into it no doubt whatsoever. And by way of a mashal we will explain: that the matter of bitachon [is] like a hired laborer who trusts in the king [for whom he works], and [therefore] toils before him with all his strength in joy and gladness of heart by reason of his great confidence in the king, and from [his] knowing that [the king] will give him his [full] wage in its entirety. So it is with one who trusts in Hashem Yisborach: even if many evil troubles befall him, he will strengthen himself in the avodah of Hashem Yisborach and trust in truth that his reward [will be] multiplied again and again, and that Hashem [in His wisdom] will choose for him [that which is truly] the good; and if Hashem rebukes him in olam hazeh [with yissurim], [he will know] that this [too] is [ultimately] for his good, to cause his aveirah to pass away, and to draw him near to Hashem, and to exalt his portion in the olam haba, for the tranquility of olam hazeh [is] like breath and like nothing, a fleeting breath and a passing shadow. And it is in this sense that [the pasuk] says, “Who among you fears Hashem, who heeds the voice of His servant, who has walked in darkness and has no light, let him trust in the name of Hashem and lean upon his G-d.” (Yeshayahu 50:10) [And further:] “And I said, I have toiled in vain”, the explanation: I said [in my despair, on account of the] many troubles, “I have toiled in vain, and my aveiros have outweighed my zechuyos.” [Yet] in truth, the matter is not so, for the troubles are for my good, and the reward of my labor [is] whole, in the sense of “His reward is with Him, and His recompense is before Him.” (Yeshayahu 40:10) And [thus,] from his knowing that his reward is stored up [for him] and that light is sown for him, (Tehillim 97:11) he [also] waits and hopes even for the fruits of his deeds in olam hazeh; and this is the tocheles and tikvah that flow from bitachon. And tocheles itself [is] also called bitachon, because it flows from it [i.e., from bitachon], as the verse says: “For whoever is joined to all the living has bitachon”, (Koheles 9:4) the explanation: he has [living] hope to improve his deeds, for he knows and is confident that free will is placed in the hand of the living to choose the good way. Therefore he has [living] hope over this [matter] while he is yet [alive] in his lifetime.

And behold, [a further aspect] of the bitachon that we have mentioned: that he believe [fully] in all that Hashem Yisborach [has] promised through His nevi’im, and [in] all the wonders and good things which He has promised through His messengers, [for he knows] that His word shall stand forever, and [that] He will fulfill [it] all, in the sense of “And he believed in Hashem,” and it is said, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our G-d shall stand forever.” (Yeshayahu 40:8) And the matter of bitachon further requires that he know with his heart that all [is] in the hands of Heaven, and [that] it is within His power to alter natures and to reverse mazal; and that there is no hindrance for Hashem to save, whether by many or by few. (Shmuel I 14:6) And [he must know] that even when trouble is near, His salvation is [ever] near to come, for [Hashem] can do all, and no scheme [of His] shall be withheld. And it is said, “Lift up your eyes to the heavens and look upon the earth beneath, etc.” (Yeshayahu 51:6) Let him therefore trust in Hashem Yisborach in every time of trouble and darkness, and let him know in truth that He [alone] is mighty to save from every trouble, and His salvation [comes] in the blink of an eye. (Esther 4:17) And therefore let him [continue to] hope for His salvation even [when] the sword [is already] resting upon [his] neck, as the verse says, “Though He slay me, [yet] I will hope in Him.” (Iyov 13:15) This [too] is the tocheles that flows from the bitachon which we have [already] mentioned. And it is said, “Trust in Him at every time, etc.” (Tehillim 62:9), the explanation of “at every time”: even at a time when the trouble is near and a person knows no way to escape from it.

And the matter of bitachon that we have mentioned is explicit in the verse, as it is said, “Trust in Hashem forever”, (Yeshayahu 26:4) for He, blessed is He, is the Former of olam hazeh and olam haba, and all is in His hand; therefore trust in Him, for He can do all. And Chazal have taught: “And know before Whom you stand and toil, and faithful is your Employer, that He will pay you the reward of your labor.” (Avos 2:14; Yeshayahu 26:4) The explanation: [Chazal] have here mentioned [both of] the two aspects of bitachon that we mentioned [as being] explicit in the verse: [firstly, in] “Trust in Hashem forever, etc.,” [for] He considers the matter [and can effect it]; and [secondly] it is said, “Behold, His reward is with Him\... as a shepherd tends his flock He tends [them],” (Yeshayahu 40:10) and it is said, “Who has measured the waters with the hollow of his hand?” (Yeshayahu 40:12) [, these teaching that He has the power to bestow reward and that all creation is His].

And [a further aspect] of the bitachon that we have mentioned: that [a person] not place his trust in man, and that he know in truth that it is not within the power of flesh and blood to do him good or to save him, unless Hashem Yisborach so decrees. Therefore he shall remove his heart from trusting in man, and [instead] lift up his soul to Hashem Yisborach, as the verse says, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man”; (Yirmiyahu 17:5) and it is said, “Desist yourselves from man.” (Yeshayahu 2:22) And likewise, he shall know in truth that it is not within the power of flesh and blood to do him harm, as the verse says, “In G-d I have trusted; I will not fear, what can man do to me?” (Tehillim 56:5) “Hashem is with me; I will not fear”; (Tehillim 118:6) and it is said, “Hashem is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” (Tehillim 27:1)

However, when trouble [does] come, from [his] knowing that all is in the hand of Hashem Yisborach and that deliverance [is also] in the hand of the one who strikes [him], his heart is set facing [only] Hashem Yisborach, [as it is said,] “Behold, [our eyes are] like the eyes of servants [raised] toward the hand of their masters.” (Tehillim 123:2) He does not set his heart to [fear] the striker but [rather] adds [to his] yirah of Hashem, and [more] tikvah and tocheles toward Him, [in the sense of] “And [the] remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Yaakov shall no more lean upon the one who struck them, but shall lean in truth upon Hashem, the Holy One of Israel”; (Yeshayahu 10:20) the explanation: [this is] complete bitachon without [any admixture of] doubt, [knowing] that neither the striking or the saving is in the hand of the striker, as it is said, “The heart of the king is streams of water in the hand of Hashem; He turns it wherever He wills”; (Mishlei 21:1) and it is said, “as though the rod were to wield the one who lifts it.” (Yeshayahu 10:15) Yet his heart shall not grow faint, or shall he be dismayed by the trouble, for behold, tikvah is of necessity bound together with yirah. And [therefore] do not be alarmed by the nearness of the trouble, or withhold from your mind the thought of [your] deliverance, for he knows that Hashem Yisborach [is] mighty to save [even] once the trouble [is already] near and set, [just] as [He is mighty to save] before the trouble [arrives]. “Deeds are not weighed [by outward appearance],” (Shmuel I 2:3) and much relief and deliverance [lies] before Him, (Esther 4:14) and with Him is much redemption. (Tehillim 130:7) If so, how should the heart tremble and melt, does not [the strength of] tikvah [itself] fortify it? As it is said, “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, etc.” (Tehillim 31:25)

And in accordance with the greatness of tikvah and the strength of heart in tocheles, so [too] does the stature of the soul grow. And it is said, “Let not your heart be faint, etc.” (Devarim 20:3) The explanation: do not fear the people, as the verse says, “and [if] you see horse and chariot, etc.”; (Devarim 20:1) and it is said, “you shall not fear them, etc.” (Devarim 7:18) But Hashem [Himself] shall you fear. And it is said, “Do not fear that which they fear, or hold [them] in dread”; (Yeshayahu 8:12) “Hashem of Hosts, Him shall you sanctify; He [alone] shall be your [object of] fear, and He [alone] shall be your [object of] dread.” (Yeshayahu 8:13) And regarding the verse, “And Yaakov feared,” [the meaning is that he] feared [only] lest [he have sinned through] cheit, and [rather] strengthened himself in yiras Hashem Yisborach. And after [a person] trusts and hopes in Hashem, to whatever extent he fears [his own] aveirah, [to the same extent the] tikvah [correspondingly] fortifies his heart; therefore his heart will not melt. And this is the meaning of the verse, “The dread of man lays a snare”; (Mishlei 29:25) and it is said, “Who is the man who is fearful and faint of heart?” (Devarim 20:8) The explanation: [he is] “fearful” [to such a degree] that he is “faint of heart,” for the fear of the [enemy] people has overcome [him], and he [is] overcome with dread when he sees the multitude of their camps. It may be [the case] that he believes in truth that all is in the hand of Hashem, but because he has not [sufficiently] raised up his soul in the matter of the [full] measure of bitachon, his heart is faint and his nature has been brought down, and [this is also] from the overpowering of the weakness of his nature and the faintness of his heart. The intended sense of the verse, “The dread of man lays a snare”: the dread with which [a person] dreads [another] man is [itself] a cheit of [his] soul, and [it] lays a snare and strengthens the enemy and brings the trouble nearer upon him. For it is fitting that a person not dread the arm of flesh and blood, but set the fear of his heart upon Hashem. [And the pasuk continues,] “And one who trusts in Hashem shall be set on high” from the trouble, as the reward of [his] bitachon, even though the trouble was [otherwise] fitting to come upon him. And this is [what] is said in the following pasuk, “Many seek the face of a ruler, but a man’s judgment comes from Hashem.” (Mishlei 29:26) [And further:] “Who are you that you should fear man, who will [himself] die?” (Yeshayahu 51:12) For this [fear of man] is [a sign] of the [very] lowliness of the soul. And it is made clear there that one who fears man [thereby] forgets Hashem Yisborach, as it is said, “And you have forgotten Hashem your Maker, etc.” (Yeshayahu 51:13) The explanation: upon [your] seeing the trouble near and set, and the scheme of escape from it utterly withheld [from you], [at the thought,] “and where is the wrath of the oppressor?”, you ought to have brought to mind that many times over there has befallen you the like, and the light of the salvation of Hashem Yisborach and [of] His wonders has [nevertheless] shone forth, and the rod of the oppressor’s wrath has come to an end; and where [now] is his wrath, and where, then, is his [threatening] mouth?

And the matter of bitachon further requires [that a person] trust in truth upon the mercies of Hashem Yisborach, for many are His mercies, and [trust] in [His] abundance of chassadim; and [that he] believe in the middah of Hashem Yisborach and trust in them in truth, as is said, “But I, in Your chesed have I trusted, etc.”; (Tehillim 13:6) “But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of G-d, etc.” (Tehillim 52:10) The explanation: “Like a flourishing olive tree”, [an olive tree] whose splendor remains upon it all the year, [regardless of season]; so [too is] my bitachon in His splendor and in His power at every time, even when the trouble is near. And the tikvah [which] flows from this bitachon [reaches so far that] even when his aveiros are many and great, he will hope to the mercies of Hashem Yisborach, as is said, “For not on account of our righteousness, etc.”; (Daniel 9:18) and it is said, “Who hears prayer”; (Tehillim 65:3) and it is said, “Matters of sin have overwhelmed me, etc.”; (Tehillim 65:4) and it is said, “Let Israel hope to Hashem, etc.” (Tehillim 130:7) The explanation: though [one’s] aveiros have mounted up over his head, [still] “with Him is much redemption,” as is made clear in [what follows], “and He will redeem Israel.” (Tehillim 130:8) So too, if troubles have overpowered him and he [has] submitted [his heart] before them, let him trust in the mercies of Hashem [knowing] that [Hashem] will have mercy upon him, because of his troubles, because of his submission, and because of his tikvah toward Hashem, as it is said, “Behold my affliction and my toil”; (Tehillim 25:18) and it is said, “Remember my affliction and my bitter wandering, the wormwood and the gall; my soul well remembers and is cast down within me. [Yet] this I bring to mind; therefore I [still] hope.” (Eichah 3:19) The explanation: I await His mercies on account of the troubles and on account of the submission, “the chassadim of Hashem, that they cease not.” (Eichah 3:22) And it may be that what he said above, “Therefore I hope [to Him],” (Eichah 3:24) is joined to this, [meaning:] for I hope for His chassadim that cease not, and [for] His mercies that are not spent, “new every morning, etc.” (Eichah 3:23) [As for] “Hashem is my portion, says my soul,” the explanation: I choose in my world nothing other than His avodah, and I have no portion in the land other than the fulfillment of His mitzvos, in His love and in His yirah; “therefore I hope to Him.” This [disposition itself] strengthens [his] tikvah. And therefore he hopes [in] Hashem that He give him [this very thing] as [his] portion, as the verse says, “For the portion of Hashem is His people.” (Devarim 32:9) For this reason [Yirmiyahu] doubles the [expression of] tocheles a second time, after it is [already] said, “Therefore I hope”, and he furthermore adds here, “I hope to Him,” for the first [expression of] tocheles [refers] to deliverance, salvation, and chassadim, while the second [expression of] tocheles [is] to earn favor from Hashem and to draw near to Him, as the verse says, “And I shall bring him near, and he shall approach Me”; (Yirmiyahu 30:21) and it is said, “He spares his soul from the pit”; (Iyov 33:18) and it is said, “In the light of the face of the King [is] life.” (Mishlei 16:15)

And know that the tocheles that flows from this [manner of] bitachon fortifies the tocheles to such a degree that when the trouble approaches and he fears on account of his aveiros, the [weight of his] fear is not [merely] balanced with the tikvah; rather, the tikvah overcomes [the fear], for the chassadim of Hashem Yisborach exceed every aveirah, and He has mercy upon every one who submits and seeks His mercy. And it is said, “For He is gracious and merciful.” (Yoel 2:13) And it is said, “Hope to Hashem; be strong and let your heart take courage; and [again,] hope to Hashem.” (Tehillim 27:14) The explanation: tikvah [itself] fortifies the heart, and upon the heart’s being fortified by means of the tikvah, the tikvah [in turn] grows stronger still within the heart, and the tikvah [itself] becomes greater, for [conversely,] faintness of heart diminishes tikvah.

And know that this is a great and lofty madreigah in bitachon; and we will [now] mention the [inner] secret of the matter, as it is said, “I have hoped [in] Hashem; my soul has hoped.” (Tehillim 130:5; Tehillim 27:14) The explanation: the longing soul [itself] has [inwardly] received the bitachon, as is said, “[one whose] yetzer is steadied [upon You, will You guard in perfect peace]”; (Yeshayahu 26:3) “and those who understand shall understand.” (Daniel 12:10) And it is said after it, “My soul [waits] for Hashem, etc.,” (Tehillim 130:6) and this is the tikvah in [all] the particulars.

The second madreigah in the matter of bitachon [is] the handing over of the soul to Hashem Yisborach, “and when a soul shall offer, etc.” (Vayikra 2:1), as the verse says, “To You, Hashem, I lift up my soul; my G-d, in You I have trusted”; (Tehillim 25:1) and it is said, “Cause me to hear Your chesed in the morning”; (Tehillim 143:8) and it is said, “Into Your hand I commit my spirit, etc.” (Tehillim 31:6) And [the essence of] the handing over of the soul [is] that [a person] trust in Hashem Yisborach that [Hashem Himself] shall choose for him the good way, as the verse says, “Make known to me now Your ways”; (Shemos 33:13) “Make known to me the way in which I should go.” (Tehillim 143:8) And let him know [that] every act of Hashem Yisborach is for the good, as Chazal have said: “All that is done from Heaven is for the good”; and he shall receive upon himself all that comes [upon him] with ahavah, and know that it is [for] his [own] good, and an atonement for his aveiros, and [that] this [is] for his benefit more than what he himself seeks, for he does not [truly] know what is good for his soul. And it is said, “[Shall we accept the good from G-d, and not accept the bad]?”; (Iyov 2:10) and it is said, “I have chastened, I have strengthened their arms, etc.”; (Hoshea 7:15) and it is said, “With human cords I drew them, with bonds of love”; (Hoshea 11:4) and it is said, “And I [Myself] taught Ephraim to walk, etc.” (Hoshea 11:3) And if [there is] wealth and riches in his house, whatever [it is from which] he benefits, he receives [it] at every hour as a gift of His chesed, for he knows that he has nothing at all in [his] riches and nothing in [his own] strength, as the verse says, “And from Your [own] hand have we given to You”; (Divrei HaYamim I 29:14) and it is said, “Cast your burden upon Hashem, and He shall sustain you”; (Tehillim 55:23) and it is said, “Roll your way upon Hashem.” (Tehillim 37:5)

And Chazal have said: “[Of those who] act out of love and rejoice in yissurim, the verse declares: ‘And [those who] love Him [shall be] like the going forth of the sun in its might.’” (Shoftim 5:31) And it is said, “Roll [his way] upon Hashem, may He deliver him”; (Tehillim 22:9) and it is said, “Honor Hashem from your wealth”; (Mishlei 3:9) and it is said, “and your storehouses shall be filled [to] satisfaction”; (Mishlei 3:10) and it is said, “Do not despise the mussar of Hashem, etc.”; (Mishlei 3:11) “Upon You I have been cast from the womb”; (Tehillim 22:11) and it is said, “For You are He who drew me from the womb, etc.” (Tehillim 22:10)