Holding bitachon and prayer together

במדרש הבחור שבאבות ושבנביאים הבטיחן הקב"ה ונתייראו כו'.

In the Midrash: the chosen one among the Avos and among the Nevi'im — the Holy One promised them [protection], and yet they were afraid.

The Midrash observes a striking thing: Yaakov, the choicest of the Avos, and Moshe, the choicest of the Nevi'im, each received an explicit promise of Divine protection — and nevertheless they were afraid. This tension is the starting point of the piece.

שמעתי מפי מו"ז ז"ל להפליא בשבח ענין זה שע"י שהבין יעקב אבינו כי ע"פ דרכו הוא בסכנה והגם שבודאי הי' בטוח בהבטחת הקב"ה.

I heard from my grandfather, of blessed memory, to wondrously praise this matter: that since Yaakov Avinu understood that according to the natural course of his situation he was in danger — even though he was certainly secure in the promise of the Holy One —

His grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim) praised Yaakov's response as remarkable: Yaakov recognized that, by the ordinary measure of things, he faced real danger from Esav, even while he fully trusted Hashem's promise.

אבל לא נעשה בו שינוי ע"י הבטחה והוא עשה את שלו להתפלל בעת צרה עכ"ד ז"ל.

nevertheless no change was wrought in him by the promise, and he did his part — to daven in a time of trouble — these are the words of [my grandfather] of blessed memory.

The wonder is that the promise did not make Yaakov complacent or "change" him into someone who relaxes; he still did his own avodah and prayed in his hour of distress, holding both bitachon and the responsibility to act.

ונראה שאין מבטיחין משמים רק לאיש אשר אלה לו שלזה נקרא בחיר ה' כמ"ש יעקב בחר לו.

And it appears that Heaven only gives a promise to a man who is "fit for these" — and for this reason he is called the chosen of Hashem, as it is written, "Hashem chose Yaakov for Himself" (Tehillim 135:4).

The Sefas Emes infers a principle: a Divine promise is given only to someone capable of receiving it without being weakened by it. That very capacity is what makes Yaakov the "chosen of Hashem."

ואם הי' נחסר זו התפלה ע"י ההבטחה. לא הי' מבטיחין לו.

And if this tefillah would have been diminished because of the promise, they would not have given him the promise.

Had the assurance caused Yaakov to slacken in his prayer, he would not have been worthy of the promise in the first place. The promise is granted precisely because it will not undermine his avodah.

וזה ג"כ נכלל ברמז המדרש אין אומרים אל תירא אלא למי שמתיירא.

And this too is included in the hint of the Midrash: one only says "Do not fear" to one who [truly] fears.

The reassurance "al tira" (do not fear) is given only to a person who genuinely has yirah — who remains in a state of fear and awe — not to one who is careless.

פי' שיהי' נשאר בהיראה.

That is, that he should remain in the fear.

The point is that even after being told "do not fear," such a person stays in his yiras Shomayim; the comfort does not erase his awe.

וביאור הענין כי בוודאי כל הצרות הבאים בעולם הם דברים שצריכים תיקון.

And the explanation of the matter is that certainly all the troubles that come into the world are things that require a tikkun (rectification).

Every tzarah (trouble) that arises is not random; it points to something that needs to be repaired and elevated.

כענין שכ' המשתף שם שמים בצרתו כו'.

As in the matter of what is written, "one who joins the Name of Heaven to his trouble…" (cf. Berachos).

Chazal speak of a person who "partners" Hashem's Name with his distress — turning to Hashem within the trouble itself, recognizing the Divine purpose hidden in it.

והצדיק שהקב"ה מצא לבבו נאמן מגלה לו כל הישועה ואעפ"כ הוא עומד בתפלה.

And the tzaddik whose heart the Holy One found faithful — He reveals to him the whole salvation, and even so he stands in tefillah.

When Hashem finds a tzaddik's heart truly ne'eman (faithful), He may reveal to him in advance that he will be saved — and yet, remarkably, that tzaddik still stands and prays, because his avodah is not contingent on uncertainty.

וכענין זה מה שנגלה הקץ ליעקב אע"ה ולא עלתה בידו לגלות לבניו כי רק הוא הי' יכול להיות בגלות אף שידע הקץ כי ימי הגלות מצרים התחילו מיצחק.

And similar to this is the matter that the keitz (the appointed end) was revealed to Yaakov Avinu, yet he did not succeed in revealing it to his sons; for only he was able to be in galus even though he knew the keitz — for the days of the Egyptian galus began from Yitzchak.

Yaakov was shown the keitz — the destined end of the exile — yet was prevented from disclosing it to his children. Only Yaakov himself could bear to live within galus while knowing exactly how and when it would end; ordinary people could not hold both. (The exile's "clock" had effectively begun already from Yitzchak.)

אבל לא כל אדם יכול לקיים שניהם ולכן לא נגלה הקץ רק אליו.

But not every person can sustain both, and therefore the keitz was revealed only to him.

To simultaneously know the end yet still labor and endure within the exile requires a unique strength; most people cannot hold both at once, so the knowledge was entrusted to Yaakov alone.

[ובאמת נראה כי ענין סתירת הידיעה והבחירה הוא ג"כ באופן זה רק שהענין צריך אריכות דברים].

[And in truth it appears that the matter of the contradiction between Divine foreknowledge and free choice is also of this nature, only that the matter requires a lengthy discussion.]

The Sefas Emes adds a parenthetical: the classic problem of reconciling Hashem's yedi'ah (foreknowledge) with human bechirah (free will) works in this same way — knowing the outcome need not nullify one's own striving — though a full treatment would require much more.

והכלל כי רק הבחור שבאבות ושבנביאים קיימו ב' ענינים אלו כאחד.

And the principle is that only the chosen one among the Avos and among the Nevi'im sustained these two matters as one.

The general rule: it was specifically the choicest figures — Yaakov and Moshe — who could hold both the certainty of Hashem's promise and the continued avodah of fear and prayer together, as a single integrated state.

וכמו כן בכלל ישראל נמצא דבר זה כמ"ש בימי מרדכי.

And likewise, among Klal Yisrael as a whole, this matter is found, as it was in the days of Mordechai.

This same dual capacity is also found in the nation collectively, as seen in the time of Mordechai and the Purim story.

שהגם שהאמינו כי בנ"י בלתי אפשרות שיהיו נאבדים מן העולם. עכ"ז עמדו בתפלה וצעקה בעת צרה.

For even though they believed that it is impossible for Bnei Yisrael to be lost from the world, nonetheless they stood in tefillah and cried out in their time of trouble.

Bnei Yisrael fully believed in the eternal promise that they can never be destroyed — yet during Haman's decree they still davened and cried out with all their hearts, exactly mirroring Yaakov's combination of bitachon and prayer.

וכן בפרט האדם כפי מה שמוכן לאמונה זו ניתן לו התחזקות משמים.

And so too with the individual person: according to how prepared he is for this emunah, he is granted strengthening from Heaven.

On a personal level, the measure of Heavenly chizuk (strengthening, even a promise) a person receives corresponds to how ready his emunah is to hold it without slackening his avodah.

כענין שנאמר לא ימנע טוב להולכים בתמים.

As in the matter of what is said, "He withholds no good from those who walk in wholeness [tamim]" (Tehillim 84:12).

Hashem withholds no good — including the gift of assurance — from those who walk before Him with temimus (wholehearted sincerity).

וזה תלוי בעבודה לשמו ית' ולא לגרמיהו.

And this depends on serving for His Name's sake, and not for one's own sake.

The key condition is that one's avodah be l'shem Shomayim (for Hashem's sake) and not l'garmei (for oneself); only such service can hold a promise without being corrupted by it into self-serving ease.

ולכן ביעקב דכתיב בחר לו כו' ישראל לסגולתו ואמרו חז"ל כשם שאשה מסגלת לבעלה כן בנ"י מסגלין מעש"ט להשי"ת ועושין מעשיהם לשמו ית' בין בטובו בין בעאקו:

Therefore, regarding Yaakov it is written, "[Hashem] chose him… Yisrael as His treasure [segulah]" (Tehillim 135:4), and Chazal said: just as a wife "lays away a treasure" [acts as a treasured trust] for her husband, so Bnei Yisrael lay away their good deeds as a treasure for Hashem, and they perform their deeds for His Name's sake — whether in His good [times of ease] or in His distress [times of trouble].

Yaakov-Yisrael is called Hashem's segulah (treasure). As a faithful wife devotes her treasure entirely to her husband, so Bnei Yisrael dedicate all their maasim tovim to Hashem, acting purely for His sake in good times and in hard times alike. This selfless, constant service is exactly what allows them — like Yaakov — to receive Hashem's promise while still standing in fear and prayer.

Summary: The Midrash highlights that the choicest of the Avos (Yaakov) and of the Nevi'im (Moshe) received explicit Divine promises yet still feared and prayed. The Sefas Emes, citing his grandfather, explains that a promise is granted only to one whose avodah will not be weakened by it — which is the mark of the "chosen of Hashem." Such a person holds two things at once: complete bitachon in the promise and the continued effort of fear and tefillah, just as Yaakov could know the keitz yet endure galus, and as Klal Yisrael in Mordechai's day trusted in their eternity yet cried out in prayer. This capacity hinges on serving Hashem purely l'shem Shomayim and not for oneself — the segulah-like devotion of Bnei Yisrael, who give their good deeds wholly to Hashem in both good times and times of trouble.