Bitachon draws down and reveals the hidden penimiyus

ובמדרש ואהיה אצלו אמון מוצנע מכוסה כו' פי' שהתורה נסתרת בתוך הבריאה.

And in the Midrash: "And I was beside Him as a nursling (amon)" (Mishlei 8:30) — hidden away, covered, etc. — meaning that the Torah is concealed within the creation.

The Midrash reads "amon" as something tucked away and covered. The Torah, which Hashem "held beside Him," is normally hidden inside the fabric of the created world rather than openly revealed.

אבל ואהיה שעשועים שיש זמנים שמתגלה פנימיות התורה ויוצא חמה מנרתקה.

But "and I was a delight (sha'ashu'im)" — there are times when the penimiyus of the Torah is revealed and "the sun comes out of its sheath."

The same pasuk continues "sha'ashu'im" (delight); this hints that at certain special times the inner light of the Torah breaks out into the open, like the sun emerging from its protective covering.

יום יום י"ל על יום השבועות ושמיני עצרת שבשניהם יש שמחת התורה.

"Day by day (yom yom)" — this may be applied to the day of Shavuos and to Shemini Atzeres, for on both there is rejoicing of the Torah (simchas Torah).

The phrase "yom yom" (Mishlei 8:30) hints at two such days of revelation: Shavuos and Shemini Atzeres, each a day of joy in the Torah.

אמת כי גם בכל יום יש התגלות הפנימיות כמו [שמחדש] בכל יום מעשה בראשית אבל אלה הימים מיוחדים לכך.

True, even on every day there is a revelation of the penimiyus, just as [He renews] the work of creation each day — but these days are designated specifically for it.

The inner light is not entirely absent on ordinary days, since Hashem renews creation daily; still, Shavuos and Shemini Atzeres are uniquely set aside for the open revelation of the Torah's inner light.

וע"י מצות הסוכה זוכין לשמ"ע.

And through the mitzvah of sukkah one merits to Shemini Atzeres.

The avodah of the sukkah throughout the seven days is the preparation that earns the revelation of Shemini Atzeres.

כמ"ש במ"א בשם מו"ז ז"ל בפסוק והם תכו לרגליך ומתרגמינן מדברין תחות עננך נטלין על מימרך כו'.

As we have written elsewhere in the name of my grandfather, of blessed memory, on the pasuk "and they were gathered (tuku) at Your feet" (Devarim 33:3), which Targum renders: "they journeyed beneath Your cloud, they traveled at Your word," etc.

In the name of his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim): the Targum on this verse describes Yisrael in the wilderness moving entirely under Hashem's cloud and by His word — total reliance on Him, which the sukkah re-enacts.

ופרשנו כי הסוכה הוא בחי' הבטחון כמ"ש גם המפרשים.

And we explained that the sukkah is the aspect of bitachon (trust in Hashem), as the commentators also write.

The sukkah — a frail, temporary dwelling under Hashem's "clouds of glory" — embodies bitachon, trusting in Hashem's protection rather than in solid walls.

והנה כ' ברוך הגבר אשר יבטח בה' והי' ה' מבטחו.

And behold it is written: "Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, and Hashem shall be his security (mivtacho)" (Yirmiyahu 17:7).

The pasuk has two clauses — first the person trusts in Hashem, and then "Hashem becomes his security." The Sefas Emes will show these are two stages of bitachon.

ובמד' [דברים] ארלב"ח מי שבוטח בהקב"ה זוכה להיות כיוצא בו דכתיב והי' ה' מבטחו.

And in the Midrash (Devarim), R' Levi bar Chama said: one who trusts in the Holy One merits to become like Him, as it is written "and Hashem shall be his security."

The Midrash makes a striking claim: trusting in Hashem so transforms a person that he becomes, as it were, "like Him" — the verse "Hashem shall be his mivtacho" is read to mean Hashem's very being rests upon him.

מה הבוטח בע"ז כמוהם יהיו עושיהם כו'.

[Whereas] just as one who trusts in avodah zarah (idolatry) — "those who make them shall become like them" (Tehillim 115:8), etc.

The Midrash draws the contrast: the idolater becomes "like" his lifeless idol. Trust shapes a person into the likeness of whatever he relies upon.

וביאור דבריהם ז"ל כי באמת כל מה שמוכן לאדם מהשי"ת עליו אין להוסיף וממנו אין לגרוע.

And the explanation of their words: in truth, whatever is prepared for a person from Hashem — to it nothing can be added and from it nothing can be subtracted.

What a person is destined to receive from Hashem is fixed; his trust or lack of it does not change the amount of the shefa (flow) that comes to him.

כמ"ש בס' חובת הלבבות שער הבטחון באר היטב.

As is explained well in the sefer Chovos HaLevavos, Sha'ar HaBitachon (the Gate of Trust).

The Sefas Emes cites the classic treatment of bitachon in Rabbeinu Bachya's Chovos HaLevavos, which establishes that one's portion is divinely fixed.

אכן החילוק הוא מי שבוטח בו ית' וסומך על רצונו ית' ואינו חפץ רק מה שברצונו ית' לתת לו.

However, the difference is this: one who trusts in Him, may He be blessed, and relies on His will, desiring only that which it is His will to give him —

If the amount received is fixed regardless, what does bitachon accomplish? The answer lies not in the quantity but in the attitude: the true ba'al bitachon wants only what Hashem wills to give, aligning his ratzon with Hashem's.

ע"י זה הבטחון ממשיך חיות ואלקות באותו השפע הנשפע לו ואינו נפרד מכח הנותן.

through this bitachon he draws vitality and Godliness into that very shefa which flows to him, and it is not severed from the power of the Giver.

Such trust changes the character of what he receives: the same portion now carries within it chiyus (life-force) and Godliness, remaining connected to its divine Source rather than appearing as a detached, "natural" object.

וז"ש והי' ה' מבטחו שחל עליו הויותו ית' וז"ש זוכה להיות כיוצא בו כי השי"ת מהוה כל הוה כמו שיהיה לעתיד ה' אחד ושמו א' רק בעוה"ז הגשמיות מכסה הפנימיות.

And this is "and Hashem shall be his security" — that His very Being (Havayah) rests upon him; and this is "he merits to become like Him," for Hashem brings into being all that exists, as it will be in the future when "Hashem is One and His Name One" (Zechariah 14:9) — only that in this world the physicality conceals the penimiyus.

The ba'al bitachon has Hashem's own "Being" resting upon him, becoming "like Him" in that, like Hashem who continuously gives existence to everything, the divine reality is openly present in his life. In the future this oneness will be fully revealed; in this world physicality merely masks that ever-present inner reality.

ולכן הרשעים בחייהם קרוים מתים.

Therefore the resha'im, even in their lifetime, are called "dead."

Because the wicked sever themselves from the living Source through misplaced trust, they are spiritually "dead" even while alive (Berachos 18b) — cut off from the divine chiyus.

וז"ש הבוטח בע"ז כמוהם יהי' עושיהם.

And this is the meaning of "one who trusts in avodah zarah — those who make them shall become like them."

The idolater's trust attaches him to something lifeless, so he too becomes lifeless — the negative mirror image of the ba'al bitachon.

פי' שהגם שיש בכל דבר חיות מהקדושה.

That is, although in every thing there is vitality from the holiness,

Everything in existence contains a hidden spark of holy chiyus that keeps it alive — even the objects an idolater turns to.

אבל הרשע עי"ז שבוטח בע"ז ובהבל מסלק הויות הקדושה ונעשה כמו ע"ז ממש שנפרד ממנו כח הקדושה ומדה טובה מרובה הבוטח בו יתברך זוכה להפריד ממנו מכסה החיצוניות והטבע ומתדבק בפנימיות.

but the rasha, by trusting in avodah zarah and in vanity, removes the holy Being (from himself) and becomes literally like avodah zarah, from which the power of holiness has been severed; and — since the measure of good is greater — one who trusts in Him, may He be blessed, merits to strip away from himself the covering of externality and nature and to cleave to the penimiyus.

By trusting in worthless things, the rasha drives the divine presence out of his own life and becomes like a dead idol, cut off from kedushah. And since reward outweighs punishment, the opposite is even more true: the ba'al bitachon peels away the outer shell of physicality and nature and clings directly to the inner divine point.

וחל עליו ועל כל אשר לו הויות הקדושה וכן הענין ע"י הבטחון בימי החג הגם שהוא זמן אסיף אין האדם בוטח רק בכח הנותן ומקוים בשמ"ע והי' ה' מבטחו ומתדבק בחלק התורה שהוא שפע הפנימיות כנ"ל.

And the holy Being rests upon him and upon all that is his. And so is the matter through the bitachon during the festival days: although it is the time of ingathering (asif), a person trusts only in the power of the Giver, and on Shemini Atzeres it is fulfilled "Hashem shall be his security," and he cleaves to the portion of the Torah, which is the flow of the penimiyus, as above.

The holiness then permeates the person and everything he owns. This is precisely the avodah of Sukkos: even at harvest time, when one might credit his own labor, the Jew trusts only in Hashem the Giver — and so on Shemini Atzeres "Hashem becomes his security," and he attaches himself to the Torah, the channel of the inner light.

וכפי ביטול הטבע לדבוק בו ית'.

And in accordance with the nullification of nature (bittul ha'teva) in order to cleave to Him, may He be blessed,

The measure of revelation depends on the measure of bittul — how much a person sets aside reliance on the natural in order to attach himself to Hashem.

כך מתגלה הפנימיות.

so is the penimiyus revealed.

The more one nullifies the "natural" surface, the more the hidden inner light shines through.

וכזה פרשנו בפסוק וה' הולך לפניהם יומם כו'.

And in this way we explained the pasuk "And Hashem went before them by day..." (Shemos 13:21).

The Sefas Emes applies the same principle to the verse describing Hashem leading Yisrael in the wilderness.

ואמרו חז"ל כ"מ שנא' וה' הוא וב"ד.

And Chazal said: wherever it states "va'Hashem" (and Hashem), it means "He and His court (beis din)" (Bereishis Rabbah 51:2) — i.e., the attribute of judgment (din) is included.

The vav of "va'Hashem" signals the inclusion of the heavenly beis din, the middas ha'din. The Sefas Emes will explain how Yisrael's bittul earned them supernatural leading even through the measure of strict judgment.

פי' שזכו בנ"י לזה במדת הדין ע"י שנמשכו אחריו ית' למדבר כמ"ש זכרתי לך כו'.

Meaning that Bnei Yisrael merited this even by the measure of judgment, because they were drawn after Him, may He be blessed, into the wilderness, as it is written "I remember for you [the kindness of your youth, your following Me into the wilderness]" (Yirmiyahu 2:2).

Yisrael earned supernatural divine leadership even as a matter of strict justice, because they followed Hashem into the barren midbar with total trust, abandoning the natural securities of settled life.

וביטלו כל הטבע שורת הדין הי' שיתנהג השי"ת עמהם למעלה מן הטבע.

And since they nullified all of nature, the letter of the law (shuras ha'din) itself dictated that Hashem should conduct Himself with them above nature.

Because they entirely set aside reliance on the natural order, strict justice itself required that Hashem treat them in a correspondingly supernatural way — measure for measure.

ככל הדרך שהי' במ' שנה הכל בלי טבע.

As was the case throughout the entire forty-year journey — everything without nature.

For all forty years in the wilderness Yisrael lived entirely beyond nature — the mann, the well, the Clouds of Glory — because their bittul of nature earned it as their due.

וז"ש קודש ישראל לה'.

And this is the meaning of "Yisrael is holy to Hashem" (Yirmiyahu 2:3).

This supernatural existence is exactly what the pasuk means: Yisrael is "kodesh" — set apart and elevated above the ordinary natural order — belonging to Hashem.

ובאמת אשר יבטח בה' הפי' אפילו כשעוסק במשא ומתן.

And in truth, "who trusts in Hashem" means even when one is engaged in business dealings (masa u'matan).

Bitachon is not only for the sheltered life of the wilderness; it applies even to a person immersed in worldly commerce, who can still trust wholly in Hashem amid his work.

וזוכה אח"כ והי' ה' מבטחו בהסתלקות הגשמיות.

And he afterward merits "Hashem shall be his security" — in the removal of the physicality.

From the first stage of actively trusting while engaged in the world, one rises to the second stage where the physical "covering" falls away and Hashem's presence is openly his security.

וכמו כן כפי מה שבוטח בו ית' בעוה"ז והי' ה' מבטחו לעוה"ב.

And likewise, in accordance with how much one trusts in Him, may He be blessed, in this world, so "Hashem shall be his security" in the World to Come.

The two clauses also map onto the two worlds: trusting in Hashem now (Olam HaZeh) earns the full revelation of "Hashem is his security" in Olam HaBa.

ומעין זה בוטח בה' בימי המעשה והי' ה' מבטחו בשבת קודש.

And in a similar vein, one trusts in Hashem during the weekdays (yemei ha'ma'aseh), and "Hashem shall be his security" on the holy Shabbos.

The same two stages recur weekly: the bitachon exercised during the working days blossoms into the revealed closeness of "Hashem is his security" on Shabbos Kodesh.

והכל ענין אחד למשכילים.

And it is all one matter, for those who understand (la'maskilim).

All these pairings — festival and Shemini Atzeres, this world and the next, weekday and Shabbos — are one and the same idea: trust below, revelation above.

וכעין מ"ש לעיל ואהי' אמון הוא בהסתר בימי המעשה.

And similar to what was said above: "and I was a nursling (amon)" — this is in concealment, during the weekdays.

Returning to the opening Midrash: the "hidden amon" of the Torah corresponds to the weekdays, when the inner light is concealed within ordinary life and active bitachon is required.

ואהיה שעשועים בשבת קודש בגילוי הפנימיות:

"And I was a delight (sha'ashu'im)" — on the holy Shabbos, in the revelation of the penimiyus.

And the "delight" — the Torah's inner light bursting forth — corresponds to Shabbos Kodesh, when the penimiyus is openly revealed, the consummation that the week's bitachon earns.

Summary: The Torah is normally "hidden within creation," but at special times — Shavuos, Shemini Atzeres, and Shabbos — its inner light bursts forth like the sun from its sheath. Though one's portion from Hashem is fixed, true bitachon (modeled by the sukkah and by Yisrael following Hashem into the wilderness) infuses that portion with divine chiyus and keeps it bound to its Source, so that the ba'al bitachon "becomes like Him" with Hashem's very Being resting upon him — the reverse of the idolater who becomes lifeless like his idol. The pasuk's two clauses map onto two stages — trust below, revelation above — recurring as weekday/Shabbos, this world/the next, and Sukkos/Shemini Atzeres: the more one nullifies nature to cleave to Hashem, the more the hidden penimiyus is revealed.