(By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times)

Every so often a sefer comes along that can be life-changing in its scope.  The shiurim of Rav Asher Zelig Rubinstein zt”l  l on Bitachon – faith in Hashem – are just that –. they They are both transformative and eye-opening.  Without a doubt the essays in this remarkable work will catapult the reader into a new vistas in his or her relationship with HaKadosh Boruch Hu.

Rav Rubinstein’s shiurim on the the Shaar HaBitachon section of the Chovos Halvavos were masterfully compiled by one of his star talmidim – Rabbi Yosef Tropper.

Rav Rubinstein zt”l was a close personal friend of Rav Aharon Feldman Shlita and was well-known and appreciated as a master mechanech among the Gedolei Torah of the world.  He possessed an almost singular ability to captivate talmidim and inspire them to achieve.  His lessons are a combination of obvious simplicity and profound insights.  It is to the point that we may not have thought of it ourselves, but after all is said and explained – we wonder how we never thought of it in the first place.

Typical of Rav Rubinstein’s approach is his introduction to Chovos Halvavos.  He introduces the concept of a haskama – an approbation to a work, taking the student along for the ride.  “A glowing haskamah from Rav Moshe Feinstein given on a sefer would certainly draw our attention,” remarks Rav Rubenstein.  But what about a haskama from a Malach – a celestial angel?  Rav Rubinstein writes that Rav Yoseph Karo’s maggid – a celestial Angel , strongly recommended the Chovos Halvavos to be studied regularly.  What greater haskama could we get?  It is not just the content of Rav Rubinstein;’s lectures that so fascinate– it is his remarkable method of presentation.

Rav Rubinstein taught through example and shared personal stories with his talmidim.  He explained how he and his wife struggled financially and as a consequence learned Chovos Halvavos together.  He recommended that students do that with their own wives as well.

Rav Rubinstein had a remarkable and playful ability to make the timeless lessons of the Chovos Halvavos remarkably contemporary and current.  For example, he refers to Hashem as our Manufacturer – but only when it adds meaning.

Throughout the sefer, we see vignettes of malachei Hashem in the guise of human beings.  We see and hear words of advice in how to get along in life from Rav Chatzkel Levenstein zt”l, his rebbe muvak, of the Ponovech Ponovezh Yeshiva – where Rav Rubinstein attended at the age of seventeen. We see and hear of the Alter of Kelm, who once witnessed hos how soldiers of the Czar would train to be Cossacks.  They were knocked off their horses and were timed to see how long they would take to get back on the horse with spears ready to serve the Czar immediately. “If this is true for how people serve the Czar, how much more so must we strive to do so for Hashem?” asked the Alter of Kelm.  It was from Kelm that Rav Chatzkel adopted a rigid schedule.

What is Rav Rubinstein’s power?  How does he exhibit such understanding to present so formidably and beautifully the fundamentals of Bitachon?  Is it because he came from a school called HILI in the Five Towns and thus has the background to understand our youth?  Is it his own sheer brilliance of understanding and insight?  Or is that he was schooled among the best of the Gedolei and Baalei haMussar of the generation?  Or is it some sort of combination of the three?

Whatever it is – the essays and shiurim are remarkably poignant and effective. As one absorbs the lessons of the book, one becomes envious of the Talmidim of this remarkable man.  It is clear that the Rebbe/talmid relationships that were formed in Rav Rubinstein’s Yeshiva were indeed quite powerful.  Here was a very holy man with such clarity of expression and a method in which he could convey so passionately his highly developed life lessons of Bitachon.

In essay 22, Rav Rubenstein defines Bitachon (based on Chovos Halvavos) in five points of belief.  1] He Hashem knows what is best for me.  2] He has the ability to help me. 3] He acts only for my benefit 4] He fulfills his promises.  5] He bestows good upon mankind even if we do not deserve it and even if He didn’t promise it.

He defines it further for us.  Bitachon is the calmness and tranquility that the person who has faith has when his heart has total reliance on Hashem.  Essay 26 is filled with examples and stories of Bitachon – that show the reader how very easy it is to develop and live with this perspective.

Some of the themes that Rav Rubinstein stresses and, unfortunately are often forgotten, is that Hashem wants us to have a good and enjoyable life and that is an essential goal of Bitachon.   . He describes ten levels of Bitachon based upon the Chovos Halvavos – levels that we pass through and move toward as we learn the remarkable sefer that is Chovos Halvavos. They are:

• Mother’s milk reliance
• Mother reliance
• Father reliance
• Self-reliance
• Friend/boss reliance
• Hashem reliance A – He provides all the natural resources that are required
• Hashem reliance B – taking an easier job
• Hashem reliance C – taking any job and still being supported
• Hashem reliance D – Hashem loves me and I want His Guidance Guidance and decrees.
• True Hashem reliance: Hashem has unlimited love and kindness to us and deserves our full and unconditional reliance and bitachon in Him for all matters and at all times.

The Sefer is distributed by Feldheim and is bound to make significant differences in our own lives and in the way that we raise our children.  It is 374 pages aside from the appendices and indexes.  Videos of Rav Rubinstein can be seen at leverez.com.  The truth is that no review can do this sefer the justice it deserves.  We look forward to continued works from Rabbi Tropper, the author, who that can so beautifully conveys to the world his Rebbe’s teachings.

The reviewer can be reached at [email protected]

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)