HaRav Gershon Edelstein
It is written, "And you shall know today and impress it upon your heart that Hashem is the A-mighty; in Heaven above and on the earth below; there is none else." This is an obligation - to believe that, "I am Hashem Who took you out of Egypt" and that everything lies in the power of Heaven, not in the course of Nature but according to merit.
One can accrue merit through acts of chessed while other merits can come through suffering. A person who also has sins, will be punished for them in Gehennom but suffering [in this world] can come instead of them. Thus it follows that suffering is a kindness replacing suffering in Gehennom. This is why it is written in seforim that the most effective form of suffering is through being shamed, for in this way, the body is not weakened; therefore one should accept suffering stemming from being humiliated.
All depends on emunah! Some think that life runs its course through a natural way. If I act thus - I will gain and if not, I will lose. "My strength and the might of my arm."
One must realize that this credo negates emunah. "I am Hashem your G-d" in both the collective and individual aspect. There is no "strength and might of my arm." I must internalize that everything lies in the power of Heaven.
This does not mean that a person should sit back and not act, but neither should he believe that his actions were instrumental; rather, [the result] comes from Hashem, from Heavenly assistance. I need a livelihood and must work towards it, but I must also know that success does not come `naturally'; it comes directly from Heaven! This is a fundament of faith.
This equally applies to the security situation here in the Land. I hear that there are people in the world who are afraid to come here. They may have had plans to come and study here but these did not materialize. They are afraid! They say that it is dangerous here.
This may be true as viewed in the natural course of things but we, here, are serene. Why? Is it because they view the situation from the standpoint of "my might and the strength of my hand"? If regarded through nature's course, there are ways and means to deal with things, but this is not true. Everything depends on Hashgochoh! Everything is dependent upon Heaven and everything depends on merits.
If one truly wishes that all go well, the true counsel is to delve in Torah and be preoccupied in acts of chessed and tefillah, tefillah, tefillah, tzedokoh and good deeds. This is how to overcome the harshness of a decree. And this is something upon which we can surely rely.
It is known that in the past World War, the yeshiva students of Mir were accompanied by the Mashgiach, HaRav Yechezkel Levenstein. They were not dispersed. They did not travel home but remained in the yeshiva. Those who went home did not survive the Holocaust while those who stayed with the yeshiva and the Mashgiach experienced great miracles in escaping from the `fire', from the lion's jaws.
To live with emunah is a tremendous merit. One must exert effort of his own since this obligatory, but we must know that effort, hishtadlus, is a necessary decree: with the sweat or your brow shall you eat bread. Also: to avail oneself of the services of medicine - which is heavenly condoned.
We must do our part while believing that all lies in the power of Heaven and not in Nature. Fortunate is the one who believes this. These are levels not easily attained. May we truly merit Heavenly assistance to ascend the levels of emunah.
