Steps of Bitachon. Part 2

Trust in Hashem affects, above all, the way a person learns Torah and keeps mitzvot.

This shows up both in how much time a person has and in the quality of their learning. Someone who trusts in Hashem is calm and free of worry, so they naturally have far more time left for Torah study and mitzvot. What's more, a person who learns with inner calm can give Torah their full concentration — and the power of concentration is the greatest force behind real success in learning Torah and fulfilling mitzvot.

This is exactly what we express in the blessing "Ahavat Olam": "Because our fathers trusted in You, You taught them the laws of life; so too, be gracious to us and teach us." These words show that the two are inseparably linked — it was precisely through their trust that our forefathers merited to grasp the "laws of life." That's why we ask that Hashem teach us as well — if we, too, walk that same path.

Further on in this same blessing we pray: "Light up our eyes with Your Torah," and we give the reason for this request in the words: "for we have trusted in Your holy Name." From this we learn that trust in Hashem is a necessary condition for meriting inner light and a deep understanding of Torah.

Moreover, a person with true bitachon merits to learn Torah lishmah — for its own sake. The main reason people learn Torah without this pure intent is the pull toward some material gain, which leads them to tie their learning to personal interests. But someone who has reached complete trust is wholly absorbed in Torah for its own sake, with no ulterior motives at all.

The same holds true for mitzvot governing relationships between people. Throughout life, everyone faces situations that put precisely these mitzvot to the test. Such situations often tempt a person to violate commandments spelled out clearly and in detail in the Torah and in the words of our Sages. On top of that, the material side of human nature simply struggles, by its very makeup, to live up to these mitzvot.

Take jealousy, for example. It's an extremely common feeling, and it's not easy for anyone to overcome. As the Talmud warns (Shabbat 10b): "A person should never single out one son among the others." It was precisely because of the special love Yaakov showed Yosef that his brothers grew jealous of him — and that, in the end, is what led us into exile in Egypt. So the entire long and bitter Egyptian servitude traces back to the jealousy of Yosef's brothers.

The author of Pele Yoetz, in the entry on "Love of Children," writes: "Jealousy is as harsh as the grave." Rivalry walks alongside a person from childhood to old age, surfacing in every kind of life situation. It tests the limits of a person's strength, wears down the soul, and has already destroyed countless people.