Meaning of Trust 10

[Ayelet1]

Thank you for these great classes!! I can't believe the "pilot program" is almost done, one more left for this course! There's never anything I can say to express how helpful and quenching Rebbetzin Heller's classes are, but thank you!!! Now for some questions...

• I think I understand how a person can't play two games at once, that of seeing materialism as a means to an end that isn't necessary if the end is achieved without it, while still being deeply attached to materialism. But how exactly does this have to do with miracle and nature in bitachon?

• How does how to become rich have to do with the third level of thinking Hashem is limited to His own laws of natural cause and effect? Actually, it did strike me as an odd thing to ask in the first place (how to become rich). What are these three instructions telling us? If work should be part of our ruchniut, is being wealthy necessarily a valid goal? As much as most of us would love to be richer, is wealth something to be wary of?

• Are yud and hey both masculine or is yud masculine and hey feminine? From the explanation that Rebbetzin Heller gives, it seems that the hey embodies female attributes. I also remember her saying (or writing?) once that malchut is an attribute of women (along with binah).

• About the four different kings vanquishing their enemies - was it guaranteed that their enemies be killed? What if Chizkiyahu slept and his enemies killed him? Last class Rebbetzin Heller taught that for example with the rent dilemma, that things might be hard, but they're still from Hashem's compassion. So why was he (and other kings) sure about winning?

• One more question, but this is a general question of mine that I've had for a while, about hashgacha stories. Listening to these classes has made this question somewhat shakier, but I might as well still ask... We don't know why anything happens in life. We know it's from Hashem Who is compassionate and always does what is good for us. So why does it make sense to relate stories that seem to portray Hashem's providence more than a random account of events might? Is it supposed to make us feel better to show how Hashem is really out for the good that we think is good for us? Like the guy who misses his plane and the plane crashes. So this is a real hashgacha story, wow! What about if he doesn't miss the plane? Nobody says, did you hear the story of my neighbor who got killed in an airplane? Such hashgacha peratit, it's amazing! I can't imagine saying that, but what's the difference, if it's all from Hashem and all good and we don't ever understand anything anyway?

Along the same lines, when I pull into an unexpectedly convenient parking spot, is this Hashem's hashgacha that I should be thanking Him for? What about the inconvenient parking spot, or any other unexciting experience? Are they all part of Hashem's hashgacha? What are all these supposed to be telling me, and what should be my reaction?

Hashgacha isn't something I could ever figure out how to relate to, so unfortunately I guess I haven't... Is it possible to forward these and our other questions to Rebbetzin Heller? Thank you so much for everything here!

[miriam4]

I'll second that last question about Hashgacha (Pratis?) Would it be correct to say that the term Hashgacha Pratis, as is commonly used, is really a misnomer, and that the right term would be Hashgacha-that-in-this-case-worked-out-in-a-way-I-can-appreciate ?  I'm asking this for an additional reason. We know that non-Jews don't have hashgacha pratis, yet they have plenty of serendipity and fortuitous events to share.

[Hadassa1]

In the example Rebbetzin Heller gives about the two men who fell 47 flights, one died, and one survived.
Semantically, the fate of both men is termed "Hashgacha" as it is they are equally an expression of Hashem's Will. However, the fact that the surviver survived is miraculous. As our Nisayon of today is not relying on miracles, but believing that Hashem exists, the story of the survivor is publicized as miraculous.
Similarly, if we would rename our "Hashgacha" stories as miracle stories, the guy who misses his flight and others like him, could use their miracle to publicize Shem Hashem in this world.