Constant chizzuk of bitachon isn’t just a good thing—it’s an absolute necessity. It’s one of the foundations of life as a Jew. We know how fundamental it is, and we cannot truly survive without it. But are there limits to it? Would you, for example, ask Hitler for his Rolex? You might think the Torah doesn’t address such a question. If your answer is no, keep reading.
Listen on: 
Dedicated by Yaakov and Rivky Drebin / Dreamin Travel (Brooklyn, NY)
l’zechus refuah sheleimah for Eidel bas Esther Malka and Tzvi Elimelech ben Miriam , and in honor of my bar mitzvah
Parshas Bo 5786
Before the final makkah of makas bechoros, the final straw on the camel’s back that led Pharaoh to his ultimate surrender, Hashem speaks to Moshe (Shemos 11:1–2):
ויאמר ה׳ אל משה עוד נגע אחד אביא על פרעה ועל מצרים אחרי כן ישלח אתכם מזה כשלחו כלה גרש יגרש אתכם מזה. דבר נא באזני העם וישאלו איש מאת רעהו ואשה מאת רעותה כלי כסף וכלי זהב.
And Hashem said to Moshe, “I will bring but one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After that, he shall let you go from here. Indeed, when he lets you go, he will drive you out of here completely. Tell the people to borrow, each man from his neighbor and each woman from hers, objects of silver and gold.”
We see a very interesting thing. Before makkas bechoros takes place, the Yidden are instructed to go to the Mitzrim and take garments, vessels, and objects of silver and gold. This all happens before the final makkah.
BORROWING FROM THE MITZRIM
Why? Why was this important? Why was it necessary that, prior to makkas bechoros, the Yidden should be adorned with Mitzri clothing and leave with their vessels?
Rashi addresses this question, based on the Gemara in Brachos 9a. Rashi explains:
דבר נא – אין נא אלא לשון בקשה. בבקשה ממך הזהירם על כך, שלא יאמר אותו צדיק אברהם: ״ועבדום וענו אותם״ קיים בהם, ״ואחרי כן יצאו ברכוש גדול״ לא קיים בהם.
In other words, Hashem says to Moshe: Please tell them to do this, because I do not want Avraham Avinu to come and complain. He could say, “You fulfilled the first part of the promise: that they would be enslaved and oppressed. But the second part of the promise, that they would leave with rechush gadol, You did not fulfill.”
So embedded in Hashem’s instruction, in the very process of how klal Yisrael would leave Mitzrayim and be zocheh to makkas bechoros, is a reminder: Hashem had promised that they would leave with rechush gadol, and that promise needed to be fulfilled in a clear and visible way.
The meforshim ask: Why was Hashem “worried” about Avraham Avinu? Hashem made a promise, and Hashem has to keep His promise. Is there anyone more trustworthy than Hashem?
Additionally, the meforshim ask a second question: Why did it have to happen in this unusual way of borrowing? Why not simply have the Mitzrim drop everything and flee, leaving their wealth behind? Why did the rechush gadol need to be acquired specifically by asking from their oppressors?
The dynamic is startling. It is like a Holocaust survivor approaching Hitler, yimach shemo, and saying, “The Rolex on your wrist, may I have it?” This would be unfathomable. And yet, this is precisely what Hashem instructs. These were the very same Mitzrim who had been cruel, brutal oppressors and killers. And now, suddenly, they are called “friends,” from whom the Yidden are expected to request silver, gold, and vessels.
THE GREATEST RECHUS: BITACHON
The sefer אך פרי לצדיק, written by Rav Tzvi Hirsch of Liska, known as the Lisker Rebbe, a talmid of the Chozeh of Lublin and the rebbe of Reb Shayala of Kerestir, offers deep, life-changing perspectives and jaw-dropping yesodos.
At the time of Yetzias Mitzrayim, klal Yisrael were holding at an unprecedented level. They had endured servitude and oppression, almost at mem tes shaarei tumah, and then they were elevated. They were groomed, led into a position of tremendous bitachon. Their emunah and bitachon were overflowing.
Rav Tzvi Hirsch explains that through the ten makkos, klal Yisrael reached the highest level of bitachon ever attained. Ten demonstrations of Hashem’s control brought them to the highest level possible. At that point, they already possessed the greatest rechush gadol possible: bitachon itself. There was no need for anything physical. Living with Hashem, trusting Him fully, is greater than any gold or silver.
So why was Hashem, כביכול, “worried” about Avraham Avinu? Technically, Hashem could have said, “I have fulfilled My promise. Look at their rechush, their spiritual wealth.” But Hashem does not take care of His children in a way that is only intangible—other people would not see it. Hashem wanted a physical manifestation of the promise as well.
Accordingly, we can answer: Why did the rechush gadol have to be acquired derech she’eilah, through borrowing? Because real rechush comes through avodah, through bitachon, through going back to the oppressor and trusting Hashem completely. If the Mitzrim had simply dropped everything, it would not have required bitachon.
Hashem said: If you truly believe in Me, go back and ask, and do not worry. That was the final nisayon. Even taking the rechush had to be derech bitachon.
They were about to experience the Midbar—the time of לכתך אחרי במדבר בארץ לא זרוע—prepared to receive the Torah and to become a mamleches kohanim v’goy kadosh. What defined them was bitachon. Nothing else. And when you have that, there is no teva. Nothing has to make sense, because you are relying completely on Hashem.
When you are not dealing with teva, when you are being groomed for Lechteich, you can even go back to Hitler, yimach shemo, and ask for the Rolex on his wrist if Hashem says it will be okay.
Unbelievable Torah from the Lisker Rav.
It’s bitachon that klal Yisrael needed to attain before becoming the Am Hanivchar, before experiencing Krias Yam Suf and Yetzias Mitzrayim. With bitachon, anything is possible—we just have to believe.
HANGING UP ON THE WORLD
Which brings me to an incident that happened this week.
This week I had to update my auto insurance. About 20 minutes before Mincha, the company needed documents proving coverage from 2020–2024. I figured I’d squeeze in a quick call, get the papers, and be done.
I reached Berkshire Hathaway, went through endless verification, and the rep said it would take 5–10 minutes to pull everything together. At the same time, I had to jump onto another call. I asked if I could keep him on mute, and he explained the protocol: he’d check in at 5, 10, and 15 minutes—if I didn’t respond by the last one, he’d hang up. No callbacks. No exceptions.
I stayed on mute as the minutes passed. Five. Ten. Fifteen. Mincha was starting.
And then it hit me: yes, I wanted the documents, and yes, I didn’t want to go through this whole process again tomorrow. But Mincha was beginning. The rep was on the line—but the King of kings was waiting for me.
So I put the phone down and went to daven.
I stood before Hashem, the true source of everything. If I was meant to get these documents, it wouldn’t depend on a rep, a protocol, or a verification process.
After Mincha, I saw there was an email with all the documents.
This is not meant as a “miracle story,” but as a reminder: Systems, policies, and protocols don’t run the world. Hashem does. And sometimes, the moment you hang up on the world and turn to Him, the answer is already on its way.
This is the power of bitachon—the trust that klal Yisrael needed before becoming the Am Hanivchar, before crossing the Yam Suf and leaving Mitzrayim. Sometimes, all it takes is hanging up, letting go, and turning fully to Hashem, and the answer comes from Him exactly when it’s meant to arrive. When we truly rely on Him, even the impossible becomes possible, and the world’s obstacles fade away. •
