We continue with some Bitachon thoughts from Rav Chaim Kanievsky’s commentary on Tehilim. In chapter 37, pasuk 21, David Hamelech says, לֹוֶ֣ה רָ֭שָׁע וְלֹ֣א יְשַׁלֵּ֑ם The wicked person borrows and doesn't pay back . That doesn't mean that if a person borrows money and for some reason can't pay it back, he’s wicked. Rav Yehezkiel Levenstein explains it means that the person, at the time of borrowing the loan, had no way to pay it back. This doesn't mean that he borrowed with a plan, and it didn't work out because of some unexpected expense such as if someone got sick, or lost his job. This is referring to a person that borrowed the money with no plan to repay it at the time of borrowing. It’s a Halacha that you can't borrow money if you don't know how you're going to pay it back. Rav Kanievsky writes that someone once asked the Chazon Ish, “ Can you borrow money without any plan, relying on Bitachon- Counting on Hashem that I'll get the money when I need it?” There are many stories like that with great rabbis, like the Ponovezher Rav and others, who borrowed money with no plan and then somehow, miraculously, somebody showed up and gave them money, just in time. So are you allowed to do that? The Chazon Ish gave an unbelievable answer. He says, “ Yes, but only if you're willing to lend somebody money on the concept of bitachon.” You can't use bitachon selectively, and say, “ I'll use bitachon to borrow money, but I won't use bitachon to lend money.” It has to be real. We’ve said before that there's a concept called Bitachon Mezuyaf/Counterfeit Bitachon , which is fake bitachon. You are using it as a tool. It's not real. You're not really relying on God. Sometimes you're just lazy and use bitachon as a coverup. So how do we know when bitachon is real? The Chazon Ish has a whole piece on this. There are people that, of course sing the bitachon song when everything's going right, but then suddenly, someone opens a store across the street from theirs, and all their bitachon goes out the window. It wasn't real. The Chazon Ish is saying you know if it’s real when someone knocks at your door and says, “ I don't really have a plan but please lend me money.” Are you now able to invoke that Bitachon that that you're going to get the money back after this man borrows the money from you? You have to be consistent in your Bitachon. It can't be something that is there conveniently for your purposes and for your use. It’s important to understand that people can misuse Bitachon. I know a fellow that wanted to go out with a girl that someone else was dating. He was going to use all kinds of techniques to cause them to breakup. I still remember his line, “ Well if it's Nasib (the Arabic way of saying Bashert), we'll end up marrying the right people. But you can’t do all kind of ruthless things and then say it was meant to be. Meant to be means you do everything right and it's meant to be. People often use the ‘ meant to be card’ to cover up their own misdeeds. I can’t shoot you and say, “ Well, obviously you died, so it was meant to be. ” That's misused Bitachon. We have to be very careful of that. And this is what the Chazon Ish is pointing out-don't deceive yourself. If your Bitachon is real, it will work both ways. You'll borrow based on it, but you'll lend based on it as well. And if you won’t lend based on it, something's wrong. Another time that you're not supposed to use Bitachon is when someone comes to you for money (for a wedding, for example). That is not the time to say, “ You should be having bitachon now.” Furthermore, anytime someone comes to you with a problem or they have some need that they want your help with, it’s not the time to start selling them Bitachon. Bitachon is not an excuse or a way out of you fulfilling your responsibilities. The Hovot Halevavot has a whole piece on that, when he talks about Mitzvot. You can't say, “ I'm going to go sleep without an alarm and use bitachon that I'll get to shul. ” It doesn't work that way. There are certain times that you have to be doing things, and you can't use bitachon. It’s a complex topic, because it can be misused, and therefore you have to be aware of the mishaps. As the Hovot Halevavot writes, “ Every good quality has something that can ruin it, built in. Just like every fruit has a worm that can ruin it, every good quality has a worm that can ruin it.” If you're not careful and you don't know what can cause good qualities to be messed up, you could end up falling into a trap. Beware of those bitachon mishaps, such as the one we started with: don't borrow money based on bitachon if you wouldn't lend money based on bitachon.