We are now in Pesukim of Bitachon that start with the letter Tet . This one, Tehilim 118,8 is found in Hallel , so we can apply it this week. ט֗וֹב לַחֲס֥וֹת בַּיהֹוָ֑ה מִ֝בְּטֹ֗חַ בָּאָדָֽם׃ It's better to seek refuge in Hashem then rely on man . The obvious question is, Of course you're better off relying on God than relying on people! Rav Yosef Trani, in the Derashot Maharit on Parashat Vayishlach (second derush ), makes an important point in the difference between the words Bitachon and Hisayon. He says that bitachon works when you are relying on a person because you're deserving . It could be God that you’re deserving of, because of your great deeds, or it could be a person that you went out of your way for, who therefore owes you one. You think, “ This man is going to help me because he owes me…..How can I rely on Hashem if I don't really deserve it ? I'm better off relying on this person who owes me one. Based on nature, he'll come through, so I’ll rely on him rather than relying on Hashem because Hashem doesn't owe me. I'm actually a little behind in my responsibilities to Hashem .” So what happens when a person realizes, “ I don't have the deeds?” For that, we have this additional concept, which is, in his words, “ If you look up to Above and you subjugate your heart to your Father in heaven, ‘Even though I don't deserve it, He should save me,’ It's good. It will work.” That's what David Hamelech is saying, ט֗וֹב לַחֲס֥וֹת בַּיהֹוָ֑ה מִ֝בְּטֹ֗חַ בָּאָדָֽם It's better to seek refuge in Hashem even though you're not deserving of it, than to rely on a human being that owes you. He says this concept is extremely important because if we rely solely on our deeds, who can possibly say, “I deserve it! Hashem owes me. ” He says Hisayon is when the person doesn’t deserve to get anything. He's seeking refuge under God's wing, that He’ll have mercy on him. In his words, “ He looks above and subjugates his heart to his Father in heaven,” a term that comes from Masechet Rosh Hashana 3,8 where it talks about when the Jews went to fight against Amalek. When Moshe Rabbenu lifted his hands, they would win. The Mishna asks, ‘ Does Moshe’s hand make or break the war? Rather, it’s to tell us that when the Jewish people looked above and subjugated their hearts to their Father in heaven, they'd be successful.’ Similarly, when the snakes were biting us in the desert after we spoke Lashon Hara , we deserved to be bit, but Hashem told Moshe to make a copper snake, and everyone who looked at it would live. Again, the Mishna asks, ‘ Do snakes bring life? Do snakes bring death? Rather, when we look above, and we subjugate our hearts to our Father in heaven,’ they would be healed. In both of these cases, the Jewish people had sinned. We sinned in the case of Amalek, and we sinned in the case of the snakes that came to bite us, and yet the advice that’s given is You're not deserving but look up to your Father in heaven. Subjugate your heart to Him. Focus on Him and Him alone. In Nefesh HaChaim, Shaar 3, perek 12, Rav Chaim Volozhin brings down the famous concept of En Od Milevado /If you focus on God alone, all bad decrees are annulled. He cites this mishna about subjugating your heart to heaven. He asks, why do I have to look at the snake ? And he explains that when you look at the snake and see how evil and powerful it is, you should say to yourself, “ It's nothing ,” and annul it in your heart. Don't pay attention to it. Subjugate your heart to Hashem and realize that only He can do it. That's what makes everything turn around. ט֗וֹב לַחֲס֥וֹת בַּיהֹוָ֑ה מִ֝בְּטֹ֗חַ בָּאָדָֽם . The way the Maharit explains it is fascinating. It means that I have the right to look above, to subjugate my heart to my Father in heaven. I realize there’s nothing else but Him . That's the power of the ultimate bitachon, of going above everything, annulling everything in your heart. It's easier said than done, but that's the power of even if you're not deserving, and t