How to get Hashem to Guard our Bris for us

We all know how difficult shmiras habris can be sometimes. How does Hashem expect us to overcome such a difficult and powerful drive?

Someone sent me a beautiful piece from Rebbe Nachman of Breslav. Rav Nachman says that when a person is zoche to simcha, then Hashem Himself guards the person’s shmiras habris, because he says, the root of p’gam habris comes from atzvus, sadness, as is known, that p’gam habris comes from a klippah called lilis, which is the name of the female yetzer hara, and she’s called lilis from the lashon “miyaleles” - bewailing because she is always sad and complaining. Therefore, the main shmiras habris comes through simcha, because when a person is happy, then hashem himself guards the person’s bris, as it says in the pasuk, veshamar heshem elokecha lach es habris.

Until here are the words of Rebbe Nachman in Likutey moharan 169. He’s basically saying that we don’t have to overcome shmiras habris. Hashem does it for us. Our job is just to be happy… But I’d like to try to delve a bit into the deeper meaning of what he is saying here. How can we be zoche to simcha? Happiness is not really in our hands, is it?

And why is simcha so central to shmiras habris?

After the sin of the meraglim, Hashem swore that all those who have seen my miracles and וינסו אותי זה עשר פעמים, and yet they tested me these 10 times, they will not enter into Eretz Yisrael. What does it mean that they TESTED Hashem, and how can we apply that to ourselves so that we don’t make the same mistake?

All 10 times the Yidden sinned in the desert, it came from a lack of Emunah. And what is Emunah? The root of Emunah is the belief that Hashem is always tov u’meitiv, and that everything we experience in this world, or even that others experience, is only for the good.

So what does it mean to test Hashem? It means that the minute something is NOT going the way I want, or even if I fear that it doesn’t look like it will go the way I want, right away my heart is testing Hashem and saying, “if You are truly only good, how can you do this to me?”

Like after the 10 makos and kriyas yam suf split the yam suf, Hashem right away tested them and took them for 3 days without water. And when they complained and wined that they want to go back to mitzrayim and that they will all die in the midbar, they were testing Hashem. Meaning, they were testing the notion that Hashem is only good.

Instead, they should have believed that Hashem is surely doing it ONLY for their good and trust fully that after all He had done for them up until that point, surely He had a reason for taking them for 3 days without water, and surely He wouldn’t just leave them to die in the desert. In other words, He was testing US to see if we would test Him.

And test Him we did, time and time again. When the Meraglim came back and said we can’t go into Eretz Yisrael because we’ll be slaughtered, that was again testing Hashem, BIG TIME. They were saying, if Hashem is really Tov U’meitiv, why would He put giant cities and fortifications in our way that we obviously can’t overcome… instead of having the emunah that surely Hashem means only for our good. That is testing Hashem. Testing the notion that He only does things for our good.

And that is why the Yetzer Hara for p’gam habris is called lilis, which means to be sad, unsatisfied and complaining… When we feel a desire or see something that pulls us, we right away test Hashem in our hearts and say, if Hashem is only good, why would He withhold from me something I want so much? And it’s this lack of Emunah that leads us to go after it and fall. But if we wouldn’t test Hashem in our hearts and we would truly believe He only wants our very best, even when we feel pain, even when we want something so much and Hashem says, no, that’s not good for you… then we’d never go against His will.

And I believe that that is the underlying message of why Simcha, joy, is the root of shmiras habris. Ein simcha ke’hataras hasfeikos - there is no joy like the resolving of doubt. Simcha means I have no safek, no doubts. I don’t test Hashem. Like a son who knows his father loves him dearly and he doesn’t wine and complain that his father is making him do his homework, for example, because he has seens so many times and he knows that his father knows what’s best for him and only wants the best for him always. He doesn’t constantly test his father in his heart and say, “see, if he’s doing that to me, he doesn’t really want my best”.

Simcha means, I can have desire, I can have pain, but I don’t test Hashem. I know He only has my good in mind.

And when we have that Simcha, which is the root of Emunah, then we merit that Hashem himself guards our bris, as Rebbe Nachman says. Just like if the Yidden had truly trusted in Hashem’s goodness, Hashem would have taken them straight into Eretz Yisrael and made quick work of all the mighty nations there. He would do it for us. He always does it in the end. He just tests US to see if we will test HIM.

So to sum up. If we stay happy no matter HOW desirable something seems and we can’t have it, because we truly believe that Hashem only wants our good no matter WHAT, that happiness, that Emunah, is the secret of HASHEM being the one to guard our bris for us. We won’t even have to fight.

He will do the fighting for us. ----

And I believe that this what they mean in the 12-Steps when they talk about surrender as opposed to fighting. Because when we know that our very best friend in the world, our Father in Heaven, is holding us at every step and only has our very best interest in mind at all times, then we just move forward and enter into Eretz Yisrael without fear. HASHEM is the one who fights for us. Our job is only to surrender the fear of not having what WE think we need, and trusting that He knows best. Not testing Him in our hearts. And then we don’t have to fight anything. Hashem fights for us.

It’s amazing how the 12-Steppers recognized this profound truth.

This is literally what Rebbe Nachman is saying, and also what the Torah means about not testing Hashem.

May we all be zoche to true simcha, secure in the knowledge that no matter what our brains tell us or what we feel in our hearts, Hashem just wants us to surrender it and trust Him, and then He will guard our bris for us. Hashem yilachem lachem, ve’atem tacharishoon - Hashem will fight for you, and you shall be still.