The book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ final address, his last great effort to shape the soul of a nation. Standing at the threshold of the Promised Land, he did not speak of military strategies or political alliances. Instead, he spoke of faith. Not in chariots or swords, but in the unseen hand that had guided them all along.
"The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as He did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. You saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way, until you reached this place" (Deut. 1:30-31).
But trust is never easy. Even those who had seen miracles—the Ten Plagues, the Splitting of the Sea, the manna that fell from heaven—still hesitated. Fear clung to them like a weight on their shoulders, an invisible burden they could not set down.
If you want to understand this struggle—the challenge of bitachon, of trusting in God—let me tell you a story...
The Poor Man and the Carriage
Then, in the distance, something gleamed in the waning sunlight. A carriage, polished and shining, drawn by two magnificent horses, clattered toward him like a beacon of hope.
The carriage belonged to the local squire, a man both wealthy and generous. Spotting the bedraggled traveler, the squire reined in his horses. “Climb aboard!” he called out. “The road to town is long, and there’s no need for you to walk on your own.”
The poor man, overwhelmed with gratitude, clambered into the carriage and sank into the plush seat. As the wheels began to turn, however, the squire noticed something peculiar. The beggar was still clutching his bundle tightly. He held it close to his chest, as if it were a bag of precious gems.
The squire chuckled. “Tell me, good fellow, why don't you set your bundle down? There’s plenty of room in the carriage.”
The beggar flushed with embarrassment. “Oh no, sir! You’ve already done so much by taking me in your carriage. I couldn’t possibly ask your horses to bear the weight of my belongings as well.”
The squire let out a hearty laugh. “Silly fellow,” he said, shaking his head in amusement. “Don’t you see? Whether you hold your sack or lay it down, it’s still my horses that are pulling the load.”
Trusting the Driver
And so it is with us. Like the beggar clutching his bundle, we trudge through life, shoulders hunched beneath the weight of our worries, convinced that we alone must bear the burden. We fret, we cling to our anxieties as if they were precious, and we forget—the whole time—we are riding in God’s carriage.
But God does more than give us a ride. He carries everything—our lives, our struggles, our every need.
(Adapted from Mishlei Ya'akov p. 114)
