Author: ArtScroll Staff

Sefer Madreigas HaAdam: Maamar Darchei HaBitachon – The Path of Bitachon

Reb Yosef Yoizel Horowitz, the Alter of Novardok, was a legendary figure whose teachings had a huge impact on the Torah world, both in his own time and even in ours. Thousands of talmidim followed the “Novardok derech,” which emphasizes the vital importance of character development and refinement. In his classic work, Madreigas HaAdam, the Alter offers perceptive insights into human behavior — and guidance in how to perfect ourselves.

Maamar Darchei HaBitachon isone of the best-known essays in Madreigas HaAdam.In this incisive essay, now available in an ArtScroll English-language translation and elucidation, the Alter applies his classic Novardok thought processes to the mitzvah of bitachon, trust in Hashem. He shows us how bitachon means to constantly live with trust in and reliance on Hashem, and that we can, and must, strive to do so. He explores the essence of bitachon, what it demands of us, and how we can acquire deep trust in Hashem’s infinite goodness. He discusses the complex relationship between relying on Hashem and human effort, and examines the amazing power of trust to help the sincere baal bitachon who faces difficult challenges.

The Alter carefully examines the text of the Chumash, showing us how the steadfast bitachon of our forefathers served them well — and showing us, too, how we can follow in their path of bitachon. In words both inspiring and instructive, the Alter shows us how every person, in every generation, can acquire unshakeable bitachon — and he makes it very clear to us how that unshakeable bitachon will lead us to a life of serenity.  

The Haas Family Edition of Madreigas HaAdam: Maamar Darchei HaBitachon — The Path of Bitachon includes a translation, elucidation, and notes on this seminal essay, as well as vignettes from the life of the Alter that relate to the topics discussed in the work. These fascinating stories about the Alter show us how he himself lived a life of unwavering bitachon and was given Siyata DiShmaya to accomplish more than anyone would have believed possible.

With the brilliance and perception of the Alter of Novardok as our guide, we will find ourselves walking on the “Path to Bitachon” — and dealing with life’s challenges with calm and tranquility, secure in our trust in Hashem and His goodness.

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AS: What was your goal in writing The Eishes Chayil Yamim Noraim Treasury?

DW: My goal was to provide women of all ages the opportunity to tap into the inspiration, greatness, and beauty of the Yamim Noraim through divrei Torah, explanations of customs, uplifting stories, and practical insights, and to show the unique and significant role women play. For someone to be able to open up the sefer to any page and find an inspiring message that can move them along their path of growth. 

AS: It’s often hard for mothers taking care of young children to feel connected to the Yamim Noraim. Any advice for them?

DW: Rav Eliyahu Lopian said that women who are home on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, caring for their children, do not require lengthy tefillos in order for their tefillos to be accepted. Hashem designed for them a special pipeline that carries their tefillos directly to Him. They may not have many hours to daven, but they are connected to that special pipeline. Mothers should remember that caring for their children is an act of chessed that can be performed only by them. As soldiers in Hashem’s army, we understand that everyone has different duties and responsibilities, and each and every one of us serves a unique and vital purpose.

AS: Can you share a brief, inspiring story with us?

DW: Chaya Salomon was a teacher in the Noam Meiri school in Lod, Israel. She was beloved by her students and was taken from us in a terrorist shooting in 2017. At the end of each school year, Morah Chaya would send the following message with her students’ report cards:

When I give out report cards at the end of the school year, I’m always reminded of another report card, the one given by our Father in Heaven. Instead of the regular subjects and test grades, Hashem gives grades in the following subjects — friendliness, patience, understanding, love, kindness, responsibility, humility, gratitude. This report card is more important than any other grade. Life is so busy that we sometimes forget that having good middos is the real test in life.

Rosh Hashanah is the day that Hashem gives each of us our individual report cards. Let us take a lesson from Morah Chaya to ensure that we are focusing on what are truly priority in life: middos, tefillah, and working to live a more elevated and meaningful life.  

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AS: Tell us a little about Zera Shimshon Eishes Chayil.

RNS: When we first released the Zera Shimshon back in 2017, it soon became clear that there was something about the Zera Shimshon’s Torah that spoke to peoples’ neshamos. When I learned that the Zera Shimshon had written a peirush on Eishes Chayil, I was intrigued, and I decided it deserved its own sefer. We would be combining the uniqueness of the Zera Shimshon with the beauty of the beloved words that so many people sing as we usher in Shabbos.

AS: The sefer includes fascinating stories about the famed segulah of the Zera Shimshon. Can you share a story, to whet our appetite?

RNS: One of the many stories in the book tells about a family trying for five years to find their son a shidduch. Then they heard about the segulah of the Zera Shimshon, and about the book, which included vertlach from the sefer as well as stories. The family began learning from it every Shabbos, as a zechus for their son to find a shidduch. He was engaged about nine months later.

Everyone knows the segulah ofgoing to the Kosel for forty days, reciting Shir HaShirim, or saying Tehillim. This family did a cheshbon and realized that their son became engaged after exactly forty weeks of learning the sefer — that’s forty Shabboses!  

AS: The sefer also features “The Bais Yaakov Treasury.” What’s that about?

RNS: The Zera Shimshon team put together segments of the Zera Shimshon’s Torah that were focused on the greatness of the Jewish woman and we added those pieces to his peirush on the Eishes Chayil — very appropriate, since Eishes Chayil is an ode to the Jewish wife.

AS: How will this sefer change the way we look at the words of Eishes Chayil at our Shabbos table — and how we look at the role of Jewish women today? RNS: I was surprised by how the Zera Shimshon “got” the women of today when he wrote his peirush about 250 years ago. He writes about business and real estate and many things that you wouldn’t imagine a rav from long ago would write about. The peirush is very applicable to the woman of today. But you’re going to have to read it to truly grasp what I’m talking about.

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