R’ Mordechai Martin went to the seamstress to get some clothing finished before Succos. The seamstress told him, “I’m so sorry. I am overloaded. There is no way I can get your stuff done before Yom Tov.” His natural instinct was to push her and try and get her to put him in before Yom Tov so that he’d have his clothing in time. Then he said, “No. I follow the bitachon hotline, and I did my hishtadlus, so I’ll just rely on Hashem.” He said to the seamstress, “Okay, it’s not a problem.” The seamstress was so shocked that he was so understanding of him. She said, “You’re the kind of person I want to do it for before Yom Tov. No problem, I’ll do it for you.” This is a powerful lesson in hishtadlus. People think they need to nudge and bother and pressure, but no. Hishtadlus is saying “Hashem, You don’t want me to do that. I’m leaving it up to You.” That’s the best hishtadlus.
Read more: Bitachon #256
