Mussar: IY"H, Emunah,

originally posted June 7, 2014

Sefer HaShelah HaKodesh,
Shaar HaOtiot,
Ot Aleph, Emet VeEmunah, paragraph 14:
 
Included within adhering to the [Jewish] faith [emunah] is this:
 
When he [a Jew] attempts to accomplish anything, even in the very near future, he should say:
 
I WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS IF G-D IS WILLING [Im Yirtzeh HaShem], whether the thing [he wants to accomplish] is big or small…*
 
-------
Furthermore, if he [a Jew] wants to buy or sell anything, he should say:
 
I BELIEVE IN G-D [Ani Botayach BaHaShem], AND I HOPE THAT THROUGH THIS CAUSE THAT G-D, MAY HE BE PRAISED, SHOULD SEND ME MY SUSTENANCE AND NEEDS [Mezonotai VeTzarchai]…
 
CHRONOLOGY:
Rabbi Isaiah ben Avraham HaLevi Horowitz lived from year 1565 CE to 1630 CE.

Shelah is an acronym for Shnei Luchot HaBrit, **
which translates into English as Two Tablets of The Covenant, a reference to the two stone tablets that Moshe [Moses] brought down from Mount Sinai.

*
I usually say B'Ezrat Hashem which to me indicates a more active commitment to get it done than I'm Yirtzeh Hashem which seems to come across as more passive.

**
The acronym Shelah might also allude to Shayah Levi Horowitz as well as to Sh'nei Luchot Habbrit.

Kol Tuv,
RRW