Va'eschanan

When recounting Mattan Torah, Moshe describes the extent of the people’s proximity to Hashem by saying אתה הראת לדעת כי ה הוא האלקים אין עוד מלבדו you have been shown to know that Hashem is Lord; there is no other power besides Him. אוצר חיים questions the inclusion of the word  לדעת for if we are shown something, of course it’s that we should know. What's  לדעת coming to teach us?

The עלינו לשבח recounts a fascinating story that he prefaces with this thought; there are times in one’s life that one feels his world is crashing in on him with no one to save him. One looks for a segula or anything that can save him, usually to no avail. However, there is one segula that can help: the segula of רבי חיים מוולזון who writes in his sefer נפש החיים that a person has the ability to ensure that no bad befall him by taking away any reliance in man. He should think & believe in his heart that only Hashem does & controls everything.

He writes that when one establishes this fact in his heart, that there is no force but Hashem, then no force will be able to harm him. One should read & study these words to make them a part of oneself saying; הלא ה' הוא האלקים האמיתי ואין עוד מלבדו יתברך שום כוח בעולם , וכל העולמות כלל מלא רק אחדותו יתברך, ומבטל בלבו ביטול גמור ואינו משגיח כלל על שום כח ורצון בעולם, ומשעבד ומדבק טוהר מחשבתו רק לאדון יחיד בה. כן יספיק הוא יתברך בידו שממילא יתבטלו מעליו כל הכוחות והרצונות שבעולם שלא יוכלו לפעול לא שום דבר כלל. ( Hashem is the true G-d & there is no power other than Him, and all the worlds are filled only with His oneness, nullify your heart completely & don't take into account any other power or will in the world & when your pure thoughts are only on Hashem then He will insure that no outside force or will in the world will be able to dominate you)

There are countless stories told of people who were saved by focusing on these words in their time of trouble. I will share one. Although a few years prior a valve had been implanted in Rabbi Peretz's heart, now suddenly he wasn't feeling well again. His blood counts were down & he was taken into the hospital. After the doctors checked him, they concluded that they would have no choice but to operate & replace the valve, a very dangerous operation. The family secured the services of the best surgeon to perform the operation, which they scheduled for that Sunday. However, once the doctor saw how sick Rabbi Peretz was, he couldn't operate until Thursday to give Rabbi Peretz time to get back some strength.

Meanwhile, a friend of this man’s brother, Rabbi Vizel, told the brother that in a situation like this, he should try the segula of the גר"ח. On Monday, the brother took the sefer with him to the hospital & the family read that chapter. On Tuesday they were informed that it wasn't enough to read the words, rather they had to learn them & to accept upon themselves with a full heart to strengthen their belief in אין עוד מלבדו until they’re convinced that there's no outside power. By the fourth day, they had learned this segula over & over. They were so strong in their belief that the only way out was with the help of Hashem.

Later that day, the brother & mother had to go out for a little & were going to return that night to be with him for the operation in the morning. At home, the phone rang & he sees that it’s the hospital calling. He wonders, “what now?” Picking up the phone, he hears them say, “no operation tomorrow.” His heart sinks for he thinks it’s because his brother still isn't well enough. Instead, they tell him that the doctor did one last check up before the operation. To his shock & surprise, there was nothing wrong with the valve; the operation was canceled & the man was able to go home.  

Perhaps this is what the לדעת is coming to teach us: that it’s not enough just to believe that Hashem is the one who controls everything. We have to really know it, live it, learn it & make it the core & essence of our lives. If we could do that, we will merit to have Hashem be the only one calling the shots for us & no outside force could ever harm us!