Based on droshos by Maran HaGaon Rav Moshe Sternbuch shlita, Gaavad of Yerushalayim.
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Spiritual danger greater than physical danger
“Hashem did not lead them by way of the land of the Plishtim for it was near, because Hashem said, Lest the people reconsider when they see war and return to Egypt” (13:17)
This possuk teaches us that spiritual dangers present a greater threat than physical ones. The journey through the wilderness would definitely be longer and fraught with dangers and difficulties, whereas the shortcut through the land of the Plishtim would have been quicker and easier. Nevertheless, Hashem did not lead them through that route so that they would not be exposed to the spiritual danger of that environment, fail the test, and then seek to return to the tumoh of Egypt.
When the Brisker Rov was in Vilna at the beginning of World War Two, he had to choose between the options of travelling to Eretz Yisroel, on the one hand, which at that stage was relatively safe in spiritual terms, but was subject to the threat of Hitler’s armies who were already stationed in Egypt, and the United States, on the other hand, which was considered completely safe physically speaking. He resolved his doubts on the basis of this possuk, which makes it clear that it was preferable for the Jewish nation to take a major detour thereby traversing a dangerous location rather than taking a much shorter route and becoming exposed again to the tumoh of Egypt. The Brisker Rov reasoned that he preferred the physical dangers of living in Eretz Yisroel to the dangers that would be posed to his children’s education in America.
This principle can in fact be derived from an explicit gemoro (Bovo Basro 57a), which states that someone walking where there is immorality, even though he closes eyes and does not look, if there is a darka acharino, a different route, is considered wicked for not taking that other route, but rather exposing himself to spiritual danger.
If a person is offered a lucrative job position involving spiritual dangers, such as an immoral or irreligious work environment, he must be aware of his or her obligation to look after one’s ruchniyus, and rather take up a position in a place where no such spiritual dangers prevail, even if it pays less. Hashem will be sure to take care of this person’s material needs too, and he will surely not lose out financially from whatever sustenance has been decreed for him in Heaven by running away from a place of spiritual danger.
On the topic of faith and parnosso, Rav Sternbuch says that he has had the merit of being meshamesh many gedolim and tzaddikim, and he was asked what set the Brisker Rov apart from other gedolim. Rav Sternbuch answered that the Brisker Rov’s level of faith and trust in Hashem was unsurpassed. He was very particular not to make any unnecessary hishtadlus, and was always worried about whether a certain act might constitute a lack of bitochon.
The Brisker Rov once told Rav Sternbuch that a wealthy person had approached him with an offer to support his Kollel for an entire year, but he had declined the offer because he did not want to forego the spiritual benefit of strengthening his level of trust in Hashem and praying to Him that comes with the uncertainty of not knowing how he would finish the month.
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