Earning a Living — Earning a Life

Parshat Devarim 5766 — July, 2006
by Chaim Kramer
Breslov Research Institute © 2006

The Breslov Research Institute is happy to announce the beginning of a new series of essays on the subject of earning a living. The idea for this series came from a long time student of Rebbe Nachman, R. Elchonon Krantz of Philadelphia, together with suggested ideas for writing a book on what Rebbe Nachman has to say about earning one’s livelihood. He writes:

The issues of livelihood affects almost everyone. It seems to me that a book offering Breslov advice on this very practical topic will go a long way towards attracting new Breslovers from new walks of life and help many to see Breslov in a brand new light.

Some of the suggested topics are:

Spiritual Preliminaries:
· Had Rabbi Nachman intended for people to take career advice from his story The Sophisticate & the Simpleton?
· What’s Emunah and its role in livelihood.
· What’s the distinction between Emunah and Bitachon?
· At what point has one crossed over the line of Ta’avat Mamon (avarice)?

Cosmic Depth:

· The account of the shattered vessels
· How were the sparks of holiness intended to be elevated in the Garden of Eden?
· How are the sparks elevated today?
· What’s the relationship between money and the holy sparks?
· The similarity in Rebbe Nachman’s approach to dealing with the issue of free choice vs. pre-determination & the issue of actively earning a livelihood vs. livelihood being predetermined on Rosh Hashanah. In other words, why work if what one will earn is cosmically predetermined?

Career Planning & Training:

· How does one know whether G-d wants him to sit in kollel or join the work force?
· How does one know which livelihood is correct for him?
· Is what one enjoys, or is good at, doing a major factor in determining in choosing a career?
· Is what one wants to contribute a major factor in determining in choosing a career?
· How should one set his or her career goals?
· Should one attend college or university if that’s the only available pathway to a particular career or (statistically speaking) to a certain salary level?
· If there is a conflict between two career choices. The first choice is what the person would like to do. The second choice pays well. Which should the person train for?

On the Job:

· How much work is enough of a vessel for livelihood? Both in terms of time and effort.
· What to do when responsibilities conflict with devotional activities? For example, what to do if an accountant can’t manage a full hitbodedut during tax season?
· In tight schedules what are considered the priority devotional activities?
· What are considered honest or dishonest ways to present products and services?
· What’s considered kosher advertising?
· When is it time to change jobs?
· What are the appropriate steps to take if somebody discovers that what s/he does for a living does not meet the growing family budget?
· What to do when family time conflicts with devotional activities? For example, the wife wants to be taken out in the evening and that time is normally set aside for regular Torah study. As a working man the schedule won’t easily accommodate for both, but if the wife doesn’t get her due attention there may be shalom bayit issues down the road?

Preparing for the Future:

· Are retirement plans recommended? Do they conflict with Emunah or merely seen as part of making a vessel?
· Are financial plans to take care of children and grandchildren down the road recommended? Do they conflict with Emunah or are merely seen as part of making a vessel? Is there a difference in the answer between children who are thank God healthy and children who are likely to be economically disadvantaged because of health related issues?

Family Health

· It’s well known that Rebbe Nachman strongly discouraged people from visiting Doctors. There seems to be some uncertainty in the Breslov community about whether (and/or to what extent) Rebbe Nachman was referring to contemporary medicine.

* * *

These are but some of the suggestions to be discussed, God willing, in our new essays. We hope to begin soon and, except for holiday season (Rosh HaShanah…) and overseas travel, we intend to write one essay a week, tying it in to the Weekly Torah Reading. We’d appreciate your input.
* * *
As a brief introduction to this topic, we cite from this week’s reading (Deuteronomy 1:9), “[Moshe said], ‘I cannot lead you by myself…’…” Rashi points out that Moshe was teaching the Jews the responsibility of the judges of Israel. If one makes an error in deciding the dispute, then that judge is liable. And not only for the financial error, but his decision affects the very souls of those involved in the dispute! This is because the responsibility for the common folk lies with their leaders. We learn from this that the role of leadership is not to be used for the person’s benefit. It is one with absolute responsibility towards those whom he leads. If he is lax in his leadership, or even unintentionally erroneous in his decisions, then he, alone, bears the blame and the people whom he must serve are exonerated from wrongdoing!

One who is in the position of “leadership” and bread-winner in his/her home has undertaken an awesome responsibility. The decisions must be correct, otherwise the family suffers. But how can one ever know what decision is the right one, especially when every kind of livelihood is subject to so many outside influences? Rebbe Nachman teaches that when making decisions, especially serious ones, and more specifically decisions that also apply to other people, then one must have hitbodedut (see Likutey Moharan 59:2). Hitbodedut is one’s own private prayer, offered to God in one’s mother tongue, asking God to guide the person on the right path and requesting of Him to draw the person close to Him. These prayers can be structured by the individual, and they can also be offered spontaneously. To truly earn a livelihood, one must pray for it. Otherwise, as the Rebbe once said, “The person can be compared to an animal which also is fed by its Master, since he does not draw his sustenance through prayer and thereby connect with God” (Rabbi Nachman’s Wisdom #233).

A judge must pray that his decisions are right. We, who assume financial responsibility for our families when seeking a livelihood, must also pray that our decisions, which affect those who are dependent upon us, are the right ones. And, then too, we not only can earn our living, but we can learn how to live and enjoy life and get the most out of it!

Have a good week.

P.S. The subject of Hitbodedut is the topic of our next book, and is now being printed. The title is “Where Earth and Heaven Kiss” and was written by our colleague, R. Ozer Bergman. It should be posted on the website by August 1st, if not sooner. The book is a classic on the subject of hitbodedut, and covers every aspect and idea that Ozer could think of! (how, what, where, when, etc.,).