Earning a Living — Earning a Life

Parshat Shemot 5767

Essay #17

Bitachon - Trusting in God to deliver one’s livelihood

As explained in last week’s essay, when we look to HaShem with faith and trust that He will provide our livelihood, we create the vessels necessary to receive His blessing—and within the time frame we feel we need it. This reveals Divine Providence.

Reb Noson explains that every business transaction displays the same idea. Whether it's a large deal for a huge company, a small deal for a family business, or even one’s personal business such as purchasing groceries, paying the electric bill, etc., a business transaction requires two people at opposite poles, one who is buying and one who is selling. These two people represent the “direct light” and the “reflected light,” for each person is drawing his bounty and what he needs (one requires the goods, the other needs the cash). The main reason why we must conduct business, explains Reb Noson, is to create the direct light and the reflected light, which help us build our trust in God and raise our awareness that He can provide.

G=d provided manna for millions of people in the desert for 40 years without any type of business being conducted. What was the difference between then and now? Then, the Jews knew enough to look up to God daily (i.e., the direct light) for their sustenance, and created their vessels to receive His blessing (the reflected light). Their trust was absolute, their sight and focus perfect, so that they merited to receive their livelihood in a miraculous manner.

Today, however, we are not on that level of absolute trust. So we have to “buy and sell,” engaging in some type of business, barter or trade to create the direct light and reflected light that build our level of trust.

We must also deal honestly and with faith. Faith means trusting the other person in the transaction, as well as being aware that some checks have a tendency to bounce and a “bill of goods” may not be exactly what was promised. To attain the ultimate level of trust and faith, we must learn to rely upon God, Who cannot be fooled. (Possessing human strengths and failings, we sometimes tend to forget that He controls the situations we encounter in life.)

Based upon Reb Noson’s essay in Likutey Halakhot, Masa u’Matan 4:1.

To simplify Reb Noson’s teaching, it remains for us to understand the importance of interaction between people. Virtually every item of our daily needs comes to us from somewhere and it is up to us to “pay” for it some way or another. These interactions arouse the idea of “direct light” and “reflected light.” The more we are in tune with the fact that it is God Who provides, the more we can develop our sense of “sight” and thereby build our trust and faith.

Additionally, the more we place our trust and faith in God, the more we become aware of His Presence! Then we can merit seeing Divine Providence at work, right in front of our eyes.

We see this concept in this week’s Torah reading. At first, the Jews cried out to God from their burdens. Then Scripture states, “God saw the Children of Israel, and God knew” (Exodus 2:25). First God's sight was invoked upon our plight; then God brought that sight into knowledge. Immediately afterwards, He appeared to Moshe in the burning bush and began the process of the Exodus.

So too, in our lives, we have to bring God’s sight and Divine Providence upon us. How? By looking up to God, by developing trust in Him. Then we begin the process of redemption, of salvation, of procuring our livelihood, with the express knowledge that all is from God Himself.

May we merit to arouse Divine Providence and attain all the salvations we are looking for—physical, financial, emotional and spiritual. Amen.