Earning a Living — Earning a Life

Parshat Bo 5767
Essay #19
Breslov Research Institute © 2007

Divine Providence and Hishtadlut (Our Efforts)

“And God your Lord will bless you in all your work” (Deuteronomy 15:10).

Does this mean a “full day’s work,” or “just a little bit" of effort?

Last week we discussed hishtadlut, our efforts to earn a living. Hishtadlut refers to a “natural way” of working for a living, as opposed to receiving our livelihood directly from God (i.e., manna from Heaven). The system of hishtadlut directs us to focus on our faith and place our trust in God. The more we do so, the less we will have to work, because we will expect our livelihoods to come straight to us. But does it really work that way?

“Do not speak arrogantly. It does not come from the east or the west, nor from the desert or the mountains. For God judges; this one He humbles, this one He elevates” (Psalms 75:5-7).

Our Sages explain that this verse is speaking about one’s livelihood and income. A person does not become wealthy because he goes out and works hard, because he travels to the east or to the west or to other places. Rather, God is the One Who judges and decides who receives what. God can humble those with wealth and He can elevate those who are poor. He can take one’s property and give it to another.

* Why are one’s possessions called NeKhaSim? Because they are NiKhSeh (concealed) from this one and revealed to another.

* Why is money called ZuZim? Because it ZaZ (moves) from one person to another.

* Why is money called maMoN? Because whatever you MoNeh (count) is nothing.

* Why is money called Ma’oT? Because it is Mah l’aiT (what have you for the time being?)—i.e., a temporary thing.

Continuing in this vein, our Sages state that all income and possessions come only from God (see the full passage in Bamidbar Rabbah 22:8). Money, as our Sages view it, doesn’t have too much value. We see this to be true, for we really do not need money to live—we only need that which money can buy.

Everything that a person is destined to earn, receive and/or lose during the year is decreed on Rosh HaShanah (Beitzah 16a). We are also told that prayer, charity and repentance can alter one’s decree (see Rosh HaShanah 16a-b). From this we understand that our hishtadlut for livelihood (or anything else, for that matter) is prayer to God. The more we pray, the more hishtadlut we are making to attain our goals—and the greater the effect it has on our livelihood. This is our main work, to attain the recognition of God as Provider, Benefactor, Employer, etc.

So why do we see people working so hard for a living? We're not talking about people who don’t think about God, but those who actually strive to serve God. They put in a lot of prayer and hishtadlut, yet have to work long hours and even then have limited incomes.

As explained in earlier essays (#2-5), all work became a fact of life as a result of Adam’s eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the subsequent Shattering of the Vessels and scattering of the sparks of holiness. Every person can help rebuild those vessels and collect the scattered sparks by performing good deeds. However, each person, according to his participation in the Shattering of the Vessels and scattering of the sparks, also has to work—and additionally, must endure all the work-related problems that accompany his personal effort to rectify those sparks.

We recall that Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden to tend it and to guard it. The Zohar explains that tending the Garden meant performing the positive commandments, while guarding the Garden referred to the prohibitive commandments (Zohar I, 27b). Therefore, from the beginning, man was meant to toil (c.f. Job 5:7: “Man was born to toil…”). If he merits, he toils for spirituality. If not, he toils for the material life. One who merits, fulfills the purpose of Creation by drawing close to God.

What happens to the person who does not merit it? Is his life just for toil? Will he always be “left to the designs of nature” and have to work for everything? Or is there some way he can still connect to Divine Providence, where everything is provided without working?

The answer lies in how a person looks at work. One way is that even while he's toiling in the material, he does his best to focus upon the spiritual. Then his work is not looked upon as toil, but as m’lekhes haMishkan, the building of the Sanctuary (see Likutey Moharan I, 11). Since he wants to serve God, he understands that his focus during work is on rectifying his share of the scattered sparks, and his work is therefore considered “holy work.” He is building a Sanctuary for God, no matter what type of work or business he is engaged in, no matter how hard he must toil.

On the other hand, there are those who, while working, are focused upon themselves as the provider, not on God as the Provider. These people fall under the curse of Adam. They must toil, yet all their toil goes only to fulfill the curse that they must toil.

There is a third way. A person who has fallen under the curse of Adam can rectify that curse by taking time off from his work for spiritual growth. He can find five minutes here, ten minutes there, maybe half an hour before starting work and an hour during the evening, for Torah study and/or prayer. By allotting his time carefully, though he might presently be stuck in a rut of hard work, his spiritual endeavors will eventually help him rectify that “curse” so that his toil becomes that of building a Sanctuary and tending to the Garden of Eden.

Summing up, we find that a person must put in hishtadlut (effort) to earn a livelihood. That hishtadlut is prayer. We also see that work is a positive contribution towards spiritual growth, since it can be used to build a Sanctuary. It all depends on our focus. If we're focused on God, we can draw Divine Providence and our work will build holiness. If we “look the other way," we can toil and toil without rectifying our own scattered sparks and shattered vessels. Our mission, if we choose to accept it, is to build and to rectify. And then we merit to the Garden of Eden—a real “worker’s paradise”!

For then “God your Lord will bless you in all your work” (Deuteronomy 15:10). Even with just a little bit of work we merit to His blessing.

Have a good week. Chaim