Earning a Living — Earning a Life

Parshat Ki Tavo 5766 — September 3, 2006

“These blessings will come upon you if you listen to God. Blessed are the fruits of your womb, of your livestock and of your plantings…Blessed you will be when you come, and blessed when you go….You will be able to lend and not have to borrow…” (Deuteronomy 28:2-13).

After recounting the blessings, the Torah looks at the other side of the coin: What will happen if we do not obey God’s Torah? The remainder of Deuteronomy 28 spells out a litany of curses that will plague the Jewish nation if it does not follow the Torah. These curses primarily apply to health, family, earning a livelihood and the rigors of exile, with the vast majority applying to the latter two. As we have seen, livelihood and exile are very much interconnected. The curse of earning a living resulted from the shattered sparks of Adam and ensuing generations, and the exile is due to the necessity of gathering in those sparks of holiness.

The curses we suffer from earning a living and from the exile also impact upon matters of health and family. Financial stress and pressure directly affect our stamina and well-being, as well as family harmony and comfort level. Our Sages teach that strife in a household is primarily due to one’s financial standing (Bava Metzia 59a). Proper observance of the Torah is a prerequisite towards sweetening all the decrees of ill health, family discord and earning a living.

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Parshat Nitzavim-VaYeilekh 5766 — September 10, 2006

This reading reviews the curses from a different angle. After hearing the terrible punishments that would befall them if they did not observe the Torah, the Jews were full of trepidation. How could anyone remain standing after hearing all those curses? But, as Rashi explains, it is specifically because of the curses that we are still standing (Rashi on Deuteronomy 29:12).

Those same challenges and troubles are what forge us into stronger and better people. Despite all the trials of earning a living, we must conduct ourselves honestly and with integrity, keeping our word and sticking to our commitments, if we are to succeed. As a result of this struggle, we become more responsible and trustworthy people, reliable providers and stable parents. What appears to be a curse is a blessing in disguise: The unpleasant challenges and difficulties make us focus on seeking solutions. As the saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” The necessity for finding a solution to our needs delivers positive results.

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The discerning reader will notice that we have combined two weekly readings, Ki Tavo and Nitzavim-Vayeilekh. This is because we are already preparing to travel to Uman for Rosh HaShanah, G="d" willing, on Sunday, September 17, and we have to wind down this year’s work.

As we enter the Yerach HaEitanim (“Mighty Month,” in our Sages' words, alluding to the awesomeness of Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, all in the Hebrew month of Tishrei), and then, almost until Chanukah (mid-December), I will be on the road, in all likelihood we won’t have time to continue with these essays for a while. Though there are many, many ideas found in Rebbe Nachman’s teachings about earning a living, we have focused our discussions until now upon the ideas of Adam’s sin and the curse and gathering the sparks of holiness. When we resume, G="d" willing, we will branch into other areas.

However, in order to keep these essays going, we will provide for your convenience excerpts from some of Rebbe Nachman’s teachings on livelihood. These lessons from “Advice” (Likutey Eitzot) and “The Aleph-Bet Book” (Sefer HaMidot) will be serialized in essays between now and when we resume.

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As the New Year approaches, let us focus upon Rosh HaShanah as the main blessing of the year in terms of our livelihood (as well as in every other terms!). Our Sages teach, “On Rosh HaShanah, the very first day of the year, it is decreed what will happen even until the very last day of the year” (Rosh HaShanah 8a). Simply put, this means that God decrees our income and expenses for the entire year on Rosh HaShanah. How much we will earn, how much we will lose, etc., is all determined on the first day of the year.

This can be compared to someone who gives you a certain amount of spending money; what you do with it is your business. Some people spend a lot in the early winter months and find themselves a bit stretched by the summer. Others carefully minimize their expenses a whole year. Still others spend carelessly and end up borrowing heavily. But no matter how much we do or don’t do, our income is fixed and it won’t grow despite all our projections, unless…

Unless we pray. Unless we mitigate the decrees. Unless we ask and beseech God to provide us with a sufficient income for all of our projected needs. Exactly what our projected needs are, is always debatable. Are they really projected wants and desires rather than real needs? Or do we need a lot more than we think we do? What about unforeseeable expenses, God forbid, like a broken water main, hurricane damage, a fire, emergency medical care, etc.? God has many ways to provide us with income ☺☺☺. He also has many ways to take it back!

In order to get the best deal on Rosh HaShanah, we have to pray. And remember that it's a two-way street. Just as we want God to give us what we're asking for, we should want to give Him what He desires. Just as we seek good health and a sufficient (or more!) livelihood, God wants us to recognize Him as our Source of blessing and bring Him into our lives in every way we can. This is the way to alleviate the curse and mitigate it with blessing – God’s blessing.

May we all merit to everything good, and be blessed with all kinds of healing, peace, livelihood and stability. Amen.

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Have a good week and a very, very good year. With blessings from Jerusalem for all of us,

Chaim Kramer