Achieving a feeling of bitachon is challenging. It is hard to rely on a force we don’t see that emanates from a Being we can’t perceive. The challenge is even greater when dealing with parnassah (earning a livelihood).
We are meant to work hard to support ourselves, and the amount we earn seems proportional to the effort we invest. This leads many to assume that their efforts determine their success. The Torah describes this assumption as the feeling of “kochi v’otzem yadi asu li et ha’chayil ha’zeh – my power and strength of my hand made me this wealth (Devarim 8:17).”
It is important to remind ourselves that Hashem blesses us with the ideas behind these efforts, grants us the strength to implement them, and determines the eventual results of our actions.
The medrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 22:7) describes it this way: “A person does not become rich from investing in a business or going from east to west in boats or through deserts and mountains. It is Hashem who judges and lowers and raises (people).”
The Result
The gemara teaches that between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, Hashem decides how much money a person will earn over the year (Beitzah 16a). Once set, overworking does not change the result. Though we are responsible for putting in our effort, these efforts do not increase the degree of our success.
The Mishneh Berurah (1:5) understands the way Hashem mandated the mon in the desert (Shemot 16:16-18) as teaching this lesson. The Jews were instructed to take the amount they needed for the day. Those who took more still found themselves with the amount they were meant to have, less than they had taken. The Mishneh Berurah explains that this teaches us that overworking does not increase our intake.
Koach
The Torah adds another point. It reminds a person who attributes his success to kochi v’otzem yadi that Hashem is the one who grants him the “koach la’asot chayil (the ability to generate wealth) (Devarim 8:18).”
The Ran (Derashot HaRan 10) explains that “koach” refers to the skills that make us successful. The Torah does not deny man’s innate abilities; it just encourages him to remember Who blessed him with them. We are able to accomplish great things because Hashem created us with the capacity and continues giving us the strength (and health) to realize our potential.
Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer (baseball pitcher) of all time, expressed this recognition in an interview as he was retiring: “Everything I have and everything I became is because of the strength of the Lord, and through Him I have accomplished everything…Not because of my strength. Only by his love, his mercy, and his strength.”
Ideas
Onkelos (Devarim 8:18) translates the word koach differently – as eitzah, advice. We need two things to succeed. In addition to ability, we need ideas. Hashem gives us both.
Where do ideas come from? A person with a sudden good idea is often portrayed with a lightbulb above his head. Though ideas often help us “see the light,” they obviously do not come from light bulbs. Onkelos reminds us of their true source: Hashem.
Showing This Recognition
The Torah teaches us to express our recognition of Hashem’s role in our success by thanking Him after we eat (Devarim 8:7-10). Hashem brings us into a good land that produces seven special fruits and helps us succeed there. We should thank Him for both after we enjoy the land’s products.
All the berachot we recite affirm Hashem as the Creator of what we are enjoying. Bread, which needs to be processed (and not just farmed) by man, has its own unique beracha to remind us that Hashem is the one “who brings bread out of the ground.” We play an important role in farming and processing bread, but Hashem is behind the success.
Crops
The Chinuch (Mitzvah 84) sees this as a reason for the mitzvah to abandon one’s crops during the Shemittah year (Vayikra 25:6-7). Desisting from crop collection when prohibited by Hashem shows our recognition that He is behind their growth. Each Shabbat, we cease working to express our appreciation of Hashem having created the world. During the Shemittah year, we add abandonment of the crops to the cessation of working (the land). This demonstrates our recognition of Hashem’s ownership of the land and His role in the growth of our crops.
This recognition is also why the Torah links the agricultural holidays – Pesach (Chag Ha’aviv), Shavuot (Chag Ha’katzir), and Sukkot (Chag Ha’asif) – to moments when Hashem intervened in nature on our behalf. Associating the celebration of agricultural success with these miraculous moments reminds us that just as Hashem was clearly behind these historic miracles, He is behind the current agrarian success.
The best example of this linkage is Sukkot – the climax of the agricultural cycle. By Sukkot time, people have successfully completed the harvest. Their silos are full of crops, and their hearts are (naturally) full of joy. The Torah commands us to channel the celebration “before Hashem” – in the Beit HaMikdash. Each day of Sukkot began with the Simchat Beit Hoshei’vah, which lasted the entire night. We celebrate Hashem’s blessings to us in the past and our confidence that they will continue in the future. This confidence inspires us to pour out some of our last remaining water (after the summer dry season) and to celebrate before doing so (!). We are confident that Hashem will give us more.
On the individual level, each person uses the daled minim – four types of harvest products – to thank Hashem for the harvest. The holiday is, of course, named for the sukkot we sit in throughout the chag. These sukkot commemorate the way Hashem protected and provided for us through forty years in the desert. Sitting in the sukkah while celebrating the successful completion of the harvest links this success to Hashem’s assistance. We express our faith that just as Hashem sustained us while we were in the desert, He is responsible for our continued success.
Chazal understood this idea more broadly by defining all crop-focused mitzvot as expressive of this faith. The gemara explains that Yeshayahu uses the word “emunah” to refer to the section of the Torah that deals with these laws because when a person plants, they express faith in the world’s life source – Hashem. Many farmers rely on what they perceive as the “gods of nature,” the “forces of nature,” or their own ability. Jewish farmers rely on Hashem and show this recognition by fulfilling the mitzvot of Seder Zeraim.
Faithful Business Practices
Another way we express recognition of Hashem’s determination of our parnassah is through honest business practices, doing business according to the laws of the Torah. The recognition that Hashem determines how much we will earn should obviate the desire to cheat, as doing so won’t increase the amount we make.
The Ba’al HaTanya (Shulchan Aruch HaRav Orach Chaim 156) explains that this is why the gemara (Bava Metzia 71a) considers one who loans money with interest a heretic. One who recognizes that Hashem determines how much they earn would feel no need to violate the prohibition against usury.
This explains why the first question the Heavenly Tribunal asks us is “nasata v’natata be’emunah – did you conduct business practices with faith (Shabbat 31a)?” Though not included in the Aseret HaDibrot and not a capital offense, faithful business practices are critical because they reflect our faith in Hashem.
May reminding ourselves of Who determines our success inspire us to live our lives properly.
*Written by Joshua Pomerantz.
