If you go in My edicts... the land will give its produce and the tree of the field will give its fruit. (Vayikra 26:3–4)
“If you go in My edicts” – that you will toil in Torah learning.... “The tree of the field” – These are trees that do not by nature bear fruit. They are destined to produce fruit. (Rashi)
Toiling in Torah learning brings great material blessings. The explanation is as follows.
R. Elazar said: Every person was born to toil, as it says דָּלּל יוָמָעְם לָדָי אִּכ – “Man was born for toil.”
But how do we know if it is for the toil of the mouth or the toil of a trade? When it says יְהוִּיו פָלָף עַכָי אִּכ – “His mouth forces him,” this means man was born for toil of the mouth.
But we still don’t know if it is for the toil of Torah or the toil of talk. When it says ָיךִּפִה מֶּזַה הָרֹוּתַר הֶפֵ סׁשּמוָא יֹל – “The book of this Torah shall not cease from your mouth,” now we know that man was created for the toil of Torah. As Rav would say: All bodies were created to toil. Fortunate is he whose toil is in Torah.
The Creator decreed on all people to toil their whole lives. No one can escape this decree. But a person can choose for himself what type of toil he will spend his life doing.
He has the option of engaging in a trade, meaning that he will work hard to earn a living for himself and his family.
He also has the option to toil in talk. This means that he spends his life talking idly about politics and getting involved with all sorts of quarrels between his friends, with lashon hara and general gossip. This is a lot of work. He needs to explain himself: why did he do this, and why did he say that, and why it’s not true that he was lying, and how he was right all along. He also needs to look for new “merchandise” all the time. He needs to find out what this person said and what that person did.
In short, it’s a whole job, and a person can spend his best years on it, as it says יִּ כׁשָרְגִם נָּיּים כִעָׁשְרָהְ ויטִטָ וׁשֶפֶיו רָימֵ מּוׁשְרְגִּיַל וָכּא יוֹט לֵקְׁשַה – “The wicked are like a turbulent sea because he cannot be at peace and his waters throw up dirt and debris.”
A person has a third option, which is to dedicate his life to toiling in Torah.
However, you must toil in something. There is no such thing as just living an easy, quiet life.
One type of toil exempts a person from another type of toil. If he toils in this, he won’t be toiling in that. And this brings us to a question. If a person toils in making a living, he will have an income. If a person toils in idle talk, he will make money from stealing and cheating etc.
If a person toils in Torah, what will he live on?
This is why the Torah tells us וגו’ּכוֵלֵּי תַתֹּקֻחְּם בִ אֹיוְרִּן פֵּתִה יֶדָּׂשַץ הֵעְ וּהָלּבוְץ יֶרָאָה הָנְתָנְו. When a person chooses to toil in Torah, he will get parnassah even from a “barren tree”: even from something light and easy, that usually doesn’t provide financial support, he will derive berachah and parnassah. This is as Chazal said about the Chasidim Harishonim, the pious people of old:
Since they are pious, their Torah learning is preserved and their work is blessed.
This is what Rashi has to say about the subject:
In the time of Yirmeyahu, when he would reprove them, saying, “Why don’t you occupy yourselves with Torah study?” They would reply, “If we leave our work and occupy ourselves with Torah, what will we live on?” Whereupon Yirmeyahu took out for them the jar of Mon, and said to them, “See for yourselves the word of Hashem. This supported your forefathers. Hashem has many messengers by which to bring sustenance to those who fear Him.”
And so it says about the Torah:
דֹבוָכְרוֶׁשֹ עּהָאולֹמְׂשִּ בּהָינִימִּים בִמָ יְךֶרֹא – Length of life is in its right hand, and in its left hand is wealth and honor.
