Someone didn't have the money to buy a seat for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in his shul where he davened throughout the year, but he trusted that Hashem will help him find a seat in shul available for him, where he can sit down and daven. He came early, before the tefillos began on Rosh Hashanah, and he studied the map, hoping to find his name there, but it wasn't there. No place was arranged for him. So he stood in the isles, between the many bachurim, and he was pushed from side to side by everyone who passed. Then, someone called him and said, "Why are you standing in the isle? Your place is right next to me!" He went to see what he was talking about, and he saw that his name was on the seat. That year was ג"תשפ, and his name was there from last year's Rosh Hashanah, year ב"תשפ. It was placed there for Rosh Hashanah a year before, and apparently this seat was never sold, so his name was still on it. Wondrously, Hashem arranged a place for him.
(Obviously, when one can afford to buy a seat, he should, so he can daven properly, but when the situation doesn't enable it, and he has the midah of bitachon, Hashem will help him.)
It states in this week's parsha (3:19) בְּזֵעַת אַפ ֶּיךָ תֹּאכַל לֶחֶם, "By the sweat of your face, you will eat bread." The pasuk is discussing the obligation to make hishtadlus for parnassah, but together with this obligation is the awareness that everything is from Hashem. We can trust in Hashem, and Hashem will help us.
The Gemara (Kesubos 104a) states that moments before Rebbe was niftar, he raised his ten fingers and said, "Ribono Shel Olam, you know that I toiled with all my ten fingers in Torah, and I didn't take any pleasure from this world, not even with my tiny finger." The miforshim ask that Rebbe was very wealthy. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 36a) states, "From Moshe Rabbeinu until Rebbe, we don't find Torah and wealth together (וגדולה תורה אחד במקום)." So, how could he say that he didn't enjoy this world a bit, even from his small finger?
Rebbe was saying that he didn't have any pleasure from his fingers. He recognized that all pleasures he enjoyed were given to him directly from Hashem, and they aren't the work of his own hands.
The Imrei Noam zt'l discusses the pasuk בְּזֵעַת אַפ ֶּיךָ תֹּאכַל לֶחֶם, "By the sweat of your face, you will eat bread," and he writes that בְּזֵעַת is roshei teivos for תפילה זו בלב עבודה, "The work of the heart is tefillah" (Taanis 2a). This tells us that one doesn't have to sweat and work hard to earn his parnassah. He can earn his parnassah with his tefillah. He doesn't need בְּזֵעַת אַפ ֶּיךָ, the sweat of the face, and the hard work. He needs tefillos, said from the depths of his heart. Although it states, וברכתיך בכל תעשה, that Hashem blesses us when we do (from what we learn the chiyuv of hishadlus) however, Chazal (Sanhedrin 65a) tell us עקימת שפתיו הוי מעשה, the moving of the lips is called an action. Therefore, davening can also be called hishtadlus. (This is written in Maor v'Shemesh, Bishalach, quoting Rebbe Mordechai of Neshchiz zt'l.)
We say in the Selichos, והרבו השתדלו תחינה ובקשה. This is saying that והרבו השתדלו the majority of our hishtadlus should be תחינה ובקשה, our tefillos to Hashem.
The word לחם means bread, but it is also an analogy for Torah, as it states (Mishlei 9:5) לכו לחמו בלחמי. The Yismach Moshe (המן פרשת בשלח) teaches that although בזעת אפיך תאכל לחם is a curse (after the sin of the Eitz Hadaas Hashem cursed the earth), that we should have to toil for our parnassah, but if we want to free ourselves from this curse, the solution is to toil in Torah, which is also called לחם. That toil will free us from needing to make the other toil.
It states (Tehillim 104:21)
הַכְּפ ִירִים שֹׁא ֲגִים לַטָּרֶף וּלְבַק ֵּש מֵאֵל אֲכְלָם, "The young lions roar for prey and to request their food from Hashem." שֹׁא ֲגִים means roaring, and וּלְבַק ֵּש is requesting in a calmer manner. When people make hishtadlus, they roar, they are busy. They think everything is dependent on them. Then, when they daven, it is וּלְבַק ֵּש, a silent and often unemotional request. Someone who acts this way, he is like the animals (הַכְּפ ִירִים). He isn't acting like a human being. This is because it should be the opposite. The primary effort should be when we daven. That should be our primary hishtadlus.
