FIXED WAGES
Rav Tachlifa taught: "All of a person's provisions are preordained for him during the days of Rosh HaShanah through Yom Kippur, except for the expenses of Shabbos and Yom-Tov, and the fees for his children's chinuch. If one spends less on these expenses, he is provided with less, and if one spends more, he is provided with more."
(ביצה טז ע"א, שוע"ר סי' רמב ס"ג)
A man complained to Reb Meir of Premishlan: "Someone is taking away my parnasa!"
"When a horse lowers its head to drink from a river," Reb Meir told him, "he stamps his hooves. Why? Seeing another horse reflected in the water, he becomes envious and angry, so he stamps at the other horse: he doesn't want it to drink up his water! You, however, surely understand that there is enough water for many horses. As our chachomim have said, no individual ever takes away from the livelihood that has been preordained for another."
(יומא לח רע"ב, סיפורי חסידים זוין תורה ע' 142)
The Tzemach Tzedek writes that since the amount that a person will earn has already been set for him, he should not waste his time on extra work. Rather he should work only as much as necessary to earn the amount he needs to live at the time being, and trust in HaShem Who will provide for him in the future.
(דרך מצוותיך קז,ב)
THE REAL CAUSE
How does a Yiddishe farmer go about producing a harvest? Chazal tell us that "he places his trust in the Life of all the worlds – and sows."
The Rebbe explains that though the farmer knows that planting a seed in the ground will bring growth, he nevertheless realizes that this process is not automatic: it is being orchestrated by HaShem alone.
(ירושלמי שבתוס' שבת לא ע"א ד"ה אמונת, לקו"ש ח"א ע' 216)
The Rebbe explains the unique ability of Yidden to trust in HaShem. While goyim will recognize an obvious miracle, they will dismiss everything else as resulting from "the laws of nature." Yidden, by contrast, can recognize that even constant, everyday happenings are brought about by the hand of HaShem Himself.
(לקו"ש ח"א ע' 240)
The Rebbe distinguishes between two approaches that a Yid can take when doing business: (1) Now that HaShem has commanded him to take a job, the job is the source of his parnasa (albeit because of the bracha of HaShem); (2) the job is merely a mitzva like any other, and his parnasa comes directly from HaShem, unrelated to the job.
The Rebbe explains that this difference will also express itself in a person's day-to-day conduct: If he sees his business as the source of his parnasa, he will be inclined to protect it even at the expense of a mitzva, such as investing more time in davening or more money in tzedakah. However, if he sees it as a mitzva, he will not let it detract from another mitzva.
(לקו"ש חי"ח ע' 294)
FULL SUPPORT
From time to time, the Rebbe Maharash would travel out of Lubavitch during the winter months for health purposes. Once, before he left the village, the local baalei-batim, whose parnasa came from supplying the visiting chassidim with food and lodgings, came to the Rebbe and complained, "If the Rebbe leaves, we will remain without parnasa."
The Rebbe Maharash asked them, "Did you ever hear of a cow that worries when her trough breaks? The cow's owner is the one who must worry! So too, HaShem will take care of your parnasa: there is no need for you to trouble yourselves."
(לקוטי סיפורים פערלאוו ע' קנא)
For the first ten years of his marriage, Reb Yitzchok Meir of Gur (better known as Chiddushei HaRim), was supported by his father-in-law, who wanted him to spend his entire day studying Torah. But then his father-in-law lost all his money and the family was left poverty-stricken. Nonetheless, Reb Yitzchok Meir continued studying Torah as before.
Once his wife asked him how he managed to sit undisturbed, free of any worry about their situation. Reb Yitzchok Meir answered, "Your father chose me for a son-in-law as an ilui, a person who can learn in one day what takes others a year to learn. Similarly, with regard to worrying: what takes others over three days to worry about, I can accomplish in one minute!"
The young rebbetzin had a question: "But what do you accomplish with your one minute of worrying?"
He answered with a question: "And what does three days of worrying accomplish? There is no place for any of this, for everything HaShem does is for the best."
A short time later, his brother, moved to town and hired him as his financial secretary. And that was how Reb Yitzchok Meir supported his family until one day he was appointed as a rov in Warsaw.
(החידושי הרי"ם ע' 159, 167)
When Reb Yaakov Mordechai Bezpalov, a chossid of the Rebbe Maharash, was a young man, he had studied Torah for many years while being supported by his father-in-law on kest. At one point, in the year תרל"ח (1878), the funds dwindled and his support ended. Understandably concerned, Reb Yaakov Mordechai immediately sent a letter to the [future] Rebbe Rashab, enclosing a pa"n to be presented to the Rebbe Maharash.
The Rebbe Maharash told the Rebbe Rashab: "He should continue living on kest. May HaShem strengthen his heart to continue learning. And if he does so, everything will be available for him."
Reporting this response to Reb Yaakov Mordechai, the Rebbe Rashab added, "The main thing is not to be worried and to trust in HaShem, Who supports."
(אג"ק אדהרש"ב ח"א ע' ב)
CONSIDER
How can work be an obligation in order to earn money, yet not be the cause for it?
