You Deserve the Inheritance!
There are several verses in the Torah that serve to strengthen our trust in the Master of the World who sustains and nourishes all His creatures. Any effort on our part concerning our sustenance and livelihood are only considered hishtadlut, appropriate effort. Just as an intelligent person does not think he helps the engine push the train, so we too do not help Hashem sustain us. He alone provides for us, while with our actions we are only fulfilling the mitzvah of hishtadlut.
We find a reference to this in this week's Parshah, in a powerfully precise declaration (Devarim 8:3), "In order to make you know that not by bread alone does man live, rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of G-d does man live."
This is demonstrated by a story related by HaGaon Rabbi Asher Weiss shlita, concerning an avreich from Manchester who dedicates his day to Torah study with great diligence. Even as his family grew, the avreich studiously continued his Torah study, with the entire management of the home falling on the shoulders of his righteous wife who willingly sacrificed for the sake of her husband's Torah learning. An entire family of mesirat nefesh; the father, the mother and the children who followed in their parent's footsteps. All their acquaintances wondered, how do they support themselves? Such a large family yet they always seem happy. The father continued with his diligent Torah study while the family continued growing. They had their twelfth and even thirteenth child, yet the father did not consider forsaking his Torah studies. The pleasure he derived from the sweetness of Torah, together with the tremendous support he received from his wife and children, gave him the strength and fortitude to continue.
Together with the growing challenge of supporting their large family, they strengthened their trust in Hashem that He is the One who sustains and provides for every living being. All attempts on the part of friends to convince him to go and work at least half a day to lighten the burden of parnassah fell on deaf ears. He was bound to Torah learning with ropes of love that no one could untie.
One day upon returning home from the Beit Midrash, this avreich noticed a letter in his mail box. From the look of the envelope it was clear this was no regular letter. Indeed, it contained a summons from the district court for a court case to determine his affairs. He was most surprised; since when does an avreich who spends his entire day inside the Beit Midrash have concerns with the courts? He certainly had not transgressed any criminal offense and was not involved in any financial deal which could have gone wrong.
His speculations grew as the day of the court case approached. He arrived at the court where it turned out that in line with the will of one of the town's great millionaires, he was the sole heir of all his assets which amounted to no less than several billion!
His astonishment knew no bounds. He was sure someone was playing a prank on him. What connection did he have to a gentile millionaire who he had never heard of in his life? He had no doubt there was some mistake here, but the judge explained all was in order. The deceased was a childless individual who loved children, so he declared in his will that he is donating all his assets to the largest family in town!
"We checked through the towns' records," the judge explained, "and discovered that your family of thirteen children is the largest in town. Although there are other families with twelve children, your thirteenth child who was born two weeks ago transformed you into the largest family in town; therefore the inheritance is yours alone!"
