Chazal (Brachos 33b) say, מיראת חוץ שמים בידי הכל שמים , “Everything is in Hashem’s hands other than yiras Shamayim.” This means the only thing a person must attain on his own is yiras Shamayim. Parnassah, and all other needs, are from Hashem.
The Chidushei HaRim zt’l says that people make two mistakes. One is in relation to parnassah, and the other mistake is for yiras Shamayim. Parnassah is from Heaven, as Chazal say, “A person’s parnassah is determined on Rosh Hashanah until the upcoming Rosh Hashanah.” In contrast, yiras Shamayim, one must acquire it himself, as it states אִם כִּי מֵעִמ ָּ ךְ שֹׁאֵל א ֱלֹק ֶיךָ 'ה מָה יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַת ָּה א ֱלֹק ֶיךָ 'ה אֶת לְיִרְאָה , "Now, Yisrael, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you? Only to fear Hashem, your G-d..." Fear of Hashem is the only matter that a person must acquire on his own. Everything else is destined and given to him from Above.
But when it comes to parnassah, everyone runs after it, and they think they must acquire it alone. Whereas, when it comes to yiras Shamayim, people suddenly have bitachon, and they rely on Hashem. An example of this is when someone goes to a place where there are tests in yiras Shamayim (or when one sends his children to such a place). They say that they trust in Hashem that nothing bad will happen to them. Suddenly, they have bitachon. They don't have this bitachon when it comes to parnassah. It should be the opposite. For parnassah, you can trust in Hashem, but מָה לְיִרְאָה אִם כִּי מֵעִמ ָּ ךְ שֹׁאֵל א ֱלֹק ֶיךָ 'ה , the only thing Hashem requests and requires from us is to acquire yiras Shamayim.
It states in Pirkei Avos (5:10) ָׁ ֶלְּךוְש ָשׁ ֶלְּך שׁ ֶלִּי הָאָרֶץ עַם ,שׁ ֶלִּי ָׁ ֶלְּךוְש ָשׁ ֶלְּך הָאָרֶץ עַם ,שׁ ֶלִּי , "[if a person says] 'Mine is yours and yours is mine,' he is an unlearned person." Rebbe Henoch of Alexander zt’l explains that שׁ ֶלִּי are the factors that are my obligation to attain. This refers to yiras Shamayim, as it states, לְיִרְאָה אִם כִּי מֵעִמ ָּ ךְ שֹׁאֵל א ֱלֹק ֶיךָ 'ה מָה יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַת ָּה א ֱלֹק ֶיךָ 'ה אֶת , "Now, Yisrael, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you? Only to fear Hashem, your G-d..." But this person says ָשׁ ֶלְּך שׁ ֶלִּי, that this obligation is up to You, Hashem, to give it to me. And in contrast, he says, ָׁ ֶלְּךוְש שׁ ֶלִּי which means those matters that are ָשׁ ֶלְּך, Hashem's role to give – this is referring to parnassah, he says שׁ ֶלִּי, it’s my obligation to attain. This person is an הָאָרֶץ עַם. He is ignorant of the ways of the world. He has turned things entirely around. For parnassah, he can be calm and rely on Hashem. For yiras Shamayim, he should toil to attain it.
Rashi in parashas Terumah (25:5) writes (quoting a Midrash Tanchuma), “Yaakov saw with ruach hakodesh that Yisrael were going to build a Mishkan in the desert, therefore, he brought ארזים, acacia wood, to Mitzrayim and he planted them. He commanded his children to take them with them when they leave Mitzrayim.” With this lumber, Yaakov built the Mishkan. One can ask that Hashem gave them all their needs in the desert. He gave them the manna, their clothes never became worn out (בלתה לא שמלתך), so Hashem could have also given them שיטים עצי, the acacia wood in the desert. Hashem could have made this miracle. Why did Yaakov need to plant שיטים עצי? The answer is that this tells us that when it comes to gashmiyus, one can rely on Hakadosh Baruch Hu to supply all his needs. However, for ruchniyus, a person must take action on his own.
Chazal (Brachos 33b) say, שמים מיראת חוץ שמים בידי הכל, "Everything is in Hashem's hands, aside from yiras Shamayim." שמים בידי הכל, "Everything is in Hashem's hands," is alluded to in the word ֶהבְשׂ, written in (Shemos 13:13), because the letters of ֶהבְשׂ are the roshei teivos of שמים בידי הכל. This pasuk discusses חמור פטר פדיון, redeeming a first-born donkey by giving a בְשֶׂה, a sheep, to a kohen. A new-born donkey represents wealth. His property is growing. He is becoming wealthy. He must remember שמים בידי הכל – בְשׂ ֶה, that it is entirely from heaven.
When the Torah discusses the mitzvah of pidyon haben, to redeem a Jewish child, the Torah states (Bamidbar 18:16) ׁהַק ֹּדֶש ֶׁקֶלבְּש שְׁק ָלִים ֶׁתחֲמֵש כֶּסֶף ָבְּע ֶרְכְּך תִּפ ְדֶּה ׁחֹדֶש מ ִבֶּן וּפ ְדוּיָו, "Those that are to be redeemed – from one month shall you redeem... five silver shekels..." The word ֶׁתחֲמֵש is used, and the root of this word, ש"חמ, have the roshei teivos of שמים מיראת חוץ, "aside from yiras Shamayim." This is because when it comes to children, one must educate them to yiras Shamayim, as it states (Devarim 6:7) לבניך ושננתם, "You shall teach [Torah] thoroughly to your children..." and it states (Mishlei 22:6) ד ַרְכּוֹ פִּי עַל ל ַנַּעַר ח ֲ נֹךְ, "Train the youth according to his way." When it comes to yiras Shamayim, we must remember שמים מיראת חוץ – ש"חמ, that this isn't from heaven. This is each person's obligation to attain for himself and to give it over to his family.
בשמחה is roshei teivos for שמים מיראת חוץ שמים בידי הכל. With this information, we can explain the Gemara (Beitzah 15b) which says, אדר בהן יטע נכסיו שיתקיימו הרוצה, "If a person wants that his properties should remain with him, he should plant in them an Adar." The word נכסיו, properties, is in plural. This is because it is hinting at spiritual and material successes. As we explained, spiritual success is up to each person to attain, while material successes come from Hashem. How can one succeed in both of these pursuits? The Gemara's counsel is that he should plant an Adar. This hints to ה"בשמח because Chazal (Taanis 29a) say, בשמחה מרבין אדר משנכנס, when Adar arrives, one should have a lot of שמחה. Planting Adar can therefore mean attaining בשמחה. As we wrote, this stands for בידי הכל שמים מיראת חוץ שמים. In other words, if he wants spiritual and material success, the advice is בשמחה, to know that "Everything is from Heaven aside from fear of Heaven." When it comes to his material goals, he should trust in Hashem; when it comes to his spiritual goals, he should work to attain them on his own, and then he will succeed on both fronts.
