In a drashah, Reb Chaim Vital zt'l spoke about bitachon, and asserted that if someone truly trusts in Hashem, Hashem will support him even if he doesn’t work at all. One simple Yid heard this, and decided to put it into practice. The gentiles who frequented his shop mocked him when they found him learning Torah, instead of working. He told them that he closed the shop, and trusts that Hashem will provide.
A few days later, a gentile merchant came into his store carrying a heavy fur cloak, "I bought this for cheap, and I'll sell it to you." The Yid explained to him that his store was closed.
The gentile replied, "Even so, the fur is too heavy for me to carry around. I will leave it here. When you the have money, you can pay me," and he left the store. The Yid tried to lift the fur to put it aside, but it ripped and many silver coins fell out. Hashem had granted him wealth because he trusted in Hashem.
A neighbor heard what happened, and decided that he too will stop working. Weeks passed, and he wasn’t earning money. He asked Reb Chaim Vital for an explanation. "Why did my neighbor become wealthy with his bitachon, while I didn’t earn anything at all?"
Reb Chaim Vital explained, "When your neighbor trusted in Hashem, he didn’t know how Hashem will help him. But you were waiting for the fur cloak..."
Reprinted from the August 29, 2024 email of the Torah Times Media’s Stories of Faith by Rabbi Elimelech Biderman.
