This is it. We’ve reached the bottom line. Several nisyonos are behind us, and with siyata diShmaya, we passed them successfully: We searched for a source of parnassah in accordance with the instructions of Rabbenu Bachyai, and we work only in a field that suits our physical and emotional strength and that is in harmony with the laws of the holy Torah. While doing hishtadlus, we remembered that we are only doing what is required of us and that in essence hishtadlus does not help at all but is only a decree. Everything is from Hashem yisbarach, and He alone gives us the strength to do powerful acts.
And then we see that the series of acts we have done brought about good results. The salary came in. The money arrived! What now? How are we to feel? What are Rabbenu Bachyai’s instructions?
“Duties of the Heart” is an appropriate title for this sefer. Two people can act in identical ways, but in their hearts and minds they are worlds apart.
Rabbenu Bachyai tells us in the fourth chapter: A person should not place his trust in the specific actions that he did for the sake of hishtadlus. He should not be impressed by his choice of what hishtadlus to do and decide that he must continue relying on it, believing in it fully.
There are people who, when they see their investment succeeded, are impressed with themselves. They start bragging about the dazzling scheme they thought up. A man comes home and describes how he “did this and investigated that and did not allow that to fall to the side. I learned from the mistakes of others, I wasn’t taken in by charlatans, and I listened only to professionals, and not merely professionals but those who know how to think outside the box. I succeeded in determining the exact time when the market was at a low and to buy the merchandise at a low price, and afterward I had patience and waited the exact amount of time necessary, and at the right moment I offered the merchandise for sale, or the product to the marketplace...” For a full hour, he will talk and praise his own actions – how nice and how successful this process was, and of course, like every Yid who was given good chinuch, he doesn’t forget to say: “Baruch Hashem, I made such and such profit....”
Indeed, 99 percent of his talk focuses on praising his own hishtadlus, and with one percent, he recalls the Creator yisbarach. This type of talk causes his bitachon in Hashem to weaken.
Rabbenu Bachyai emphasizes another point: When a person praises his own practical efforts excessively, there is a problem. He’ll continue holding on to it and try to do the same things and continue in the same workplace even when it is no longer suitable for him. While there is nothing wrong with working in the same place for fifty years, even someone who receives a steady salary for routine work is liable to fall into the net woven for him by the yetzer hara and to think that it is the power of his diligence or the place where he works that brought him his parnassah. But this is not so; it is only Hashem Who sustains and provides for the whole world, and Who sustains him and his home; this is what he needs to emphasize!
So what do we say when we come home with salary in hand and when we see the money deposited into the bank account? We thank our good Father in Heaven!! We are happy with this unearned gift. When a father comes home with the bounty he received from the full, open, and generous Hand of the Creator, he relates everything that happened: How Hashem yisbarach gave me an idea, and how I met up with the right people, and how with hashgachah pratis it came about that I was in that place and I heard the warning of someone who wanted my good.... He gives thanks and sings the praises of the Creator of all worlds, and he relates how Hashem dressed the hashgachah pratis in all sorts of circumstances in this world.
He recalls all the time how Hashem alone makes everything happen and how everything is for the good.
Ninety-nine percent of his words focus on thanks and praise to Hashem, and only one percent describes his part in the matter, which also only came about through Hashem’s mercy upon him. Words like these accomplish the right thing, and when the money actually comes into his hands, it strengthens his emunah even more. As Rabbenu Bachyai explains, he will then thank Hashem for providing for him now that he has worked, and for not allowing his hard work to be for naught.
Baruch Hashem, I did not work for naught, and my hishtadlus brought about the desired profit. What a good feeling this is! Thank you Hashem! Thank You for the feeling of satisfaction, for giving me the opportunity to do and to see the results of my work. All this is nothing if not the chessed of Hashem! This is the outlook of a person who adheres loyally to Rabbenu Bachyai’s directives, and this is the way to strengthen emunah as we make our way toward the coming month. May the Merciful One sustain us generously and with dignity.
