A man wakes up in the morning, and with a sense of mission, he goes out to do his work for the day. His livelihood is difficult, but he has no choice; he must bring sustenance to his home. He has small children who need a house, food, clothing, and many other things that cost a lot of money, and it is his responsibility to care for them. So, he works hard, but in his mind, a question nags at him: “Is this the will of the Hashem Yisbarach?” Does HaKadosh Baruch Hu want me to work so hard that I have no time or strength left to see my children at the end of the day? Does HaKadosh Baruch Hu not want me to sit and learn at least one daf of Gemara without falling asleep?
Yaakov Avinu had to deal with the greatest of deceivers, who was also his father-in-law—Lavan the Aramean. He used sophisticated tricks to ensure that the sheep would produce spotted, speckled, and striped offspring, thereby increasing his wealth. Have we ever heard of someone trying this trick again in history, and succeeding? The answer is no! So what was special about this case? The answer is revealed by Yaakov himself after several years, when he tells his wives that he had a dream (31:10): ‘וארא בחלום והנה העתודים העולים על הצאן עקודים נקודים וברודים’ - “And I saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leapt upon the flock were striped, speckled, and spotted,” and Rashi explains: “And behold, the rams—although Lavan separated them so that the sheep would not mate in the same way, the angels would bring them from the flock under Lavan’s control to the flock in Yaakov’s hands.” Yaakov Avinu did his part in making an effort (hishtadlus), but it was not that effort that caused the sheep to produce striped, spotted, and speckled offspring. Rather, it was that HaKadosh Baruch Hu sent His good angels who brought Lavan’s flock to Yaakov, and in this way, Yaakov’s portion grew, and his wealth expanded.
The Holy Torah tells us these things so that we know that there is no connection between the amount of effort and success. We are meant to know and believe that livelihood is in the hands of Heaven, and all our efforts are merely part of the “obligation to make an effort,” nothing more. Sometimes, excessive focus on effort can be harmful, because in Heaven, they see that a person really wants to succeed on his own, so they let him try to manage by himself. But when a Jew places his trust in HaKadosh Baruch Hu, knowing that He is the One who sustains and provides for the entire world—from the horns of the wild ox to the eggs of lice—and that all his efforts for his livelihood are only part of the “obligation to make an effort,” he will see the blessing of Hashem, who makes him wealthy.
- Tiv HaTorah – Vayeitzei
