Remembering That the Money Was Never Ours
An Erroneous Outlook: “I Must Provide for Myself”
As we have discussed, the Chovos HaLevavos teaches us that the ba’al bitachon lives with the feeling that his money is only a deposit for which he is the custodian. He never feels that the money is his own. Let us go a little deeper to better understand the connection between bitachon and the feeling that money is not our own, that we’re only guarding it.
In general, human beings have the innate feeling that they must arrange their own affairs—or else they won’t be taken care of. A person wakes up and immediately thinks, “I have no choice but to go out and work hard. Otherwise, I won’t be successful. If I want money, I must invest in parnassah efforts. If I want a good shidduch for my son, I must make many efforts to find the shidduch....
“Of course, if it doesn’t work... if my efforts don’t bear fruit, then I will turn to the Ribbono shel Olam. I will daven to Him that my efforts should succeed. I will daven, “I am working to attain this thing... please, Ribbono shel Olam, enable me to reach out and take it!”
The World Was Created Such That Everything Is Given to Us
The truth, however, is that this attitude is a terrible mistake—because the Ribbono shel Olam created the world precisely in such a way that a person will never have to take anything.
No one, regardless of age or stage in life, needs to take anything in life. No one needs to do anything to fulfill his needs. A person has one solitary job in This World: To fulfill the mission that Hashem entrusted to him! That’s all you need to do. The rest will come to you on its own. You don’t even need to stretch out your hand! Everything will be given to you from Above!
We Need Only Do Our Mission
Rebbe Pinchas of Koretz (Imrei Pinchas, Emes v’Emunah 52) said, “From the day that I began to serve the Creator, I never pursued anything in the world to attain it. [I was satisfied with] what Hashem gave me.” If the Ribbono shel Olam gives it to me, this means that I need it. If He does not, that means I don’t need it.
The Ribbono shel Olam created the world for one purpose: That Yiddishe kinder should serve Him. And in order to know how to serve Him, we must look in the Torah.
If now is the time to recite Birchos HaShachar, then I will say Birchos HaShachar. When it’s time to daven, I will go daven. If it’s time to be קובע עתים לתורה, to set aside time for Torah learning, then I’ll set aside time for Torah learning. And if it’s time for going out to work—I will go out to work, only because this is the mission that Hashem now wants me to fulfill!
Hishtadlus Is Part of the Mission
If it is true that we never take anything, only what is given to us, then why must we do our hishtadlus?
There are many answers to this question: One of them is that it is a punishment for the sin of Adam HaRishon, when it was decreed that people will need to sweat for their parnassah. But it is clear that our entire focus during our hishtadlus must be that we are fulfilling the shlichus of the Ribbono shel Olam.
But what will become of my needs? The Ribbono shel Olam has already promised us that He will give them to us: לעולם כי בשר לכל לחם נותן חסדו, He gives bread to every flesh, for His kindness is eternal. It is none of our concern. He will provide everything that we need—all we must do is to carry out His will.
HaKadosh Baruch Hu Gives Us Our Needs so We Shouldn’t be Busy with Them
It is a very simple cheshbon. The Ribbono shel Olam sent us down to This World to do Torah and mitzvos and avodas Hashem. If a person would need to take care of his own needs from morning till night, he wouldn’t have time to daven and learn, and to do everything else that a Yid must do.
Therefore, Hashem arranged a plan for the person: “I am not telling you to become preoccupied with your needs! Be busy all day with the things that I have told you to do, and I will provide your needs.”
This is how Hashem created the world, and in this way, a person can devote himself to fulfilling his mission on this earth, and fill his days with fulfilling the ratzon Hashem.
The Ba’al Bitachon Knows He Never Did Anything for His Money
More Expenses Doesn’t Always Mean More Hishtadlus
But, unfortunately, most people don’t think this way, because the yetzer hara confuses us with erroneous ways of thinking—and the yetzer hara intensifies his efforts against us constantly.
A person says: I don’t have any time to learn.... I can’t concentrate on davening.... Do you know what my needs are?! I have a large family! I recently underwent a saga at home that cost me so much money... how can I serve the Ribbono shel Olam now?!
The truth, however, is the exact opposite. The world was created with a meticulous order so that every person should receive his needs and thus have the ability to carry out his true mission and serve Hashem. If he isn’t receiving his needs, he must make a reckoning in how to better execute his mission, because the Ribbono shel Olam has assured us that if we will carry out our mission, we will have what we need.
Consulting a Spiritual Guide
If a person is confused and doesn’t know what his mission is at any given moment, he must consult a moreh derech, a spiritual guide... an ehrliche Yid, a talmid chacham, who can instruct and guide him on what course to take.
For example: A person sees that he incurred a massive expense that wasn’t there before, and he is considering adding a few more hours of work in the evening to earn more income. He should not conclude on his own, “It’s surely a sign from Above that I should work more to cover these expenses.” He should discuss the matter with an ehrlicher Yid. Perhaps his mission is to have more emunah and bitachon?! Maybe the mission is precisely not to work more hours—and when he fulfills this mission properly, then Hashem will send the shefah. Explore this possibility! Don’t look at the matter superficially!
Proper Hishtadlus Is Also Part of the Mission
It’s painful to hear people talk in a way that suggests that the mission of a Yid is only fulfilled during learning and davening—and the remaining hours of the day, when we engage in hishtadlus, are a reprieve, a break from the mission. And when he is done with working, then he goes back to the mission of Torah, tefillah, and avodas Hashem.
This is such a mistake! Because if one is engaging in the proper hishtadlus Hashem wants him to be engaged with, then he is carrying out the will and the mission of Hashem. And if he isn’t engaged in hishtadlus that Hashem wants from him... then he shouldn’t be doing it at all!
Only Hishtadlus That Doesn’t Impede Avodas Hashem
There are many instances when people fool themselves. They do “hishtadlus,” which they tell themselves is demanded of them—but the truth is that it comes only at the expense of other avodas Hashem, and in such a case, we can know for certain that it is not what Hashem wants from us. If it’s at the expense of our קביעת עתים לתורה...if it’s at the expense of davening... if it’s at the expense of the family, then it is clear, without a doubt, that this is not our mission—it’s not what Hashem wants from us!
One may ask: But I need to fulfill my needs. If I won’t do this hishtadlus, how will I cover my expenses? If so, I am obligated to do this hishtadlus!
The entire premise of this question is wrong! As noted earlier, it is not our job to provide our needs—that is the domain of the Ribbono shel Olam, Who provides all the needs of every creation. One must only do his mission, and the mission must be arranged according to what the Torah commands us to do. One must have a moreh derech who will guide him on what the mission entails, and whether or not the hishtadlus that he wishes to engage in is what Hashem wants from him.
The Ba’al Bitachon Knows That He Didn’t Do Anything
According to this yesod (that it is Hashem Who provides all our needs, and we do nothing to attain it), we can understand why the ba’al bitachon always feels that his money is only a deposit entrusted to him—because the ba’al bitachon knows with clarity that the Ribbono shel Olam gives him all his needs, and he doesn’t have to pursue them; as Rebbe Pinchos of Koretz said, the baal bitachon never pursues anything. He only does hishtadlus because he was commanded to do so; it is part of his mission on This World.
If so, it is very understandable why this person feels that the money is only a deposit that was entrusted to him. He knows the truth: He did nothing to earn this money. It’s not that he did some of the work, and the Ribbono shel Olam helped it along. No! He did nothing! He fulfilled the mission of hishtadlus, and the Ribbono shel Olam gave him the money.
The Ba’al Bitachon Sees This with His Eyes
The more bitachon a person has, the less he must believe this with emunah; he will see it with his very eyes! If he will observe, he will see that he does hishtadlus efforts in one place, and the money comes from another place.... He engages in working for parnassah on the right side, and the money comes from the left side. He will see with utter clarity how, when he did excessive hishtadlus, things didn’t necessarily work out the way he wanted, and when he worked on his emunah and bitachon, his affairs were often more successful. After seeing it so many times, he will begin to live with the feeling that he is not the owner of his money—he is a simple custodian.
Such a person—says the Chovos HaLevavos—won’t need his name to be publicized far and wide when he gives tzedakah; he won’t need the beneficiaries of his largesse to owe him the world; because he knows that it is not he who gave his money. He will—as the Chovos HaLevavos says—give thanks to the Ribbono shel Olam for making him a conduit, making him a gabbai tzedakah who has the zechus of giving money to other Yidden.
