Would one do with bread and clothing?
He answers that Yaakov Avinu was not only talking about himself. Rather, he was asking Hashem to provide food and clothing for others. He was saying if Hashem gives him bread, he will use it “to eat”, meaning to feed to others, and if He gives him clothing, he will use it to give to others to wear.
וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר תִּתֶּן לִי עַשֵּׂר אֲעַשְּׂרֶנּוּ לָךְ (כח, כב)
And everything You give me, I will tithe a tenth for You. (28:22)
A Sinner May Donate More Than One-Fifth to Charity:
Chazal (Kesuvos 3A) learn from this verse that one may not give more than one-fifth of his money to tzedakah.
Rav Chaim of Sanz zy”a famously gave away whatever he had to charity. He would not go to sleep at night until he gave away every penny he had in his possession to tzedakah. Sefer Kedushas Tzion relates that he once was asked how he was permitted to give all of his money to tzedakah when Chazal say that one may not give more than one-fifth.
He answered, “This amount was decreed for those who want to fulfill the mitzvah of giving tzedakah. However, if a person has sinned and wants to atone for his aveiros by giving charity, there is no limit to how much he can give, as it is stated (Iyov 2:4) that ‘everything a man has should be given for his soul.’”
It is similarly related (Sefer Shama Shlomo) that Rav Shlomo of Karlin zy”a had a chasid who gave a lot of money to tzedakah. This man’s son-in-law came to the Rebbe to complain that he was giving more than he could afford. The Rebbe asked the man why he wasn’t concerned about Chazal’s statement that one should not give more than one-fifth and he answered, “If someone is giving to fulfill the mitzvah of giving tzedakah, he should not give more than one-fifth. But I am giving in order to redeem my soul from my sins, as the pasuk says (Daniel 4:24) that this can be done through giving tzedakah. This has no limit.”
The Rebbe replied that the man had answered wisely.
וַיְהִי בְּעֵת יַחֵם הַצֹּאן וגו' וָאֵרֶא בַּחֲלוֹם וְהִנֵּה הָעַתֻּדִים הָעֹלִים עַל הַצֹּאן עֲקֻדִּים נְקֻדִּים וּבְרֻדִּים (לא, י)
And it was at the time the animals came into heat... and I saw in a dream, and behold, the he goats that mounted the animals were ringed, speckled, and striped. (31:10)
No One Can Touch What is Not Destined For Him:
Rashi states that although Lavan had separated them all, so that the animals would not conceive their likeness, the angels were bringing them from the flock that had been given over into the hands of Lavan’s sons to the flock that was in Yaakov’s hand.
The Chofetz Chaim (Shemiras Halashon, Shaar Hatevuna 11) asks how the angels were permitted to take sheep from Lavan’s flock and bring them to Yaakov. Isn’t this theft?
He answers that anyone who tries to swindle his friend is simply foolish. Exactly how much money one will earn in a year is decreed on Rosh Hashanah, and one cannot make a penny more than that. If one steals from his friend, he will not benefit from it at all, as he still won’t end up with more money than what was anyway decreed for him. At the end of the day, he will have the same amount of money, and he will also have a terrible sin.
Furthermore, stealing will actually cause him to lose the money that was destined for him, as stated (Sukkah 29B): “There are four reasons why a person’s value will go down to nothing...”, with one of those reasons being taking from one’s friend. This is also stated in Maseches Derech Eretz (Zuta 3): “If you take something that isn’t yours, you will lose what is yours.” For this reason, Chazal say (Yoma 38B) that one cannot touch anything that is meant for his friend, even by a hairsbreadth. Even if you do take it, it will end up going back to him.
Accordingly, although Rashi says that the angels took Lavan’s sheep and gave them to Yaakov, this was permitted, as the pasuk later says: “Because I saw all that Lavan did to you.” Lavan had cheated Yaakov many times over and, therefore, Yaakov’s rightful property was merely being returned to him.
On this topic, the Ben Ish Chai (Drushim Parshas Noach) relates a story of an upright man who would go every night after midnight to a yeshiva to learn with the Rosh Yeshiva and his friends. He would always be the first of the group to arrive and the last to leave.
One evening, he was walking from his house to the yeshiva, as he always did, when he noticed that the gate to one person’s yard was open, as the owner had forgotten to close it. He knew that a widow lived there, with her only companion being a servant that she had. They both were sleeping in the same room where the widow kept a big box full of her life’s savings, in the form of gold and silver coins.
The man entered the home and saw the widow and her servant asleep in the room. He was overwhelmed with a desire to steal the treasure, and he broke open the box to take it. Suddenly, the women woke up from the noise of the breaking box. It was too dark to see who was there and they were too scared to scream, fearing that the robber would kill them if they made a sound.
The man grabbed the money but he then remembered the Gemara that says that one cannot take anything away from one’s friend. He realized that there was no point in taking the treasure, as he couldn’t take possession of anything that wasn’t destined for him in any case. Therefore, he put the money back and left.
When daylight arrived, the woman saw that the thief hadn’t taken anything. She thought that it must be a miracle. However, since she wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again, she decided to remarry so that her husband could protect her money.
She approached the Rosh Yeshiva and asked him to suggest a man for her to marry, and he suggested this same man. She ended up marrying him and the man then realized that it was true that if money was meant for him, he would somehow gain possession of it.
The Ben Ish Chai concludes: This is an important lesson. One should not make any attempts to earn money through dishonest means as it has already been decreed whether he will be rich or poor. Instead, one should trust in Hashem and recognize that He will give him whatever he is supposed to have.
What to Buy and For How Much:
Rav Moshe Midner zt”l (Kisvei RaMam, Ois 262) quotes Rav Moshe of Kobrin zy”a as saying that when a person puts some money in his pocket and goes to the marketplace, if he fully believes that whatever he buys is the result of Hashem’s decree and He will give him the idea of what to purchase and for how much, then everything he does will be with Hashem’s guidance. So too, if one is selling something, he should believe that the item he chooses to sell and the amount he gets for it are the result of Divine inspiration. If one thinks like this, Hashem will help him.
Everything is in the Hands of Heaven:
Chazahl say that “wicked people are full of regrets.“
The Baal Shem Tov zy”a (quoted in Sefer HaBesht, Parshas Eikev) asks why people who constantly regret the sins they committed are called wicked. Chazal say (Kiddushin 49B) that if one who marries a woman on condition that he is a tzadik and he is found to be a rasha, the marriage is still valid because he is assumed to have thought about teshuva in his heart. This seems to indicate that one who regrets his sins is considered to be a tzadik.
The Baal Shem Tov answers that Chazal do not mean that wicked people regret their aveiros. Rather, they regret their worldly actions. Every person should recognize that whatever happens to them is sent from Hashem and He controls what does or does not occur. Therefore, it makes no sense for a person to regret his worldly actions, as he can only do what Hashem wants and allows him to do. If one does have such regrets, it is a sign that he does not believe in Hashem. Such a person is a rasha.
If a person thinks that by buying or selling a certain item, he can make a nice profit for himself, he is making a big mistake. One cannot accomplish anything on his own. If Hashem wants a person to make a profit, He will arrange it. If Hashem doesn’t want him to, he won’t be able to buy or sell anything.
One is Always Dependent on Hashem:
A short while after his wedding, the Yismach Moshe was very poor. One day, he began thinking that if he would have 2,000 gold coins, that would be enough to open a business and to pay someone to manage it, and he would be able to continue to learn all day in peace.
After having these thoughts, he dozed. As he was half asleep, he saw an image of the Arizal, who said to him, “Yungerman, do you think that if you had 2,000 gold coins you wouldn’t have to come on to Hashem for help?”
