20And Yaakov made a vow, saying, “If G-d will be with me, and will guard me on this way that I am going, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,1

21and I return in peace to my father’s house, and Hashem will be my G-d,1

22then this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be a house of G-d; and of all that You give me, I will surely give a tenth to You.”

12“I have heard the complaints of the children of Yisrael. Speak to them, saying: At dusk you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be sated with bread; and you will know that I am Hashem your G-d.”

32Moshe said, “This is the thing that Hashem has commanded: Let an omer-full of it be kept for your generations, so that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.”1

36Do not take from him interest or increase; fear your G-d, and let your brother live with you.

37Do not give him your money at interest, and do not give your food for increase.

38I am Hashem your G-d, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your G-d.1

24May Hashem bless you and guard you.

25May Hashem make His face shine toward you and be gracious to you.

26May Hashem lift up His face toward you and give you peace.

27And they shall place My Name upon the children of Yisrael, and I will bless them.”1

20Hashem said to Aharon, “In their land you will not inherit, and you will have no portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Yisrael.”

24For the tithe of the children of Yisrael, which they set apart to Hashem as a gift, I have given to the Levi’im as an inheritance; therefore I have said of them, “Among the children of Yisrael they will not inherit an inheritance.”

17And you say in your heart, “My strength and the might of my hand made me this wealth.”4

18And you shall remember Hashem your G-d, for He is the One who gives you strength to make wealth, in order to establish His covenant that He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.22

23Cast your burden on Hashem, and He will carry [it for] you; He will never let the tzaddik stumble.46

20Blessed is my L-rd; day by day He loads [good] upon us; G-d is our salvation, Selah.1

1A song of ascents, by Shlomo. If Hashem does not build a house, its builders have toiled on it in vain; if Hashem does not guard a city, the watchman has stayed awake in vain.1

2It is in vain for you who rise early and sit up late, who eat the bread of toil; so He gives [what he needs] to His beloved one, [who forgoes] sleep.

7Who does justice for the oppressed, who gives bread to the hungry; Hashem sets free the bound.

25The righteous man eats to the satisfaction of his soul, but the belly of the wicked will lack.1

25A greedy person stirs up strife, but one who trusts in Hashem will prosper.1

26One who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will escape.

24If I have made gold my assurance, and said to fine gold, “[You are] my trust,”

11I saw again under the sun that the swift do not win the race, and the mighty do not win the battle; also, bread does not come to the wise, wealth does not come to those with understanding, and favor does not come to those who know much; for a time [of trouble] and mishap come upon them all.21

“I am Hashem” (Vayikra 25:38): from here they said: Whoever accepts upon himself the yoke of [the laws of] interest accepts the yoke of Heaven; and whoever throws off from himself the yoke of interest throws off from himself the yoke of Heaven. “I am Hashem your G-d, who brought you out” (Vayikra 25:38): on this condition I brought them out of the land of Egypt, on condition that you accept the mitzvah of interest. For whoever acknowledges the mitzvah of interest acknowledges the Exodus from Egypt, and whoever denies the mitzvah of interest is as if he denies the Exodus from Egypt.1

“And I will bless them” (Bamidbar 6:27): so that Yisrael will not say that their blessings depend on their Kohanim, the pasuk says, “And I will bless them.” So that the Kohanim will not say, “We will bless Yisrael,” the pasuk says, “And I will bless them.” I will bless My people Yisrael, as it says, “For Hashem your G-d has blessed you in all the work of your hands, as He told you” (Devarim 2:7; Devarim 15:6). And it says, “You will be blessed above all the peoples” (Devarim 7:14). And it says, “Hashem will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens” (Devarim 28:12). And it says, “In good pasture I will tend them” (Yechezkel 34:14). And it says, “I will tend My flock” (Yechezkel 34:15).

“And men of faith ceased”: Rabbi Ze’ira said: [This means] men of faith in Torah [who trust in Hashem that their business will succeed while they occupy themselves with Torah and do not leave it (Pnei Moshe)]. As in this [story]: a certain rabbi was reading Scripture with his brother in Tzur, and they were calling out [to him] about merchandise. And he said, “I will not give up my set time [for Torah]. If [a profit] is fit to come, it will come.”1

Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai says: Is it possible that a person plows at the time of plowing, sows at the time of sowing, reaps at the time of reaping, threshes at the time of threshing, and winnows at the time of the wind; what will become of the Torah? Rather, when Yisrael do the will of the Omnipresent, their work is done by others, as it says, “Strangers will stand and tend your flocks” (Yeshayahu 61:5); and when Yisrael do not do the will of the Omnipresent, their work is done by themselves, as it says, “And you will gather in your grain.” And not only that, but the work of others is done by them, as it says, “And you will serve your enemies” (Devarim 28:48).

Abaye said: Many acted as Rabbi Yishmael [taught], and it succeeded in their hands; [many acted] as Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai [taught], and it did not succeed in their hands.

Rava said: When a person is brought in for judgment, they say to him: Did you do business faithfully? Did you set times for Torah? Did you engage in being fruitful and multiplying? Did you look forward to the salvation [foretold by the prophets]? Did you reason deeply in wisdom? Did you understand one thing from another? And even so, if “the fear of Hashem is his treasure” (Yeshayahu 33:6), yes [it counts]; if not, no.

It was taught [in a Baraisa]: They said of Shammai HaZakein that all his days he would eat in honor of Shabbos. If he found a fine animal, he would say, “This is for Shabbos.” If he found another finer than it, he would set aside the second [for Shabbos] and eat the first.

But Hillel HaZakein had a different middah, for all his deeds were for the sake of Heaven, as it says, “Blessed is Hashem day by day” (Tehillim 68:20). It was also taught so: Beis Shammai say: From the first day of your week, [prepare] for your Shabbos; and Beis Hillel say: “Blessed is Hashem day by day.”1

“And men of faith ceased” [says the Mishnah]. Rabbi Yitzchak said: These are people who believe in HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

As it was taught [in a Baraisa]: Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol says: Anyone who has bread in his basket and says, “What will I eat tomorrow?” is one of those of little faith.

What is “likewise they will be shorn, and he will pass over”? It was taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael: Whoever shears off [some] of his possessions and gives tzedakah from them is saved from the judgment of Gehinnom. It is like two ewes crossing through water, one shorn and one not shorn: the shorn one crossed, and the one that was not shorn did not cross.

“And I have afflicted you [with poverty]” (Nachum 1:12): Mar Zutra said: Even a poor man who lives from tzedakah should give tzedakah. “I will afflict you no more”: Rav Yosef taught: They no longer show him signs of poverty.

Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: Have you ever seen a beast or a bird that has a trade? Yet they are sustained without difficulty. And they were created only to serve me, while I was created to serve my Maker. Is it not right that I should be sustained without difficulty? But I have made my deeds bad, and so I have cut short my sustenance.

[The people of Alexandria asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya:] What should a person do to become wealthy? He said to them: Let him do much business, and deal honestly. They said to him: Many have done so, and it did not help them. [He said:] Rather, let him ask for mercy from the One to whom wealth belongs, as it says, “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine” (Chaggai 2:8).

What does this teach us? That this without that is not enough.

“And I hated all my toil at which I toil under the sun, etc.” (Koheles 2:18). Rabbi Meir was a fine and choice scribe, and he would earn three sela’im every week. With one he would eat and drink, with one he would clothe himself, and with the other he would support the Rabbis. His students said to him: Rebbi, what are you doing for your children? He said to them: If they are tzaddikim, [it will be] like what David said, “And I have not seen a tzaddik forsaken, or his children begging bread” (Tehillim 37:25); and if not, why should I leave what is mine to the enemies of the Omnipresent? That is why Shlomo said, “And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool, etc.” (Koheles 2:19).

“Fortunate is the one whose help is the G-d of Yaakov, whose hope is in Hashem his G-d” (Tehillim 146:5). Is it the G-d of Yaakov, and not the G-d of Avraham, and not of Yitzchak? Rather, “the G-d of Yaakov,” because Yaakov did not trust in his father or in his mother when he fled from before his brother and went alone, without money, as you say, “For with [only] my staff I crossed this Yarden” (Bereishis 32:11). And he trusted in HaKadosh Baruch Hu, as it is written, “If G-d will be with me and will guard me, etc.” (Bereishis 28:20). And he asked everything from before HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and He gave it to him.

“And You give them their food in its time” (Tehillim 145:15): this is the food of the rich, to whom He gives much food in its time. That is one. Two, as it is written, “and satisfy every living thing [with its] desire [ratzon]” (Tehillim 145:16): this is the food of the poor, who are satisfied from ratzon, and not from much food.

In the tranquility of his soul, the ease of his heart and how little he worries over his worldly affairs, he will be like the alchemist, the one who knows how to turn silver into gold, and copper and tin into silver, through wisdom and work.

And more: one who trusts in G-d has an advantage over him in ten things.

The first of them: the alchemist needs special materials for his work, without which nothing can be completed for him, and he does not find them at every time and in every place. But one who trusts in G-d, his livelihood is assured to him through any of the means of the world, as the pasuk says, “In order to make you know that man does not live by bread alone, etc.” (Devarim 8:3). For no means is beyond Him at any time or in any place, as you know from the matter of Eliyahu with the ravens, and with the widow, and the cake baked on hot stones and the jug of water; and the matter of Ovadyahu with the prophets, who said, “I hid a hundred men of the prophets of Hashem, fifty men to a cave, and I fed them bread and water” (Melachim I 18:13). And it says, “Young lions are in want and go hungry, but those who seek Hashem will not lack any good” (Tehillim 34:11), and it says, “Fear Hashem, His holy ones, for those who fear Him have no lack” (Tehillim 34:10).

The first: one who trusts in G-d accepts His judgment in all his affairs, and thanks Him for the good and for the bad, as [Iyov] said, “Hashem gave and Hashem took; may the Name of Hashem be blessed” (Iyov 1:21), and as it is written, “I will sing of kindness and judgment” (Tehillim 101:1). Our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said, “If kindness, I will sing; if judgment, I will sing” (Berachos 60b), and they said, “A person must bless [Hashem] for the bad just as he blesses for the good” (Mishnah Berachos 9:5).

One who does not trust in G-d takes pride in the good, as it says, “For the wicked man boasts of his heart’s desire, etc.” (Tehillim 10:3), and rages at G-d over the bad, as it says, “When he is hungry, he will rage and curse his king, etc.” (Yeshayahu 8:21).

The second: one who trusts in G-d has a tranquil soul and a calm heart in the face of [Hashem’s] decrees, because he knows that the Creator directs them for his good, in this world and in the next, as David, alav hashalom, said, “Wait silently for G-d alone, my soul, for my hope is from Him” (Tehillim 62:6). One who does not trust in G-d is in constant distress and long worry, and grief and sadness never leave him, in good times and in bad. In good times, because he is not content with what he has, and he strives to add to it, to gain more and to gather in. In bad times, because he loathes it, and it goes against his desire, his nature and his inclinations. And so the wise man said, “All the days of the poor man are bad, etc.” (Mishlei 15:15).

The third: one who trusts in G-d, even when he works through means, does not rely on them in his heart, and does not expect benefit or harm from them without the will of G-d. He works through them only as a way of serving the Creator, who commanded [man] to work in the world, to settle it and build it up. If benefit comes to him, or harm is turned away through them, he thanks G-d alone for it. He does not come to love them or cherish them more, and his soul does not rest on them more; rather, his trust in G-d grows stronger, and his heart leans on Him, not on the means. And if the means do not help him, he knows that his livelihood will come to him when Hashem wills, through whatever way He wills. He does not come to despise them because of this, and he does not stop working through them as a way of serving the Creator.

One who does not trust in G-d works through the means because he trusts in them, that they will benefit him and keep harm away from him. If they benefit him, he praises them and praises his own effort in them, and he chooses them and turns to nothing else. If they do not benefit him, he abandons them, despises them, and loses all interest in them, as the pasuk says, “Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his trawl” (Chavakuk 1:16).

The fourth: when one who trusts in G-d has something left over beyond his food, he spends it on what fulfills the will of the Creator, with a generous spirit and a good heart, as it says, “For everything is from You, etc.” (Divrei HaYamim I 29:14).

One who does not trust in G-d does not think the world and everything in it is enough for his livelihood and his needs. He holds on to his money and will not pay out of it what he owes the Creator and what he owes people; and he does not notice it until his money is lost and left to someone else, as the wise man said, “There is one who scatters and gains more, and one who holds back more than is right, only to come to want” (Mishlei 11:24).

The fifth: one who trusts in G-d works through the means of this world in order to prepare from them provisions for his end and supplies for his eternal home. Whatever he sees clearly will keep his Torah and his world safe, he works at; and whatever would bring some loss to his Torah, or lead him to rebel against the Creator, he does not work at, so as not to bring sickness upon himself in place of healing.

One who does not trust in G-d trusts in the means, and his mind rests on them. He keeps away from none of them, works through the praiseworthy and the shameful alike, and does not think about where his affairs will end, as the wise man said of them, “A wise man fears and turns away from evil, [but a fool is reckless and confident]” (Mishlei 14:16).

The sixth: one who trusts in G-d is loved by every kind of people, and they are at ease with him, because they are sure he will not harm them, and their hearts are at peace with him; they do not fear him for their wives or their money. He too feels safe from them, because he knows that his benefit and his harm are not in the hand of any created being or in its power. Therefore he does not fear their harm, just as he does not hope for their benefit. And since he feels safe from them and they feel safe from him, he loves them and they love him, as it is written, “One who trusts in Hashem will be surrounded by kindness” (Tehillim 32:10).

One who does not trust in G-d has no friend, because he always covets what others have and envies them. He thinks that every good that comes to them has been taken from him, that their livelihood has been taken from his, and that whatever he desires and is denied is because of them, and it is in their power to get it for him. And if some harm or misfortune strikes him, in his money or his children, he thinks it is from them, and that it is in their power to remove the harm and turn the evil away from him. Once these ideas are settled in his soul, he comes because of them to despise people, to speak against them, to curse them and to hate them; and he is despised in both worlds and disgraced in both dwellings, as the pasuk says, “The crooked of heart will not find good” (Mishlei 17:20).

The seventh: one who trusts in G-d does not grieve when something he asked for is withheld from him, or when someone he loves is taken from him. He does not store up what he has, and he does not concern himself with more than his food for the day. For he does not think about what will be tomorrow, since he does not know when his end will come; and he trusts in G-d to lengthen his days and to provide his food and sustenance in them. He does not rejoice over the future, and he does not grieve over it, as the pasuk says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring” (Mishlei 27:1); and Ben Sira said, “Do not worry about tomorrow’s trouble, for you do not know what a day will bring. Tomorrow will come and he is gone, and he will have grieved over a world that is not his” (Sanhedrin 100b). Rather, his worry and his grief are over where he falls short in what he owes the Creator, and he works to make up whatever he can of it, outwardly and inwardly, because he thinks about his death and the coming of the day he is gathered in. His fear that death will come to him suddenly adds to his effort and his zeal to prepare provisions for his end, and he pays no mind to what he lays up for this world. This is what [Chazal] said, “Repent one day before your death” (Avos 2:10), and they explained, “Let him repent today, for he may die tomorrow; and so all his days are spent in teshuvah” (Shabbos 153a), as it is written, “Let your garments be white at all times” (Koheles 9:8).

One who does not trust in G-d grieves greatly over the misfortunes of the world that keep coming upon him, over the loss of those he loves, and over the requests that are withheld from him. He lays up much of the world’s wealth, as if he were sure he would never pass on, and the fear of death has left him, as if his days would never end and his life never be finished. He does not remember his end; he busies himself with his world, and does not look into the matter of his Torah, his provisions and his eternal home. His confidence that he will live long in the world makes his desire for its affairs long, and his desire for the affairs of his end short.

When someone rebukes him and teaches him, and says to him, “How long will you keep from thinking about your provisions and the matters of your eternal home?”

he says, “Until I have enough for my livelihood and my needs, and for all who are with me, my wife and children, to the end of our days. [Then] my soul will rest from the worries of the world, and I will turn to paying what I owe the Creator and thinking about the means of preparing provisions for the appointed day.”

4:6And trust in Hashem: that He will bestow good on you; and do not sin against Him for the sake of money that you expect to receive as a reward from Shaul.

“Day by day”: He loads upon us our needs and our help.

“Faithfulness: this is Seder Zeraim”: it is explained in the Yerushalmi: because he has faith in the Life of the worlds, and sows.

“She is like the merchant ships” (Mishlei 31:14): it is not written “like a ship,” but “like ships”; for any Torah scholar who does not know how to answer wherever he is asked is not fit to sit in the Sanhedrin or [to be] the head of a yeshivah. “She brings her bread from afar” (ibid.): for he knows how to bring a proof from one Maseches to another. What brought this about? “She rises while it is still night” (Mishlei 31:15), and “Her lamp does not go out at night” (Mishlei 31:18): all night he sits and occupies himself with Torah. “Like the merchant ships”: so HaKadosh Baruch Hu arranges all their needs for those who occupy themselves with Torah day and night. Just as for the merchant whom the hour favors, HaKadosh Baruch Hu arranges the angels appointed over him; they enter the hearts of others to bring [their goods] to the place where this merchant is, and He directs the heart of the merchant to buy, and afterward directs the hearts of others to come there to the merchant, or the merchant to them, to buy: so whoever occupies himself with Torah constantly, HaKadosh Baruch Hu sends him angels from afar to bring him all his needs. That is why the Torah is called bread.

So that He will do your will as His will. Hashem satisfies every living thing [with its] desire (Tehillim 145:16), and gives bread to all flesh (Tehillim 136:25), and to every creature as much as it lacks; and in this is His desire and His will. And if you merit to be desired before Him, He will do your will also in the needs of your small world, and will give you your livelihood; for this is His will for all who come into the world.

“Trust in Hashem and do good; dwell in the land, and be nourished by [your] faith” (Tehillim 37:3). David HaMelech, alav hashalom, came to remind and to warn about the middah of bitachon first, and after that about the good deed, to make known that this bitachon is that a person trust in Him [to help him] do His mitzvos, and that He will give him the means he needs for them.

Had he said, “Do good and trust in Hashem,” a person would have understood from this that the bitachon he warned about is only for the reward given him for the good deed, and not for providing his needs and preparing his means, which lead to the good deed. Therefore he said first, “Trust in Hashem,” meaning: [trust] that He will be your helper and support, and will provide you the means with which you can do the good deed. That is why he put the command of bitachon before the command of the good deed. For if we were to explain “Trust in Hashem” to mean that this bitachon is for the reward of the good deed, that would be a great stumbling block in our bitachon.

Chazal have already warned us (Avos, ch. 1), “Do not be like servants who serve the master in order to receive a reward”; that is, who serve before Him but whose trust in Him is to receive the reward at once. For if so, you bring it upon yourselves that your sins are recalled.

There is no difference between one who trusts in Him that He will repay him with good for mitzvos he did, and one who trusts in Him that He will grant his request for the prayer he prayed before Him with kavanah; both of them bring it upon themselves that their sins are recalled. As Chazal said (Berachos 55a): Three things call a person’s sins to mind, and these are they: a leaning wall, examining one’s prayer, and calling for [Heaven’s] judgment against one’s fellow. Examining one’s prayer is when a person looks into his prayer and says in his heart that one who prays his prayer with great kavanah deserves that Hashem grant his request. The same is true when he hangs his bitachon on Hashem, may He be blessed, that He will set a reward for him for that good deed: there is sin and iniquity in this.

“Dwell in the land, and be nourished by [your] faith”: he is saying, Although I warn you to trust in Hashem, may He be blessed, that He will provide you the means, and after that to do the good deed, I do not say that you should leave your work and your dealings for your parnassah altogether for the sake of the good deed; for if so, by what would you support yourself and live? Therefore he said, “Dwell in the land”; meaning, although you trust in Hashem, may He be exalted, and do good, do not be lax in the work of earning parnassah and a living, for “it is good that you take hold of this, and from that too do not let go of your hand” (Koheles 7:18).

And Chazal have already taught (Avos, ch. 3), “If there is no flour, there is no Torah.” They came to say that without parnassah and the supply of people’s needs, they cannot serve Hashem, may He be exalted, and give the Torah its due.

And so it is written, “Fear Hashem, His holy ones, for there is no lack for those who fear Him. Young lions are in want and go hungry, but those who seek Hashem will not lack any good” (Tehillim 34:10–11). The meaning of the pasuk is this: He, may He be exalted, sustains and gives food to all weak things, such as the unborn child in its mother’s womb, and the chick inside the egg, where there is no opening through which food could pass; He sustains the bird in the air and the fish in the sea, and the ant, the lowliest and weakest of the creeping things; and He is the One who withholds prey from the lion, the strongest of all the beasts. This is what is written, “Young lions are in want and go hungry, but those who seek Hashem will not lack any good.” And so it is written, “Hashem will not let the soul of the tzaddik go hungry” (Mishlei 10:3).

And so David, alav hashalom, said, “Cast your burden on Hashem, and He will sustain you” (Tehillim 55:23); and it is written [there], “He will never let the tzaddik stumble.” And Chazal said on the matter of bitachon: Whoever has bread in his basket and says, “What will I eat tomorrow?” is one of those of little faith (Sotah 48b).

For this reason the manna came down to Yisrael each day’s portion on its day, not for one month and not for two, so that they would find themselves without food and always lift their eyes to their Father in Heaven, and so that the middah of bitachon would grow strong in their hearts. None of them could leave any of it over until the next day; and you already know that those who left some of it over were of little faith, of whom the pasuk says, “And it bred worms and became foul” (Shemos 16:20).

In the merit of bitachon Yisrael were redeemed from Egypt. So they said in Midrash Tehillim (22): “They cried out to You and were saved” (Tehillim 22:6). And why all this? “They trusted in You and were not put to shame”: all in the merit of bitachon. And because the middah of bitachon is a great foundation among the foundations of the Torah, we find that the Torah is founded upon it, and is called bitachon, after the middah of bitachon; as it is written, “A wise man went up to the city of the mighty, and brought down the strength of its trust” (Mishlei 21:22).

But trust: there is no virtue like it, as it is written, “Fortunate are all who take refuge in Him” (Tehillim 2:12); for he believes that there is in the world a G-d who is able and who watches over [all]. And it is written, “Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, and Hashem will be his security” (Yirmiyahu 17:7). And he is assured that his food will not be lacking, as it is written, “Cast your burden on Hashem, and He will carry [it for] you” (Tehillim 55:23); on condition that it be in truth and with all his heart, without any wavering. And further, since he trusts in Hashem, he will occupy himself with Torah and mitzvos with all his heart, without any [worried] thought at all.

And he said, “Be humble of spirit before every person”: that is, even if you have done less business and occupied yourself with Torah, do not become proud because of it, for it is not fitting for a person to be proud of being a tzaddik. This is what the pasuk meant: “But to this one I will look: to one who is poor and of broken spirit, and trembles at My word” (Yeshayahu 66:2); that is, the one who, though he is a complete tzaddik and trembles at My word, is poor and of broken spirit. And so the pasuk says, “One who walks in wholeness and does righteousness” (Tehillim 15:2): he walks in wholeness and lowliness, even though he does righteousness and gives tzedakah and does mitzvos, and is not proud of his righteousness.

And corresponding to what he said, “Do less business,” he said, “If you are idle from Torah, there will be many causes of idleness against you.” That is: if you are idle from Torah, thinking to do more work, [thinking that] because of this the work will grow, [it will not;] for HaKadosh Baruch Hu prepares idle things for you to occupy you, so that you are occupied with those idle things and the work does not grow. And corresponding to what he said, “and occupy yourself with Torah,” he said, “If you toil in Torah”: besides that your work will not grow less because of your occupation with Torah, in the World to Come as well “He has much reward to give you.”

Close to this is what the pasuk meant that says, “Six days shall work be done, etc.” (Shemos 31:15). For besides that it seems superfluous, since [the Torah] spoke of keeping Shabbos many times, we must understand it: if the intent is to give permission to do work on the six weekdays, why would we think one could not? And if the intent is that one must do work as an obligation, that is not so, for one is not obligated to go seeking it. And further, it should then have said, “Six days you shall do work,” or “Six days you shall labor, etc.” (Shemos 20:9); what is “shall work be done” that it says? Rather, the intent is this: keeping Shabbos brings a person a loss of money, since he sits idle on the day of Shabbos. To this it says that He will bless you in the work of your hands, so that in six days the work will be done by itself, without much business and toil; this is in line with Rabbi Meir’s saying, “Do less business, and occupy yourself with Torah,” etc.

“As it says, ‘Who among you fears Hashem, etc.’”: Its meaning by the derash: “Who among you fears Hashem,” to come to the beis knesses, “listening to the voice of His servant,” the servant of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, that is, the shaliach tzibbur, who in his prayer performs a service [like] the service of the Kohen Gadol, as it is written (Taanis 2a): “And to serve Hashem your G-d with all your heart” (Devarim 11:13): what is the service that is in the heart? You must say, this is prayer. “Who now walks” in a way of darkness and gloom, that is, he held back from going to it [the beis knesses] for a matter that “has no light,” that is, for an optional matter; which leaves out one who held back from the beis knesses because he went for a mitzvah, for then “he has light,” on the basis of “For a mitzvah is a lamp” (Mishlei 6:23), since then he is occupied with a mitzvah and is exempt from prayer. And since a person may think that this too is a matter of a mitzvah for him, when he goes about his business to profit by it and to support the people of his household, therefore it says, “Let him trust in Hashem”: he should have trusted in Hashem that He would give him his parnassah, and he should not have held back from the beis knesses; as we say below, in Perek Ein Omdin (Berachos 32b), about the early chassidim. And this is easy to understand.

A person could have sat idle and the decree would still be fulfilled, were it not that a penalty was first laid upon all mankind: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat bread” (Bereishis 3:19). Therefore a person is obligated to make some effort for the sake of his livelihood, for so the Supreme King decreed.

It is like a tax that the whole human race pays, from which there is no escape. Therefore [Chazal] said (Sifrei): I might think [one will see a sign of blessing] even when sitting idle; therefore the pasuk says, “In all the work of your hand that you do” (Devarim 28:20).

But it is not that the effort is what helps; rather, the effort is required. Once he has made the effort, he has fulfilled his obligation, and there is already room for the blessing of Heaven to rest on him, and he need not spend his days in toil and effort. This is what David HaMelech, alav hashalom, said, “For not from the east or from the west, and not [from the desert, does greatness come]; for G-d is the Judge, [He lowers one and raises another]” (Tehillim 75:7–8). And Shlomo HaMelech, alav hashalom, said, “Do not toil to become rich; hold back, out of your own understanding” (Mishlei 23:4).

Rather, the true way is the way of the early chassidim: they made their Torah primary and their work secondary, and both endured in their hands. For once a person has done some work, from then on he has only to trust in his Maker and not to grieve over any worldly matter. Then his mind will remain free, and his heart ready for true chassidus and wholehearted service.

And he said: and he would say, “I will not give up the time I set for learning Torah for the sake of making money.”

If: “If it is fit that a profit should come to me, it will come by itself from HaKadosh Baruch Hu, even after I finish my set [time].” And this is what is called “his Torah is his trade”: he scorns every trade and trusts in Hashem that He will give him his livelihood; and these are the ones called men of faith.

“If a person sees that his food is scant” (Gittin 7a): the counsel given before all else is the one the Sages gave, to take counsel for his soul: that is, that he should strengthen himself in the middos of bitachon with all the force of his strength, so that he gives tzedakah even from the little that is left. Even from this he should spend, and cast his burden on Hashem (Tehillim 55:23), for He knows how to set his affairs right better than he [does]. Therefore he should pay no attention to [the fact] that he has left no blessing behind him in his house, and it is empty of everything; rather, his heart [should be] confident in G-d that He will fill what he lacks. And as a matter of course, through the fitness of his deeds and the repair of what was lacking in his bitachon, he becomes a vessel ready and fit to receive the abundance and the blessing from above, which flows down constantly.

Many have asked about this Midrash: why does it begin by saying, “this is Yosef”? Its simple explanation is as follows.

The Torah does permit a person hishtadlus, effort, for his physical needs, as the pasuk says, “And [Hashem] will bless you in all that you do” (Devarim 15:18). And it is written, “And you will gather in your grain and your wine” (Devarim 11:14), and Rabbi Yishmael said in Maseches Berachos (35b), “Conduct yourself with them in the way of the world.”

The heart of the matter is this: the principle for a Jew is that his heart should be calm and trusting in Hashem. The reason the Torah permitted hishtadlus is that not every person can reach the level of complete bitachon. Therefore hishtadlus was permitted, to help him reach the level of one who trusts. Every person needs to take up some work or business, so that it will be easier for him to trust in Hashem.

We find this throughout the Torah: sometimes it permits something so that it can help a person reach the level that is sought. As [Chazal] said, “A person should always engage in Torah and mitzvos even not lishmah, for through doing them not lishmah he will come to do them lishmah” (Pesachim 50b). Not lishmah was permitted so that it would help him arrive at lishmah.

Accordingly, the right amount of hishtadlus is not the same for everyone; each person according to his level. One who can come to trust with a little work, if he exerts himself beyond what he needs for that, it is already counted against him as a sin against the middah of bitachon, for he chased after hishtadlus and did not trust.

But one whose bitachon is still weaker than his friend’s may work more than his friend, until he too can calm his spirit and his heart to trust in Hashem. For the essence of bitachon is calming one’s spirit and heart, to cast one’s burden upon Hashem (Tehillim 55:23).

“The passage of the Akeidah”: before the passages of the offerings. One may say the passage of the Akeidah and the passage of the man even on Shabbos. Saying them is not enough; rather, he should think about what he is saying, and recognize the wonders of Hashem. So too what they said in the Gemara, “Whoever says Tehillah LeDavid three times every day is assured that he is a son of the World to Come” (Berachos 4b), is also [meant] in this way. The reason for saying all this: the passage of the Akeidah, to remember the merit of the Avos every day, and also to subdue his inclination, as Yitzchak gave over his life. The passage of the man, so that he will believe that all his food comes by hashgachah pratis, as it is written, “The one who gathered much had no excess, and the one who gathered little had no lack” (Shemos 16:18), to teach that much effort does not help at all. And it says in the Yerushalmi Berachos: Whoever says the passage of the man is assured that his food will not be lessened. The Aseres HaDibros, so that he will remember every day the standing at Har Sinai, and his emunah in Hashem will grow strong. And the passages of the offerings, as we say in Menachos (110a): “This is the law of the sin offering” (Vayikra 6:18): whoever occupies himself with the law of the sin offering is as if he brought a sin offering, etc.

“One must have kavanah”: for the main reason they established saying Tehillah LeDavid every day is for the sake of that pasuk, in which one mentions the praise of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, that He watches over His creatures and provides for them.

“Again”: see the Chayei Adam, who brings in the name of the Levush that one must say [it] from the pasuk “You open” to the end of the psalm, in order. And if he did not remember until he had already said other psalms, and he has no time to go back, even so he should say, after the prayer, from the pasuk “You open” to the end of the psalm.