Rabbi David Ashear
Pursuing a livelihood can be stressful. Many people become depressed because they are not earning what they had expected. Their business occupies their minds day and night, and they can’t enjoy the simple pleasures of life.
It is important for a person not to lose focus and to remember the real purpose of life. We are here for a short time on a mission to serve Hashem in whatever surroundings He places us. If, over the course of a day, a person prays, learns Torah, does some good deeds, and makes other people feel good, then he had a great day. We have no control over how much money we earn.
The pasuk says (Mishlei 10:22), “it is [only] the blessing of Hashem that enriches” – that determines whether a person will be rich or poor. Hashem, Who knows what we need much better than we do, gives each person precisely the money he needs to do his job here properly.
Sometimes, a person needs to serve Hashem under financial hardship; for him, the doors of parnassah are closed. He shouldn’t berate himself for not achieving; he shouldn’t become depressed for not having; he should focus on fulfilling his real purpose: following the Torah and mitzvot with joy under the conditions in which he has been placed.
Money is such a small part of life. We need it to get by, but there is a much greater purpose for which we are put here. We need to trust Hashem that He knows how much money we need and that He will provide accordingly. It is so clear that parnassah is determined only by Hashem. We see it with our own eyes. Two people can be selling the exact same product; one is making millions while the other is struggling. How could that be?
Hashem could easily give a person money. The Targum (Devarim 8:18) says that even the idea as to which business to engage in comes from Hashem.
There’s a company called Airbnb that is worth billions of dollars. How did it start? Three roommates who couldn’t make their rental payments decided to inflate three air beds in their living room and rent them out. With a little advertising, they got three customers … and the rest is history.
Success is determined by Hashem and failure is determined by Hashem. Someone in Israel had the idea to purchase a certain type of maror to sell before Pesach. He bought an enormous quantity, but couldn’t attract customers and he lost a great deal of money. The idea was given to him by Hashem, Who determined that at this point in his life, he needs to live without that money. If he continues serving Hashem despite his difficult situation, he will be a huge success; he’ll be fulfilling his real purpose.
I know someone who needed to borrow money to make his monthly rental payments. Recently, one of his customers made an order that will bring him over $1 million profit. He didn’t know how he was going to pay for his basic expenses, and now, in a flash, he’s a millionaire.
The money we have is determined by Hashem. What’s important in life is what we do with what we are given. Some have, and some don’t. Some have today and they won’t have tomorrow. And some don’t have today and they’ll have a lot tomorrow. What’s important is putting our energy into what really matters – serving our Creator. And if we concentrate on that, we’re a definite success.