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

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.

20One who considers a matter wisely will find good, and one who trusts in Hashem is fortunate.4

30There is no wisdom, and no understanding, and no counsel against Hashem.

31A horse is made ready for the day of battle, but salvation is Hashem’s.1

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

7And I stationed [men] in the lowest parts of the place, behind the wall, in the exposed places; and I stationed the people by families, with their swords, their spears and their bows.

8And I looked, and rose, and said to the nobles, to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember my L-rd, great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

13And I said to the nobles, to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and wide, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.

14In the place where you hear the sound of the shofar, gather to us there; our G-d will fight for us.”

18The sons of Reuven and Gad and half the tribe of Menasheh, of the valiant men, men who carried shield and sword and drew the bow and were trained in war, were forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty who went out to war.

19They made war with the Hagri’im, and Yetur, Nafish and Nodav.

20And they were helped against them, and the Hagri’im and all who were with them were given into their hand; for they cried out to G-d in the battle, and He answered their plea, because they trusted in Him.

21They took captive their livestock: fifty thousand of their camels, two hundred and fifty thousand sheep, two thousand donkeys, and a hundred thousand human souls.

22For many fell slain, because the war was from G-d; and they settled in their place until the exile.

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.

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 you counted the houses of Yerushalayim, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall” (Yeshayahu 22:10): this teaches that they would break down their houses and add [them] to the wall. But did Chizkiyahu not already do so? Is it not written, “He strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, etc.” (Divrei HaYamim II 32:5)? Rather, Chizkiyahu “trusted in Hashem, the G-d of Yisrael” (Melachim II 18:5), but you did not trust. That is what [the pasuk] says, “But you did not look to its Maker, and you did not see the One who formed it long ago” (Yeshayahu 22:11).

And when he trusts in the Creator, He will heal him of his illness, with a means and without a means, as it says, “He sends His word and heals them, etc.” (Tehillim 107:20).

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.”

For emunah is like the tree, and bitachon like the fruit; and the fruit is a sign of the tree, or of the plant, that grew that fruit. But the tree or the plant is not a sign of the fruit, for there are trees that do not bear fruit, and many plants as well. But there is no fruit without a tree or a plant. And just as piety points to wisdom, for it cannot be unless [the person] was wise, as it says, “An ignorant man is not pious, and a boor does not fear sin” (Avos 2:5); but wisdom is not a sign of piety, for a person may be wise and yet wicked.

So too bitachon and emunah: everyone who trusts believes, since a person trusts only in one who he believes has the power to fulfill his request. But not everyone who believes trusts. For at times he fears lest sin cause [harm], or that he has already received [the reward] for his good deeds in the possessions the Creator made for him; and since he finds himself a sinner and a transgressor against the kindnesses of the Creator, he cannot bring himself to trust in Him that He will save him from his trouble, or give him his heart’s wish and his desire. And so he will make efforts, by the ordinary way of the world, to be saved from his trouble, or to attain what he asks and seeks.

Were it not for the fear lest sin cause [harm], making efforts to be saved even by the ordinary way of the world would be a lack in his emunah; for it is written, “I have not seen a tzaddik forsaken, or his children begging bread” (Tehillim 37:25). And even Hillel and Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa and their fellows, who were very poor, with very little money, were not forsaken, since they never acquired possessions. For the word “forsaking” applies only to one who was supported and afterward forsaken; but one who was never supported is not forsaken. And there is no forsaking for nothing, without sin and without iniquity. Therefore one who is sure of himself that he has never sinned cannot be afraid. But one who is afraid because of sin may be afraid that trouble will come upon him on account of that sin.

And one who knows himself to be a tzaddik, but has in mind what is said, “You should have helped Me” (Shabbos 89a): his heart is toward Heaven, and he does well; this is no lack in emunah. And so with one who fears lest sin cause [harm], since he believes that the power is in His hand.

But because he knows that there is no favoritism before Him, and that HaKadosh Baruch Hu can keep His promise in one respect and collect His debt in another, he therefore fears lest sin cause him not to be saved from his trouble. Like Yaakov Avinu, alav hashalom, to whom Hashem promised, saying, “Here I am with you” (Bereishis 28:15); and he was afraid of Esav, as it is written, “Yaakov was very afraid, etc.” (Bereishis 32:8). He sent a gift ahead [to Esav] and divided his servants into two camps, and he was afraid lest sin cause [harm]. And so we find with David, who believed he would see the goodness of Hashem (Tehillim 27:13), and was afraid lest sin cause [harm]; as Chazal said: Why are there dots over [the word] לולא? Because he was afraid lest sin cause [harm] (Berachos 4a).

So one who believes may be afraid lest sin cause [harm], but one who trusts is not afraid lest sin cause [harm], as David said, “He will not be afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in Hashem” (Tehillim 112:7); and in another pasuk he says, “In Hashem I have trusted; I will not be afraid” (Tehillim 56:5, 12). And this pasuk, that is, “In Hashem I have trusted,” does not contradict the words of our Rabbis, peace be upon them; for this was said of this world, and “Were it not that I believed” was said of the World to Come. So it has been made clear that everyone who trusts believes, but not everyone who believes trusts; and this is according to the saying “lest sin cause.”

But according to the plain sense of the pasuk, even if Yaakov was not distressed lest sin cause [harm], but [only] because of the way of the world, that is, because of the great force that was with Esav, as it says, “And four hundred men are with him” (Bereishis 32:7), his trust in the Creator was not lacking; that is, [as to] whether he should fear that Esav would harm him. For so HaKadosh Baruch Hu had said, “Here I am with you, and I will guard you” (Bereishis 28:15), meaning him and his children; for one whose children die in his lifetime would not be called guarded. And the proof of this is from what [Chazal] said on the matter of “For I will go down to my son, mourning, to the grave” (Bereishis 37:35): HaKadosh Baruch Hu had handed him a sign, etc.

But the rest of the people who were with him, and the sheep and the cattle, were possessions he had acquired; and it was possible that some of them would be lost, and in part of them “for I will not leave you” would [still] be fulfilled. And this is why he said, “The camp that is left will escape” (Bereishis 32:9), which means: perforce it will escape; that is, the Omnipresent has already promised me, and said to me, “For I will not leave you” (Bereishis 28:15): at any rate the camp that is left will escape. And this resembles what [Chazal] said about the episode of the spies: “I will strike them with pestilence and destroy them” (Bamidbar 14:12); Moshe said before Him, What will You do about Your oath? He said, “And I will make you into a great nation” (ibid.). Here too, “if Esav comes to the one camp and strikes it,” perforce “the camp that is left will escape.” So Yaakov trusted in what He had said to him, “Here I am with you”; but because of the one camp he sent the gift ahead.

And Yaakov did not divide his wives and his children into two camps, only the people who were with him and the livestock that was his, as it says, “And he divided the people who were with him, and the sheep, the cattle and the camels, into two camps” (Bereishis 32:8). Since he did not divide them, we learn that he was not afraid that Esav would strike them; for had he been afraid, he would have divided them, along with the rest of the people and the livestock, into two camps. And what he said, “Lest he come and strike me, mother with children” (Bereishis 32:12), he said with regard to the people who were with him. And this is why he set next to it, “And You said, ‘I will surely do good with you’” (Bereishis 32:13); and he did not need to say, “and I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth.” But since he came to mention the promise that the possessions would be guarded, for the sake of the one camp, that it not be lost, and asked for mercy on them, he mentioned the children as well, although he did not need to pray for them, since he had already been promised that they would be guarded.

It is also possible to say that Yaakov Avinu intended, in sending the gift ahead and in dividing them into two camps, to provide a place for the help and rescue that comes to him from Heaven, so as not to put a burden before the Creator, according to the plain sense of the saying “You should have helped Me.” And it is written, “And he sells some of his holding” (Vayikra 25:25): and not all of his holding; the Torah has taught proper conduct, that a person should leave himself one field. And it is written, “And Elisha said to her, ‘What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?’” (Melachim II 4:2).

And since it is not necessary that everyone who believes trusts, though it is possible, while everyone who trusts believes without doubt, therefore Scripture always warns about bitachon more than about emunah.

And these two things, bitachon and emunah, it mentioned together in one pasuk, as it says, “Trust in Hashem and do good; dwell in the land and tend emunah” (Tehillim 37:3). It warned about bitachon first, and afterward about the good deed, to make known that the bitachon is that one trust in Him that He will help him do His mitzvos. Had it said, “Do good and trust in Hashem,” I would have said that this bitachon that it warned about was said of the reward for the good deed, and not of the needs of this world, in which he needs [Him] to help him and support him: that is, the means and the circumstances that prepare the good deed. That is why it said first, “Trust in Hashem,” meaning, that He will help and support him to do His will and His mitzvos; and afterward it said, “and do good,” meaning, pursue the mitzvos and make efforts to do them, and do not be slack in doing good because of your limited ability, for He will support you and help you. This is the explanation of “Trust in Hashem and do good.” And this is his intent in putting the command of bitachon before the command of the good deed.

And this explanation is better than saying that this bitachon was said of the reward for the good deed. For there is no difference between one who trusts in Him that He will repay him with good for a mitzvah he did, and one who trusts in Him that He will grant his request for a prayer he prayed before Him with all his heart and all his soul; and this is a thing that recalls sin, as Chazal said, “Three things recall a person’s sins, and these are: a leaning wall, and examining one’s prayer” (Berachos 55a): that is, he examines his prayer and says that he prayed a complete prayer, and it is fitting that his request be granted him from Heaven. And Antigonos of Socho already spoke of this to his students: “Do not be like servants who serve the master on condition of receiving a reward” (Avos 1:3); that is, when you serve Him, do not let your trust in Him be to receive the reward at once; for if so, you bring it on yourselves that your sins are recalled, like one who examines his prayer. But one who gives a sela to charity so that his son will live, or so that he will merit the life of the World to Come (Pesachim 8a), is not included in this. For from the outset, when he did this mitzvah, in which he is free to give less or more, and he did it for that purpose, he is not like one who eats matzah on the eve of Pesach, or buys a lulav for himself, or keeps Shabbos, and the like, about which Scripture said, “Trust in Hashem and do good.”

Furthermore, it is impossible in any way to explain “Trust in Hashem” as about the reward of a mitzvah, either in this world or in the World to Come, since it had not yet warned him about the deed; how then would it warn him to trust in Him that He will repay him with good? And after mentioning bitachon, which is the effect, it mentioned emunah, which is the cause, and said, “Dwell in the land and tend emunah.”

Further, it said, “Trust in Hashem and do good,” meaning: even if you have no [good] deeds in your hand, and you know yourself to be wicked, nevertheless trust in Hashem, for He is merciful and will have mercy on you, as it says, “And His mercy is on all His works” (Tehillim 145:9), meaning tzaddikim and wicked. And [Chazal] said, When a person is in pain, what does the Shechinah say? “I am in pain from My head; I am in pain from My arm” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 6:5). That is why it said first, “Trust in Hashem”: that is, whether you are a tzaddik or wicked, trust in Hashem. And afterward it said, “and do good”: that is, although He is merciful and gracious, do not let your inclination assure you that you will not see harm; for the Creator is long-suffering, but collects what is His. And if He forgives you once, twice and three times, as it is written, “Behold, G-d does all these things two, three times with a man” (Iyov 33:29), afterward He will exact payment from you. And so, when you see that He has mercy on you and fulfills your requests, then you must do good.

But by this [the pasuk] has informed us that together with bitachon a person is obligated to consider his deeds, and to leave alone the deed that his intellect keeps him away from; for “one who considers a matter wisely will find good” (Mishlei 16:20). And when he takes hold of what his mind agrees to, if he does not rely on his intellect to be assured of success, but relies only on the mercy of Heaven; and even when his intellect shows that no way to success can be found for him in the matter he seeks, for all that the strength of his trust in Hashem does not change: he is the fortunate one.

Now Yosef the tzaddik, who trusted in HaKadosh Baruch Hu, because he asked the chief butler to be a means for him to get out of prison, therefore did not reach this level of trust; and he was punished for it, in that he remained two more years, as punishment for the two words he said to him, “And mention me” and “And get me out” (Bereishis 40:14).

“A horse is made ready for the day of battle, but salvation is Hashem’s” (Mishlei 21:31).

Shlomo HaMelech, alav hashalom, warns every person in this pasuk to do everything he needs to do, all that is in his power in the natural way, and to give over the rest into the hands of Heaven. For a miracle comes only where nature falls short, and man was made, at root, to live by the order of nature. Therefore a person must do the deeds and things that are preparations for attaining what he wants and reaching his heart’s requests. So one who wants to go to war against his enemies should prepare weapons, horses and chariots for the day of battle; for if he does not prepare, and relies on a miracle, he will be handed over to his enemies. Or one who has a sick person should prepare foods and medicines for him to eat, feed him the foods that help and keep from him the foods that harm. And after he has done all he can, tried with all his strength, and made all his preparations in the natural way, he should not trust that he will reach what he wants through anything but Hashem, not through these preparations. For there is a man who is lost in battle with all the preparations, and there is one who is saved without them; there is a sick man who dies with the foods that help, and there is one who is healed with the bad, harmful foods. If so, the essence of salvation, in war and in healing, is not in their preparations, but only in Hashem, as it is written, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Tehillim 147:3), and it is written, “He does not desire the strength of the horse; He does not favor the legs of a man” (Tehillim 147:10), and it is written, “The horse is a false hope for salvation” (Tehillim 33:17). This is the intent of the Torah, and most of the pesukim prove it. And so the Torah commands Yisrael to make the effort of these preparations: to go out armed when they go up to war against their enemies, to set an ambush, and to send spies into the enemy’s cities. For all these things are preparations, doing what is in a person’s power to do in the usual, natural way; and after that, the miracle acts above all the workings of nature. And even though Yisrael did not need this, since their victories did not come in the usual, natural way but according to merit and punishment (if they were deserving, a few of them would defeat many nations, and if they were guilty, a few of the enemy would defeat many of them), even so the Torah’s command came to Yisrael to make every effort with these preparations, and afterward to give the matter over to the One to whom salvation belongs; for the Torah never relies on a miracle. For this reason HaKadosh Baruch Hu commanded Noach to make the ark. It is well known that it was in His power to bring Noach and his sons across the waters of the Flood on foot, and Noach would not have needed to act in the natural way and make an ark of a certain wood, of a certain length and width. But the Torah commands us in this, that we make the effort of preparation in every matter, and with all our effort, our emunah must be that the essence of salvation is not in them, but only in Hashem. This is what Shlomo said here, “A horse is made ready for the day of battle, but salvation is Hashem’s.”

“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.

“One who considers a matter wisely will find good, and one who trusts in Hashem is fortunate” (Mishlei 16:20). This pasuk comes to warn a person that he should first consider in his heart whatever he wants to say or do, before he speaks or before he does the deed: which way it will turn out for him, so that success and benefit will come to him from it; and if he does so, he “will find good.” And so it says further, “One who holds back his words has knowledge” (Mishlei 17:27). Because a person’s actions are contained in three things, thought, speech and deed, as it is written, “In your mouth and in your heart, to do it” (Devarim 30:14), and he is made up of and steeped in the evil inclination, and always errs because he is drawn after the physical, therefore Shlomo warned here that a person should first consider the thing he wants to say, and put thought before speech and before deed. “And one who trusts in Hashem is fortunate”: when he considers and reflects on what he seeks to do, even though he has first considered it in his heart, it is not fitting for him to rely on what he has considered; rather, he should trust in Hashem that the thing will come to be done and reach complete success. This is what it says, “And one who trusts in Hashem is fortunate.” That is, after thought has been applied to that speech or that deed, if he hangs his trust on Hashem, and agrees in his mind that it is not in the power of his intellect to bring anything about except by the will of Hashem, he is fortunate. For trust in Hashem is one of the highest middos and one of the foundations of the Torah; and so the pasuk says, “Trust in Hashem with all your heart” (Mishlei 3:5).

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.

“The Torah gave permission, etc., and it is a mitzvah, etc.”: There is a difficulty: since in truth it is a mitzvah, why does it call it at first “permission”? It seems that this is the intent of the matter. True healing is through asking for mercy, for from Heaven he has healing, as it is written, “I have struck, and I will heal” (Devarim 32:39). But a person does not merit this; rather, he needs to make healing by the nature of the world, and Hashem agreed to this, and gave healing through the nature of remedies; and this is the giving of permission by HaKadosh Baruch Hu. And since the person has already come to this, there is an obligation on the doctor to do his healing. And this is explained in the Gemara, Perek HaRoeh (Berachos 60a), where Rav Acha said: One who goes in to let blood says, “May it be Your will that this undertaking be for healing for me, and heal me, for You are a faithful G-d, a healer, and Your healing is true; for it is not the way of people to heal.” Rashi explained: that is, they should not have occupied themselves with remedies, but asked for mercy. Abaye said: A person should not say this, for it was taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael: “And he shall surely heal” (Shemos 21:19): from here, that permission was given to the doctor to heal. It seems that the explanation of the Gemara is this way. Rav Acha required [one] to say these words, “for it is not the way of people,” in the wording of the prayer that one who lets blood says; that is, he excuses himself for seeking healing through bloodletting, which is by nature, even though it is not fitting to do so, but rather to ask for mercy, to be saved by mercy from above: “Even so, since they have already become accustomed to make healing through nature, I too do so; and in any case I acknowledge that everything comes through You, ‘for You are a faithful G-d, a healer.’” And on this Abaye disagrees, [saying] that one should not say “since they have become accustomed,” for the Torah too agreed to this, that there be healing by nature; for the Torah came down to the level of a person’s mind, [knowing] that he will not be so worthy that his healing should come through a miracle from Heaven. And therefore one cannot say that this pasuk, “And he shall surely heal,” teaches us a mitzvah: for if a person were worthy, he would not need this; on the contrary, he would need specifically healing through Heaven. Rather, according to a person’s way, it is permission for him; and therefore now there is an obligation in the matter, and it is a mitzvah, since according to a person’s deeds his life depends on it. So it seems to me, correctly.

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 the secret of the matter: that you turn [the word] לבך, “your heart,” around, so that it becomes בכל, “in everything,” [given] to Hashem; then Hashem will bless you בכל, “in everything.” And understand.

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).

“To let blood”: and the same applies to any kind of treatment; he should say this, and not think that anything will be a cure for him except through the Creator. So through this prayer he should place his trust in Him, and ask of Him that it be a cure for him.