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Earning a Living
Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky
THE TORAH STATES that vegetation was created on the third day of creation. Yet, the Torah also states that the vegetation did not actually sprout and bloom until the sixth day of creation. Why didn’t the vegetation sprout immediately? Rashi explains (2:6) that on the sixth day Adam was created, and the grass only sprouted after he had davened for it. This is to teach us that the world only receives sustenance in the merit of tefillah — in the merit of recognizing that all of our sustenance is solely in the hands of Hashem.
Why is it that specifically when it came to the creation of suste- nance — unlike all of Hashem’s other creations — did Hashem not bring it forth until man had davened for it? Why didn’t Hashem do so regarding the other good things in the world, like sunlight or our five senses, to name a few, in order to teach us that those things are all from Hashem as well? What message was He coming to teach us by doing this specifically when it came to food?
Nick Woodman, creator of GoPro, failed miserably with his first two companies. First, he created EmpowerAll.com, an e-commerce site aimed at a young demographic which sold very cheap electronics. The company earned no profit whatsoever, and so it was quickly shut down. In 1999, he tried again to make it big and set up FunBug, an online marketing company. That company was even a worse disaster; it lost a whopping $3.9 mil- lion shortly after launching! However, his next company, GoPro, was an incredible success — earning him a current net-value of almost $2 billion!
We all know Steve Jobs as the guru entrepreneur, the ge- nius behind best-selling Apple products such as the iPod, iPad, iPhone, and MacBook. Yet, after he was forced out of Apple in 1985, Jobs went on to create another company: NeXT. That company met its demise, due to disappointing sales. However, eventually, the software division was sold to Apple and Steve returned to his starting point. With another chance at his dis- posal, he created the iPhone and related products and by the end of his life he had earned an estimated net worth of $10.2 billion.
Before launching Microsoft, Bill Gates became the co-owner of a failed business called Traf-O-Data. The company’s product was the Traf-O-Data 8008, a device which could read traffic tapes and process the data. They tried to sell the processing service to the local county, but their first demo failed miserably because the machine “didn’t work,” recalled Gates. However, af- ter launching Microsoft, today Bill Gates is worth approximately
$101 billion.
Some of the wealthiest people in America experienced finan- cial failures before rising to the top levels of wealth. Many will use this fact to attribute billionaires’ successes to their extreme determination and grit despite failure. While this sentiment is true, perhaps there is a more important lesson that we can learn. Perhaps, Hashem first sent these talented billionaires financial failures so that after they finally became incredibly wealthy they, or more importantly we, would realize with abundant clarity that really Hashem was behind their successes. After all, these very billionaires had just as easily failed with financial blunders, one after another, before finally being granted success.
Hashem specifically chose food to be the vehicle for teaching us that all blessing is solely from Him, because when it comes specifi- cally to food, there is the greatest danger that we will, G-d forbid, mistakenly conclude that I attained this all due to my own strength and power — kochi v’otzem yadi. It is unfortunately very easy to think that our successes or failures in business are the result of our own actions. In reality, however, as long as we do everything rea- sonably in our power to succeed, Hashem will bless us with exactly what is beneficial for us (by connecting us with the right people, inspiring us with the right ideas, talents, or drives, etc.) — noth- ing more and nothing less. Therefore, Hashem decided it would be specifically food that Adam would not receive until he davened for it — in order to teach us to recognize that we’re not in control of our sustenance. Only Hashem is in charge of our income and only He knows the exact amount that is best for us, both physically and spiritually.
LIVING INSPIRED
HASHEM DECREED THAT the majority of mankind must work hard in order to earn their bread. Why did He do so? Wouldn’t it be more conducive for spiritual growth to give us manna from heaven, so that we could devote more time to learning Torah and doing kind deeds?
Hashem did so because it is specifically when it comes down to one’s business, when one feels like his life is on the line, that one’s character is truly tested and can truly shine. Will one recognize that all of his success is from Hashem? Will he ask Him for help before each day of work and thank Him at the end of each day for the success he had? If one does so, and if one keeps himself pure in a world motivated by base drives, he will have performed the greatest demonstration of loyalty to his Creator, expressed his absolute aware- ness of His Creator’s existence and involvement in his life, and will have tremendously sanctified Hashem’s name. This achievement is so important to Hashem, that He makes the need to work for a living mandatory for the majority of the Jewish nation.
May we all internalize this lesson, and lead our business lives with the same purity and faith that we do in our synagogues and study halls.