There is No Money in the World, No Food in the World. There is Only the Creator of the World

The Talmud in Tractate Makkot states that the prophet Habakkuk summed up all the commandments of the Torah in one verse "The righteous shall live by his faith." This means that the commandment of faith in the Creator encompasses the entire Torah. In other words, if I clearly know there is a Creator of the world, I can fulfill the entire Torah, and more so, one can reach the level of a righteous person. The Rama in the Shulchan Aruch, Chapter 1, wrote that "I have set Hashem before me always" is a great rule in the Torah and the virtue of the righteous. The Vilna Gaon adds that this is the entire virtue of the righteous - namely, all that is necessary to reach the level of the righteous is faith.

Over the years, I have been asked many varied questions about life, the difficulties Jews face in different areas such as severe illness, depression, lack of livelihood, finding a match, fertility, and more. Initially, I was bewildered by what I could say to a woman over fifty who is told by doctors she cannot bear children and should consider adoption. She stands before me and cries, saying she wants her child. How can I help her? Then, at a certain point, I understood there is one answer to every difficulty and question in the world: "There is a Creator of the world." That is, when we understand there is a Creator of our wonderful world who is the sole leader and can solve all problems, we have actually begun to solve the problem. For if we succeed in persuading Him to solve the problem, it will disappear immediately.

That is how I answered the crying woman. Know that even if all the doctors in the world stand before you and say you cannot become a mother, I will open the Chumash and show them the verse "And Hashem remembered Sarah." Know that there is a Creator of the world, He can do everything, and He loves you very much. Turn to Him, for only He can help you. At the time of writing these lines, the Jewish people are in distress. When Ishmaelites stab Jews in the streets everywhere, to the extent that streets in the land of Israel are fearful, and every shout or noise causes great public panic, women stop functioning due to pressure and anxiety and ask me what to do. Again, my answer to them is "There is a Creator of the world". There are no terrorists, no knives, no police, and no missiles, there is only one, the all-powerful Creator. He is the one who gives terrorists the power and thought to harm us. If we turn to Him and rely solely on Him, no one in the world will be able to harm us. In every question and difficulty in our lives, there is one and only answer: "There is a Creator of the world." I shall provide examples to illustrate.

When a Jew is so downcast that he feels there is no taste in life, a real emptiness, he is not happy with the commandments, not excited by his family, angry at everyone, and prefers to continue sleeping all day, in his trouble he turns to a psychiatrist who tries to find a remedy for his anguish. Sometimes the doctor tells him, you have the illness of depression, and it might be hereditary from your parents, take this specific pill that might ease your suffering. At that moment, the Jew feels his world has collapsed; he won’t come out of it ever since the doctor said it's in his genes. The answer to that Jew is "There is a Creator of the world". What do you have to worry about, for it is all in His hands? In His will, He will change your genes from a sad person to a happy one in an instant. Do not despair, for despair is without knowledge. Meaning, when desperation enters a person's heart, it stems from a lack of knowledge, meaning a lack of knowledge of the Creator. Do not lose hope, for the hope in a Jew's heart is the strongest force. When a person knows for sure that at any time and moment, the Creator can change his condition for the better, he feels calm and confident that everything will work out for the good, for my Creator loves and cares for me.

Many Jews struggle with medical trials. "And heal, He will heal" from here it is derived that permission was given to doctors to heal. Indeed, the Creator granted doctors the permission to heal, but unfortunately, instead of healing the Jew, they discourage him, thus deviating from their role which is solely to heal. But a Jew who exits a doctor's office after being given bad news should immediately strengthen himself with the knowledge that there is a Creator of the world. This knowledge includes hope in the Creator's hands, the healer of all living creatures. As we conclude in the blessing of Refa’einu in the Amidah prayer, "Healer of His people Israel," sometimes I intend in this prayer "Healer of His people Israel," no matter the illness, nor do the statistics of the specific illness matter – Hashem can heal them all.

The trial of livelihood is a difficult trial. In Birkat HaMazon, we say "Hashem who nourishes us and the whole world in His goodness," in this blessing lies the answer to all the financial questions a Jew may have throughout his life. "You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with favor," even a Jew who owes enormous sums and sees no light at the end of the tunnel must know that in Hashem's eyes, there is no difference between five shekels and five million shekels. In His will, He gives even to a person who has no idea about business or a profession and even a Jew who makes no effort at all. If Hashem wills it, He will grant abundance without limits, and certainly, a person struggling with his monthly livelihood should know there is a Creator of the world who has been sustaining the world for over five thousand years, and He alone holds the true solution to livelihood difficulties. Sometimes it seems that in the natural way, there is no solution to the great difficulty, and therefore it must always be remembered the Torah testifies that the Creator fed an entire nation where just the men numbered six hundred thousand, in the vast wilderness, with manna, the most delicious food in the world. The scripture says (Deuteronomy 8:3), "And He fed you manna that you did not know, to let you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Hashem, man lives." In interpretation, there is no money in the world, no food in the world, there is only the Creator of the world.

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