Why Must People Strive?

Rabbeinu Bachaye brings two reasons in Sha'ar HaBitachon on why Hashem requires man to seek after his material needs, and why man was created so lacking that he must strive his whole life for his livelihood.

The Reason for the Obligation to Strive

First Reason - Hashem wanted to test if man would follow His ways or not; thus, man was created needing many things like food, drink, clothing, shelter, and a wife. Hashem commanded him to seek these things in permissible ways according to the holy Torah. By pursuing them in permissible ways, man will receive his reward in this world and the next from Hashem.

Let me elaborate a bit –

If man did not need food, he would not have to sow and reap his field, nor could he fulfill many commandments dependent on the land, such as kilayim, leket, shikhecha, peah, terumot and ma'asrot, shemitah, etc. If man did not need clothing, he could not fulfill the commandments of tzitzit, shaatnez, etc. If he did not need shelter, he could not fulfill the commandments of mezuzah and maakeh.

Moreover, if there was no need for money, then a large portion of the Torah could not be fulfilled, such as charity for the poor, the payment of wages on the day they're earned, and the avoidance of taking interest on loans, and many other commandments dependent on wealth.

And if man did not need a wife, he could not fulfil the commandments of marriage, procreation, and child-rearing. Therefore, Hashem brought man into the world needing all these mentioned items, to test whether he would choose Hashem's commandments and follow His ways, to receive a tremendous reward for his commandments, or not.

Second Reason - If man did not need to toil and pursue his livelihood, he would have too much free time, and idleness would lead him to transgress the entire Torah. Imagine if all humans woke up in the morning with nothing to do, like animals that do not need to worry about anything; then evil inclinations would prompt them to do interesting things, and slowly they would be drawn into sin, as the prophet Isaiah (5:12) said: "The harp and the lyre, the tambourine and flute, and wine are at their feasts; but they do not regard the work of Hashem, nor consider the operation of His hands." And indeed, our Sages stated that idleness leads to lewdness.

Furthermore, abundance leads man to kick against Hashem, as the Torah says (Deuteronomy 32:15): "But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked… and abandoned Hashem, his Creator, and scorned the Rock of his salvation."

And so it really was during the time of the generation of the Flood, as the Midrash Rabbah[1] recounts that they would sow their fields once in forty years, and their average lifespan was 800 years; an infant at the moment of birth could already speak and would go to fetch scissors to cut his umbilical cord, and all the beasts of the field appeared to them as small mice, in short, an abundance of sustenance, strength, and power.

And in the end, all except Noah and his three sons corrupted their ways on the earth with the gravest sins, all this because they had everything, and their hearts grew haughty due to the immense gifts they received from Hashem, feeling secure in their own strength and wisdom, they abandoned Hashem, leading to the Great Flood that destroyed the world, to start again because of the abundance Hashem had bestowed upon them.

Therefore, from then until now, Hashem created us weak and needy, so that we would be occupied with the labor of providing for our lives, leaving us little time to transgress His will.

The Key to Wealth

Rabbeinu Bachaye concludes - The conclusion from all this is that one who prefers the service of Hashem, follows His ways, diligently observes the commandments of the holy Torah, trusts in Hashem regarding Torah matters that He will help him fulfill them, and likewise for the worldly needs that Hashem will assist him to obtain them, if he strongly desires good traits and detests bad traits. Especially if he proves to Hashem that even if he were to have peace from worldly matters, his heart would not be haughty, nor would he squander time on idle and harmful matters, but rather utilize all his free time for Torah and good deeds, then Hashem will relieve him from the burden of worldly effort.

This is because he has removed from himself the two reasons Hashem commanded the effort, for he has shown to Hashem that he chooses His commandments and Torah and makes every effort to fulfill them. He also shows that he uses his free time to study Torah and perform loving kindness, and even if Hashem were to grant him abundant sustenance, he wouldn’t spurn the Giver, but would humble his heart and use his time to acknowledge the bounty of Hashem.

A parable - a rich man with an only son whom he loves dearly, but the father knows his son has a tendency towards frivolity and poor behavior. Although the rich man would very much like to provide everything for his son without charge to ease his life, he knows that if he were to give him everything now, his son would turn his heart towards wrongdoing, ultimately leading to his downfall.

Therefore, he instructed his son to work in one of his many businesses from morning till night, so that his son's heart would not be idle for bad company and needless thoughts, and more so that he would appreciate the goodness that his father bestows upon him. But if over time the father sees that the son values the kindness his father shows him, continually expressing gratitude, and in his free time, he helps others and studies Torah, surely the rich man would prefer that his son rests and learns Torah without distractions, since there is no need to test his son if he demonstrates appreciation for his gifts and does not incline towards wrongdoing. And the analogy is very clear.

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