On Effort and Trust in Hashem

A person's livelihood depends solely on the Creator, and in His will, He can provide for all one's needs even without any personal effort. However, His wisdom has decreed that a person should make an effort to receive his livelihood.

But how many hours should one work for his livelihood? This is not decreed by the Creator, but depends on the individual. The more one believes and trusts, the more he will understand that even with minimal effort, the Creator will provide all his needs.

Therefore, everyone should make enough effort until they believe in their heart that this effort is sufficient to obtain all their needs. As one's understanding grows that it does not depend on the hours or type of work, but rather that the Creator can provide in one hour, then working one hour a day will suffice.

For example, a person working in the municipality of Petach Tikva earns seven thousand shekels per month and worries at the start of each month about how to end it. This amount is insufficient for his household expenses, even for half a month, and he does not trust the Creator to complete his livelihood. Therefore, he must exert additional effort until he knows for himself that the work he does is enough to meet all his needs.

Here, it's important to warn - there are righteous individuals who, after hearing or reading about trust, say to themselves "This is it, I don't need to make any effort, everything is in the hands of the Creator. We will trust Him, and He will send us our livelihood, marriage, health, children, and more."

In truth, many Jews have said this to me at the start of their journey in matters of trust, usually after I gave a lecture on the importance and advantages of trust. A Jew approached me and introduced himself - "Hello, honored Rabbi. I am the son of the righteous R' Shimon Gabai z"l, and you should know that everything you spoke about in the lecture was manifested in my father z"l, who succeeded in establishing a network of Torah in the city of Netanya, including a network of Torah schools, seminars for girls, small and large yeshivas, and a kollel supporting nearly a hundred scholars - all thanks to the 'Chovot Halevavot - Shaar Habitachon' book that my father learned from. He attested that he reviewed it three hundred times and never asked anyone for money. The entire empire he built and sustained was due to him raising his eyes to the Father in Heaven, in whom he always trusted."

The son continued his story, saying that once he saw a Jew approach his father and say, "Honored Rabbi, I want to donate to you," and the father responded, "Go to the office; I don't even know the account number." And so, he bid him farewell for a good and peaceful life. The next day, the son, curious about the donation, went to the office to check if the promised donation had been received. After a short inquiry, it was found that the Tzaddik donated a sum of one million shekels via bank transfer.

I stood amazed at these wonderful matters.

I said to the Rabbi's son: "Unfortunately, I did not have the privilege to know your father closely, although I heard many great things about him. Are you sure he never persuaded people to donate?"

The son replied: Father specifically testified to me, 'I never asked a penny from anyone!'

From that moment, I was very moved. Here stands before my eyes the son of someone who reached such a high level of trust, meaning it is truly possible, so perhaps I will also try.

- And so, I decided on my own to throw myself entirely on the blessed Creator.

May Hashem bless me, and we opened in Bnei Brak a Beit Midrash in the name of our illustrious leader, Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef z"l, called 'Yabia Omer'.

A place where eighty scholars learn, and the expenses of the Beit Midrash amount to over one hundred thousand shekels each month. For this purpose, I deliver lectures and engage with other dear Jews to help support the Torah scholars who toil in their studies. And so, when I heard about the Tzaddik R' Shimon Gabai z"l, I thought perhaps I too will cast all my burden on the blessed Creator, and He will send the donors to help!

And so, for three days, I said nothing about funds. For context, on average, I need to collect several thousand shekels daily to meet all the payments by month's end. After three days, I found that I had been given only fifty shekels, and at that moment, I was disheartened, but I quickly realized I had not reached that Tzaddik's level z"l, and apparently, Hashem expects a certain level of effort from me.

Therefore, I recommend to the dear reader, at least in the beginning of your ascent in faith and trust, to continue with the effort you have been accustomed to up until now and gradually feel in your heart about a certain effort that is unnecessary. If it takes too much time or, heaven forbid, causes spiritual decline, only then reduce that effort until you see that the Creator sends your request in easier and purer ways.

Effort in Health

We must know without any doubt that in Hashem's hand is the power to heal the sick without any medical intervention, as it says (Psalms 107:20), "He sent His word and healed them." However, it was already said in the holy Torah (Exodus 21:19), "and he shall cause him to be thoroughly healed," from which the Gemara (Brachot 60a) derives that permission was given to a doctor to heal. The Ramban explained in his commentary on the Torah that without the Torah's permission to heal through doctors, we might think it is forbidden because the Creator Himself brought the illness upon a person, and if so, who gave the doctor permission to remove the illness.

It's like a king who decrees imprisonment on one of his servants, and then one of the king's ministers releases him. The king is very angry - how dare you defy my decree to imprison the servant? So it is with the doctor, but the Creator has given permission to heal.

When I was young, I remember whenever I fell ill, my parents or rabbis would immediately refer me to a clinic to receive appropriate treatment for the illness. Indeed, after taking the medication, I felt relief until, thank Hashem, I was healed. This has been the case throughout my life. I believe this is how most of the Jewish people have become accustomed. As a result of this habit, as soon as we feel unwell, the thought immediately jumps into our minds—what doctor should we see? Or which medication should we take? Unfortunately, the Creator does not even come to mind.

The book 'Yagel Libi Bishu'atecha' is available at select shops and at Hidabroot Shops.