Why G-d Made Us Dependent: The Spiritual Purpose Behind Human Effort

In Chovot HaLevavot (Duties of the Heart), Rabbeinu Bahya offers two main reasons in the Gate of Trust (Sha'ar HaBitachon) for why G-d obligated human beings to pursue their physical needs, and the reason He created people lacking so much that they must constantly make efforts to earn their livelihood.

Reason One: To Test Humanity’s Faithfulness

G-d created us in such a way that we have many needs for food, drink, clothing, shelter, etc., and He commanded us to pursue these needs through methods that are permitted by the Torah. By striving to obtain our needs in honest, permissible ways, we earn reward both in this world and in the World to Come.

If people didn’t need food, they wouldn’t need to plant or harvest fields, and would miss out on many commandments tied to agriculture, such as kilayim (not mixing species), leket (leaving fallen produce for the poor), shikcha (forgotten sheaves), pe’ah (leaving the corner of the field), terumot and ma’asrot (tithes), shemita (the sabbatical year), and more.

If people didn’t need clothing, they wouldn’t be able to fulfill commandments like tzitzit (fringes on garments) or shaatnez (prohibited mixtures). If shelter wasn’t required, we couldn’t fulfill mezuzah (placing a scroll on the doorpost) or ma’akeh (a safety railing on the roof).

If there was no need for money, an entire category of mitzvot would disappear, such as giving charity to the poor, paying workers on time, avoiding interest on loans, and many others that depend on financial transactions.

Reason Two: To Prevent Idleness and Sin

If people didn’t need to work for a living, they’d have too much free time, and idleness leads to sin. If everyone woke up in the morning with nothing to do, like animals that roam freely without concern for livelihood, it wouldn’t take long before people, driven by boredom, would begin chasing after pleasures and fall into corruption.

As the prophet Isaiah said (Isaiah 5:12): "They have lyre and harp, drum and flute, and wine at their feasts; but the work of the Lord they do not regard, and the deeds of His hands they do not see."

The Sages already taught us that idleness leads to immorality. Additionally, too much abundance can cause people to rebel against G-d, as the Torah says (Deuteronomy 32:15): "Yeshurun grew fat and kicked; you grew fat, thick, and stuffed—then he abandoned the G-d who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation."

This was exactly what happened in the Generation of the Flood. As the Midrash Rabbah explains, they lived in great abundance, only needed to plant crops once every forty years, lived on average 800 years, newborns could speak and cut their own umbilical cords, and wild animals were like tiny rodents to them. They had wealth, strength, and power beyond measure.

What did they do with all that? They corrupted themselves with the worst sins imaginable. Because they had everything, their hearts became arrogant. The tremendous blessings they received from G-d gave them a false sense of security and self-reliance, and they abandoned Him. Eventually, the only solution was the Great Flood that wiped them all out, leaving only Noah and his three sons. G-d needed to start the world over again, because of the very abundance He had granted them.

From that time until today, G-d has created human beings weak and dependent, so that we are occupied with the work of maintaining our lives. This keeps us too busy to constantly stray from His will, and it serves as a safeguard, guiding us toward righteousness, humility, and spiritual growth.