HaRav Yerachmiel Kram
This important discussion about making a living was first published in 2004-5764.
Since the sin of Odom Horishon when it was decreed upon mankind, "By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread" (Bereishis 3:19), parnossoh has become a central issue in man's life. The words "benafsho yavi lachmo" can be understood literally. And although a man's subsistence is determined from one Rosh Hashanah to the next, he is still required to make an effort to secure it.
HaKodosh Boruch Hu provides nourishment and sustenance for all of His creatures (ki Hu zon umefarnes es ha'olom kulo betuvo ) from the smallest to the mightiest ("mibeitzei kinim ve'ad karnei re'emim") and nevertheless we find making a living is as hard as the splitting of the Red Sea ("kashin mezonosov shel odom keKrias Yam Suf"). Man stands and wonders from whence help will arrive ("me'ayn yavoh ezri") and how he will provide for his family, just like Bnei Yisroel when they stood at the seashore wondering what to do. Behind them were the Egyptians, in front of them was the sea, and salvation came from an unexpected direction.
This is how it was at Krias Yam Suf and this is how it is with parnossoh. HaKodosh Boruch Hu says to Moshe, "I will make bread rain down to you from the sky . . . to test them to see whether or not they keep My law" (Shemos 16:4), and according to Rashi the test was to see whether "they would keep the mitzvahs associated with [the mon], i.e. not to keep any [for the next day] and not to go out to gather it on Shabbos."
Not to keep any from one day to the next was a major test because it meant having to secure food every day. Daily subsistence required renewed emunoh and bitachon. What I receive today is only good for today, tomorrow I will have to go out and attend to the matter once again. When Bnei Yisroel failed to stand up to the test and went out to gather on Shabbos, Moshe Rabbenu did not reproach them, but when they left some of the mon from one day to the next Moshe unleashed his anger because hoarding for the next day can give you a feeling you are all set, that you have nothing to worry about. Storing away for tomorrow contradicts the spirit emunoh and bitachon.
But there is also another element involved. Says the gemora, "R' Shimon Bar Yochai's talmidim asked him, `Why didn't mon fall down to Yisroel once a year? Why did the mon have to fall every day? Wouldn't it have been enough had it fallen once a year?'
"`Let me explain it to you with a parable,' he said to them. This can be compared to a king of flesh and blood who had one son. He would supply him his provisions once a year and the son wouldn't come to greet him more than that one time every year. The king started to supply him his provisions on a daily basis and the son would come to greet his father every day. The same applies to Am Yisroel. Those who had four or five children would worry the mon might not fall the next day and all of them would die of hunger. Thus all of them directed their hearts toward Our Father in Heaven. HaKodosh Boruch Hu "gives the beast his food and the young crowing ravens"—"nosein liveheimoh lachmoh livnei oreiv asher yikro'u" (Tehillim 147:9). HaKodosh Boruch Hu provides sustenance for all of His creatures. Why? For "He does not delight in the strength of the horse, nor does He take pleasure in the legs of man"—lo vigevuras hasus yechpotz lo veshokei ho'ish yirtzeh (ibid. 10). HaKodosh Boruch Hu wants "those who fear Him, those who hope for His kindness"—es yerei'ov hameyachalim lechasdo (ibid. 11)—just like the king who wants his son to greet him every day.
Someone who thinks he is secure at his job with his monthly salary, that all is fine and he has nothing to worry about—is making a grave mistake. He should think and believe he receives his parnossoh anew every day. He needs prayer and great mercy every day because even if his salary is steady and guaranteed, who gave him a guarantee a major monetary expense—e.g. medical costs, chas vesholom—won't suddenly arise? The decree, "By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread" is inescapable.
The Malbim makes careful note of the differences between the passages about the mon in Parshas Beshalach and in Parshas Behaalosecha. The former says the mon fell outside the camp away from the tents, and was covered with a layer of dew that hid it from view, whereas the latter says the mon fell inside the camp and on top of a layer of dew, not underneath (Bamidbar 11:9). These differences, says the Malbim, stem from the fact that the mon fell after the quail arrived (see Shemos 47:13). Before the mon fell the quail arrived and covered the entire camp, which prevented the mon from falling inside the camp. Since it fell outside the camp it had to be covered with a layer of dew to protect it from damage out in the desert. As a result they were unable to gather the mon at dawn and had to wait until sunrise when the dew rose. This process also caused a change in the quality of the mon. When the dew rose it included the wetness of normal dew and what remained on the ground was the hard part, which had to be ground under a millstone. Here lies a lesson for all the generations, for only in the case of mon do we find a special commandment of "Take an urn and fill it with an omer of manna as a keepsake for your descendants" (Shemos 16:33). In other words we must always observe and consider it and know that the mon is an example of the way a person should relate to his livelihood.
He should be aware that it should be taken care of from scratch every day. He should be aware that as long as he refrains from pursuing luxuries and makes do with bread alone his parnossoh will arrive inside the camp without having to exert himself. Right outside the home and with open Hashgochoh. Right at dawn and right when he needs it without having to set aside his Torah learning. Not only that, but it will also come in good quality and ready to eat right away without further effort. For all this was missing when we asked for meat and wanted quail.
This also explains why the commandment about urn of mon as a keepsake was stated when it began to fall and not when it stopped falling after forty years. Much can be learned from this. As we saw in the Malbim, when it first began to fall we sought luxuries—we wanted meat and were not satisfied with bread alone. Indeed one should contemplate the urn of mon every day when he sets out to make his living for then he decides on the amount of hishtadlus he should—and must—do.
The Shulchan Oruch warns about this nisoyonwhen it exhorts us to prioritize Torah learning over work. Writes the Mishnoh Berurah, " . . . He should do just what he needs to make a living, but this in itself requires vigilance from the temptations of the yetzer which tempts him [to think] he must work all day for this gain, and he should examine himself in particular [to determine] what is true necessity that cannot be done without, for then he will be able to fulfill the precept of not making his work the main pursuit but rather a passing matter and his Torah learning the main pursuit."
But how can a person know what constitutes true necessity? Here, too, the Chofetz Chaim gave us good advice on the spot in the Shaar Hatzion: "And to keep the yetzer from fooling him he should pretend he has committed to feed somebody else and clothe him according to status, and then consider what he deems essential." This is a major task, to know and remember that mon is just as its name indicates—emunoh. To trust in Hashem. Hashleich al Hashem yehovecho veHu yechalkelecho (Tehillim 55:23).
