QUESTION:
1. I am a kolel avreich who spends most of the day learning Torah. Recently I gave a loan to a friend, using a hester iska, but he lost more money since then and he cannot pay me back right now. In the meantime I have had to pay the banks a lot of money. I have 5 children, Baruch Hashem, and my wife works, but her income is not enough to cover the expenses. I have always heard from my Rebbeim that a kolel avreich “eats from the manna”, and the truth is that I have seen much siyata d’shmaya. The question is, what is my obligation of hishtadlus (effort) right now – do I need to go out to work, or should I just have bitachon (trust) in Hashem and daven?
2. How can I know what Hashem wants from me, and why these debts have incurred on me?
2. How can I know what Hashem wants from me, and why these debts have incurred on me?
ANSWER:
1. Some people have a soul that is rooted in the realm of “asiyah”, “action”, and therefore the very nature of their souls are drawn towards “action” – in particular, the “actions” which people need to do within this “world of action”. This is called asiyah d’asiyah, “action within action”. For those people, it is proper to engage in a profession which utilizes a physical talent that they have, according to whatever talent Hashem has graced one with. One needs to choose a livelihood that is as close as possible to kedushah (holiness). Others’ souls are rooted in yetzirah d’asiyah, “formation within action”, and their main talent lies in artistry, craftsmanship, and the like. Others have souls that are rooted in beriah d’asiyah, “creation/thinking within action”, and they excel mainly in areas of logical calculation. Others have souls that are rooted in atzilus d’asiyah “closeness/bonding within action”, and their main talent is in creativity, ideas.
In contrast to the above categories of souls (who are all rooted in asiyahaction and who need to engage in a profession, by their very soul root) are those whose souls have a more “inner” root [i.e. they may have a soul that is rooted in either yetzirah, beriah, or atzilus]. For them, it is appropriate to spend the main part of their life on developing their inner world.
That has always been the case, throughout the generations. However, in the current generation, which is unbridled in its breakdown of boundaries, going out to work opens a person to the world on the outside, and it is dangerous to one’s ruchniyus (spiritual development). Therefore, in today’ s times, going out into the world to earn a profession is no longer a simple matter as it used to be, and it needs to be very carefully thought about beforehand. There are people who do not have conviction to learn Torah all day, but if they go out to work, they are being exposed to the outside world and with no Torah learning to protect them spiritually. They are in spiritual danger, when they go out to work. On the other hand, if they stay in the beis midrash all day and they aren’t learning, they are simply bored, and the Sages state that “boredom leads to insanity”. Therefore, every case requires much thinking beforehand, and great siyata d’shmaya, in order for one to know if he should go to work, and what kind of profession it should be, and how, and all the other details involved. And a person will always need to daven earnestly, from the depth of the heart, in order to decide properly. He will also need to daven each day to be saved from all of the inappropriate sights and influences which are in all of the workplaces today.
It is clear that most people who have gone out to work in the last decade did not do so with enough thinking beforehand, and this has caused spiritual destruction to come upon the generation. There were people who went out to work and they didn’t really need to, and the kinds of jobs which they chose were inappropriate for them, totally unbefitting for a person who is part of the Torah world. Because of this, the generation has become desolate and spiritually destroyed, through the outside world that has mixed into the once sheltered Torah world. It is the realization of the statement of the Sages, “There is no day that isn’t more cursed than the day before it”, because people who were once part of the Torah world are going to out to work in all kinds of unsuitable professions, and are thereby uprooted, Rachmana Litzlan, from all inner holiness. In addition to this, there is also the problem of men and women mixed together in the workplace. May Hashem redeem us all from this.
There are also souls who have a higher root than asiyah (action), and they may also need to work for income. Sometimes, going to work for them is a result of the exile, which places the soul in exile, in a place where it doesn’t want to be. However, this matter is determined according to one’s personal level of bitachon (trust in Hashem). Therefore, in each case, the following factors must be considered: what is the general situation of income for one’s family, and what level of bitachon is the person on? After carefully weighing these two factors together, one can then decide what he needs to do. A person is able to act a little above his current level of bitachon (and have a little bit more bitachon than he has right now), but not beyond that level. A person always needs to do a little bit of hishtadlus (effort), and to greatly strengthen his bitachon, acting a bit above his current level of bitachon. A soul which is more sensitive to the spiritual will be able to feel how it is easier to work on bitachon, than to have to work hard in order to make a living.
2. One should reflect on his personal weaknesses and then write them down. After that, one should think of the easiest weakness to work on, and then he should begin to repair it.
In contrast to the above categories of souls (who are all rooted in asiyahaction and who need to engage in a profession, by their very soul root) are those whose souls have a more “inner” root [i.e. they may have a soul that is rooted in either yetzirah, beriah, or atzilus]. For them, it is appropriate to spend the main part of their life on developing their inner world.
That has always been the case, throughout the generations. However, in the current generation, which is unbridled in its breakdown of boundaries, going out to work opens a person to the world on the outside, and it is dangerous to one’s ruchniyus (spiritual development). Therefore, in today’ s times, going out into the world to earn a profession is no longer a simple matter as it used to be, and it needs to be very carefully thought about beforehand. There are people who do not have conviction to learn Torah all day, but if they go out to work, they are being exposed to the outside world and with no Torah learning to protect them spiritually. They are in spiritual danger, when they go out to work. On the other hand, if they stay in the beis midrash all day and they aren’t learning, they are simply bored, and the Sages state that “boredom leads to insanity”. Therefore, every case requires much thinking beforehand, and great siyata d’shmaya, in order for one to know if he should go to work, and what kind of profession it should be, and how, and all the other details involved. And a person will always need to daven earnestly, from the depth of the heart, in order to decide properly. He will also need to daven each day to be saved from all of the inappropriate sights and influences which are in all of the workplaces today.
It is clear that most people who have gone out to work in the last decade did not do so with enough thinking beforehand, and this has caused spiritual destruction to come upon the generation. There were people who went out to work and they didn’t really need to, and the kinds of jobs which they chose were inappropriate for them, totally unbefitting for a person who is part of the Torah world. Because of this, the generation has become desolate and spiritually destroyed, through the outside world that has mixed into the once sheltered Torah world. It is the realization of the statement of the Sages, “There is no day that isn’t more cursed than the day before it”, because people who were once part of the Torah world are going to out to work in all kinds of unsuitable professions, and are thereby uprooted, Rachmana Litzlan, from all inner holiness. In addition to this, there is also the problem of men and women mixed together in the workplace. May Hashem redeem us all from this.
There are also souls who have a higher root than asiyah (action), and they may also need to work for income. Sometimes, going to work for them is a result of the exile, which places the soul in exile, in a place where it doesn’t want to be. However, this matter is determined according to one’s personal level of bitachon (trust in Hashem). Therefore, in each case, the following factors must be considered: what is the general situation of income for one’s family, and what level of bitachon is the person on? After carefully weighing these two factors together, one can then decide what he needs to do. A person is able to act a little above his current level of bitachon (and have a little bit more bitachon than he has right now), but not beyond that level. A person always needs to do a little bit of hishtadlus (effort), and to greatly strengthen his bitachon, acting a bit above his current level of bitachon. A soul which is more sensitive to the spiritual will be able to feel how it is easier to work on bitachon, than to have to work hard in order to make a living.
2. One should reflect on his personal weaknesses and then write them down. After that, one should think of the easiest weakness to work on, and then he should begin to repair it.
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