The issue of hishtadlus – how much effort should one make for certain objectives – is a very complex subject. Let’s take, for example, the hishtadlus for our parnassah, our livelihood. Quoting the Chovos HaLevovos, Rav Elya Lopian, zt”l, zy”a, says that before the sin of Adam HaRishon, there would have been no need to pursue a livelihood. The angels barbequed succulent food for Adam and poured him delicious wine It was only when Adam sinned that he was cursed, “Bzei’as apecha tochal lechem” – Through the sweat of your brow will you eat bread, meaning that there would be a need for hishtadlus.
The Reishis Chachma says that the 39 melachos (creative labors that are forbidden on Shabbos) correspond to the 39 curses that were given to the first man. However, continues Rav Lopian, echoing the Mesilas Yesharim, the fact that we realize that the need for hishtadlus came about through a curse should temper our involvement in making a livelihood to only what is necessary. Thus, we are advised in Pirkei Avos, “Hevei mema’eit beisek va’asok baTorah” – Minimize your business involvement and be busy with Torah. Similarly, Beis Shammai says, “Asei Torascha keva” – Make your Torah your permanent occupation.
But striking the right balance between Torah and one’s livelihood is a tricky business. Especially since making a living is a mitzvah in itself. For example, while we are not supposed to board a ship less than three days before Shabbos, for a mitzvah one is allowed to board the ship, even on erev Shabbos. And the Mordechai says going for parnassah is considered such a mitzvah. Furthermore, the Rambam says that although one cannot simply pick up and leave Eretz Yisrael when they live there, but for a mitzvah one can exit and, he says, one such mitzvah is if you are going for parnassah.
The commentaries cite that the source of the injunction of making a livelihood is the verse, “Sheishes yamim ta’avod” – Six days shall you work. (It is interesting to note that the Ramban says that no one counts the mitzvah of making a living in their list of the 613 mitzvos.) The Mishna also says, “Ehav es hamelacha” – Love your work. The Gemara also says the famous axiom, “Gedola melacha she’michabedes es ba’alah” – Great is work for it brings honor to the worker. It hardly sounds like we’re engaged in a cursed endeavor!
The Mishna in Pirkei Avos also says, “Yafeh talmud Torah im derech eretz, she’y’gias sheneihem mashkachash avon” – The synthesis of Torah and business is beautiful for this dual effort “frees us” (literally, causes us to forget) from the pursuit of sin.
Knowing the proper proportions of how much time to distribute to Torah, one’s livelihood, one’s family, and one’s recreational pursuits is one of the great challenges of life. Here are some helpful guidelines.
We need to know that one’s parnassah is fixed on Rosh Hashana and sealed on Yom Kippur. If one does too much hishtadlus, it is simply a waste of time. He won’t get a penny more than what was assigned him on Rosh Hashanah. This was one of the lessons of the mon: No matter how much was gathered, when they got home they all found that they had no more than the prescribed amount of one-tenth of an efah. You might protest, “Rabbi, I see that’s simply not true. If I stay an extra three hours at work, I earn double overtime pay and over the course of the week, I come home with an extra $800.” The answer is that this is just incorrect accounting. If you weren’t supposed to bring home that extra $2,400 that month, Hashem will cause a leak in your roof or a raise in your tuition. We can’t outsmart Hashem with superfluous hishtadlus.
But here’s the rub. How does one know how much is too much hishtadlus? Since the Mesilas Yesharim and the Chovos HaLevovos both tell us that this hishtadlus for parnassah is rooted in the curse of the original sin, it is not likely that Hashem wants us to miss out on minyan three times a day for an involvement caused by a curse. Similarly, it is highly improbable that Hashem would favor our abstaining from regular kvias itim l’Torah (fixed times for Torah learning, which is nitzchius – eternal, every twelve hours) for the pursuit of a livelihood that became necessary only because of sin. We should hear Shammai’s advice ringing in our ears: “Aseh Torascha keva” – Make Torah the main pursuit of your life.
It is also highly unlikely that Hashem expects from us such an abundance of hishtadlus which would cause us to rarely spend time with our children. Likewise, do we believe the Torah wants our wives to feel like they are living widows since their husbands are always buried in the office, or too wiped out because of such grueling work that they are almost worthless even when they are at home? If we severely miscalculate the proper allocation of time spent to make a living, when we get to the next world and are shown that we literally and needlessly spent tens of thousands of hours when we could have been collecting Torah and mitzvos, we will be eternally heartbroken.
The Chofetz Chaim compares superfluous hishtadlus to having a cask of wine and boring into it a second spout thinking that you will then get more wine. Of course, in reality, you’re only expending effort, and you’re still only going to get the same amount of wine that was in the barrel in the first place.
He demonstrates this with another parable. A young man who couldn’t afford the price of a wagon ride stood on the side of the road to get a hitch. A kind wagon-driver stopped and let him come in. The young man gratefully got into the wagon with his heavy valise and proceeded to put the heavy suitcase across his lap. The wagon-driver observed this and told him to put the valise on the floor of the wagon. The young man naively said, “It’s enough that you’re giving me a ride. I don’t want you to have to carry the valise as well.”
Obviously, the lesson of the parable is that there’s no difference whether he’s holding the valise or if it’s on the floor. So too, Hashem is giving us a ride. Any extra effort is like the young man holding the suitcase on his lap. As the posuk states, “Hashleich al Hashem yihavicha v’hu yichalkalecha” – Cast upon Hashem your burdens and He will support you.
Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, zy”a, came to America in 1937. It was the time of the Great Depression and being a Shabbos-observer was very challenging. In one of his drashas given at this time, as recorded in the Doreish Moshe, he said that in order to get what was promised to us on Rosh Hashana, we have to make acceptable hishtadlus. “Can any believing Jew think,” asked Rav Moshe, “that by working on Shabbos, the income of Rosh Hashana will be released to them?”
A father who was marrying off his son came to me early on the wedding day with a solemn facial expression. He told me that he had a heavy feeling the previous night when he was sitting with his son, the chosson, filling out the seating cards for the wedding. I looked at him with surprise and asked, “So why are you so solemn? It’s such a joyous occasion! Do you know how many people would like to be in your shoes and be marrying off a son to such a wonderful girl?” The father answered me defensively, “Rabbi, don’t get me wrong. I’m very grateful. But as I was sitting with my son, it struck me that this was the last night he will be home as an unmarried boy. After tonight, he’s moving out. My time with him as a permanent resident of my house is over. And, Rabbi, I have to tell you, I failed him. I hardly learned with him. Never did homework with him. Didn’t take him out for fun trips and hardly ever had father-to-son talks. I was always too busy at the office, on the phone, or simply collapsing from a rough day at work.”
Let this father’s brutal revelation be a summation of our discussion about hishtadlus, and in the merit of striking the correct balance in life, may Hashem bless us with long life, good health, and everything wonderful.
Transcribed and edited by Shelley Zeitlin.
