08 Jul THE SUBJECT OF HISHTADLUS

The subject 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 became a
need for hishtadlus.
The Reishis Chachmah 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 of 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 later
than 3 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 Yisroel 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
Mishnah also says, “Ehav es hamelachah
– 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.”
Hardly sounds like we’re engaged in a
cursed endeavor!
The Mishna in Pirkei Avos also says,
“Yafeh salmud 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 on Torah, on
one’s livelihood, one’s family, and one’s
recreational pursuits is one of the great
challenges of life. Here’s some helpful
guidelines.
We need to know that one’s parnassah
is fixed on Rosh HaShannah and sealed
on Yom Kippur. If one does too much
hishtadlus, it is simply a waste of time.
They won’t get a penny more than what
was assigned them on Rosh HaShannah.
This was one of the lessons of the mon:
no matter how much was gathered, when
they got home they 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 3 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 $2400
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. Again, how does
one know how much is too much
hishtadlus? Since the Mesilas Yesharim
and the Chovos HaLevovos both tell
us that this hishtadlus 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 a cursed-
based involvement. 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 ringing in our ears the
advice of Shammai, “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 husband is 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
yihavichah 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 HaShannah, we have to
make acceptable hishtadlus. “Can any
believing Jew think,” asked Rav Moshe,
“that by working on Shabbos, the income
of Rosh HaShannah 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 said, ‘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 marry 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.