Our Lives are Blessed!

Insight of the Week

The Hovot Ha’levavot writes that when a person goes out to work in the morning, he should have kavanah (the intention) that he is now performing a mitzvah , fulfilling Hashem’s command that he work to earn a livelihood. A person shouldn’t go to work begrudgingly, wishing he could just stay home and do nothing. Rather, he should think to himself that he performs a mitzvah , since, after all, it is Hashem’s will that a person work to support himself and his family. In presenting this idea, the Hovot Ha’levavot brings a pasuk from the story of creation. After Hashem created Adam and Havah, the first human beings, he placed them in Gan Eden לעבדה ולשמרה – to work in the garden, and to guard it (Bereshit 2:15). This pasuk , the Hovot Ha’levavot writes, is the source of the notion that we fulfill Hashem’s will by working for a livelihood. It is noteworthy that the Hovot Ha’levavot chose to bring this pasuk , which refers to Adam and Havah’s life in Gan Eden before the sin. As we know, Adam and Havah were soon banished from Gan Eden because they partook of the forbidden fruit, and Hashem decreed that Adam would have to work very hard to earn a livelihood: בזעת אפיך תאכל לחם – “By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread” (Bereshit 3:19). Hashem cursed the land, such that it would not produce food without lots of hard work. Already before the sin, Adam and Havah needed to work, but after the sin, the work became much more grueling. We would certainly assume that this second pasuk is far more relevant to our situation, which the Hovot Ha’levavot addresses. As we all now, we need to work very hard to support ourselves and our families, and this is because of the curse which Hashem proclaimed after Adam and Havah’s sin. Why, then, did the Hovot Ha’levavot bring the first pasuk , which describes work before Adam and Havah’s sin, as the source of the “ mitzvah ” to work for a living? Perhaps we can find the answer in our parashah , Parashat Balak. Balak, the king of Moav, sent a delegation to Bilam, asking him to come and place a curse on Beneh Yisrael . Hashem appeared to Bilam and said, לא תאור את העם כי ברוך הוא – “Do not curse the nation, because they are blessed” (22:12). Rashi explains that Hashem first told Bilam, לא תאור את העם – not to curse Beneh Yisrael . Bilam then asked if he should bless them, instead. Hashem replied, כי ברוך הוא – the people were already blessed, and they did not require Bilam’s blessing. What does this mean? Why did Hashem not want Bilam to bless the people? The answer, sadly, is found all around us, and perhaps even within ourselves. So many people are waiting to be blessed, not realizing that they are already blessed. So many people complain and feel unhappy, seeing themselves as deprived, and their lives as “cursed,” when in truth, they are blessed. They are unhappy and discontented, because they don’t see that they already have so much blessing. Hashem was telling Bilam that Benei Yisrael are already blessed, and they do not need him to bless them. And this is the perspective we should have, as well. Of course, it is perfectly acceptable to want things we don’t have, and to pray for these things. However, we must always remember כי ברוך הוא – that we are already blessed, that we already have so many beautiful blessings, that we are so fortunate, that Hashem has bestowed upon us so many wonderful gifts. We don’t need to wait for ברכה to feel blessed, because ברוך הוא – we already have a great deal of ברכה in our lives. This might explain why the Hovot Ha’levavot chose the pasuk describing Adam and Havah before their banishment from Gan Eden . He is indicating to us that we are to see our lives as blessed, not cursed. Even if we need to work long hours at a job we do not love, we are to feel blessed, as if we are in Gan Eden , because we are doing what Hashem wants us to do. We shouldn’t see our jobs as a curse, but rather as a blessing. We should go to work and do all the things we need to do – even the hard things! – with a feeling of כי ברוך הוא , that we are blessed, that we have the good fortune of living our lives in the service of Hashem and under His constant, loving care.