Welcome to the daily chizuk (encouragement). The more a person depends on Hashem, and the more he looks to Hashem for his security, the more blessing he will have in his life. We said yesterday that David HaMelech compared himself to a nursing baby, kegamul alei immo (like a weaned child upon his mother). In the same way a baby is totally dependent on its mother, so too we should be totally dependent upon Hashem.
There's something interesting about nursing. As long as the child continues to nurse, there is always milk there waiting. But once the child loses interest, the milk starts to dry up. It's the nursing itself that produces the milk. The same is true with emunah (faith). It's the reliance on Hashem that produces the shefa (abundance).
I once heard a story about the Baal Shem Tov. He was traveling and stayed over at someone's house. The host was so honored to have the rabbi there. While the rabbi was there, he would tell his family stories and teach them Torah. But a couple of days later, the rabbi said, “I have to go.” The man said, “Rabbi, please stay.” The rabbi said, “I have to go collect tzedakah (charity) for different organizations.” The man said, “How much will you collect today if you leave?” The rabbi said, “About a thousand rubles.” So the man said, “Rabbi, I will give you the money. Just please stay here.”
The man didn't have that much money, but he wanted the rabbi there. The next day, the rabbi said, “Okay, today I have to go.” The man said the same thing: “I will give you the money again.” But the man was running out of money. He had some precious stones that he always relied on. If he ever needed money, he would sell these stones. He really wanted the rabbi, and he ended up selling the stones for about 4,000 rubles. He kept the rabbi for a few more days.
When the rabbi was ready to leave, the man said, “Rabbi, I have no money left, but please stay.” The rabbi said, “I'm sorry, I have to go.” The man couldn't believe it. But now he had a big family to take care of. He had nothing to feed his family with and no money. He turned to Hashem and said, “Hashem, please help me. I need you.”
Not long after, some drunkards were passing by and knocking at his door. This man's name was Shalom. His job was selling whiskey. They wanted to buy, and he said, “Go away. I don't have anything left. I don't have any money. I don't have any merchandise.” They persisted. They said, “We love your whiskey so much. Even if you have empty barrels, we'll fill them with water, and you'll get the flavor of the whiskey.” They ended up giving him gold coins for the empty barrels.
A few years later, the Baal Shem Tov was passing through that town again. He went to Shalom's house, looking for his old host. The owner of the house said, “He doesn't live here anymore. He moved to the chashuv (important) part of the town. Now he's in an oceanfront house.” The Baal Shem Tov went there, and the house looked like a palace. It was opulent. There was a doorman. There was a butler. He got in, and finally, he reached the man, Shalom.
Shalom came running to the rabbi and kissed his hand. “What an honor to have the Baal Shem Tov here!” But he said, “Rabbi, it was bothering me for the past couple of years. How could you have taken my last dollar like that and left me with a big family to feed?”
The Baal Shem Tov said, “I saw in Shamayim (heaven) that you were destined for tremendous wealth. But because you were relying on those precious stones instead of Hashem, the pipes were closed. They were blocked. Once I saw that you sold those stones and were going to rely on Hashem now, the Beracha (blessing) was going to come pouring in. I knew you would be fine.” It's the reliance on Hashem that produces the blessing. Have a great day.