There’s a beautiful pasuk in Tehilim
(perek לז, Pasuk ג) that I would like to share, along with the commentaries of the Ramban and the Rabbenu Bachye.
The pasuk says,
בְּטַ֣ח בַּֽה' וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב שְׁכָן־אֶ֝֗רֶץ וּרְעֵ֥ה אֱמוּנָֽה
Rely on G-d, and do good. Dwell in the land, and let Emunah be your friend- connect yourself to Emunah.
What does that mean?
Ramban says, in his Sefer Emunah and Bitachon, (Perek א), that one might think, “When I am working, when I am involved in parnassa, I am exempt from learning Torah because I’m working.” That’s a mistake. David HaMelech says ורעה אמונה- connect to Emunah.
He explains that this means,
Strengthen yourself and be careful, that everything should be done with Emunah, with faith, and belief in G-d.
If so, you will not steal, lie or cheat. And you won’t be disconnected from doing good for even a moment, because every second of the day, you’re thinking- “Am I doing the will of G-d?
G-d wants me to conduct my business with Emunah. Therefore, I am doing what Hashem says I should do.”
There’s a story told over about a certain Gadol. Someone approached him and asked how he was supposed to learn if he didn’t know anything. The Gadol asked whether he said Modeh Ani when he woke in the mornings. The man replied that he had. The Gadol asked whether he said Netilat Yadayim- the man said yes. So the Gadol explained that when you do something because Hashem (or the Chachamim) tell you to,
such as saying Modeh Ani, or Netilat Yadayim, each time you do something that Hashem told you to do, that is learning Torah.
The Ramban is telling us that you aren’t disconnected from Torah when you work- you are doing what Hashem wants you do to. Hashem wants you to live your life with Emunah. Therefore, you’re connected, at all times.
Rabbenu Bachye says in his sefer Kar HaKemach, on the topic of Bitachon, quoted this pasuk as well. He says that G-d is telling you -
בְּטַ֣ח בַּֽה' וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב שְׁכָן־אֶ֝֗רֶץ Rely on Hashem, do good and dwell in the land.
Dwell in the land means to connect and involve yourself with people, and with work, but at the same time
ורעה אמונה
Keep yourself connected to Emunah
If you are connected to Emunah,
You’ve not disconnected yourself from good deeds even for a moment.
You’re fulfilling the Mitzvah of emunah. You’re involved in the entire Torah.
Like Habakkuk, who put the whole Torah on one pillar, said: צדיק באמונתו יחיה
A Sadik will live for his emunah.
This is very powerful. A person can go out to work with or without that little Emunah thought- and this determines whether or not he’s involved in a Mitzvah all day or not.
Are you going to work begrudgingly, or are going to work thinking that every step of the day, you’re involved in Emunah?
This connects two of the six questions they will ask after 120 years. One question is whether you set aside time for learning. Another question is whether you dealt honestly in business.
According to our lesson, these two points are very connected.
Of course, one could say, “I dealt honestly in business 18 hours a day.”
But we can’t get carried away and think that all we need is to do business with emunah. We still have to set aside time for learning.
But a big chunk of your answer is whether you were involved in doing good deeds the entire day.
This doesn’t only apply to men going to work. This applies to everyone, in whatever they are involved in during their day.
If a lady is home changing the beds, she should think about what Hashem wants her to do. She should know that Hashem wants her to take care of her family with a smile on her face, and be a loyal partner in her marriage.
She should realize that this is what Hashem wants from her. She is building a house of Emunah. As the famous wedding beracha goes, we should build a בית נאמן בישראל
Simply, this means build a loyal house- where the husband and wife are loyal to each other, with fidelity. But there’s a deeper explanation: This means a house that is loyal to Hashem, where the husband and wife are both on the רעה אמונה program- where they’re both connected to emunah throughout the day. In that way, their whole day is a day of goodness.
As the Ramban says,
“You aren’t disconnecting yourself from good, even for a moment.”
That’s the power רעה אמונה- having emunah as a connection and guiding force, which turns your whole day into a day of goodness.
Have a wonderful day.