We last left off where the Hovot HaLevavot told us that once you choose a job based on your tendencies and interests, stick to it.
In 3 words, he says,
ויסבול מתקה ומרירותה,
Carry it when it when it’s sweet, and carry it when it’s bitter.
Don’t get disgusted when sometimes it doesn’t work. Rely on Hashem that He’ll use this for your sustenance.
The Gemara backs this up:
-In Masechat Arachin טז it says:
אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִנַּיִן שֶׁלֹֹּא יִשַׁנֶּה אָדָם מֵאוּמָנוּתוֹ וּמְאוּמָנוּת אֲבוֹתָיו
How do we know a person shouldn’t switch from his trade- from the one he and his father worked at?
The Gemara answers that at the time of Shlomo HaMelech there was a coppersmith whose family trade was traced back 100 years to a family of copper workers from the time of the mishkan. This was his trade, his talent, his tendency, that he stuck with, even if it wasn’t always popular or easy. When you’re using your tendencies and talents, that’s a G-d given cause for your sustenance.
Furthermore, the Gemarah in Masechet Berachot says:
(ברכות דף ל"ב) ד' דברים צריכים חיזוק
תפילה ומע"ט תורה ודרך ארץ
There are four things that require hizzuk:, strengthening, encouragement, motivation rejuvenation :
Three of these are religious obligations and come as no surprise:
1- Torah: Sometimes you don’t like what you’re learning, or where, but you have to push through
2 - Good Deeds: you could be working on a hessed project with many challenges.
3- Tefillah- prayer. Sometime we pray and aren’t answered.
And the Gemara brings proofs for all threeof these. As it says in Yehoshua:
רַק֩ חֲזַ֨ק וֶֽאֱמַ֜ץ מְאֹ֗ד לִשְׁמֹ֤ר לַעֲשׂוֹת֙ כְּכָל־הַתּוֹרָ֗ה ...׃
strengthen yourself and be courageous to observe faithfully all the Torah...
The Gemara says this applies to Torah and mitzvot
Regarding Tefilla, it says in Tehilim:
קַוֵּ֗ה אֶל ה׳ חֲ֭זַק וְיַאֲמֵ֣ץ לִבֶּ֑ךָ וְ֝קַוֵּ֗ה אֶל־ ה׳׃
Hope to Hashem, strengthen and make your heart courageous... continue to hope to Hashem
Pray again and again. Never give up on your Bitachon. Be relentless. Eventually you’ll get what you want. If you feel guaranteed, you’ll get it.
The fourth item on this list of things that need hizzuk is the Hiddush:
4- Derech Eretz
How do we know we need hizuk for this?
The Gemarah quotes a pasuk from Shemuel:
חזק ונתחזק בעד עמנו ובעד ערי אלקינו
This pasuk is referring to work.
Derech Eretz, says Rashi, doesn’t mean middot. It means your job. And as Rashi says,
אם אומן הוא לאומנותו, אם סוחר הוא לסחורתו, אם איש מלחמה הוא למלחמתו
If you’re a tradesman, stick with your trade. If you’re a business-man, ride the waves of your business, and if you’re a warrior, stay the course.
Rav Yerucham Levovitz draws a lesson from this. Beside the fact that we are pairing Bitachon with business, we have to know that a person should stick to his business. Because, as Rav Yerucham Levovitz says in his sefer on Elul:
כי בזה תלוי עיקר ההצלחה
Success comes from resilience.
Conversely, he says, if a person keeps flip-flopping, he won’t see success. Rav Yerucham uses this example as a mashal for Bitachon, but the concept exists nonetheless.
In his sefer on Humash, Daat Torah, Rav Yerucham says an unbelievable thing:
He says a person is supposed to stick to his business and not give up.
Whatever you chose, stick to it. His words are:
ולא מתרפה בשום אופן
כי אם יתחזק בה, ובודאי ישיג מטרתו, מפני שהעתיד כבר בטוח הוא
Don’t give up or weaken yourself in any way. If you hold on strong, you’ll definitely get there. Look at it, he says, as if your future has been guaranteed and through that reliance, you’ll get there. The degree to which you persist is indicative of how much Bitachon you have.
In other words, the craftsman who is sticking it out in his field of interest and talent says, “Hashem, You told me to choose a sibba. It doesn’t make any difference what that sibba is. It’s just a way to cover the miracle. If I feel that this is the way You’re going to send me the money, I’ll stick with this and You’ll make it work.”
Rav Yerucham says we can see with our eyes that the people who stick with it and have resilience succeed.
At first glance, someone might ask what right we have to dictate to G-d how we’ll make our money!? How do we know that when we persist we aren’t just being stubborn?
Rav Yerucham refutes these questions. In his words:
רצה הקב׳ה
Hashem wants you to do it.
If you chose it, stick to it. He says it’s the secret to Beracha.
על ידי זה גופא שבטוח הוא בעתידו
Because you feel so guaranteed for your future, and you are so convinced that this is the way to get there, you’ll get there.
And then he says these powerful words:
וזהו סוד של אמונה ובטחון
This is the secret to Emunah and Bitachon.
These are the words of Rav Yerucham Levovitz, the words of the Hovot HaLevavot and the words of the Gemara.
This shows us that we shouldn’t give up. We should stick to it, rely on Hashem, and we’ll see success.