We continue with the Bet Halevi who explains to us today why man needs to do hishtadlut. If it’s said so clearly that everything happens from Hashem, why do we need to work? And he says, The truth is we shouldn't have to. Everything should come without any effort, like Adam HaRishon before he sinned, the angels were roasting meat and pouring wine for him. But because of the Gezera of “בזעת אפיך תאכל לחם
By the sweat of your brow, you're going to eat bread,” there's a punishment that we have to toil and work in order to get what we need. That's the first reason.
Of course, it's not just a punishment, it's really a tikun. After we ate from the Etz HaDaat, we had an additional tendency towards evil and desire. If we were to remain free, as we were before we sinned, we would end up getting into trouble. We'd end up sinning. And as he quotes from the Gemara, “הבטלה מביאה לידי זמה
Having nothing to do brings a person to promiscuous behavior,” Therefore, there's a Gezera to toil, in order to keep us out of trouble.
As the Mishna in Pirkei Avot says,
יפה תלמוד תורה עם דרך ארץ
It is nice to study Torah and work.
The effort of doing both makes you forget sin.”
So, another purpose of going to work and learn is to keep you busy and not sin. That's why the Hovot Halevavot says that certain people, who can stay out of trouble while only learning, are allowed to just learn.
Furthermore, what does work mean?
Work can be something that keeps you busy. People have jobs that aren't really jobs, and they're really not busy, and that's also not good.
He goes on to quote a Gemara in Kiddushin that Rav Shimon ben Elazar said, “Have you ever seen a wild animal or a bird that has a craft? And they are sustained without suffering. Animals get their food quite easily. The animal world was created to serve me, and I was created to serve my Master.
Isn't it logical that I should be sustained without suffering?
So why do I have to work for my daily bread? The answer is because I have corrupted my deeds and lost the right to a toil-free sustenance. That's why man has to work. But logically and philosophically, man should not work.
The Hovot Halevavot in Shaar HaBitachon gives another reason why man has to work- Because Hashem wants to give us opportunities to be tested to see if we'll obey His commands. Instead of receiving a ready-made loaf of bread, man must plow, plant and harvest. There are many Mitzvot involved in farming. It's prohibited to plow with an oxen donkey together, it's prohibited to plant mixed seeds, one must leave portions of certain crops for the poor. In today's times as well, many halachot involve the workplace. We may not lend with interest, we may not cheat or steal, etc. So while imposing upon us the necessity to earn a livelihood, Hashem gave us the opportunity to perform many mitzvot, to be tested and to pass the tests, thus making us worthy of the eternal reward in the world to come.
These are the basic reasons why we have to work, but really, the work has nothing to do with the success that we're going to have.
The work we do is there to:
A-fulfill the punishment of Adam HaRishon’s sin.
B- keep us busy.
C- give us opportunities for tests.
And we’ll soon see that it’s also, D: cover up the miracle.
These are all reasons, but fundamentally, the hishtadlut is really not connected with the outcome, which is an important point to constantly review and reiterate.