Today we continue to discuss the second advantage vis-à-vis the alchemist, with a quote from the Hovot HaLevavot
בעל הכימיה צריך למעשים ולמלאכות, לא יושלם לו חפצו זולתם, ואפשר שימיתוהו ריחם ועשנם עם התמדת העבודה ואורך היגיעה בהם לילה ויומם,
The alchemist has to do certain things, adding different chemicals and making mixtures. It’s possible that he could get killed from the smoke and the smell or from the prolonged work, and long hours night and day.
The Hovot HaLevavot is telling us that there are occupational hazards. Every job comes with work hazards. Although people lacking Bitachon might look like the picture of success, bear in mind that we don’t get to see the full picture. We don’t know what’s really going on. There are work hazards. A professional football player, for example, might look like he’s doing great, making lots of money, but what’s happening to his arm, to his brain? There is a price to pay. Success isn’t just measured by the bottom line.
It’s important for us to realize these aren’t just stories of yesteryear, of kings and princesses. These things happen everyday to me and you. I use personal stories to emphasize that point.
The Hovot HaLevavot continues:
והבוטח באל בבטחה מהפגעים ולבו בטוח ממצוא הרעות
The Baal Bitachon is protected from these attacks ( the work hazards) and he relies on G-d and feels guaranteed from negative events.
As David HaMelech said...
אשרי כל החוסים בו(תהלים ב)
Fortunate are all who rely... Not just Abraham, Yitzhak or Yaakov but All
My father, as I’ve mentioned, is a doctor. Early in his career he worked in an ER. One year, there was an end-of-year party for the staff of the ER. My father was the only one who came to work next day. Why? It turns out that an un-kosher dish that was served at the party had food poisoning. Everyone that ate it got sick. My father was the only one who was spared. This is a form of work hazard that we might not see if we simply calculate the profit.
Money isn’t everything. We should not have tunnel vision. There’s a larger picture. The Baal Bitachon sees that.