The Hovot Halevavot continues with the theme of using examples from past experiences of life to give us hizuk in challenging situations.
He spoke about the person who feels his parnasa is late in coming, and compared this to the timing of a birth- no earlier or later than decreed by Hashem.
He also mentioned a person whose parnasa is very tight and exact, with no wiggle room. He compared this to a nursing mother, who feeds the baby with exactly the right amounts and no extras.
The Hovot Halevavot now brings up a third challenge, and phrases it in a very poetic way.
Sometimes a person gets his parnasa
בסבה מבלי סבה ומקום מבלי מקום ועל ידי איש מבלתי איש אחר
from a cause that’s not really a cause, and a place that’s not really a place.
In other words, this man is in a strange business. He gets his money in a nonstandard way. He’s not your typical wholesaler or retailer.
For example, he has a team of women who check for lice at schools.
He might wonder why he can’t be like everyone else. Why have such a strange way of earning a living?
The Hovot HaLevavot advises this man to say in his heart,
“Just like G-d created me in a certain form, with particular looks and personality traits, different from everyone else, G-d also chose that my parnasa should come in a certain way. And just like G-d chose my parents for me, specifically to bring me out the way I am, and it could’ve only been through these two people who are my parents (or I wouldn’t be who I am), he chose this parnassa for me as well.”
The Hovot HaLevavot is using our existence as an example.
You think your parnasa is individualized? Take a lesson from who you are. Think about how you became that way.
G-d chose your parents specifically for you.
We read about this in the Zohar the night before a berit Milah ( according to the Sephardic Custom). I am not an expert on the Zohar, but we can study the following, which is deep yet fascinating.
The Zohar quotes a pasuk:
זה ספר תולדות אדם
“This is the book of the history of man. “
What book?
What did G-d show man?
The Zohar explains that G-d showed Adam, with Ruach HaKaddosh, all the future people for all of time. He literally saw an album of all people, from the beginning of time to the end.
It says, Each one with their faces. Exactly how they’d look.
And goes on to say-
Who is an artist like G-d? G-d is the greatest artist.
If you asked an artist to paint a portrait of a person, he’d have to collect all the right colors to mix and match in order to design the portrait - the red hair, the light-blue eyes etc., to create the likeness.
Well, G-d had a picture of what He wanted you to look like. Each person looks the way G-d wanted him to look. This is quite a Hiddush. Your side- burns, the color of your beard, your hair line, your ear size- It’s all you. And in order to make you, there were billions of factors involved, in every organ and cell. How does G-d do that? Where does he get these materials? The red hair, the freckles etc - there are endless options. With limitless DNA and cell material available, G-d considers what each person should look like, then looks at two people (the parents of that person) and sees that they have all the ingredients and qualities necessary to make him.
You were planned. You weren’t a roll of the DNA dice.
Your picture was there beforehand, and G-d chose these parents to create you.
It was all personalized in order to make you, and also to keep you going every day of your life.
What happens today is personalized, just like you were personalized.
This is a huge topic, and we will continue to study it.