Transcript
So this snippet series is sponsored by the Saka family. We're up to the ninth bracha of the Amidah, the bracha of Borech Aleinu. And we've mentioned while it's true for all the brachos of the Amidah, all of tfilla is an exercise in emunah, all of davening is an exercise in humility and the recognition that the Ribono Shel Olam is the answer. He's the one we rely on, the one we turn to, the one who is the solution to any or all of our problems. And that's true from the beginning: אתה חונן לאדם דעת, hashiveinu, each of the brachos, he is the answer, he is the solution. But Borech Aleinu perhaps stands out most among them, because we are most vulnerable and susceptible to mistakenly think כחי ועצם ידי עשה לי את החיל הזה, it's my ingenuity, it's my creativity, it's my effort. And that's why this bracha comes to remind us, ברך עלינו ה' אלהינו. No, any parnassa, any income, any livelihood, any material success that we get, it's Borech Aleinu, it's because of the bracha of Hashem Elokeinu. It's only because the Ribono Shel Olam gives it, the Ribono Shel Olam grants it. Which means all of our efforts to earn that livelihood, because ultimately he is the one who grants it and gives it, have to be within his approval, it has to meet his approval. If we try to bend corners, if we try to cut, if we try to be corrupt or dishonest, if we earn a livelihood and a living in ways that the Ribono Shel Olam wouldn't approve, then we're mistaken, then we're making a grave mistake. The Kolbo mentions this because the Kolbo points out that Borech Aleinu begins with the letter beis, and the bracha concludes, ברוך אתה ה' מברך השנים, ends with the letter mem. Torah Sheb'chsav begins with the letter beis, Bereishis bara elokim, we read it fairly recently, and Torah Shebaal Peh, Maseches Brachos begins with the letter mem, Me'emasi. So says the Kolbo, the bracha Borech Aleinu begins with the beis and ends with the mem, because if we're committed to Torah Sheb'chsav and Torah Shebaal Peh, if Torah is our guide, if Torah, the ethics of earning a living, if Torah is our guide, if Torah is what we are accountable to, if our faith and our emunah, bitachon, is in the Ribono Shel Olam, that he is the one who provides and he gives what we need, then we'll earn a living in a just way and that is built in. The importance of Torah being the compass, the first question we're asked when we get upstairs, naso v'nosaso b'emunah, were we honest in our business dealings? Which can be read in one of two ways: it means did we have integrity and were we honest when we did business, but it also means did our business reflect the measure of our emunah? The meforshim point out somebody who's dishonest in business, it's not only a violation bein adam l'chaveiro. If you cut corners, you cheat, if you market in an exaggerated way, if you're ruthless in your business dealings, you haven't just violated interpersonal relationships with other people, it's not just bein adam l'chaveiro, it is a gross and egregious violation bein adam l'makom. Why? What'd you do to Hashem if you cut corners? The answer is if you have faith, if you have trust in Hashem that he provides and he provides what we need, then you'd never cheat or be dishonest. Every act of cutting a corner, every act of dishonesty, is itself a demonstration of kefirah. It's a lack of faith that Hashem is the one who's in charge, the one who's in control. So the question that we're asked when we get upstairs, the Gemara in Shabbos, Hashem says did you do your business dealings in good faith? It means both, tarti mashma. It means were you faithful in your business dealings, was your word your bond, were you trustworthy, did you have integrity? But it also means did the business dealings reflect the emunah that you have, that you do take your initiative, you do your hishtadlus, and then you let go let God? After the hishtadlus, we realize that Hashem is the one who provides. We can work all day, 23 hour days, 23 and 59 minute hour, you gotta daven, you gotta do other things, 23 hour days. The Ribono Shel Olam wants you to be a millionaire, you'll be a millionaire working a reasonable time, an eight hour day. If he doesn't, he wants you to struggle for a living, you'll struggle after 23 hours. You can't do excessive hishtadlus, that's a lack of emunah. You can't do too little hishtadlus, that is counterfeit emunah. A person has to do a reasonable amount of hishtadlus effort, and after that realize ברך עלינו ה' אלהינו, you do what's reasonable and then you let go and let Hashem because naso v'nosaso b'emunah, does our business dealings, does the attitude we bring towards business, reflect the emunah that we have? Each bracha of the Amidah we've examined so far has a historical precedent. The Medrash tells us where the bracha originated from, what's the historical precedent? So what's the historical precedent of this bracha of Borech Aleinu? The Medrash tells us it's the story of Yitzchak. Yitzchak in his lifetime experienced a famine and at first he thought he should follow the footsteps of his father, מעשה אבות סימן לבנים, so Avraham his father relocated to Mitzrayim temporarily during a famine. So Yitzchak thought I should go too. But of course Yitzchak was different than Avraham because of our parsha. Gotta love it when Seder snippets and the parsha coincide. Why was Yitzchak different? Cause he was a korban olah. Yitzchak was offered on the mizbeach, the akeidah. So Yitzchak was told he can't leave Eretz Yisrael. So instead he had to stay in the land and figure out a way in Eretz Yisrael during a famine to somehow get a farm to produce. And what was the result? It was a famine. It's a horrible year agriculturally. The fields didn't produce. Except for Yitzchak's field. Because he had faith in Hashem what did his field produce? Meah Shearim. A hundred times the expected productivity in a non-famine year. He made a hundred times what one could expect in a normal year, a non-famine year. And the Midrash tells us when the Malachim saw this they said Baruch Atah Hashem, you are the ultimate source of blessing, of livelihood that comes to this world. Hakadosh Baruch Hu you are in charge of parnassah. This is a famine everywhere, but Yitzchak pursued his livelihood in good faith. Hashem said you can't go to Mitzrayim, you're a korban olah, you can't leave the Holy Land. You're a holy person, you're a holy sacrifice. And because the Beis and the Mem, Torah she-bi-khtav, תורה שבעל פה, because Yitzchak earned his livelihood within the framework of Torah and Halacha and Emunah, Meah Shearim. Hashem rewarded him a hundredfold what one could have expected in a non-famine year. And the Malachim respond by making a berakhah. Oh wow, Hashem is in charge of parnassah. And that's the mentality, that's the kavanah we're meant to have. Barekh Aleinu, Hashem Elokeinu. Our hishtadlus we have to do our hishtadlus. Can't sit at home and wait. Nobody's knocking on the door and dropping off a bag of cash. Can't sit at home and wait. You gotta work. But you have to work a reasonable amount, not an excessive amount. And then Barekh Aleinu, Hashem Elokeinu. Ultimately Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the one responsible for our income and parnassah. And therefore we have to earn it in a way that would give him nachas ruach, that would make him proud. The Beis and the Mem says the Kol Bo, ברך עלינו מברך השנים, with the Breishis, the Beis of Breishis, the Mem of Mi'eimasai, Torah she-bi-khtav and תורה שבעל פה. Baruch Hu.
