Close To Torah

King David stresses repeatedly the axiom of our faith. All that happens is from Hashem. Hashem runs the world in a manner in which He carries out decrees by means of two main approaches: (1) The laws of nature (2) Hashgachah, Hashem’s personal supervision and intervention (Malbim). The goal of mankind is to connect with Hashem and to see His Guiding Hand in every facet of our life. We pray that Hashem should only send us good things. Whatever transpires in the world we recognize that it is the Will of Hashem despite whether or not it is a joyful experience for us.

Ultimate Happiness

So many people live their days in stress and worry. They are challenged by the daily demands for parnashah (earning a living), health, finding a marriage partner, children and other difficult situations. The Torah approach commands us to put in our full effort in a most reasonable manner to accomplish what has to be done and then to put our trust in Hashem. The psalm expresses this in its opening words, “Sing joyfully righteous people because of Hashem, [sing] upright people praise is befitting… thank Hashem… (verses 1-2)” When one lives with the perspective that Hashem is taking care of him, he merits to find comfort and happiness knowing that he has all that he needs to accomplish in this world. There is one most important point though.

Required Effort

Hashem set up the world in a way that we often are required to act. It is true that sometimes Hashem will push us into situations such as getting us a job even though we botched up the interview or making us meet the right person whom we end up working with, but under general circumstances we must put in the effort first. No one has a right to sit back and say, “Okay Hashem, I just quit my job and would like to retire; You send me money so that I do not have to work anymore.” I had a friend who always complained to me about the difficulties of being single. “What are you doing about this issue? I asked him. “I daven, pray, very hard for Hashem to help me.” “That is great!” I responded, “prayer is a most important ingredient, but what else are you doing?” He looked at me dumbfounded, he truly thought that somehow by his praying and at the same time saying no to every dating suggestion that I or his other friends were making to him would result in his getting married. Each person has different needs and required efforts that Hashem expects of him or her. The crucial point here is that this must be explored with proper guidance and put into action.

Ultimate Results

The bottom line is that Hashem will decide the outcome of our efforts despite how much time, energy or money we put in. As the psalm continues, “He [Hashem] knows their [people’s] thoughts and actions… a king is not saved by a large army.. only in Hashem do we trust… (verses 15-21). The end result of our efforts are carried out by Hashem alone.

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