All from Heaven

In this week’s Torah portion, Moses warns the Jewish people against the lure of success and prosperity. The Torah tells us in 8:11-18, “Take care lest you forget God, your God, by not observing His commandments, His ordinances, and His decrees, which I command you today, lest you eat and be satisfied, and you build good houses and settle, and your cattle and sheep and goats increase, - and you increase silver and gold for yourself, and everything that you have will increase – and your heart will become haughty and you will forget God, your God, Who took you out of the land Egypt from the house of slavery, Who leads you through the great and awesome Wilderness – of snake, fiery serpent, and scorpion, and thirst where there was no water – Who brings forth water for you from the rock of flint, Who feeds you manna in the Wilderness , which your forefathers knew not, in order to afflict you and in order to test you, to do good for you in your end. And you may say in your heart, ‘My strength and the might of my hand made me all this wealth!”

Moses is speaking to the generation after those who came out of Egypt. The generation prior went from being slaves and having nothing to amassing a tremendous wealth through miraculous means as they left Egypt. It would be nonsensical for them to take credit for having cattle and sheep, silver and gold – they only received it because God created a miraculous situation for them to obtain riches! Is this idea applicable to us today where we did not receive our livelihood through miraculous means, but rather earned it through hard work?

Lesson:

It feels good to work for what we have. In fact, this concept has roots in giving tzedakah, charity, as it is preferable to give someone a job so they can earn their living as opposed to just giving them money. We feel accomplished when receiving a paycheck after working hard; we feel good about taking that paycheck and using it to buy something for ourselves or family. However, when we think about what we have, it is nothing short of receiving manna, the special food from heaven.

Who gave us the physical and intellectual capabilities to be successful at our job? God! Who gave us everything we need to keep that job? God! Who got us the job to begin with? God! The parsha is warning us against taking credit for success – not only did God give you everything needed to succeed but actually made you successful! There are plenty of people who we look at and think, ‘how did that guy make it?’ and then others that are extremely talented but never made it. Do not take credit for your successes because if you do, God forbid, ‘your heart will be haughty and you will forget God’. When we recognize our successes are from God and thank Him for it, we elevate our successes and ourselves while cultivating a deeper connection to God, which is the biggest success of all.

Exercise: View everything you have, even things that you may have worked hard for, as manna from heaven. Think of one thing you are proud that you accomplished. Now thank God for it.