How Much Hishtadlut (Personal Effort), Part 1

What does Rabbi Arush say about hishtadlut (personal effort)? You’re supposed to have emuna that Hashem takes care of you but we need to make a living to have what we need and we have trust in Hashem everything comes in its time. 

-S.W. – NY, NY, USA 

The truth is that it really depends on a lot of factors, but I’ll try to explain generally: 

The Main Hishtadlut is Prayer! 

Rabbi Shalom Arush says that 99% of hishtadlut should be prayer. This is the bar to aim for.  

Most of us aren’t at this level, but it’s important to know that this is the truth. Most of our efforts should be spiritual – prayer and teshuva (repentance). Rabbi Arush says most people do the opposite: 99% physical effort and if you’re lucky, maybe 1% spiritual effort, speaking to Hashem, prayer, and teshuva.  

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky zt”l said it’s good for people to sponsor other people praying, like at Kever Rachel, or doing a pidyon nefesh with Rabbi Arush – these are very important parts of hishtadlut.  

BUT ultimately Hashem wants to hear from YOU. Your own prayers, your heart connecting to God, your words. Pray in the Shemonei Esrei, of course. Somewhere you need to create a personal connection to God. Hashem wants you and your heart directed to Him. This is what opens the pipes! 

Also, don’t forget that teshuva is a big part of spiritual hishtadlut. God loves each of us like an only child. He wants to do good for us, even more than the best parent. So why would He not give? Either it is a tikkun (rectification), or a message from Hashem, or both.  

Every test always has an aspect of a test in emuna – Do we trust Hashem? Turn to Hashem? Pray? Personal prayer? – or not. Rabbi Arush says that if you try to understand the message from Hashem of what you need to improve and can’t find it, then know it’s a test of emuna.  

However, so much of the time, there IS a clear message Hashem is sending us and we just need to listen.  This is Rule #3 in The Garden of Emuna – everything happens for a reason. For instance, good income is determined by a number of factors. If the husband is not respecting his wife and making sure she feels happy and cared for, this limits parnasah. Parnasah is dependent on kedushah (personal holiness) – the man guarding his eyes, the woman being modest. Parnasah is dependent on ahavat  Yisrael (treating others with love and respect) and peace. Someone with parnasah problems needs to pray about these things, try to fix them, and also learn about them in-depth.  

In order to decode Hashem’s messages, you first need to read The Garden of Emuna. This book explains in simple terms the basic spiritual rules that Hashem uses, such a midah k’neged midah – a turn for a turn. Just like the physical world is built on rules of nature, like gravity, so too the spiritual world also runs on rules. Living in this world and not knowing the rules is like trying to play basketball on a soccer field. No wonder why people flounder!  

For good income, Rabbi Arush explains the various mistakes that can close the flow of abundance from on High in The Garden of Riches. With regards to health problems, Rabbi Arush has an extensive list in The Garden of Healing. 

The second thing you need in order to understand what Hashem is trying to tell you to do, before throwing yourself into massive amounts of physical efforts to get what you want, is hitbodedut – personal prayer. Again, The Garden of Emuna will teach you all about it. Hashem loves us and knows it is so hard to connect to Him and understand Him sometimes. He does not expect us to be prophets! When we speak to Him in our own words, and discuss our problems, our questions, our issues and our needs – we get answers, we get Divine assistance, we get help.  

You don’t have to go at it alone – just pick up the “phone” and call home. Your father just happens to be the King of Kings, who has all the power, all the money and all the connections! Why not try talking to Him before exhausting yourself trying to “make it happen”? 

If you have not yet experienced the thrilling results of personal prayer, all I can tell you is – You have GOT to try it! It’s impossible to explain how Hashem answers you, because if anyone tries to say that they hear God talking back then they belong in the looney bin – but He answers. He has His ways. You start looking for God, and You will find Him! 

Continues in Part 2

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Rachel Avrahami grew up in Los Angeles, CA, USA in a far-off valley where she was one of only a handful of Jews in a public high school of thousands. She found Hashem in the urban jungle of the university. Rachel was privileged to read one of the first copies of The Garden of Emuna in English, and the rest, as they say, is history. She made Aliyah and immediately began working at Breslev Israel.   
  
Rachel is now the Editor of Breslev Israel’s English website. She welcomes questions, comments, articles, and personal stories to her email: rachel.avrahami@breslev.co.il.