The Flow of Abundance

By R. Nosson of Nemirov

The lust for money is the result of a lack of faith that God can bring a person an income via an easy means, without toil. Lacking this faith, a person constantly chases after his income. He is filled with depression, worry and bitterness, and borrows a great deal of money because he does not believe that God can provide him with his income in its proper time without toil, via a simple means.

And all of this is drawn from and connected to time. God transcends time and place, “Israel rose first in the [divine] thought,” and “the Holy One, blessed be He, the Torah and Israel are all one.” And so Israel also transcends time.

And all the service of Israel in this physical world, which rests within time and space, is solely to raise and connect the reality of time and space to the reality that transcends time and space—i.e., to raise, connect and incorporate all of creation into that which preceded creation.

And the essential thing is faith. As the verse states, “All of Your commandments are faith.”

This is because via faith, via believing that God created everything with His will, and that all time and space come from Him, from the reality that transcends time and space, we raise and connect time and space to the level that transcends time and space. And then all of creation is on the level that transcends time and space—on the level of providence.

And that is the aspect of trust in God. And in truth, essentially a person grows depressed and worries over earning a living because he fails to trust in God.

In essence, this blemish and lack of trust in God derive solely from the level of time and space.

God causes His good abundance to flow constantly, without interruption for even a moment. But that flow of abundance enters this physical world, which is within time and space, and so it must be clothed in time and space.

And so the flow of income and abundance comes down only within a specific time and space.

In essence, worry over earning a living comes from the fact that at times the flow of a person’s income is interrupted. Then the worry over making a living rises in his heart and he grows concerned over what he will eat tomorrow.

As a result, he invests a great deal of toil in earning a living. But in the end he does not attain an income until its proper time arrives.

But if this person possessed a true intelligence and believed that everything is from God but that it is necessary to wait until its time comes, he would not chase after his income so much, knowing that God will give him his income in its time, via an easy means.

It is necessary for a person engage in some slight action for the sake of earning a living, as our sages state regarding the verse, “I will bless you in all that you do”--for it can be drawn down into this world only via vessels. Thus, it is necessary to engage in some industry and business, for in this way one makes vessels and conduits to receive the abundance.

But in truth, the work is not the main thing at all. Rather, the essential income comes from God, from His providence alone, for no person knows how he will earn a living.

And so a person should not urgently pursue his income with great toil--as though, heaven forbid, his income depends on that alone. To the contrary, as a result his income will decrease, because “whenever a person forces the moment, the moment forces him back.” A person needs to engage in business and industry only to fulfill the commandment of engaging in business faithfully, in order to make a vessel and conduit to receive the abundance--and whatever he does in this will suffice.

And thus, “I will bless you in all that you do”— in whatever a person does, even something slight and small, Hashem will bless him. Most people pursue an income repeatedly and with great effort yet do not succeed in earning a profit, and achieve nothing in their toil--yet then God has pity on them and brings them an income--sometimes even great wealth—via a very simple means, in an almost supernatural fashion. The world is filled with stories of this kind, which are very common among those who engage in business.

So if a person had intelligence and from the beginning relied on God and did not worry at all, he would have no need whatsoever for unnecessary toil. When the time came, God would give him his income via a simple means.

Not only does a person not earn anything as a result of his worry, depression and exaggerated toil and overwhelming efforts, but to the contrary, he loses the abundant flow of great income.

This is because the essence of the flow of income comes from above, from that which transcends time and space--except that in this world, income has to clothe itself in time and space, and so a person must engage in some activity and business for the sake of income, in order to make a vessel in which abundance can clothe itself in this world.

When a person believes that time and space are connected to that which transcends time and space, he has abundant income because he is connected to the source of abundance that flows from above by means of his faith and trust in Hashem.

But when a person runs after his income with great toil, he is drawn after and powerfully connected to the level of time and space. He disconnects time and space from the level that transcends time and space. As a result, he is distanced from the root of flowing abundance, and so it is difficult for him to earn a living. And even when he receives a little income, it necessarily comes with a great and overwhelming toil.

As a result of his income coming with excessive toil, he is drawn even more to into constriction, into time and space.

And so his income comes with excessive toil, which is drawn from the level of time and space.

Our sages state that “when a person forces the moment, the moment will force him back, but when a person allows himself to be forced back by the moment, the moment will be forced back by him.”

That is to say, a person who is excessively drawn after time and tries to force the moment is connected in an excessive manner to time and space, and is greatly distanced from the aspect that transcends time and space. As a result, he is distanced from the source of the flow of abundance.

As a result, “the moment will force him back,” since he is so greatly connected to the aspect of time.

And so this person suffers even greater pressure, because his income is pushed off to a further time and place. Because he has put so much effort into time and space, his income is pushed off in time and space.

But when a person allows himself to be “forced back by the moment,” when he believes that everything is from God and that when his time comes his income will come of itself, via a simple means, he is tied strongly to that which transcends time and space.

And so “the moment will be forced back by him,” because in this way he reduces time and space, and God sends him his income in a short period of time and in close proximity to himself.

This is because he is close to and connected to the aspect that transcends time and space.

As a result, he does not need to engage in great exertion for the sake of his income.

This is because the essence of exertion is drawn from the aspect of time and space.

If a person had very strong trust, he would not even have to engage in any means at all in order to earn an income.

In essence, it is necessary to engage in some simple means to earn an income in order to make a conduit and vessel to receive the abundance that flows down from above. But if a person had strong trust, he would make the vessel and the conduit with that trust itself.

This is because by means of the trust he makes a vessel to receive the flow of abundance.

Likutei Halachot, Yoreh Deah, Ribit 3:1