It was God’s Idea!
The verse (Devarim 8:18) in this week’s Torah reading says that we should remember that it is God who gives us strength to succeed in business; it is not our own power, but the blessing of God. In what way does God provide us with financial success? One might assume that this is referring to being successful when there are risk factors which could have prevented success, yet God saw to it that those risks did not materialize. But the Targum Onkelos interprets the verse differently. The Targum says that this is referring to the fact that God puts good business ideas in our minds. Not only does God control the way our business plans pan out, but even our business ideas in the first place, come from God!
Recognizing that even the ideas we think of come from God, is a new level in acknowledging God’s total control over our lives. When something is dependent on outside factors or the decisions of others, we feel that we don’t have control, and it is much easier to attribute the outcome to God. But when it comes to our own thoughts, we feel like they are being generated by our own minds, not from an outside force. The Torah is teaching us, that God is involved even in our thoughts. Even the good ideas which pop up in our minds are only there because God planted them in our heads.
God Put the Answer in My Mind
My father once went to consult with a rabbi on an important matter. The rabbi dissected the situation and offered brilliant advice. My father was overwhelmed with gratitude for the rabbi’s insight and thanked him profusely. In response the rabbi said, “It’s not me who was able to guide you, it is God who put the answer in my mind to be delivered to you.” He understood that the wisdom did not belong to him, but was a gift from God.
Thank God for Your Success!
We can’t truly take credit for any success we have in our lives. As the Chovot Halevavot says (Sha’ar Habitachon, chapter 4), when a person experiences success, he shouldn’t attribute the success to the means he utilized. Rather, a person should thank God for granting him success and for the fact that his efforts were not in vain, because ultimately, everything is from God.
A Truthful, Humble Person Doesn’t Take the Credit
This can be extremely challenging. When we come up with good ideas, and they produce successful results, we crave to take the credit. Even if we don’t go around bragging about them, we look at the results as proof of our intelligence and wisdom, as if we are the ones who are responsible for our success.
But someone who is truly humble, understands differently. A person with a truthful outlook in life realizes that it is not so. There is absolutely nothing we deserve credit for. For even the product of our minds is not something which really comes from ourselves. Everything we accomplish, on every level, is truly from God. Every success in our lives is purely a blessing from God which we must be grateful for.
By Rabbi Yitzchok Aryeh Strimber torah4every1@gmail.com
