Receiving Through The Torah
במדרש ג' מתנות כו' בזמן שהן מתנת שמים כו'
The Midrash teaches that there are three gifts, and continues: only when they are gifts of Heaven, etc.
The Sfas Emes opens with a Midrash that lists three precious gifts, noting that their true value lies in their being gifts that come from Heaven.
כבר כתבנו מזה כי בודאי מוכן הי' חלק זה לבני גד ולבני ראובן
We have already written about this, for surely this portion was prepared and designated for the Bnei Gad and the Bnei Reuven.
The land on the east bank of the Yarden was indeed already set aside as the rightful share of the tribes of Gad and Reuven.
אבל הרצון שגם אותו החלק המוכן לאדם יחפוץ לקבלו ע"י התורה
But the desire is that even that portion which is prepared for a person, he should wish to receive it specifically by way of the Torah.
Even a portion already destined for a person should be received through the channel of the Torah rather than taken on its own.
וזהו עיקר עבודת האדם כי הבורא ית' ברא העולם בטבע ומוכן לכל אחד לפי מזלו
This is the essence of a person's avodah, for the Creator, may He be blessed, created the world in a natural manner, and a portion is prepared for each one according to his mazal.
Hashem set up the world to run through nature, where each person has a share allotted to him according to his mazal.
אבל בנ"י צריכין להעלות הכל אליו ית' למעלה מן המזל וצריך שיהי' הרצון לקבל מתנת שמים ובכח התורה
But Bnei Yisrael must elevate everything to Him, may He be blessed, above mazal, and the desire must be to receive it as a gift of Heaven and through the power of the Torah.
The task of Bnei Yisrael is to lift everything above the level of mazal and receive it instead as a Heavenly gift granted through the Torah.
ואז הוא דבר של קיימא
And then it is a thing that endures.
When something is received in this elevated way, it becomes lasting and permanent.
לכן איתא שצריכין להתפלל בכל יום על מזונות אף מי שאינו מחוסר פרנסה כי עיקר עבודה שבלב זו תפלה הוא על שאין חסר לאדם
Therefore it is brought down that one must pray every day for sustenance, even one who lacks no parnasah, for the essence of the avodah of the heart, which is tefillah, is to pray over that which a person does not lack.
We daven daily for sustenance even when we are not actually lacking, because the heart's true avodah is to pray over what we already have.
כי מה שחסר לו לגרמו הוא מבקש
For that which is lacking to a person, he requests on his own.
When a person is missing something, he naturally asks for it on his own without needing to be instructed.
רק חכמים קבעו י"ח ברכות על כל הצורך לאדם שיברר שהכל ממנו ית' ויבקש שמאתו ית' יבוא לו אלה הדברים שלא יהי' צרכיו נפרדין ח"ו מן שורש החיים
Rather, the Chachamim established the eighteen berachos of Shemoneh Esrei over all of a person's needs, so that he should clarify that everything is from Him, may He be blessed, and so that he should request that these things come to him from Him, may He be blessed, in order that his needs not be severed, chas v'shalom, from the source of life.
The Chachamim fixed the eighteen berachos covering every need so that a person recognizes everything comes from Hashem and stays connected to the source of life.
ואז כשהם מתנת שמים ובאים בכח התורה ע"ז נאמר טוב אחרית דבר מראשיתו כשדבוק בראשית שורשו והוא התורה שנקרת ראשית ע"י שכל הדברים שרשם וראשיתם בתורה
And then, when they are gifts of Heaven and come through the power of the Torah, it is concerning this that it is said, "Better is the end of a thing than its beginning" (Koheles 7:8) - when it is bound to the beginning, to its root, which is the Torah, that is called "beginning," inasmuch as the root and beginning of all things are in the Torah.
When our needs are received as Heavenly gifts bound to the Torah - the true "beginning" and root of all things - the verse "better is the end than the beginning" is fulfilled, for the end stays attached to its root.
וכמו כן בחלק בני גד וב"ר אעפ"י שהי' מוכן להם הואיל ולא הוטב בעיני מרע"ה שהוא שורש התורה מוכח שלא הי' הרצון שלהם דבוק בשלימות בכח התורה ולכן לא נתקיים בידן:
And likewise regarding the portion of the Bnei Gad and the Bnei Reuven: even though it was prepared for them, since it was not pleasing in the eyes of Moshe Rabbeinu, who is the root of the Torah, this proves that their desire was not bound in completeness to the power of the Torah, and therefore it did not endure in their hands.
The tribes of Gad and Reuven lost a lasting hold on their land because Moshe Rabbeinu, the root of the Torah, was displeased, showing their desire was not fully bound to the power of the Torah.
Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that even a portion already prepared and destined for a person according to his mazal should not simply be taken on its own, but should be received specifically through the power of the Torah as a gift of Heaven. This is the essence of a person's avodah: to elevate everything above the natural order of mazal and bind it to its root in the Torah, for only then does it endure. This is why we daven every day even for what we are not lacking, since the heart's avodah is to recognize that all our needs come from Hashem and to keep them connected to the source of life. The verse "better is the end of a thing than its beginning" is fulfilled when the end remains bound to its beginning - the Torah, in which the root of all things lies. The Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven failed to hold onto their land because, since their request displeased Moshe Rabbeinu, the root of the Torah, their desire was not fully bound to the power of the Torah.