שפת אמת

Daily renewal of parnasah vs. stored wealth

Toldot · תרמ"ב (1881) · Essay 3

bitachon · parnasah · hischadshus · Yaakov · Esav

בפסוק ויתן לך יתן ויחזור ויתן.

On the pasuk "And He shall give you" — He gives, and gives again.

The Sefas Emes notes the seemingly extra wording of the bracha: the giving is not a one-time gift but a continual, repeated bestowal.

פי' שכן דרך הצדיק שאינו חפץ למלאות ביתו כסף וזהב.

The explanation is that such is the way of the tzaddik, who does not wish to fill his house with silver and gold.

A tzaddik does not crave to amass stockpiles of wealth that sit stored away from Hashem.

רק זאת הברכה שהשי"ת יתן לו בכל עת הצריך לו.

Rather, this is the bracha — that Hashem should give him at every moment what he needs.

His desire is for a flow of parnasah that comes fresh from Hashem exactly when it is needed, keeping him constantly dependent on and connected to Him.

לכן מארי דמהימנותא מתפללין בכל יומא על מזונא כמ"ש בזוה"ק.

Therefore the masters of emunah daven every single day for their sustenance, as is stated in the Zohar.

People of true faith ask for their bread daily rather than seeking to secure the future, because each day's portion is its own renewed gift.

ובברכת עשו כתיב משמני הארץ יהי' מושבך כו'.

And in Esav's bracha it is written, "Of the fat of the earth shall be your dwelling…"

Esav's blessing is rooted in the static "fatness of the earth" — material abundance that is simply there, not a fresh daily flow from Above.

אבל ביעקב כתיב ויתן שיש לו התחדשות השפעה בכל יום כמ"ש מחדש בטובו בכל יום מעשה בראשית.

But by Yaakov it is written "And He shall give," for he has a renewal of shefa (Divine flow) every day, as we say, "He renews in His goodness each day the work of creation."

Yaakov's portion mirrors the way Hashem renews creation itself daily — his bounty is constantly being given anew, not stored.

ומזה ההתחדשות נוטל הבוטח בה'.

And from this renewal the one who has bitachon in Hashem draws his portion.

The person of trust lives off this stream of constant renewal rather than off accumulated stores.

וכ"כ עיני כל אליך כו' נותן להם את אכלם בעתו:

And so it is written, "The eyes of all look to You… You give them their food in its time."

All creatures lift their eyes to Hashem and receive nourishment "in its time" — each at the precise moment it is needed, which is the essence of living from continual giving.

Summary: The doubled language "He gives and gives again" teaches the tzaddik's ideal of parnasah — not stored wealth like Esav's "fat of the earth," but a daily renewed flow from Hashem, mirroring the renewal of creation itself, which the baal bitachon draws upon "in its time."