Inspirational Moment

The gemara tells us in Kiddushin (82a), “L’olam yilmad odom es bno umnus nekiyah v’kalah – a person should instruct his son in an occupation that is clean and light, i.e. not heavy labor.”

The Aruch and the Maharsha expand on this a little more. The Aruch says

The gemara tells us in Kiddushin (82a), “L’olam yilmad odom es bno umnus nekiyah v’kalah – a person should instruct his son in an occupation that is clean and light, i.e. not heavy labor.”

The Aruch and the Maharsha expand on this a little more. The Aruch says that “clean” means untainted by theft, one’s business should not have be involved in illegalities. “Light,” says the Aruch, refers to a livelihood that is not heavy with losses, that one should not have to engage in risky investments. The Maharsha states that a “light” occupation is on that doesn’t take away all of one’s time or require his deep involvement to the exclusion of a personal and family life.

The gemara continues, “ela hakol l’fi zechuso,” and Tosfos remarks that it’s according to one’s mazal and not his zechus.

The Tosfos Yom Tov comments, however, that although a person may have been born under an inauspicious mazal, it is possible to alter his mazal through the merits of tefillah or tzedakah.

The Tiferes Yisroel goes even further and states that a person should not despair or lose faith if the desired results are not forthcoming. L’fi zechuso connotes that the results are, in fact, according to what is intended for him. It does not mean that he has failed in his efforts; rather, nothing is wrong at all, and this what Hashem has planned for him.
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We learn that there is a definite correlation between the mitzvah of tzedakah and the increase in the flow of money that comes into one’s possession.

R’ Jesse, as he was known, was a very skilled electrician, but unfortunately there was not a large demand for his type of experience in those days. Despite the fact that his weekly wages were minimal, he was nevertheless a big baal tzedakah who never turned away an individual in need.

As he fell further behind on his mortgage payments, Jesse was notified that the bank would be repossessing his house the following day. R’ Jesse was loath to lose his house, and went down to his basement workroom one more time. As he sat in the dark, reminiscing about all the projects he had completed in this room, the doorbell rang upstairs. He was surprised to find an old man standing at the door who was collecting tzedakah. R’ Jesse’s initial response was that he didn’t have a penny – he was poverty-stricken.

However, the Chasam Sofer tells us that when a Yid suddenly appears to someone, he was sent specifically to do a favor for that individual.

Jesse, put his hand into his pocket for his last few coins and gave it over to the man. The beggar thanked him profusely and slipped away into the dark night.

As he waited the next morning for the bank representative, Jesse received a call from the employment division at Westinghouse. They had just reviewed his resume and were interested in meeting with him to offer him a position as a chief manager in their main office.

The Rizhiner points to the significance of the words in the Torah “nason titen” with reference to tzedakah. They read the same both forward and backward, to illustrate that the money goes both ways.

The Sefer Likutei Eitzos suggests that if a person becomes aware that his sustenance is meager he should give tzedakah from what he has. That will help him recover and he will have ample money and a livelihood.

HaRav Wolbe comments that there are yemei ahavah and yemei sinah, and the mazal is constantly changing

That is the import of “k’shem shemevarchim al hatov …” -- that one should have the same enthusiasm and appreciation for the adverse occurrences in his life as he does for the fortunate events that take place.