Elevating the Mundane

Most of us live double lives.

The time we spend making a living appears completely divorced from our Torah learning, prayers and spiritual endeavors. How can we integrate these aspects of our lives?

Intentions really count

At the end of Parshat Bereishit, we receive an instructive insight. The Torah says: “Chanoch walked with Hashem.” As explained by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin in the book Love Your Neighbor, the Midrash says Chanoch was a shoemaker whose mind was immersed in elevated thoughts. These were not mystical thoughts. He was taking great care to ensure that each stitch was perfect so as not to cheat his customers. He tried to make each shoe as comfortable as possible in order to give his customers maximum pleasure. In other words, his main motivation was to help others rather than merely selling shoes for a living.

The Chofetz Chaim once spoke to a young man who was a pharmacist. He told the young man that he envied him because of the way he was serving Hashem in his profession by doing so much kindness for others. The pharmacist replied: “To tell you the truth I’m really doing this to make a living.” The Chofetz Chaim said it’s perfectly fine to earn money, but at the same time one should keep in mind how he is serving Hashem by helping others. The young pharmacist took this advice to heart and changed his way of thinking. Eventually he became a big Torah scholar and a leader in his local Jewish community.

Develop an integration strategy

From these two stories we can begin to build a strategy to integrate our work day efforts with our spiritual lives and make them one harmonious entity. This will elevate and sanctify the hours we spend at work and enable us to leverage this time to come closer to Hashem. 

• We need to keep our mind on the fact that we are serving Hashem by helping others as a result of our work. No matter what type of job you have, you can identify ways in which you provide benefit to others.
  

• Remember that you are working to support your family, educate your children and support Hashem’s causes. Ask Hashem to help so that you can achieve these goals which at the same time are His goals.
  

• Remember that your mission is to sanctify the name of Hashem and bring people closer to him as a result of elevated behavior in the workplace. This is the main job of a Jew. Remember the degree to which people perceive Hashem’s presence in this world depends on you.
  

• Remember to pray before each task or business transaction. The Chazon Ish says that we build strong emuna by praying before each task, large and small. Moreover, Rebbe Nachman of Breslev says that obtaining any success without prayer is bad for us because it creates the false impression that we are succeeding on our own. This can dangerously over inflate our egos and lead to arrogance that separates us from Hashem.
  

• We need to give thanks to Hashem for every success large and small. Nothing brings us closer to Hashem than gratitude. In Hebrew the word for Jews, Yehudim, comes from the root word that means to give thanks. Giving thanks is a fundamental part of our job description. Expressions of gratitude bring us closer to Hashem and promote true happiness. Rebbe Nachman says that the more you thank Hashem, the more He’ll give you to be thankful for.
  

• We need to use our work experience to build emuna. In the prayer Ashrei that is recited three times a day, we say “All eyes look to You with hope and You provide food in its proper time.” In other words we look to Hashem for our livelihood and not our employers or investments. By doing this we evoke Divine compassion that opens the pipes of abundance. This puts us above the stars and on home field where we can earn a good living even in adverse circumstances.

Rabbi Arush says that there is a two word formula for peace of mind: “Hashem provides.” He states that many people do not believe that Hashem will provide a livelihood for them in the future because they do not believe He is the One providing a livelihood for them today.

Summary

We can use our workplace challenges to help others, earn funds to support worthy causes, sanctify Hashem’s Name, engage in continuous prayer, express gratitude and build emuna. We will then be striving to accomplish our life’s main spiritual missions every moment of the working day.

In the merit of integrating our work life with our spiritual life, may Hashem provide abundance to us and all Israel, amen.