Why Try?

Why Try?

“Tom, you missed three subtitles, one image, and forgot to insert the social media meta data for yesterday’s post.”

“Dov, I’m getting tired of this, man. The article is phenomenal. We will get the traffic. Relax.”

“I will relax when it’s optimized. We don’t leave anything to chance. Every place you can upgrade this work to get an additional user you will – or else it remains suspended in production.”

“Some Jew you are, dude. I thought you believed that everything is in G-d’s Hands!”

Then he slammed the door in my face!

Aside from the theatrics of a passionate content writer, Tom poses a brilliant question.

Doesn’t covering all the bases take Hashem out of the equation and remove the need for emuna? If everything is from Hashem, why make the effort?

There are two situations in life where understanding the truth that everything comes directly from Hashem is loud and clear.

The first is where there is nothing we can do to change the situation. It can be, G-d forbid, a sickness where the doctors have said there is nothing more that they can do. It can be buying a single lottery ticket, where we have no way to increase the chances of winning.

In those cases it is clear that there is only Hashem. It’s obvious that only a supernatural event that overturns the reality we know can produce the results we want.

There is another situation where it is just as obvious. That’s when we give it our all. It can be an athlete who trains 14 hours a day, pushing himself beyond his limits time and again to be in top shape. By sheer willpower, this athlete survives on 800 calories a day of raw greens to compete in the Olympics. When the day arrives, and he is about to discover in the next 4 minutes if his effort over the last 4 years bore fruit, there is nothing more he can do.

It could be a startup entrepreneur. She has the right product, the best team, enough financing, and has put in 60+ hours a week for 3 years to dominate the market. The most recent version of the flagship product is ready, and in the next 24 hours a massive media blitz will be underway. All the bases were covered. There were no mistakes and the next day will make or break the company. There is nothing more the entrepreneur can do.

It can be any of us. We learn diligently every day. We resist all of the physical temptations of this world to remain loyal to our families. We guard Shabbat. We keep Kosher. We watch what we say, and we don’t cheat others in business. Then, our 120^th birthday approaches and we are about to stand in judgment for our lives. Overwhelmed with trepidation, all we can think to ourselves is, “I did everything I could… “

This is also when it is in G-d’s Hands. When we do everything we can possibly do in order to reach a goal, and there is simply nothing more we can think of, it is very clear that the matter is in G-d’s Hands.

Will the athlete perform at his best, or will an unexpected heat wave shave a second off his time?

Will the product be the wave of the future, or will some unforeseen event cause everyone’s internet to be a little slower that day?

Were our character traits sufficient, or did we spend too much time outside of a Yeshiva? Will we be forgiven?

It’s all in His Hands.

This is why it is essential that we do our best in everything. If we fall short, we can always blame the failure on ourselves. We can always say that if we did it some other way, the results would be different. We can take Hashem out of the equation.

But when there is nothing we can do about something, or nothing more we can do about it, it is clear that the next step is prayer, learning, reviewing our deeds, repentance, and faith.