Having up until now elaborated on the various mistakes that people are prone to make when obtaining their livelihood, the author now continues by teaching what the correct approach should be when the person who has bitachon finds himself either without livelihood or with very limited livelihood:

The proper thing for a person who trusts in G‑d to do during the days in which his livelihood is withheld from him is to say to himself:

וּמִמַּה שֶּׁרָאוּי לַבּוֹטֵחַ עַל הָאֱלֹהִים בְּטַרְפּוֹ, כְּשֶׁיִּתְעַכֵּב מִמֶּנּוּ הַטֶּרֶף יוֹם מִן הַיָּמִים, שֶׁיֹּאמַר בְּלִבּוֹ:

“He Who brought me out of the womb into this world at a specific time and specific moment, and Who did not bring me into the world before that time or afterwards, He is the one Who is withholding my sustenance from me until a specific time and a specific day in accordance with what He knows to be best for me.”

כִּי אֲשֶׁר הוֹצִיאַנִי אֶל הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה בִּזְמַן יָדוּעַ וְעֵת יְדוּעָה וְלֹא הוֹצִיאַנִי אֵלָיו לִפְנֵיהֶם וְלֹא לְאַחֲרֵיהֶם, הוּא שֶׁמְּעַכֵּב מִמֶּנִּי בּוֹ טַרְפִּי לְעֵת יָדוּעַ וְיוֹם יָדוּעַ, לְדַעְתּוֹ מַה שֶּׁהוּא טוֹב לִי.

Similarly, when his sustenance comes to him but is limited, and he receives no more than what he needs for his food, it is proper to think to himself and say:

וְכֵן כַּאֲשֶׁר יְבוֹאֵהוּ טַרְפּוֹ מְצֻמְצָם, לֹא יוֹתֵר עַל מְזוֹנוֹ מְאוּמָה, רָאוּי לוֹ לַחְשׁוֹב בְּלִבּוֹ וְלוֹמַר:

“ He Who prepared my food for me in the bosom of my mother when I was born, according to my needs and enough to sustain me each and every day until He exchanged it for better food, and the fact that the milk was limited did not harm me whatsoever, so, too, this limited sustenance, which is according to my needs, to which G‑d has currently brought me, will not harm me whatsoever, even if it continues this way until the end of my life.”

אֲשֶׁר הֵכִין לִי מְזוֹנִי בִּשְׁדֵי אִמִּי בִּתְחִלַּת עִנְיָנִי כְּפִי צָרְכִּי וְדֵי כַלְכָּלָתִי יוֹם יוֹם עַד אֲשֶׁר הֵמִיר אוֹתוֹ לִי בְּטוֹב מִמֶּנּוּ, וְלֹא הִזִּיק לִי בּוֹאוֹ בְּצִמְצוּם מְאוּמָה, כֵּן לֹא יַזִּיק לִי בּוֹא הַטֶּרֶף הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר הֶעְתִּיק אוֹתִי אֵלָיו עַתָּה בְּצִמְצוּם כְּפִי צָרְכִּי עַד תַּכְלִית יָמַי מְאוּמָה.

A person who relies on G‑d despite his minimal livelihood will be rewarded for doing so. As the Creator said regarding our forefathers in the desert, whose situation was similar to this person, as evident from the verse (Exodus 16:4): And the people shall go out and gather what is needed for the day.

וְיִהְיֶה נִשְׂכָּר עַל זֶה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר הַבּוֹרֵא עַל אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַּמִּדְבָּר, שֶׁעִנְיָנָם הָיָה כָּזֶה, "וְיָצָא הָעָם וְלָקְטוּ דְּבַר יוֹם בְּיוֹמוֹ" (שמות טז, ד),

The Israelites followed G‑d into the desert, where they were sustained with a minimal daily allotment of manna, and they were rewarded for this trust:

Our forefathers in the desert, etc. The Jews were rewarded by G‑d for remembering their kindness to Him when they were still a young nation, when they placed their faith in Him following His directives to go into a barren desert, and they maintained trust in G‑d that He would provide for them in a timely manner ( Pat Lechem ).

Bottom line
G‑d, Who brought you into this world at a perfect moment, not a second early nor a second late, will sustain you at a specific time that is best for you.

What is needed for the day. This daily need for manna instilled in the Israelites a constant trust in G‑d ( Tov Halevanon ). It is a custom of some to recite the Torah portion describing the falling of the manna every day in order to express their trust that G‑d sustains them daily ( Tur, Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim ch. 1).

This portion was not recited by the Arizal, nor is it mentioned in the Chabad (Alter Rebbe’s) Siddur. It is noteworthy, however, that the Tzemach Tzedek writes that it is advisable to recite this portion every day, or at least occasionally ( Likkutei Sichot, vol. 26, p. 102, fn. 62).

The manna was provided by G‑d, with minimal effort required by the Israelites; it was therefore called “bread from heaven.” We do, however, find that a person’s status affected his portion, as the Talmud ( Yoma 75a) teaches: For the righteous person it was ready bread, for an average person it was cake, and for the wicked it was something they had to grind. The merging of this duality—that, on the one hand, it was G‑d’s bread and man did not toil for it, and, on the other hand, there was human interaction in the receiving of the manna—teaches that a person is not only supposed to acknowledge that the supernatural comes from G‑d, like the manna, but that his efforts and all natural means through which he earns a livelihood are internally intertwined with G‑d, and that it is G‑d Who delivers his sustenance in a supernatural way through a natural conduit.

This leads to the following realizations: 1) If a person desires wealth and creates a vessel for livelihood, it is not considered asking for a miracle, because this is the way G‑d supports His creations—supernatural giving through a natural, human-made vessel—and the limitations of the “vessel” are not a limitation for G‑d. 2) On the other hand, the person must acknowledge that whatever he received is a “miracle.” G‑d chooses to sustain him, just as He chose to sustain the Israelites with manna. It is merely the “packaging” that changes, with one packaged as a “miracle” and the other as “nature.” 3) True trust exists not only when there is nothing left to hope for and when there is a need for a miracle. Rather, even if the person has a “straw to hold on to” (an occupation), he can also demonstrate true trust in G‑d, knowing that it is G‑d Who provides daily. 4) There is no need for daily worry for sustenance, thinking that worry would not be necessary if he were wealthy. G‑d provides for man, whether in a natural or supernatural manner, and He does this daily. Financial worry stems from a blurring of this reality. ( Likkutei Sichot, vol. 16, p. 176 ff. )

Bottom line
G‑d provides for man, and He does this daily. Financial worry stems from blurring this reality.

As it says (Jeremiah 2:2): Go and call out in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: “So says the L-rd: ‘I remember regarding you, the lovingkindness of your youth, the love of your nuptials, your following Me in the desert, in a land not sown.’”

וְאָמַר "הָלוֹךְ וְקָרָאתָ בְאָזְנֵי יְרוּשָׁלַיִם לֵאמֹר: [כֹּה אָמַר ה', זָכַרְתִּי לָךְ חֶסֶד נְעוּרַיִךְ אַהֲבַת כְּלוּלוֹתָיִךְ,] לֶכְתֵּךְ אַחֲרַי בַּמִּדְבָּר בְּאֶרֶץ לֹא זְרוּעָה" (ירמיה ב, ב).

The author now turns to discuss a person who receives his livelihood in an unpleasant manner:

Similarly, if his sustenance comes through a means that he did not want, or from a place that he did not want, or if he received his livelihood from a person he did not want to receive it from, he should say to himself:

וְכֵן אִם יְבוֹאֵהוּ טַרְפּוֹ בְּסִבָּה מִבְּלִי סִבָּה, וּמָקוֹם מִבְּלִי מָקוֹם, וְעַל יְדֵי אִישׁ מִבִּלְתִּי אִישׁ אַחֵר, יֹאמַר בְּלִבּוֹ:

“He Who fashioned me with a particular form and shape, with certain character traits and dimensions, and did so because this is what is best for me, He is the one Who chose for me that my sustenance should come about in ways that are most suitable for my purposes, and not in other ways that are not in my best interests.”

אֲשֶׁר יְצָרַנִי עַל צוּרָה וְתַבְנִית וּתְכוּנָה וּמִדָּה מִבְּלִי שְׁאָר הַצּוּרוֹת וְהַתְּכוּנוֹת וְהַמִּדּוֹת לְתַקָּנַת עִנְיָנִי, הוּא בָּחַר לִי שֶׁיָּבוֹא טַרְפִּי עַל הַפָּנִים הַמְּפִיקִים לְעִנְיָנַי מִבְּלִי שְׁאָר הַפָּנִים.

The author continues by addressing what a person should say to himself if he is unhappy about the place or person through which he receives his sustenance:

“He Who brought me out of my mother’s womb into this world in a specific place and through two particular parents — and not through any other people in the world—He is the one Who chose for me that my sustenance should come in a certain land and through a certain person. He chose that person or place to be the means of my livelihood for my good, as the verse states (Psalms 145:17): The L-rd is righteous in all His ways. ”

וַאֲשֶׁר הוֹצִיאַנִי אֶל הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה בְּמָקוֹם יָדוּעַ וְעַל יְדֵי שְׁנֵי אִישִׁים יְדוּעִים מִבְּלִי שְׁאָר אִישֵׁי הָעוֹלָם, הוּא בָּחַר לִי בּוֹ טַרְפִּי בְּאֶרֶץ יְדוּעָה וְעַל יְדֵי אִישׁ יָדוּעַ שָׂם אוֹתוֹ סִבָּה לְטַרְפִּי לְטוֹב לִי, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב "צַדִּיק ה' בְּכָל דְּרָכָיו" (תהלים קמה, יז).