Ki Tavo: The Key to Prosperity

The Talmud relates:10

Rabbi Yochanan11 said, “Three keys are [held] in the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, and were not transmitted to an agent. They are: The key of rain, the key of life (children), and the key of the Resurrection of the Dead.12

“Regarding the key of rain, it is written,13 ‘G‑d will open for you His treasure store of good, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season.…’

“In the West (Eretz Yisrael), they say, “The key of sustenance14 is also [in G‑d’s hand], as it is written,15 ‘You open Your hand [and satiate the desire of every living being].’ ”

What is the reason that Rabbi Yochanan did not include that [i.e., the key of sustenance]?

[Were he to have been asked this question,] he would have responded, “Rain is also16 sustenance.”

On the surface, it appears that Rabbi Yochanan was making a general statement and, therefore, he did not specify sustenance, for as a whole, “Rain is also sustenance,” since – as Rashi17 comments – “Seed-plants and fruits grow because of [rain, enabling] the world to derive sustenance.” In Eretz Yisrael, by contrast, the scholars were more focused on details18 and counted sustenance as a separate key. The rationale: Although as a whole, rain is the source for the sustenance of the world, nevertheless, since there are forms of sustenance that are not dependent upon rain, they counted sustenance separately. Conversely, there are rains that are not directly connected to sustenance, i.e., they do not descend in an appropriate measure19 to enable seed-plants and fruits to grow from them.20 Therefore, the scholars of Eretz Yisrael considered sustenance as a distinct key.

Nevertheless, the straightforward wording of the Talmud – “What is the reason that Rabbi Yochanan did not include that [i.e., the key of sustenance]?” – does not reflect this understanding. Rather, the simple reading of the text implies that there is a difference of opinion and there are two varying approaches regarding this matter.

It is possible to explain the premise for the difference of opinion by first clarifying an issue raised by the commentaries21 regarding the response of the Talmud that, according to Rabbi Yochanan, “Rain is also sustenance”: The commentaries note that Rabbi Yochanan himself is quoted later in that tractate as saying:22

Rain [falls] for the sake of an individual, [while] sustenance is granted for the sake of many.

Rain [falls] for the sake of an individual, as it is written,⁴ “G‑d will open for you His treasure store of good, the heavens, to give rain to your land [– ארצך, in the singular].” Sustenance is granted for the sake of many, as it is written,23 “Behold, I will cause bread to rain down from the heavens for you” [לכם, in the plural].

Thus, we see that Rabbi Yochanan himself considers rain and sustenance as two separate matters. It is possible to explain this based on Rashi’s interpretation of that Talmudic passage:24

Rain [falls] for the sake of an individual – If only one person requires rainfall, for example, he sowed [his field] after all others did, or he lives in a city inhabited entirely by non-Jews and he requires rain, [rain will fall] in his merit.

Sustenance [refers to] an abundance of goodness and food for the entire world. [It] will not be [granted] to the world in the merit of one person, but only for the sake of many. If many need abundance – that blessings be manifest in the grain – the Holy One, blessed be He, will do so if they are worthy. However, [if] an individual needs that his grain be blessed, the Holy One, blessed be He, will not change the judgment of the year. [Instead, his field will produce] according to the blessings [allotted] for it. Although He will cause rain to fall for the sake of an individual to improve his crops so that they will not be worse than those of others, He will not [bless that person’s] field [that it yield] abundantly.

According to this interpretation, in that source, the term “sustenance” implies a unique and abundant flow of Divine blessing. As such, it is understood that only in this way should sustenance and rain be considered as two separate matters.

In his Chiddushei Aggados, Maharsha explains that passage:

Rain is merely a catalyst necessary for sustenance and is granted from heaven according to the pattern of nature. If an individual requires rain, it may be granted in his merit. However, sustenance that comes [directly] from heaven in a miraculous manner, like the manna or the well [of Miriam], will only be granted for the sake of many.

On this basis, it is possible to explain the difference between the approaches of Rabbi Yochanan and the scholars of Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Yochanan, who maintains that “rain is also sustenance,” is referring to ordinary sustenance, not sustenance of a unique, abundant nature, or to sustenance that comes directly from heaven in an open, miraculous manner. By contrast, the scholars of Eretz Yisrael, who consider sustenance as a category of its own, are speaking about sustenance that requires G‑d granting unique beneficence. Such sustenance is only given for the sake of the many.

Nevertheless, the question raised by the Talmud – “What is the reason that Rabbi Yochanan did not include [the key of sustenance]?” – still applies even according to this explanation. Why does Rabbi Yochanan only speak about ordinary sustenance that is included in rainfall (and thus there are only three keys held solely by G‑d), and he does not speak about the key on which sustenance that is not included in rainfall depends? Certainly, it is a key of its own, a type of beneficence that comes only from G‑d. The key for it was not entrusted to an agent.

Therefore, it seems appropriate to say that Rabbi Yochanan and the scholars of Eretz Yisrael are speaking about the same type of sustenance. Their difference is abstract: Does sustenance require a separate key, or is it included in the key of rainfall?

To explain: Rain and sustenance are both terms used in a general sense to refer to the wherewithal granted man for his food and other needs. The difference between them is that rain refers to the granting of the sustenance from Above, as indicated by the verse,25 “I will grant your rains in their season.” By contrast, sustenance, as a whole, refers to man’s acceptance of this beneficence, including the activities he performs so that he will be sustained and nurtured by this beneficence. Stated plainly, rain comes from Above and causes plants to grow. By contrast, sustenance results from work and activity on man’s part – he plows, sows, reaps, and the like.

According to this understanding, the difference of opinion between Rabbi Yochanan and the scholars of Eretz Yisrael can be explained as follows: Rabbi Yochanan is speaking about the keys for these blessings as they come directly from G‑d, the Giver. Therefore, he mentions rain and not sustenance, because sustenance is not beneficence that comes directly from G‑d. Instead, it involves man’s work, the efforts he must invest to receive and benefit from G‑d’s beneficence. By contrast, the scholars of Eretz Yisrael speak from the perspective of man, the recipient – it is through his work that G‑d’s gift of beneficence becomes sustenance. Therefore, they include sustenance as one of the keys.

Based on this explanation, we can understand the correspondence between these positions and the number of keys – three according to Rabbi Yochanan and four according to the scholars of Eretz Yisrael.26 The distinction between three, associated with the letter gimmel, and four, associated with the letter dalet, is highlighted by the Talmud27 and encapsulated in the expression, ג מול ד לים , g’mol dalim — “Show kindness to the poor.” The letter gimmel refers to one who initiates the bestowal of beneficence, the one who shows (gomel) kindness.¹⁸ The letter dalet points to “the poor” (dalim), the recipients of the beneficence. This relates to the numerical equivalents of these letters, three and four – three reflects giving, the perspective of the one who grants kindness, while four also emphasizes the perspective of the recipient, “the poor.”28

Explanation is, nevertheless, still necessary. The passage focuses on the “keys [held] in the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, [that] were not transmitted to an agent.” In other words, the matters dependent on these keys are such that they come directly from G‑d, without any intermediary. If so, the interpretation of “the scholars of Eretz Yisrael,” who consider sustenance as an independent key, requires clarification. Since sustenance is considered an independent key because it depends on and relates to man’s work – and, therefore, it is not an element of the key of rainfall – how then can it be described as a key “[held] in the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, and not entrusted to an agent”?

This can be understood by first clarifying the statement of our Sages who explain why G‑d ordained that rain descend from Above.29 One of the reasons they give is so that “Everyone’s eyes will focus heavenward.” Having to look upward makes one aware that man’s sustenance is dependent upon rain that comes from Above and does not come from a factor that man can bring about. That realization leads to the recognition that man’s entire sustenance and livelihood, not only rain, come from G‑d Himself. (By contrast, in Egypt, where the irrigation of the fields was dependent on the Nile and was “watered by foot,”30 by canals, there was no necessity to look heavenward.)

This is the advantage of Eretz Yisrael over other lands. “The Holy One, blessed be He, provides water for Eretz Yisrael by Himself, while [He provides the rest of] the entire world [with water] via an agent.”31 In Eretz Yisrael, it is overtly apparent that the bestowal of beneficence from Above comes solely from G‑d. By contrast, in the Diaspora, there is the possibility of error,32 i.e., thinking that an agent, an intermediary, – and similarly, man’s abilities and inherent qualities33 – are significant factors in determining one’s prosperity.

From this, we can understand the concepts under discussion – the idea that the key for rain, which also includes sustenance, was not entrusted to an agent – that, in truth, a person’s entire livelihood comes solely from G‑d in a manner that no entity other than Him has any significance whatsoever. This includes even the conduits within nature that a person employs through which he is able to derive his sustenance from G‑d.

The Psalmist declares,34 “Man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening,” i.e., he goes out to pursue his livelihood. According to this mindset, why does a man go out to work? Solely to fulfill G‑d’s commands, as it is written,35 “G‑d will bless you in all that you do,” and “Six days you shall work and perform all your labors.”36 He works for his livelihood only because G‑d desires that man provide conduits for the blessings that He gives. Furthermore, the person’s recognition is twofold:

a) He appreciates that the essence of the beneficence comes solely from Above – “It is the blessings of G‑d that bring wealth”37 – and all his actions are merely38 conduits to receive G‑d’s blessing. They resemble the oil and containers Elisha39 advised the widow of Ovadiah to employ when working the miracle, i.e., they were merely conduits to convey and contain the miraculous oil.

b) The conduits a person with such a mindset employs do not have any importance in and of themselves. He does not employ them as conduits or vehicles to convey and contain G‑d’s blessing because he thinks that they can (independently) elicit or facilitate Divine generosity. He employs them only because of G‑d’s command. As such, they become entirely secondary to – and merely a conduit for – G‑d’s blessings, which surpass the natural order entirely. He does not attribute any inherent importance to the activities he performs to receive these blessings.

However, the above recognition can follow either of two modes:40

a) A person’s actions and the garments within the natural order that he employs are considered of no importance at all. Just as in a miraculous series of events, it is patently evident and apparent that laws of nature are of no substance at all, so too, in the very same way, can that truth be recognized even when G‑d’s beneficence is conveyed through the garments of nature; the sustenance man derives is essentially miraculous just like the manna that descended41 from heaven.42

b) Although a person’s actions and the conduits in the natural order which he utilizes have no importance in and of themselves and are being employed only because of G‑d’s command, nevertheless, because of G‑d’s command they acquire a certain import, for G‑d’s will is carried out through them.

Stated somewhat differently: The person’s faith that everything comes solely from G‑d is absolute, without any doubt whatsoever. As a result, he has complete trust that G‑d will give him everything from “His full, open, holy, and abundant hand.”43 He is also conscious that G‑d commanded him to perform certain actions within the natural order to bring His blessings to fruition. Moreover, he realizes that this necessity for him to make a natural conduit stems from a specific Divine intent – that he know and recognize that not only the beneficence granted him, but also the natural order itself and man’s actions within it, come from G‑d.44

It can be said that this is the difference between the two perspectives: Whether the key of sustenance is considered a key in its own right, or whether it is included in the key of rainfall. According to Rabbi Yochanan, “Rain is also sustenance,” meaning that all the garments of nature and man’s activities within them have no significance in and of themselves at all. Rabbi Yochanan’s perspective teaches that sustenance and all man’s efforts to acquire it are merely details in the beneficence that G‑d grants man.

“In the West (Eretz Yisrael), they say, “The key of sustenance is also [in G‑d’s hand], as it is written, ‘You open Your hand….’ ” The perspective of the scholars of Eretz Yisrael is that man’s activities in making natural conduits are significant. These conduits also come from G‑d and have their own importance. This – that the garments of nature and man’s activities within them are not something that have no substance, but they are also significant entities that come from G‑d – is also important for man to know and recognize. This recognition leads to the awareness that even the lower dimensions of material existence, those which appear natural, are G‑dly.

Based on the above, the connection between the Sages whose differing opinions are mentioned and their respective statements also becomes clear:

The Talmud45 relates, “If one sees Yochanan (יוח נן ) in a dream, wondrous miracles ( נ סי נ סים , nisei nisim) will be performed on his behalf.” (Just as a name with one nun indicates a miracle ( נ ס , nes), a name with more nunnim indicates a multitude of miracles.)46

Because he is associated with miracles, Rabbi Yochanan47 maintained that sustenance is included in rainfall. Since his personal spiritual level was one of “wondrous miracles,” when viewing every entity in this world, he would perceive it as solely a miraculous matter.

This defines the approach of “wondrous miracles” – that miracles are not confined to matters that involve the overt disruption of the natural order. Instead, Rabbi Yochanan’s perspective was such that even when viewing nature, he saw that inwardly, it is nothing but a series of miracles from Above. Although sustenance also requires involvement within the natural order, that involvement and everything associated with it is, in truth, a miracle from G‑d and has no significance in and of itself.

By contrast, “in the West,” the Sages counted “the key of sustenance” as an independent key. The term, “the West,” refers to a specific place in the world. The significance of that place is highlighted by our Sages’ statement,48 “The Divine Presence is in the West.” True, “the entire earth is filled with His glory,”49 and our Sages say,50 “There is no place devoid of Him,” for the entire existence of space is subsumed within G‑dliness. Nevertheless, “the Divine Presence is in the West”; there, the Divine Presence was overtly manifest and it was evident that the very existence of that place conveyed G‑dliness.51 Therefore, the scholars of the West, i.e., those identified with that place, maintained that even the garments of the natural order, including those involved with sustenance, are distinct matters, and are thus considered as a separate key held in G‑d’s hand.52

In most years, Chai Elul – the birthday of the two “great luminaries,” the Baal Shem Tov and the Alter Rebbe53 – falls in the week of, or on the Shabbos of, Parshas Ki Savo.54 The characteristics of these two teachers correspond to the two approaches to Divine service mentioned above. The Baal Shem Tov brought about the revelation of the teachings of Chassidus as a whole, and the Alter Rebbe brought about the revelation of the teachings of Chassidus Chabad.55

The new dimension brought out by the Baal Shem Tov through the teachings of Chassidus as a whole involved adding vitality of a general, encompassing nature into the observance of the Torah and its mitzvos. For this reason, one of the subjects emphasized by the teachings of Chassidus as a whole is faith, as reflected by the verse,56 “A righteous man will live by his faith.”

Such faith is of a general and encompassing nature. Indeed, at times, faith is of an altogether encompassing nature that does not affect a person’s conduct, as in the well-known explanation of our Sages’ teaching,57 “A thief calls out to G‑d before breaking in.” However, even when a person’s faith imbues all of his Jewish experience – including his actual conduct – with vitality and energy, he does not see the exercise of all his various powers as independent functions with their own importance, but as mere elements of the revelation of his faith.

By revealing the teachings of Chassidus Chabad, the Alter Rebbe continued and enhanced the teachings of Chassidus as a whole revealed by the Baal Shem Tov. By doing so, he brought about a new development.58 Not only did his teachings make it possible for the essential, elemental power59 of faith to be felt and internalized within the intellectual powers of chochmah, binah, and daas, but also that the influence of faith on intellectual powers would bring about a completely new and independent development. As a result, the existence of the intellectual powers of chochmah, binah, and daas within the person’s soul would be solely the comprehension of G‑dliness.

Similarly, regarding the feelings in a person’s heart, the intent is not merely that the essential power of faith be revealed within them. In such an instance, the person’s feelings are subordinate to his faith; they function merely as elements that reflect the revelation of faith within his being. Instead, faith – i.e., the expression of the person’s inner G‑dly core – becomes the very existence of his feelings.60 His love is the love of G‑d; his fear, the fear of G‑d.61

The relationship between the soul’s fundamental G‑dly essence and its conscious powers parallels the revelation of Divine unity62 as made known by the Baal Shem Tov in relation to the manner in which the conception of that unity was further drawn down and revealed by the Alter Rebbe.

The Baal Shem Tov introduced the awareness that “there is nothing aside from Him”63 – that there is no existence other than G‑d. This led to a parallel feeling regarding one’s Divine service – that, a person’s own efforts in Divine service have no inherent importance, for no matter how great and significant his achievements are, they are not his own. All that he does results from the revelation of the essential power of faith within his soul. That essential power of faith is not of his own making, but is possessed by every Jew as a spiritual birthright, because of the fundamental G‑dly nature of his soul which transcends the mortal dimensions of his personality.

The Alter Rebbe revealed the oneness of G‑d even as it is manifest from the perspective of the world. In other words, not only does the existence of the world not represent a contradiction to G‑d’s oneness but, on the contrary, the world enables a deeper conception of G‑d’s oneness – that the very existence of the world is one with G‑d, as explained at length in Tanya, Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah.

A corresponding conception exists regarding man’s Divine service. Not only are all the powers of his soul aligned with and guided by the essential power of faith in G‑d and His oneness, but that becomes his mind’s entire being. His mind comprehends and feels the oneness of G‑d, not only because of the influence of faith, but as a result of its own understanding. The mind does not function or see itself as an entity separate from G‑d, but as an expression of Him.64 Similar concepts apply regarding all the powers of the soul.

The possibility for a person’s conscious powers to function as expressions of G‑dliness can only come about through man’s own toil and labor, as he works on his own initiative and with his own energy65 to comprehend and grasp G‑d’s oneness within his mind and even within the intellectual powers of his animal soul. Through meditation, this recognition will also be drawn down to his emotional qualities. The love of G‑d and the fear of G‑d that he feels will be an expression of the essential G‑dlinesss of his soul and, simultaneously, reflect the natural function of the emotions in his heart. The same is true regarding all of the powers of the soul. It will become evident and apparent that the true existence of every power within his soul is fundamentally G‑dly.

Spreading the wellsprings of the Baal Shem Tov outward66 is primarily achieved through drawing down these wellsprings into the intellectual powers of one’s soul through the teachings of Chassidus Chabad. From the mind, they are drawn down into the emotions and then, since “the heart imparts [vitality] to all organs,”67 they affect the full range of one’s personality. These efforts will lead to the spreading of these wellsprings to the world at large and, ultimately, to the swift and imminent coming of Mashiach.⁵⁴

Adapted from a sichah delivered on Shabbos Parshas Balak, 5741 (1981)