301 - Parnassah (Part-2)

The Shulchan Aruch codifies a statement from the Gemara which says that if one performs the mitzvah of netilas yadayim, washing one's hands for bread in the correct manner according to the prescribed laws, as well as being extra generous to use water in an abundant way when they wash their hands, one will be blessed with wealth. And in another law, the Shulchan Aruch codifies that if somebody undermines and degrades the mitzvah of washing for bread, they will receive serious punishment and consequences for their actions, namely that they will a) Considered to have been excommunicated, b) They will come to poverty, and c) They will be uprooted from the world. 

Now, according to our basic human logic and intuition, one would not have considered the mitzvah of netilas yadayim, washing for bread, to have been so important in our own eyes. Of course, if Hashem says I should perform it, I will, but one would never have expected without having learnt the statements made by the sages about washing for bread that have such tremendous consequences, both for the negative as well as for the positive. Again, our approach when performing mitzvos needs to be we do them because we believe Hashem has instructed us to do so. If we follow our own logic and understanding, we might consider this to be a minor mitzvah and therefore may not be as serious in the way we deal with all its intricacies and details, whereas if we perform this mitzvah for the sole reason that Hashem commanded us to and we believe Him that if He said this is important we will do so, we will have a whole different perspective in our commitment to this mitzvah.

It is so important when it comes to all mitzvos for us to perform them just because Hashem said so and not because of our understanding. The Rambam writes that when it comes to Torah learning, we have a mitzvah to try to understand as much as we can. That is the mitzvah that Hashem wants us to try our best to understand. However, after all is said and done, we have to realize and internalize that we ultimately have no understanding whatsoever in Hashem's calculations for His mitzvos. It very well could be that something which seems like an insignificant and small detail to a certain mitzvah could be one of the highest and most potent and sensitive cords in our spiritual connection to Hashem or in the connection of the spiritual worlds to this world. We are so privileged that Hashem has blessed us to be able to have a guideline, a book which outlines His perspective to all of these principles.

And besides for the fact that we are supposed to treat the mitzvah of washing our hands for bread with paramount importance, we are also being taught that as a fringe benefit, one who performs this mitzvah in the right way with all its intricacies and pours water in a generous manner to make sure that they've done the mitzvah in the most perfect way will be blessed with wealth. Now again, one might say, “I made sure to learn the laws perfectly and I performed the mitzvah in the most impeccable way, and at the same time, I'm still suffering from poverty. How can that be?” With Emunah, I have no need for questions. Without Emunah, there are no answers. If Hashem tells me that this mitzvah is conducive to financial success, there is no doubt about that. The fact that in certain situations a person may have performed the mitzvah and nevertheless not experienced financial success, the commentaries point out that could be because of ulterior reasons such as a person sinned in a different area, and because of that sin, this wealth and financial success is now prevented from coming to fruition, or many other reasons that could be beyond our human understanding. What a privilege we have to perform so many mitzvos on a constant basis and thereby follow Hashem's guidelines to how to live our lives.