Throughout history, people have pondered the metaphysical workings of the universe, particularly how blessings and prayers might influence our lives. It has even been argued that if something is meant to be, it will just happen naturally, without any effort on our part. However, this passive approach is not one that the Torah endorses.
In Moshe’s final words to the Jewish people, after a lifetime of leadership and guidance, he provides a crucial clarification that continues to guide and resonate for eternity:
וּבֵרַכְךָ ה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשֶׂה – “And the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.” (15:18)
This framing is pivotal because it emphasizes that blessings are intricately tied to our actions. As R’ Naftultche of Bobov sharply said, God can bless what we do, but what we do is still up to us!
Moshe does not suggest that success or divine favor will simply materialize without effort. This teaching highlights that while we can hope for blessings, they tend to manifest in the work we actively engage in, the steps we decisively take, and the endeavors we wholeheartedly pursue. As R’ Jonathan Sacks so insightfully noted, faith is not living with certainty; faith is the courage to live with uncertainty, the decision to act despite our doubts, to work, and to strive for a better future. To invert Moshe’s statement: could we expect God to bless the work we don’t put in and the efforts we never attempt?
This idea provides a clear counterexample that challenges the notion that we can passively receive blessings. The Torah’s message is clear: generally speaking, effort is a prerequisite for divine blessing; we can hope for blessing in all that we do, but not in what we don’t. If there is something you desire, you must actively pursue it.
This principle is vividly illustrated in a legendary story about Reb Zusha, who was rushing through a village when a local wagon driver stopped him to ask for help loading some heavy bales of hay. Reb Zusha declined, apologising that he was in a hurry, so he couldn’t help. The driver responded, “You can help; you just don’t want to.” Reb Zusha was taken aback at this interaction and took it very much to heart; he understood that he had captured a profound truth that often, when we claim that we can’t do something, it is not a matter of ability but of will. A lack of willpower will necessarily lead to a lack of follow-through; when we truly want something, we find the means and figure out how.
This teaching aligns with the insight of the Imrei Emes that Moshe’s words at the beginning of his speech describe the people’s unwillingness to enter the Land of Israel. Characterising it from their perspective, he speaks of their inability, that they couldn’t do it – אָנָה אֲנַחְנוּ עֹלִים אַחֵינוּ הֵמַסּוּ אֶת־לְבָבֵנוּ. But Moshe’s own view of events is very different, and he sees through their claimed inability and says they just didn’t want it enough – ‘וְלֹא אֲבִיתֶם לַעֲלֹת וַתַּמְרוּ אֶת־פִּי ה.
As the Chida famously stated, nothing stands in the way of a person’s will; while the physical world may present real obstacles and barriers, desire knows no bounds in the realm of thought, heart, and soul. Nothing can stop you from wanting something. When we truly desire an outcome, we must work on that desire and tie it to concrete action, aligned thought with deed; only then can we hope to see the blessings we seek.
God can bless what we do, but what we do is still up to us.
Do your actions truly reflect what you claim to desire?
As one writer put it, a loser is someone so afraid of not winning that they don’t even try.
The lesson is simple yet profound: if you don’t make a serious effort, do you even want it at all? In life, blessings are not often bestowed upon the idle. Instead, they result from a harmonious alignment between desire, effort, and action, or in other words, in all that we do.
By aligning our intentions with determined actions, we not only work toward our goals but open the door to invite the blessings that can make them a reality.