Where does Parnossa come from?

shabbatiscoming

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 9:50 am

pretty much the same as everyone else that answered just differently said: HaShem puts different situations in our direction so that we can hopefully fulfill them. ill give you an example, my mother saw a job op in the paper more than four times. she was at a job, not one that she really loved, so she finally sent in her CV and, with the help of HaShem, she got the job and has always said that it was hashgacha pratit that put her in this job that she loves.....
we do what we can and HaShem both guides us and helps us!

red sea

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 10:14 am

I learned its 100% preordained before you are born in a general category but great merits, prayer and charity can influence this amount and so can a persons ambition, and what is decreed each rosh hashana. However you exercise free choice of endeavor regarding use of time, associates, work, area where you live, basically you control the details of how it plays out but the bottom net income remains static in a general sense, short of the above mentioned possible influences.

sarahd

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 12:28 pm

The amount you will earn is decreed on Rosh Hashana. The amount of hishtadlus you have to do depends on your level of bitachon. The more bitachon you have, the less hishtadlus you will have to make.

Reb Zundel of Salant used to buy a lottery ticket each year in order to create a vessel for the parnasa to come down. On his level of bitachon, that was all he needed to do. Most of us need to do some more hishtadlus than that.

mali

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 4:15 pm

this year, I had a very hard time coping with both my very taxing job and all the rest of my duties - as a mother and housewife. I decided to quit my job, despite what everyone around me was telling me; "it's a great job, you're nuts, don't quit etc."
boruch hashem, right after I made that 'fateful' move, a friend of mine called up and offered me a job with much less working hours, much better working conditions, and almost the same pay! (considering the fact that I don't pay as much for a babysitter, it evens out). so I guess the money was bashert, and hashem has His ways of sending it.

ektsm

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 4:33 pm

Parnasa is what you make of it. However, Hashem does play a part in it. FOr example, You can't not go to college, get married, have 3 kids in two years, and then wonder why you can't afford to own a house while you are meanwhile making eight dolleers an hour. If someone works in a grocery store making $8 trying to support a family of five IMPOSSIBLE! You ahve to go out and work as hard as you can to earn a living. You can't just daven and learn all day and expect Hashem to pay your bills.

seniormom

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 4:57 pm

Red Sea--what you said reminds me of the story I heard about a businessman who worked very hard and was very successful. He davened with great hislahavus, beseeching Hashem to grant him greater and greater parnossah, he gave alot of tzedakah, he supported others so they could learn Torah, etc. He became well known as a baal chessed and marbitz Torah. Then one day he simply "vanished" and wasn't seen around town for many months. It seems that his business suffered a serious reversal and he was bankrupt. For awhile he was able to sustain himself and his family with what he had saved and with his good credit. But, after a few months he was truly destitute, his clothes were not clean and had become shabby...he was too ashamed to be seen in public. (A person who was once rich and becomes poor, suffers much more embarrassment than someone who was always poor.) Soon, though, it became unbearable, and he could not even put a small amount of food on the table for his family. So in the dark one night he left his home and went to the local Rebbe, and with tears flowing down his cheeks, asked
him for a bracha and pleaded with him to explain the terrible yerida he suffered. What had he done to anger Hashem and be so punished? The Rebbe responded with characteristic wisdom..."My dear son, it is not that you have done anything wrong at all. On the contrary, you davened so sincerely, and you gave so much tzedakah, and did so much chessed, that Hashem saw how earnestly you wanted your prayers for financial success answered...so He answered them...He provided you with all the parnossah you were destined to have...you didn't lose anything, you just got it all up front!"

I guess we should be careful what we pray for!! Confused

Health is a Virture

Tue, May 23 2006, 12:14 pm

TEFILLAH! TEFILLAH! TEFILLAH! don't worry, but don't be stupid. If you only make a certain amount of money because it is preordained from Hashem, don't think that you can go out and buy whatever you want becAuse hashem will give you what you need!!!

Hashem gives to each what they NEED, not necessarily what they want. You do whatever hishtadlus you and your husband feel are necessary for your needs (or wants) and HaShem does the rest.

Just some cool stories...definitely more cool storeis here in Israel, but they happen in America too if you just loo....

For a few months we stopped buying chicken for shabbos because we figured we would just put chicken bones in soup, necks in cholent, and my kids were convinced they had chicken every night fgor dinner (leftovers last us for most of teh week.)

Then we were having guests for 2 shabbosim. But, chicken is expensive. Where would we be able to afford it? (My hsuband is in kollel and I don't work). We put our bitachon in Hashem...if we're having guest, we have to have chicken...hashem will help us. Right after we had the guests, my hsuband was approached by a rebbi who told him about an organization tha tprovides chicken for people in kollel. Not Tzedaka...we wouldn't take it if it was tzedaka...it's just like a bonus for people learning in kollel. So, we get 4 chickens delivered to our door once a month.

Then, for 2 weeks again, we had guests...that costs money, but Shabbos watches over us....(In addition, my daughter was recently put on a crazy diet, and so eats a lot of chicken now, as she can't eat a lot of other foods)....We get a call the next week from this anonymous chicken thing...We finally found its source. They decided that now they are going to send us 2 chickens a week, instead of one!

Hakadosh baruch hu, takes care of you!!!! I would recommend that you and your husband learn together shaar bitachon in Chovos Halevavos, it really puts things in perspective!!

If you want to talk about more specifics, you can email me

If I feel we need it, I buy it. But, we are very frugal with our money. If you really don't have a lot of money, you have to be realistic and not overspend on things...it takes a cheshbon hanefesh with your husband to realistically figure out what the two of you need.

Good luck!