Halakhah su Deuteronomio 8:17

(Hay) Even though there are people that are required to engage in some business,¹⁸Meaning that their financial circumstances prevent them from devoting all of their time to Torah study, without reliance upon miracles. the give and take (purchasing and selling) must be done with faith. And this is the beginning of a person’s judgement [by God at the end of his life]. As [so] is it written in the second chapter of Shabbat,¹⁹Shabbat 31a. “Rav²⁰In the standard editions of the Talmud, the author of this statement is Rava and not Rav. said, ‘When a person is brought to judgment, they say to him, “Did you give and take faithfully?’”²¹The simple understanding of this is that he was honest in his business dealings, but R. Heller understands it here to mean that he had faith that God is the source of his success in business. And this is [understood] according to that which is found there, “‘And the faith of your times shall be a strength […]’ (Isaiah 33:6) – ‘Faith,’ that is [a reference to] the Order of Zera’im²²The first of the six division of the Mishna and Talmud. (Seeds).” And it is written there in Tosafot (s. v. emunat) in the name of the Talmud Yerushalmi, “[It is because] he has faith in the Life of the worlds, and sows [seeds].”²³Although Tosafot cites the Talmud Yerushalmi, such a phrase is not found in our text, but it is found in Bamidbar Rabbah 13:16. And this is as opposed to those who engage in commerce and say, “It is my strength and the power of my hand, etc.”²⁴See Deut. 8:17 and its context. But rather one who plants [trustingly] flings his seeds, fixes his soil and covers them. [And] there they will be destroyed, lost and rot until the Lord has mercy upon him and ‘brings down the dews [and] makes the wind blow’ – [then] ‘he will reap with gladness and carry his sheaves.’ And that is why seeds are called faith. And it is likewise fitting that all [business] be with faith – meaning that he trusts that what he buys, sells, borrows or lends is like flinging his seeds into the ground; and that [only] through the kindness of God is his desire [to profit] accomplished. And this is the understanding of “Did you give and take faithfully?” [In the continuation of this passage in Shabbat 31a], they then also ask him, “Did you sharpen [matters of] wisdom?” And [this] is elucidated in the Duties of the Heart in the Section on the Reckoning of the Soul:²⁵Rabbi Bachya Ibn Paquda, Chovot HaLevavot 8:3:5.
He should reckon with his soul about his tarrying to understand God’s Torah and [about] his peace of mind about not mastering its contents; whereas he does not do this with a book that came to him from the king, if he is in doubt about its understanding because of similarities in the writing or the words, or the depth of the topic, etc. But rather he would put all of his heart and soul into mastering its contents, and he would be very distressed until he understood [the king’s] intention by it, etc. How much is he [then] obligated to expend multiple more efforts until he understands the Torah of his God, which is his life and his salvation, etc.? And how, my brother, did you permit yourself to excuse yourself from it, and to suffice yourself with what appears to be its content and that which is revealed from its simple meaning, and to be negligent with the rest? [See there.]
And with this a Jewish man should be awakened to how greatly he is required to answer the aforementioned question, “Have you sharpened [matters of] wisdom” and not just sufficed with simple understandings. True, due to the actual lucidity of the earlier ones’ minds, they did not require so much deep sharpening, like ‘us here today.’ And even in the days of the Amoraim,²⁶The scholars of the Talmudic period (ca. 220-500 CE). Here, and frequently, the distinction is being made between them and the scholars of the Mishnaic period (ca. 10- 220 CE), known as the Tannaim. they said (Eruvin 53a), “We are like a finger in wax with regard to logical reasoning.” And all the more so do we – who are orphans of orphans – require so much time to understand even one logical argument of the earlier ones, may their memory be blessed. And much sharpening is required for this.