MERITING TO EAT OUT OF HASHEM'S HAND

 Torah 31 starts with the following enigmatic request that the Wise Men of Athens made to the Talmudic sage Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya: "We have a well in the desert, Bring it to town."

At the end of that Torah, Rabbeinu explains what they were really asking:  how can a person who believes that their sustenance (signified by the well) can only be found in the desert (that is, in a place devoid of holiness) attain a level where their livelihood is directly governed by Divine Providence? 

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chanany answers (as interpreted by Rabbeinu) that this person should observe Shabbos, which will bring them to emunah, and also guard the Covenant. Then they will gradually reach a level where all their sustenance will be connected to holiness, like lechem hapanim in the Bais HaMikdash.

It's good to realize that ultimately even very high levels are within our reach. But for this, we need tzaddikim that can teach us which steps we need to take to get there, and how exactly to take those steps.

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