We Are Workers, Not Bosses

There's a well-known statement from Rav Nachman Mibreslev: Ein ye'ush ba'olam kelal — that a person is never allowed to give up hope on anything. This statement is often used to give c hizuk to people who have been trying for years to achieve a certain goal, but haven't achieved it yet. They are told never to give up, because Hashem can always bring the salvation in the blink of an eye. To Him, it does not matter that years have passed without success. When the time is right, He will bring the salvation. This gives c hizuk to people to continue trying to find their zivug . Shidduchim can be one of the most emotionally draining areas in a person's life. The waiting, the disappointment, the confusion, the pressure — it can feel endless. A person may say, I've been trying for so many years and nothing is working. Maybe it's just not meant for me. Maybe I should just stop trying. Or a person may be trying to raise a family of good children who will be yirei Hashem , but it seems like he's failing. The children are disrespectful. They don't want to do anything their parents tell them to do. They aren't interested in growing spiritually. The parents have done everything they could, but they are getting absolutely nowhere. It's very normal to feel, what's the point? Why should I bother continuing to try if I'm not getting anywhere anyway? This applies in so many other areas of life as well. And usually, the c hizuk given is: things can always change in an instant. And therefore, we should never give up trying. However, there is a deeper understanding of these words, which was brought out by Rabbi Menashe Reizman. We do not continue trying just because we can be saved at any moment. We continue trying because that is the job that Hashem requires us to do . We are all workers in Hashem's world. Giving up is a decision that is made by a boss, not a worker. Hashem gave every person the exact life that he needs to fulfill his mission here. That mission entails doing what is right in Hashem's eyes — regardless of whether it is successful or not. How the final product looks is also the boss's department, not the worker's. Imagine there's a large factory with hundreds of thousands of products being produced daily. And there are tens of thousands of workers, each having a small part in the creation of the product. One person bangs in a nail. Another adds a screw. One puts on the plastic wrapping. Another puts the price sticker. It should not matter at all to any of those workers what the final product looks like. That has nothing to do with their job. As long as they are doing what they are supposed to do, they are successful in their mission. We must internalize that we are all workers in Hashem's world, and we will be considered successful as long as we continue working. The final product is Hashem's business. If a shidduch happens — that is up to Hashem. But as far as we are concerned, we are supposed to continue trying and trying and trying again. Whether or not children will listen to their parents or be religious is Hashem's business. But as far as we are concerned, our job is to always be the parent that Hashem wants us to be. Hashem put each child exactly with the parent that He wants to raise that child. He chose the parent — with his personality, with his strengths and weaknesses — because that is the parent that the child needs in order to do his job. And the parents get the exact children that they need to do their job. It is very gratifying when we end up getting what we want or when we see the fruits of our labor. But that is just an added bonus. It is not the reason we continue trying. We do everything in this world for the Boss — and the Boss wants us to work, and never give up. Ein ye'ush ba'olam kelal.