Where does this proverb originate? The information-packed
Wikipedia entry on the proverb provides numerous examples of it being found in
various forms in ancient Greek and Chinese cultures as well as in Christian,
Islamic and Jewish traditions (for example the oft-cited axiom בדרך שאדם רוצה לילך – מוליכים אותו (“On the path
that a person wants to go, they take him”, Makkot 10b).
What is the value of this saying? It can be seen both as a
positive incentive to take the initiative in meeting one’s needs in the
confidence that one will receive divine assistance. But it has also been taken
as poor public policy in that it discourages people from helping the poor and
needy; after all, God’s help is surely greater than theirs.
What light does Pirkei Avot cast on this long-lived notion? Not
a lot, since Avot portrays God mainly as a judge and post-mortem paymaster. The
tractate certainly does not address our question directly, since its principal function
is to guide us in our interpersonal relations and self-improvement, Even so,
there are some small, admittedly tenuous, clues:
Hillel (Avot 1:14) famously asks: “If I am not for myself,
who will be for me?” This question can
be understood in many different ways. One is that it is a rhetorical question.
Hillel is actually saying that one has to make an effort and act for oneself if
one wants help—and God is the universal provider of help for those who call
upon Him.
Rabbi Shimon ben Netanel (Avot 2:14) suggests that a person
who borrows—whether from man or from God—and does not repay is wicked. However,
where a person does pay back what he owes, God who is righteous will not only gracious
but will freely give.
Rabbi Tarfon (Avot 2:20) teaches that “the day is short, the
task is massive, the workers are lazy, the reward is great and the Master of
the House [i.e. God] is pressing”. From this one can infer that, the harder and
faster a person attends to his or her duties, the greater reward, or possibly
assistance, will be made available by God.
An anonymous mishnah (5:21) tells us that anyone who invests
the masses with merit will be divinely assisted either in not sinning or in not
causing others to sin.
Can any reader go further than this?
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