Pesah – The Judgment for Parnasa
The Mishna in Masechet Rosh Hashanah (16a) teaches that on Pesah, God judges the world with respect to "Tevu'a" – grain. Wheat is the basic staple of human sustenance; after water, it is likely mankind's most important commodity. Particularly in the ancient world, wheat was a person's primary asset, and wealth was generally determined based on bushels of grain. Indeed, even in conventional slang we often refer to money as "dough," because of the central role that grain has always played in human sustenance.
It thus emerges that on Pesah God judges the world for Parnasa, livelihood. Although we generally look to Rosh Hashanah as the day of judgment for all human affairs, in truth, it is on Pesah when we are judged – both collectively and individually – with regard to our livelihood.
The connection between Pesah and Parnasa relates to the wealth that God gave Bene Yisrael as they departed Egypt. God had promised Avraham many years earlier that after the period of bondage that his descendants would endure, they would leave with "Rechush Gadol," immense wealth (Bereshit 15:14). In order to fulfill this promise, God brought a famine upon the entire region, compelling all the countries in the area to purchase grain from Egypt, where Yosef had stored grain in anticipation of the drought. During this period, Egypt effectively amassed all the wealth of the surroundings countries. Later, shortly after Bene Yisrael left Egypt, Pharaoh decided to pursue them, and in order to persuade his reluctant soldiers to join in the pursuit, he opened his treasuries and showered them with wealth. The Egyptian horsemen took this wealth with them as they pursued Bene Yisrael, and after the miracle of the splitting of the sea, those riches washed ashore and were collected by Bene Yisrael. Thus, Pesah marks the first time when Bene Yisrael as a nation accumulated wealth.
The Sages teach us that the holidays on the Jewish calendar are not merely commemorative; they are also times when the historical processes that unfolded many centuries ago repeat themselves. Just as on Pesah at the time of the Exodus God showered Bene Yisrael with wealth, similarly, each year on Pesah God judges us to determine whether to bless us with wealth. Pesah is therefore a time for each person to pray to the Almighty and ask that he grant him a secure livelihood and protection from those who seek to take his possessions from him.
If we analyze this concept a bit deeper, we will see that the judgment on Pesah actually extends to two kinds of wealth.
The term "Rechush Gadol" is a relative one; its meaning depends on the status of the speaker. An indigent beggar, for example, who speaks of "wealth," could refer simply to somebody who has a satisfying lunch to eat every day. But if a mogul like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet describes "great wealth," he must refer to values of tens of billions of dollars. To what, then, could God have possibly referred when He promised Avraham that his descendants would leave with "Rechush Gadol"? The Almighty owns the entire universe. What would He consider "wealth"?
The answer is that God refers here to not merely material possessions, but also Torah, the single most valuable asset in existence. He promised Avraham that when his descendants leave bondage, they will be given God's Torah as an eternal possession, for them to study, observe and bequeath to their children. This is the great treasure that we received upon leaving Egypt, in addition to the material treasures of Egypt.
Thus, when we pray on Pesah for Parnasa, we pray for both kinds of "sustenance" – material and spiritual. We petition the Almighty to grant us not only material abundance and prosperity, but also, and primarily, to bless with the ability to study Torah and observe its laws with love, joy and devotion. On this festival when we are judged with respect to "livelihood," we pray for "livelihood" in the dual sense, asking for success in both our material and spiritual pursuits.
