Protecting the Shechinah from the Sitra Achra
A Deep Look into the Berachah 'Who Provided for Me All My Needs'
If we look carefully at the wording of the morning berachot, something striking emerges. From פוקח עורים (Who gives sight to the blind) through המעביר שנה מעיני (Who removes sleep from my eyes) – a total of eleven berachot – each one is phrased in the present tense, except for one. Although we bless Hashem for giving sight to the blind, clothing the naked, releasing the bound, straightening the bent, etc., when blessing Him for preparing our needs, we don't say שעושה לי כל צרכי (Who provides for me all my needs), but rather שעשה לי כל צרכי (Who provided for me all my needs). Why is that? Are we unsure if Hashem will provide for us today?
Let's begin with the source of the berachah. Chazal taught (Berachot 60b): כי סיים מסאניה לימא: ״ברוך שעשה לי כל צרכי״ (When one puts on shoes, he says, 'Blessed … Who provided for me all my needs'). That's it. That’s all we’re given – no Rashi, not even a Tosafot.
The first thing we must consider – even before focusing on the past tense wording of the berachah – is why shoes are associated with providing for all our needs. Clearly, shoes are one need, but isn't it a bit of an exaggeration to say that shoes are equivalent to all of our needs? What about food, clothing, lodging, companionship, a minyan or a mikveh, or even holy sefarim? Aren't these needs? But it's even more than that. Since the word all is a very broad term, it comes to include not only all physical needs but all spiritual needs as well. What's the connection between all our needs and shoes?
The Kaf ha-Chaim writes on the Shulchan Aruch where the halachah of making this berachah is brought down (O.C. 46:14): והטעם כתב הרד"א ז"ל לברכה זו שכל זמן שהוא יחף אינו יכול נצאת ולעשות צרכיו וצרכי ביתו וכיון שלובש מנעליו כאלו נעשו לו כל צרכיו. וכ"כ הלבוש, וז"ל שכיון שיש לו לאדם מנעלים ברגליו הרי הוא מוכן ללכת לכל אשר ירצה וזהו כל צרכי עכ"ל (R' David Abudraham, zichrono livrachah, wrote the reason for this berachah, that as long as one is barefoot, he can't go out and take care of his needs and the needs of his household, but when he can put on his shoes, it's as if all of his needs have been provided. And so wrote the Levush [R' Mordechai ben Avraham Yafe]: 'When a person has shoes for his feet, he is prepared to go wherever he wants, and this is the meaning of 'all his needs'). At least on a basic level, we can now understand why Chazal associated this berachah with having all of one's needs provided. But this still doesn't explain why the berachah is formulated in the past tense.
The great 18th-century tzaddik and mekubal R' Alexander Ziskind of Grodno also wrote about this berachah (Yesod V'Shoresh Ha-Avodah, Sha'ar Bet 4:20): ובברכת שעשה לי כל צרכי חיוב על האדם לברך ברכה זו בשמחת הלב מאוד ויאמין האמנה גדולה בה' יתברך ויתעלה שיספיק לו צרכו…ויתן שבח גדול והודאה על העבר והאמנה על העתיד ואף שנתקנה ברכה זו על לבישת מנעלים בודאי צריך האדם ליתן הודאה במחשבתו בברכה זו על כל הטוב שחננו השם יתעלה (Everyone has an obligation to make the berachah 'Who provided for me all my needs' with a very happy heart. And one must have great emunah in Hashem, may He be blessed and exalted, that He will provide for his needs…and that He should offer great praise and thanks regarding the past and have emunah regarding the future, and even though this berachah was instituted regarding the wearing of shoes, a person, for sure, needs to give thanks, in his thoughts, with this berachah for all the good that Hashem, may He be exalted, graciously has bestowed upon him).
Three important principles emerge from his holy words. First, we need to make this berachah with a happy heart. Second, we need tremendous emunah that Hashem will continue to provide for us in the future. And third, we need kavanah to thank Hashem not only for our shoes, but for all of our needs that He has graciously provided for us. We learn, therefore, that this berachah was instituted by Chazal because it encompasses three very important pillars relating to our avodat Hashem: being happy, having strong emunah and expressing thanks.
If we think about it, we'll now realize why the berachah is expressed in the past tense. Since it is an acknowledgment of Hashem's faithfulness to us, it reaches back in time knowing with full emunah that just as He provided for us in the past, He will continue to provide for us now and on into the future. Since we reach back in time to the past, the present is automatically included, just as it is with the other berachot. In fact, this berachah is an expression of how we should approach each day. By wording the berachah in the past, we are saying to Hashem, 'Thank you for already preparing for me today what I will need for today.' Think about it. Instead of being a deficient berachah because it doesn't focus on the present, it is an even loftier berachah because it davka focuses on the past. We are thanking Hashem for already preparing for us exactly what we'll need for the day.
To what can this be compared? To a day-worker hired by a landowner. The landowner tells him, "Everything you need for your work today has already been prepared for you. Whatever tools or equipment you might require – it's all here in the toolshed. And if, at any point, you feel like something's missing, just step back inside and take another look. You'll find exactly what you need. Trust me – it's all right here."
This idea speaks to the very essence of emunah – the way we should approach every day of our life. We should walk with this berachah all day long knowing that Hashem has already prepared our needs in advance. That's the beauty of this berachah. But it's even more than this. If we walk with emunah and discover that something we thought we needed isn’t in the toolshed, we’ll immediately realize that it isn't truly necessary for the day after all. And that realization alone will go a long way in shielding us from frustration, sadness, anger and the many negative emotions that tend to arise within us when things don’t go quite the way we had hoped or expected.
In this context, Chazal revealed a most important principle – one that holds true across all areas of life (Eruvin 13b): וְכׇל הַדּוֹחֵק אֶת הַשָּׁעָה שָׁעָה דּוֹחַקְתּוֹ וְכׇל הַנִּדְחֶה מִפְּנֵי שָׁעָה שָׁעָה עוֹמֶדֶת לוֹ (Whoever forces the moment, the moment pushes [back] at him, but whoever yields to the moment, the moment stands by him). We have to learn not to force things – especially when it seems like we're not making any progress. If something's not coming together easily, it could that it's not time yet, and pushing could result in unnecessary frustration accompanied by a lot of wasted energy and time – energy and time that could have been used productively elsewhere.
On a personal note, many years ago, my wife and I tried to sell our family home. We listed it and waited – month after month – but nothing happened. After some reflection, we took it as a sign that Hashem didn’t want us to move, so we took the house off the market. A few years later, our circumstances had changed significantly, and we felt it might now be the right time – perhaps Hashem now would shine His countenance upon us. We listed the house again, and within days we received an offer and closed the deal. It was smooth and simple – no stress, no frustration – just like that which is written (Yeshayahu 60:22): בְּעִתָּהּ אֲחִישֶׁנָּה (In its time, I will hasten it).
R' Natan, the primary talmid and scribe of R' Nachman, observed firsthand how his Rebbe and teacher embodied this principle – even in matters that seemed entirely ordinary or mundane (Chayei Moharan 431): מִי שֶׁרוֹצֶה לִישֹׁן וְאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לִישֹׁן הָעֵצָה לָזֶה לְבַל לְהַכְרִיחַ עַצְמוֹ כָּל כָּךְ לִישֹׁן כִּי כָּל מַה שֶּׁמַּכְרִיחַ עַצְמוֹ יוֹתֵר לִישֹׁן מִתְגַּבֵּר עָלָיו בְּיוֹתֵר מְנִיעוֹת הַשֵּׁנָה (Someone who wants to fall asleep and he's unable to, he should not force himself so much to fall asleep, for the more he tries to force himself to fall asleep, the more he strengthens the obstacles against falling asleep). And then he reveals something that may surprise us: וְעִנְיָן זֶה גַּם בְּכָל הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם לִבְלִי לְהַכְרִיחַ עַצְמוֹ בְּיוֹתֵר כִּי כָּל מַה שֶּׁמַּכְרִיחִין עַצְמוֹ בְּיוֹתֵר לְאֵיזֶה דָּבָר מִתְגַּבֵּר עָלָיו בְּיוֹתֵר הַהֶפֶךְ דַּיְקָא וַאֲפִלּוּ בַּעֲבוֹדַת הַשֵּׁם צְרִיכִין לִפְעָמִים זֹאת לִבְלִי לְהַכְרִיחַ עַצְמוֹ יוֹתֵר מִדַּי (This concept also relates to everything in the world – not to force oneself so much – because the more one forces something, specifically, the more its opposite gains strength over him, and even with avodat Hashem, we sometimes need, specifically, not to force ourselves too much). So if this principle applies from mundane matters such as trying to fall asleep to the most lofty areas in our avodat Hashem, how much more should it apply to everything between, such as selling one's house, finding a shidduch, or even working for parnasah?
In Chayei Moharan 433, R' Natan recounts that toward the end of his Rebbe's life, R' Nachman suffered tremendously from tuberculosis and struggled to breathe, unable to expel the phlegm from his lungs. He says that R' Nachman never tried to force anything. He simply waited – calm and serene. In a short while, the phlegm would come up easily on its own. In the end, R' Nachman explained: אֲפִלּוּ מִזֹּאת יְכוֹלִין לִרְאוֹת שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לְהַכְרִיחַ עַצְמוֹ הַרְבֵּה עַל שׁוּם דָּבָר (Even from this, we can see that it is impossible to force oneself a lot for anything). This is the essence of living emunah, and this is what it means to internalize the deep meaning of the berachah שעשה לי כל צרכי (Who provided for me all my needs).
But what about what we wrote above that the word all includes not only physical needs but even spiritual ones as well. To address this, we have to dig a little deeper, into some of the esoteric teachings of the Torah.
In the Kabbalah, the sefirah of malchut, the lowest of the ten sefirot, is associated with the lowest part of the human body, i.e. the feet. And just as malchut is the vessel into which all light from the upper nine sefirot (from keter to yesod) are channeled, so too it is with us – for Knesset Yisrael is an aspect of malchut. This means that feet are our vessel for receiving all light, i.e. all of our needs – physical as well as spiritual. And this is why Chazal instituted the berachah when putting on shoes as opposed to some other article of clothing. It's not just that when one has shoes on he's able to walk around and get things done – although true – it's much deeper than that. Feet themselves are the spiritual vessel for receiving all of our needs.
This is why the pasuk says (Shir ha-Shirim 7:2): מַה־יָּפוּ פְעָמַיִךְ בַּנְּעָלִים בַּת־נָדִיב (How beautiful are your feet in shoes, daughter of the noble one!). Our feet need to be in shoes. How come? R' Natan explains in Likutei Halachot (Hilchot Gittin 4:10): כי המנעלים הם תקון הרגלין, הינו כי הרגלין הם בחינת מדרגה האחרונה של הקדשה, ומשם ולמטה הוא אחיזת הסטרא אחרא…ומחמת שהרגלין סמוכין אל הסטרא אחרא, על-כן צריכין שם שמירה ביותר שלא יתאחזו בהם. וזה בחינת המנעלים שהם שמירה להרגלין (For the shoes are the tikkun of the feet, i.e. for the feet are the aspect of the last level of kedushah, and from there and below is the grasp of the Sitra Achra…and because the feet are close to the Sitra Achra; therefore, we need more protection there so that they won't grab hold of them. And this is the aspect of the shoes that are protection for the feet).
Shoes aren't a luxury – they are, literally, a spiritual necessity. Feet need shoes to protect malchut, i.e. Knesset Yisrael – the Shechinah – from the grasp of the Sitra Achra. Shoes are the spiritual shield to protect Her from being pulled down into the realm of tumah. If we had a keen sense of spiritual vision, this is exactly what we would see. And that's why Chazal instituted the berachah of כל צרכי (all of our needs) davka when we put on our shoes. The shoes are a protective covering for the vessel so that when malchut receives light from above, i.e. 'all of our needs', she's able to hold onto it, rather than, chas v'shalom, have it spill out and be lapped up by the Sitra Achra, giving strength, chas v'shalom, to the goyim instead of to B'nei Yisrael. In the words of R' Natan: צריכין להמשיך תקון המנעלים שהם שמירה להרגלין, שלא יתאחזו בהם הקלפות כנ"ל, ועל ידי זה ממילא נשמר כל השפע שלא תרד להם, חס ושלום, רק לישראל (We need to draw down a tikkun, the shoes, which protect the feet so that the klipot won't grab hold of them, and through this, automatically, all the shefa remains with Yisrael and doesn't go down to them [i.e. the klipot], chas v'shalom).
Now you have some idea why Chazal said (Shabbat 129a): לְעוֹלָם יִמְכּוֹר אָדָם קוֹרוֹת בֵּיתוֹ וְיִקַּח מִנְעָלִים לְרַגְלָיו (A person should always sell the beams of his house and buy shoes for his feet). Shoes are that important.
