Business Can Make You Happy
On the final day of his life, in the final portion of the Torah, Moses blesses each of the twelve tribes of Israel. After blessing the first three tribes with positions of leadership, he blesses the tribe of Joseph with a fertile portion in the land of Israel, which will produce sweet produce.
Moses, then turns to the tribe of Zevulun, who were destined to be merchants, and blesses them, evoking the word joy:
And to Zebulun he said: "Rejoice, Zebulun, in your departure, and Issachar, in your tents.
They will call peoples to the mountain; there, they will offer up righteous sacrifices. For they will be nourished by the abundance of the seas, and by the treasures hidden in the sand." Deuteronomy 33:18-19
Why is the blessing to the tribe of Zebulun the only one that mentions the word joy?
There is a Talmudic saying that states: a man would prefer one Kav (a measurement) of grain that he produces rather than nine Kav given to him by a friend. The Talmud teaches that deep within a person’s psyche lies the desire to create something on his own. No matter how much he has been given, that deep desire has not been met. Only when a person creates something by the fruit of his own labor, does he feel a deep sense of satisfaction and joy.
All the tribes of Israel were blessed with gifts from above. Leadership was bestowed upon the tribes of Reuben, Levi, Judah. The other tribes were blessed with various portions of the land of Israel. Zebulun, alone, was blessed with the opportunity to sail forth from the land of Israel and engage in commerce, buying and selling and create wealth and prosperity by their own effort. Therefore it is Zebulun alone that experiences the truest sense of joy.
Every phenomenon in the physical world is a mirror of the same phenomenon in the spiritual reality. The same is true about the joy of Zebulun’s commercial efforts.
Rashi quotes the Midrash’s description of how Zebulun would use their business relationships to spread the light of Judaism:
Through Zebulun’s commerce, merchants of the world’s nations will come to his land. Now Zebulun is located at the border, so these merchants will say, “Since we have taken so much trouble to reach here, let us go to Jerusalem and see what the God of this nation is like and what they do.” And they see all Israel worshipping one God and eating one kind of food [i.e., only what is permissible to them, and they will be astonished], because [among] the nations, the deity of one is not like the deity of another, and the food of one is not like the food of another. So they will say, “There is no nation as worthy as this one!” Consequently, they will convert to Judaism there, as our verse says,“there, they will offer up righteous sacrifices” [and all of this will be due to Zebulun’s commerce].
While all other tribes lived in the holy environment of the land of Israel, the tribe of Zebulun, alone amongst the tribes, spent their time, talent and creativity, outside the borders of the land of Israel. While all other tribes worked the sacred soil of the land of Israel, the tribe of Zebulun was engaged with mundane, physical objects. While all other tribes focused their attention on building their own society, Zebulun was tasked with interacting with and ultimately influencing the countries, people and lifestyles that were foreign to holiness. When Zebulun engaged in commerce, they also spread the light and values of Judaism. Zebulun, therefore, experienced the truest sense of joy for, by their effort, they were able to imbue the most unlikely of places with holiness.
(Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, second night of Sukkos 5742)