{"id":11651,"date":"2025-12-11T18:16:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T18:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.kabbalah.info\/?post_type=book&#038;p=11651"},"modified":"2026-01-26T09:57:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T09:57:36","slug":"one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it","status":"publish","type":"book","link":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it\/","title":{"rendered":"269. One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cBe certain, one does not toil over a meal and misses it\u201d (<em>Ketubot<\/em>&nbsp;10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We should interpret that since one can only work&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;[not for Her sake], since his nature is the will to receive for himself, if one dedicates much time and effort over the intention&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, in the end he will wonder what will he get out of all the work that he had done throughout his life. If the intention is not&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;[for Her sake], then it will all go to waste, since&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;is a lie, and a lie can exist only in this world. Conversely, in the world of truth there is no room for lies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It follows that all the efforts he has given throughout his life for Torah and work, who will take it, since there is no room for this in the world of truth, and there is a rule that one does not toil over a meal and misses it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the above, it follows that he will lose at once all the efforts he had made in this world, for the moment one must go to the world of truth, he leaves all his toil in this world. It follows that this calculation causes him to repent in order to correct all his work so it is&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, since he does not want his work in this world to be in vain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, the advice is that if a person sees that he still cannot work&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, he should increase his actions in&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, since when he sees that he has done many actions in&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, he will have no other choice but to repent and work&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, or his entire work will be in vain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rule is that a person does not toil over a meal and misses it. Hence, if one has done many actions in&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, he will not want to lose all his trouble, so he will need to correct all his work so it enters the&nbsp;<em>Kedusha<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But one who works&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;and did not do many works, meaning he did not dedicate much time to the Torah and work in&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, he will not have such a need to repent, since he will not have that many actions to lose. For this reason, we must try to do many good deeds even in&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;because this is the reason he will have a need to repent and work&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cBe certain, one does not toil over a meal and misses it\u201d (Ketubot&nbsp;10). We should interpret that since one can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":6246,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"topic":[26],"class_list":["post-11651","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Kabbalah | 269. One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&quot;One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It&quot; discusses the futility of efforts lacking true intention, contrasting work for selfish gain with genuine, altruistic motivation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kabbalah | 269. One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&quot;One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It&quot; discusses the futility of efforts lacking true intention, contrasting work for selfish gain with genuine, altruistic motivation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kabbalah\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kabbalahinfo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-26T09:57:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/app\/uploads\/2026\/04\/kabbalah-rep.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@kabbalahinfo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it\/\",\"name\":\"Kabbalah | 269. One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-11T18:16:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-26T09:57:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"\\\"One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It\\\" discusses the futility of efforts lacking true intention, contrasting work for selfish gain with genuine, altruistic motivation.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Books\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/book\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Assorted Notes\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/rabash-assorted-notes\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"269. One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Kabbalah\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Kabbalah\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/favicon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/favicon.png\",\"width\":49,\"height\":48,\"caption\":\"Kabbalah\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kabbalahinfo\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/kabbalahinfo\",\"http:\/\/youtube.com\/@kabbalahinfo\",\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/kabbalah.info\",\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/kabbalahedu\",\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@thehiddenreality\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kabbalah | 269. One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It","description":"\"One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It\" discusses the futility of efforts lacking true intention, contrasting work for selfish gain with genuine, altruistic motivation.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kabbalah | 269. One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It","og_description":"\"One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It\" discusses the futility of efforts lacking true intention, contrasting work for selfish gain with genuine, altruistic motivation.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it\/","og_site_name":"Kabbalah","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kabbalahinfo","article_modified_time":"2026-01-26T09:57:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/app\/uploads\/2026\/04\/kabbalah-rep.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@kabbalahinfo","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it\/","name":"Kabbalah | 269. One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-12-11T18:16:22+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-26T09:57:36+00:00","description":"\"One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It\" discusses the futility of efforts lacking true intention, contrasting work for selfish gain with genuine, altruistic motivation.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/one-does-not-toil-over-a-meal-and-misses-it\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Books","item":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/book\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Assorted Notes","item":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/rabash-assorted-notes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"269. One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/","name":"Kabbalah","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#organization","name":"Kabbalah","url":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/favicon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/favicon.png","width":49,"height":48,"caption":"Kabbalah"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kabbalahinfo","https:\/\/x.com\/kabbalahinfo","http:\/\/youtube.com\/@kabbalahinfo","http:\/\/instagram.com\/kabbalah.info","http:\/\/pinterest.com\/kabbalahedu","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@thehiddenreality"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book\/11651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/book"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book\/6246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=11651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}