Rabbi Meir, the great fourth-generation Tanna and student of Rabbi Akiva, taught that when a father teaches his son a trade, he should pair the lessons of the craft with the prayers of the craftsman. When a man teaches his son a trade, Rabbi Meir said, he should pray to the Master of the world, the Dispenser of wealth and poverty. For in every trade and every pursuit of life, both the rich and the poor are to be found.
Follow the thought. It is foolish, Rabbi Meir says, for anyone to say, This is a bad trade; it will not afford me a living. Because no matter which trade you name, you can point to someone in that line of work who is doing well. And it is equally foolish for anyone to boast, This is a great trade, a glorious art; it has made me wealthy. Because in the same line of work, others who labored just as hard have found only poverty. The trade is neutral. The Master of the world decides.
Rabbi Meir's conclusion, preserved in Harris's 1901 Hebraic Literature, has echoed through two thousand years of Jewish ethical teaching: Let all remember that everything is through the infinite mercy and wisdom of God. The craftsman chooses the craft, but the outcome is a gift, not a paycheck owed.
This teaching quietly dismantles two very modern anxieties. The first is career envy, the quiet voice that says you picked the wrong field. The second is career pride, the louder voice that says your success is proof of your wisdom. Rabbi Meir answers both in one stroke. Pick an honest trade, work it well, and remember that neither your hunger nor your prosperity is ultimately in your hands. That awareness is not fatalism; it is the beginning of prayer.