With this week being Parshas Shekalim, where we read the portion in the Torah of the mitzvah of giving a half-shekel donation, I am sharing an excerpt from the book on the topic of money and what it means to us.
A big part of our money problem is that we ascribe power to it that money doesn’t have. We ask money to do for us what money can’t do. We equate money with security, success, power, comfort or self-esteem. It follows then that when we lack money, it feels like we lack everything that makes life worthwhile and meaningful.
The word for money in Hebrew, kesef, has the same root as koseif–longing or desire. In this world, our longing, desire and striving revolves around money. But the soul has yearnings of its own, to rise beyond the limitations of this world. G-d also has a yearning and desire. He longs for our work and actions, l’maaseh yadecha tichsof. He places us in a material world where we have to struggle to earn money to meet our needs. His desire is for us to rise above it, to see through the mirage of money and turn to Him as our source of support.
There was once a wealthy man who prided himself greatly on his success. Every day when he came to the verse in his prayers, “He degrades arrogant men to the very ground,” he would wonder how that could possibly apply to Him. He had everything! Even if G-d would destroy his business, he still had plenty of money invested in properties, in precious metals, in gold and silver. And not only was he wealthy; his sons were, too, and they would surely come to his aid.
These thoughts kept coming into his mind, until one day he was overcome by a strange spirit and ran to the local priest. “I wish to convert to Christianity!”
The priest was suspicious of this prominent Jew who suddenly claimed he wanted to convert. Trying to turn the situation to his advantage, the priest drew up a contract and demanded that the man sign over all his property to the church, to prove his sincerity. The man readily agreed.
The next morning he woke up in his proper senses and was horrified by what he had done. He was now penniless, and had only himself to blame. He wandered the streets in desperation, until he met a student of the Baal Shem Tov. He begged to be brought before him and was soon standing before the great tzadik, sobbing bitterly.
The Baal Shem Tov asked him, “Are you now convinced that G-d alone has the power to debase the proud man to the ground and lift up the most downtrodden to the very heavens?” The man brokenly agreed.
Suddenly a commotion was heard in town. A fire had broken out in the priest’s home and burnt it entirely to the ground, leaving not a trace of the document he had signed.
Accumulation of money alone does not give us safety or security. We are not in control of events, and even the wealthiest billionaire is dependent on G-d’s beneficence at every moment. The true blessings in life cannot be bought with money. As the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe said, “Jewish wealth is not houses or gelt. The everlasting Jewish wealth is being Jews who keep Torah and mitzvot, and bringing into the world children and grandchildren who keep Torah and mitzvot.”
The Torah promises many material rewards for those who follow the Torah and keep the commandments. Maimonides explains that these material blessings are not “payment” per se. Rather, G-d is obligated to provide us with the conditions we need to be able to keep mitzvot and study Torah in peace. G-d gives us material wealth for us to transform it into something spiritual. Sometimes it may seem that the blessing isn’t there, but in those times G-d wants us to give whatever we can, even if it’s a “poor man’s offering,” and He will provide generously.
One of the Alter Rebbe’s great and very close chassidim had a private audience with him, in the course of which the Rebbe inquired after his situation. The chassid complained bitterly that his financial situation had utterly deteriorated. The Rebbe responded: “You are needed to illuminate your environment with Torah and service of the heart. Livelihood and what you need – that, G‑d must provide for you. You do what you must, and G‑d will do what He must.”
Too often, we focus on what we need and not what we are needed for. When we focus on what G-d wants of us, we are able to accept temporary financial setbacks without undue anxiety. The ultimate level (which may not be attainable for the average person) is to find such delight and pleasure in divine service that we become completely indifferent to our material state. An example of this is Rabbi Zushe of Anipoli, who lived in abject poverty yet served G-d with unbridled joy.
A man once came to Rabbi DovBer, the famed Maggid of Mezeritch, and asked him to explain the Talmud’s statement that a person must bless G-d for the bad just as for the good. How was this humanly possible?
The Maggid replied, “To find an answer to your question, you must go see my disciple, Reb Zusha of Anipoli. Only he can help you in this matter.”
Reb Zusha received his guest warmly and invited him to make himself at home. The man noticed that Zushe was frightfully poor, with his home bare and rundown and barely enough food to eat. Still, Reb Zushe was always good-humored and cheerful, and constantly expressing his gratitude to the Almighty for all His kindness. Finally he confessed the purpose of his visit: that the Maggid had sent him for an answer to his question.
“You raise a good point,” said Reb Zusha, after thinking the matter through. “But why did our Rebbe send you to me? How would I know? He should have sent you to someone who has experienced suffering…”
This is not to glorify poverty or to claim that there’s anything noble or virtuous about it. The Lubavitcher Rebbe disagreed strenuously with this view and declared that for our generation, the spiritual trial of poverty is over, and “every Jew should do whatever is in his power to become wealthy in a literal sense.” The Rebbe added that every Jew already is wealthy in essence – he just needs to find a way to bring that wealth down into a physical form. We trust G-d to provide us with an endless flow of Divine blessing from above; however, we should not mistake money for the source of our security and contentment.