THE TEST OF WEALTH

Living a Jewish life can be an expensive and challenging endeavour. Kosher food comes at a premium.   Property prices of homes close to a shul in a Jewish neighbourhood are often very high. The costs of private Jewish day schools, yeshivot and seminaries are exorbitant. In addition, there are shul affiliation fees, hospitality expenses and charitable donations. A Jewish man must purchase a set of tefillin for himself and his sons and must spend a small fortune on family s’machot. And let’s not forget the cost of matzo and wine for Pesach; lulav, etrog and sukkah for Sukkot and machzorim for the festivals. A Jew must be prepared to forfeit some of his salary when he takes unpaid leave for festivals that fall during the week and he must leave work early on Friday to prepare for Shabbat. He must be healthy and fit to serve Hashem and to fulfil His many commandments. The list is as long as a Jew’s obligations and a Jew’s obligations are many.

A Jew challenged by poverty, poor health, anti-Semitism and a lack of communal resources will find it difficult to fulfil his duties to his Creator. Responding to such a predicament in our parasha, the Torah (Devarim 7:12-24 and 11:13-15), promises that in return for obeying Hashem’s mitzvoth, the Nation of Israel can expect abundant crops, herds and flocks; many children; safety; good health, prosperity and no interference from enemies. Rambam (commentary to the Mishna, Sanhedrin 10:1) explains that these lists of blessings are not rewards or recompense for the fulfilment of mitzvoth “for one does not receive reward for mitzvoth in this world” (Eruvin 22a). Rather, they are ‘facilitators’ that allow a Jew to continue to serve Hashem unhindered by the travails of the world. This is true of the Jewish people as a whole, as is clear from the second paragraph of the Shemah that appears in this week’s parsha (Devarim 11:13-22). It is also true of individuals as Ben Azai declares (Avot 4:2), “the reward of one mitzvah is another mitzvah.” Rabbi Ovadiah MiBartenura explains that Hashem will assist someone who fulfils one mitzvah to have  opportunities to fulfil other mitzvoth and thereby receive ample spiritual reward. The second mitzvah is not the true reward for the first; rather Hashem paves the way for the second mitzvah and rewards the person for both in the world to come.

There is no doubt that receiving such assistance from God is a great gift and that it opens up many doors to properly observing the mitzvoth. But it comes with an important caveat that appears numerous times in the Torah (see Brachot 32a) including this week’s parsha (Devarim 8:11-17): “Take care lest you forget Hashem, your God, by not observing His commandments, His ordinances, and His decrees, which I command you today, lest you eat and be satisfied, and you build good houses and settle, and your cattle and sheep and goats increase, and you increase silver and gold for yourselves, and everything that you have will increase – and your heart will become haughty and you will forget Hashem, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt from the house of slavery…and you may say in your heart, “My strength and the might of my hand made me all this wealth!” Moses was warning the Children of Israel about the detrimental nature of affluence. It often happens that a Jew ascribes his material wealth to his own power and wisdom, not realising that it was a gift from God. He becomes arrogant and ejects G-d from his life believing that he is self-sufficient and in no need of Divine help. Against this attitude, the Torah proclaims (ibid, verse 18): “Then you shall remember Hashem, your God: that it was He Who gives you strength to make wealth, in order to establish His covenant that He swore to your forefathers, as this day.” Onkelos explains the phrase “that it was He Who gives you strength to make wealth” to mean that God inserted the idea into your head to purchase a particular investment, share or property, which ultimately led to your wealth. The world of business is a strange place. Many highly intelligent people with numerous degrees have not made a success in commerce, while others with minimal higher education have gone on to found successful operations. We try to explain this phenomenon with words and phrases like “luck”, “entrepreneurial genius”, “being in the right place at the right time”, “seeing a gap in the market” and many others. In truth, it was Hashem, who for whatever reason selected that person and gave him the kick-start to achieve success. Of course, much hard work was required, but the catalyst was an idea placed deep inside the mind awaiting the right moment to enter the consciousness.

The Talmud (Pesachim 113b) notes that there are four people that are very difficult to tolerate: an arrogant poor person, a wealthy person who denies [he owes money], a sexually promiscuous old man and a leader who lords himself over the community unnecessarily. I would like to suggest that the meaning is as follows: It is to be expected (but not accepted) that wealthy people are arrogant because of their tremendous success.  However, it is not normal for someone suffering from poverty to be haughty, for what does he have to be haughty about? People cannot tolerate such an attitude. It is to be expected (but not accepted) that young people in the height of their life and virility may be tempted to perform promiscuous acts. But it is most unusual for a senior citizen whose health is waning to be involved in multiple partner relationships. This is the proverbial “dirty old man” and people have very little time for him. It is to be expected that communal leaders occasionally need to display their power to gain respect and support for their endeavours on behalf of their charges. But it is intolerable when they do so merely for the sake of lording it over the people. It is to be expected when a poor man denies a loan, for with what does he have to pay back? But it is intolerable when a rich man denies a loan. The Talmud may also mean that a wealthy man who denies God is intolerable. What right does he have to question God’s existence? Did he ever suffer the degradation of poverty? Did he ever want for anything in his life? Is it not true that he only ever received God’s blessing and largesse? What right does he have to turn his back on his religion?

My Rosh Yeshiva, of blessed memory, would often tell a story to illustrate this point. In the Chofetz Chaim’s town of Radin lived a loyal and observant Jew who attended shul daily and participated in various learning sessions. In time, his business prospered and he began to miss the occasional service and learning session until he was hardly setting foot in shul. Taking note of this, the Chofetz Chaim approached the man and asked, “If a servant served his king loyally and conscientiously and the monarch rewarded him with abundant gifts, money and power, how should he react?” The congregant responded that the servant should redouble his efforts and ensure that he serve the king with even greater vigour so as to be the recipient of further bounty in the future. “And so it is with you” responded the righteous sage, “God rewarded you for your loyal service and provided you with a good livelihood and material success. Is it not sensible that you should seek to draw even closer to Him and not further from Him?”

Our forebears in Europe faced the challenge of poverty daily. Many succumbed and left the path of Judaism but many were somehow able to meet their religious duties under the most trying of circumstances. We dare not ask to be challenged with such a test. But the test of our generation is just as trying, if not more, than the tribulations of poverty. We are blessed with affluence that our great grandparents could scarcely have imagined. There is kosher food in abundance, mitzvoth are freely available and we have better health, working and living conditions than at any other time in Jewish history. God has blessed us with the wherewithal to fulfil His mitzvoth; we dare not throw that blessing back in His face.

Lee, Chani Merryl & Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom! Rabbi Liebenberg.

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