Small tidbits and Sparks of wisdom

There is a fascinating paradox between wealth and poverty.

When a poor person is worried, unhappy, or depressed, the reason can often be understood. He may struggle to pay his bills, support his family, afford proper housing, obtain what he needs, or simply live without constantly calculating every expense. His lack is visible.

But when a wealthy person is unhappy, a deeper question arises:

What exactly is he missing?

He may have a beautiful home, financial security, access to excellent healthcare, the ability to travel, and enough money to purchase almost anything he reasonably wants. Yet wealth does not guarantee peace of mind. In fact, wealth can create an entirely different form of anxiety.

A poor person who is genuinely satisfied with his portion may possess something that the wealthy person is still searching for. When he receives something additional, he experiences it as a gain and a blessing. His happiness is not necessarily determined by the size of his bank account.

The wealthy person, however, often develops an entirely different set of expectations.

( Two Types of Wealth

There are two very different experiences of wealth.

Generational wealth grows up with security already underneath it. The person may work hard and succeed, but he never experienced building financial security from nothing. His concern is usually preserving and managing what already exists.

Self-made wealth is different. Someone who grew up with little may initially enjoy every luxury and freedom money brings. But the same drive that lifted him from poverty can become a permanent chase—more investments, more growth, more returns.

Eventually, the wealth that was supposed to create security can create anxiety. Losses, poor returns, and missed opportunities disturb his peace even when he already has far more than he needs.

He escaped the anxiety of poverty only to acquire the anxiety of wealth.

Learning how to make money is one skill. Learning when enough is enough may be the harder one.)

Once substantial wealth exists, the money is expected to perform. Investments should produce returns. Businesses should grow. Properties should appreciate. Capital should not remain idle, and certainly should not decline.

A poor person may receive an unexpected $1,000 and feel richer than he was yesterday. A person worth hundreds of millions of dollars can lose several million—or simply receive a much smaller return than expected—and experience tremendous anxiety.

Objectively, he remains enormously wealthy.

Subjectively, he sees a minus.

And sometimes the anxiety becomes greater precisely because the numbers are greater. If hundreds of millions are being spent down without sufficient returns, the person may know intellectually that he has more than enough for his lifetime, yet emotionally he sees his wealth moving in the wrong direction.

Wealth therefore introduces the fear of losing wealth.

Capital also brings responsibility and constant decisions. Where should the money be invested? How much risk should be taken? Who can be trusted? What happens if the market falls? What if the business fails? What if an investment expected to return 10% produces nothing?

The poor person may worry about not having enough.

The wealthy person may worry about not keeping enough, not earning enough, or not growing enough.

This is why wealth and peace of mind are two entirely different possessions.

Chazal say in Pirkei Avos 4:1:

איזהו עשיר? השמח בחלקו

“Who is wealthy? One who is happy with his portion.”

The definition is remarkable. Chazal do not define wealth by how large the portion is. They define it by the person’s relationship with his portion.

If the definition of “enough” rises every time wealth rises, a person can become richer every year without ever arriving at wealth.

A poor person who possesses little but can sincerely say, “What Hashem has given me is enough,” has reached something extraordinary.

A wealthy person who possesses enormous wealth but continually thinks, “I cannot lose this, and what I have must continue producing more,” may still be running.

Bitachon Is the Key

The answer to both sides of this paradox is bitachon.

The poor person requires bitachon because he does not know where tomorrow’s needs will come from.

The wealthy person requires bitachon because wealth gives him the illusion that he already knows where tomorrow’s needs will come from.

Money provides choices. It can provide better housing, healthcare, travel, investments and independence. When the weather is uncomfortable, one can travel elsewhere. When one service is inadequate, another can be purchased. Money creates tremendous ability to manipulate circumstances.

That ability can quietly become a person’s security.

Then the possibility of losing wealth becomes frightening because he is not merely afraid of losing dollars. He is afraid of losing control.

Bitachon changes the entire relationship with money.

The wealthy person begins to understand: Hashem gave me this wealth. Hashem determines whether my investments succeed. Hashem determines whether markets rise or fall. My responsibility is to act responsibly, but my security cannot ultimately come from the number appearing on a financial statement.

And this leads to another great Torah perspective on wealth: tzedakah.

One of the greatest pleasures available to a wealthy Jew should be the ability to give away substantial portions of his wealth willingly and joyfully, while responsibly retaining what he needs so that he does not unnecessarily make himself dependent upon others.

Instead of seeing every dollar leaving his possession as a loss, he can experience giving as one of the purposes for which the wealth was entrusted to him.

The money is not merely accumulated.

It passes through his hands.

There are Torah priorities in giving. A person has obligations toward those closest to him, including relatives and those within his own community, and there is an order of precedence within tzedakah. Supporting poor Jews and supporting Torah and those who dedicate themselves to Torah occupy precious places within the world of Jewish giving.

The point is not simply to dispose of money. Torah requires responsibility and judgment.

The point is to change the relationship with wealth.

A person can possess enormous wealth without believing that every dollar must remain under his control forever. He can enjoy what Hashem has given him while understanding that part of the purpose of abundance is the ability to support others.

That may be one of the greatest tests of wealth.

Can I earn without becoming obsessed with the return?

Can I possess without living in fear of losing?

Can I enjoy without constantly needing more?

Can I give substantial amounts away and actually experience greater pleasure from the giving than from another acquisition?

The ultimate freedom of wealth is not having so much money that one never needs another human being.

The ultimate freedom is when money no longer owns the person who owns the money.

Then wealth becomes a tool rather than an identity.

The poor person needs bitachon to live without knowing exactly where tomorrow’s money will come from. The wealthy person needs bitachon to recognize that despite all his assets, investments and financial planning, tomorrow was never truly under his control either.

Both ultimately stand before the same Hashem.

איזהו עשיר? השמח בחלקו.

Who is truly wealthy?

The one who can enjoy what Hashem has given him without being tormented by what he does not have, and without living in fear that what he has will disappear.

And perhaps an even higher expression of wealth is the ability to look at abundance and understand:

What I responsibly need, I retain. What Hashem has given me beyond my needs brings with it obligations and opportunities. I am not necessarily the final destination of the wealth that Hashem placed in my hands.

That is when wealth, tzedakah, and bitachon come together.

A person can have little and live richly.

A person can have hundreds of millions and live with fear.

The difference is not merely the amount of money.

The difference is what he believes his money is, where he believes it came from, and Who he believes will provide for him tomorrow.

The same principle applies to beauty, intelligence, talent, and every other gift.

A person may be handsome or beautiful yet internally feel unattractive and inadequate. Another person, with fewer natural advantages, may feel confident, grateful, and satisfied. In that sense, the first person possesses the gift but never truly enjoys it.

The purpose of Hashem’s gifts is not merely to have them, but to recognize them, thank Hashem for them, enjoy them properly, and use them for others.

The more a person has—wealth, beauty, intelligence, talent, influence—the more he /she must learn to rejoices in that portion.

Not only his money, but his entire portion in life.