Rabbi Israel Rizhiner lived in a very comfortable fashion. A modern Jew once visited the rabbi and was amazed at his luxurious surroundings.
”This is quite a contrast from the way the rabbis lived past years,” he remarked. “Then they resided in wooden houses, dressed in plain linen clothes, and traveled on foot. Today the rabbis dwell in palaces, wrap themselves and velvet and satin and travel around in beautiful coaches.”
”There are three classes of people who come to a rabbi,” Rabbi Israel Rizhiner replied. “Hasidim, ordinary people and frivolous men. All three give the rabbi contributions. This money the rabbi spends according to the donors. The money that the hasidim give him, the rabbi spends on mitzvot and tzedakah. The money that ordinary people give he spends for sustenance of himself and his family. But the money he obtains from the frivolous, the rabbi spends on luxuries. Years ago there were no frivolous people, therefore the rabbi was not able to indulge in anything too costly. Nowadays, the frivolous have multiplied to such an extent that he can afford to travel about in a coach and live in comfort.”
How we live is often determined by how others live. Wouldn't it be so much simpler if we made our own path, lived as we liked, independent of how others live?
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