A Soulful Journey

The story is told of a wealthy Jew who would quietly support Rabbi Zusha. He also received Rabbi Zusha’s blessings, and his business did very well. One time, the man came to Anipoli and discovered that Rabbi Zusha was not in town. “Where is the rabbi?” he asked. “He went to visit his Rebbe,” people told him. The wealthy man was surprised. “My rabbi has a rabbi?” Being a sharp businessman, he made a quick calculation. “If Rabbi Zusha’s blessings have helped me so much, then surely his Rebbe’s blessings must be even more powerful. Why support the student when I can support the teacher?” So that is what he did. He stopped supporting Rabbi Zusha and began sending his donations to Rabbi DovBer, the Maggid of Mezritch, Rabbi Zusha’s own Rebbe. Not long afterward, his business began to decline. When he realized what had happened, he hurried back to Anipoli and poured out his heart to Rabbi Zusha. “I understand that I lost my success because I stopped supporting you,” he said. “But was my logi...

"Worldly riches are like nuts; many a tooth is broke in cracking them, but never is the stomach filled with eating them . "   - Rebbe Nachman

 "Which would you rather have, ten thousand pounds or ten daughters?" -"What a question!  Ten thousand pounds, of course." "No you wouldn't.  If you had ten thousand pounds, you'd want to have twenty, but if you had ten daughters, you'd have enough." -Friday Nite Book, London Skip the part about daughters and zero in on the want for more.  When is enough enough?

"In the old days, when people were poor they lived poor.  Today they live rich.  I've discussed this with many wage earners in the eight-to-ten-thousand-dollar-a- year class and, in most cases, they admit that almost everything they own, they don't..."  - Groucho Marx, Memoirs How little has changed in the decades since Groucho wrote those words.  We need to live within our means, not look over our should with envy at those who have more and live a life of debt.

Yitzhak was a poor storekeeper whose wife earned a livelihood for the family while he sat in the synagogue daily and studied.  The woman harassed her husband because she was the breadwinner and he never lent a helping hand.   Yitzhak always remained  silent and bowed his head with shame.  On the way to the synagogue one morning, he met an old man with a long grey beard. "Why are you so despondent, my friend?" the old man asked.   Yitzhak  immediately recognized the other as the prophet Elijah.  "Dear Rabbi," he moaned, " I am very unhappy.  Woe to the man who has to live on his wife's earnings.  Have mercy on me and bless me with good  fortune so that I may be able to support my family." "As soon as you reach your house," the prophet replied, "you will have luck in the first thing you touch, and that good luck will never forsake you." The storekeeper ran home as fast as his legs could carry him, and quickly began to c...

In 1937 when I had been in Reading for five years, we invited a prominent guest of honor to speak at a congregational dinner. There were two rabbis in those coal mining towns of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre at that time, Max Artz and Louis Levitsky, who were known of course as the two minor prophets. Max as the minor of the minor prophets was selected to be the guest speaker.  I learned how to be a rabbi, an administrator, an executive and a manipulator that might in Reading, Pennsylvania. He turned to a lady beside him. “How long has Rabbi Routtenberg been here? Does he have a car?” She said, “No he does not have a car.” And so he said,  “Well what kind of congregation is this? This is a disgrace! This is not done.” The following morning I was presented with a 1937 Chevrolet. When I saw Max Artz a few weeks later, he asked me to give him a mazel tov. ”Why?” ”I got a new car.” ”How did you get a car?” ”Well, when I went back to Scranton and told him that you were gettin...

A tailor was having a terrible time making a living.  He went to his rabbi asking his advice.  After thoughtful consideration the rabbi said, “You need a partner.” "But I have had partners before and they have never worked out.” "Not that type of partner,” responded the rabbi. And so next year the tailor opened a new shop called HaShem and Shapiro. Business flourished.   Soon Shapiro decided to move the store from the Lower East Side to uptown. Along with the move, he changed the name to be more upscale as well, Lord and Taylor.    

"Money is a wonderful thing, but we often pay too high a price fo it."  - Rabbi Jacob Friedman Know the difference between values and valuables.

When involved with money, the holiest saint forgets himself, the B'nai Yissachar, one of the greatest Hasidic Rebbes once said: "I know people so pure that the fiery angels trembled before them.  Yet, when becoming involved with money they forget themselves." It is so easy to be distracted by what we think are valuables when we should really be concerned with our values.

A halachic authority once argued with another Jew about a business deal.  They went to the local rabbi for a decision.  That local rabbi ruled against the great authority, quoting an opinion cited by that very same rabbi! "Oy vey," he cried.  "I was so obsessed with money that I did not even remember what I myself wrote!" During trying times, remember what is most important, not the little things, the pebbles of life.  After all, life is so rich and abundant that when we pause to look around we realize how incredible rich and blessed we are.

"Money isn't everything, according to those who have it." -Malcolm Forbes

One of the members of the Rothschild family spent a weekend on a small farm in the country.  When the owner gave him his bill he was startled to see the amount he was charged. "What?" Rothschild exclaimed in surprise.  "Four francs for an egg?  Have you such a scarcity of eggs?" "Not a scarcity of eggs," replied the owner, "but a scarcity of Rothschilds." Funny.  But not right.  The Torah explicitly states that we should not favor the poor over the rich and vive versa.  All must be treated equally.

The famous Slominski, a famous astronomer, lived in great poverty.  One day he sat absorbed in a thought trying to discover a new planet. "What are you trying to do, my husband?  I need money to buy food!" "Be patient.  Soon I will make a discovery that will improve our condition." "Yes,'"said his wife.  "It is much easier to find a star in the than a ruble on the earth." The Mishna clearly teaches us, “Rabban Gamliel, son of Rabbi Yehudah the Prince said: Study   Torah    together with a worldly occupation."

Purchasing a Maine retirement home, my wife and I made small talk with a previous owner. We had paid top dollar for the property and asked her what she intended to do with the money. "Well," came her Down East response, "I certainly intend to spend more wisely than you just did." - Benjamin Langstroth

The ship, St. Louis, left Hamburg, Germany on May 13, 1939.  Eights days prior to the ship leaving port, carrying hundreds of Jewish refugees, Lawrence Berenson gave $125,000 to Cuba for their immigration.  That same day the Cuban president declared that he wanted another $650.00. In the meantime, the ship docked in Havana and the Jews aboard heard that no visas had yet been issued because of the money standoff. Berenson, a man used negotiation, offered $598.00. Forty-eight hours passed in silence before the order came to turn the boat away from the harbor. For $52.00 the Jews died. What do you give to save lives imperiled today?

There was a rich man who felt he could buy anything. Indeed, he could.  He had more than enough money to take care of all his needs and desires.   One day the  shamas , the caretaker of the shul, was angered at the man’s attitude and rebuffed him.  “There is one thing that you can never get!” he exclaimed. “Impossible,” responded the rich man. “Yes, it is so.  You cannot purchase for yourself a place in the World-to-Come.” Taken aback, the rich man went home and pondered the predicament.  Finally, after a sleepless night, he went to see the rabbi in the morning. The rich man beseeched the rabbi, “I’ll give you one million dollars to get into heaven.” The rabbi’s features moved visibly. “I really do not think it is possible.” “Two million,” declared the rich man.  “Everything I own!” “You will do and give everything?” asked the rabbi. “Yes.” “Leave me now and return when I send for you.” The rabbi ...

“In the end, all societies are remembered for the way they spend their wealth, than for how they made it.”   -Charles Handy, The Age of Unreason Remember well if you wish to be remembered well.

An old man buys a lottery ticket and wins. But his children do not want to tell him because he is so physically frail. So they approach a friend of his, a doctor, to break the news. Gently, he asked the old man, "Do you ever buy lottery tickets?" "Yes I bought one just this week."  "How much could you win?"  "8 million dollars." "What would you do if you won the money?" the doctor asked. "I would give half to my kids and the other half to you, my good friend." The doctor had a heart attack.

"A penny will hide the biggest star in the universe if you hold it close enough to your eye." - Sam Levenson What is most valuable to you?  The green grass under your feet?  Your savings account?  The breath you take?  You decide what fills you.

Bernard Baruch wrote in his autobiography that when he made his first million he told his father who was unimpressed.   Baruch said, “I am not even thirty and already I made my first million.  Are you not even happy?” “What I want to know,” said his father, “is how you will spend the money you earned.” This is a question we all must answer.  "What did you do with what I gave you?" God will ask us.