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This Jewish Inspiration Podcast is dedicated to learning, understanding and enhancing our relationship with Hashem by working on improving our G-d given soul traits and aspiring to reflect His holy name each and every day. The goal is for each listener to hear something inspirational with each episode that will enhance their life.
0:03 You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Torch in Houston, Texas. This is the Jewish Inspiration Podcast.
0:11 Welcome back, my dear friends, to day number 7, in the middle of page 29 in the Orches, sorry, not Orches, in the Shahr Bitochon of the Chovos Halavavos. And we are on page 29, in the middle. The fourth spiritual benefit of Bitochon. What is the spiritual benefit of someone who has reliance on Hashem?
0:32 Yet another one of the benefits that trusting and relying on Hashem regarding Torah matters is, That when a person has Bitochanan Hashem, he will properly utilize his resources in Hashem's service regardless of his financial situation. If he is wealthy, Then whenever an expense is called for, he will promptly spend his money to meet his obligations towards Hashem and his obligation towards other people.
1:14 Eagerly, generously, joyously. If he is not wealthy, He will then be content for he will realize that lacking excess money
1:32 among the favors of that Hashem has bestowed upon him because by virtue of having limited funds he will be freed from the various monetary obligations that extra money would impose on him toward Hashem and towards people it's like we mentioned previously one of the great sages said before you give me any success give me poverty why? poverty, I don't have jealousy. When I have poverty, I don't have, I don't need anything because I know I'm in the hand of Hashem. I don't need more.
2:10 A person has, well, maybe I can upgrade the car. Maybe I can upgrade the house. Maybe I can upgrade the jewelry. Maybe I can upgrade the fashion.
2:18 Maybe I can upgrade the, you know, each thing. It's like you want more. Someone has 100, he wants 200. He has 200, he wants 400.
2:26 He has 400? So the Mishnah says, Mishnah says, someone who has money, is never satiated with money. They always want more.
2:37 There's no such thing as someone saying, you know what? Now I've earned enough money. I'm good. No, I've got to put it in the stock market so that the money makes money.
2:45 It doesn't just sit there, right? There's an amazing psychology to this. It's never enough. for a person when it comes to money.
2:56 But on the other hand, sadly, when it comes to Torah, they're like, listen, I learned enough Torah, leave me alone, right? Leave me alone. No, that's never, it should never be the case.
3:08 And because having limited funds lessens his distractions with safeguarding his money and managing it, thus, he will have peace of mind to dedicate himself more fully to Hashem's service. Like, I don't have money. with i'll be busy with with hashem i'll be busy praying i'll be busy learning I don't need to be busy with money because I don't got any. Okay.
3:34 Top of page 31. Chovah Salvovah shares an anecdote to illustrate the benefit of not having the distraction of extra funds. As it is related to one of the pious ones.
3:51 Where he would often say, Hashem should save me from the scattering of the soul. What are you talking about? What is the scattering of the soul?
4:04 He replied, scattering of the soul means that I would have money invested in merchandise located in the major port of every river and the major neighborhoods of every city. So my mind would constantly be flitting from port to port and from city to city,
4:30 As the Mishnah says in Ethics of Our Fathers, the more one increases his possessions, the more one increases his worries. The more possessions, the more worries. Who is the true wealthy man? Who is the richest man in the world?
4:51 You know who the richest man in the world is? The person who is happy with his share. The person who wakes up happy in the morning. Thank you, Hashem.
5:00 I'm the wealthiest person in the world. You know why?
5:03 Because you gave me good health.
5:05 Ah, thank you, Hashem. I love you so much. Thank you for my good health. That's the wealthiest person in the world.
5:11 The person who wakes up and says, look at my house. It's the most beautiful house in the world. You know what's funny? Is that if you look around the world and you look at the people who have those magnificent mansions and beautiful cars and their beautiful spouse and they're the people who are the most miserable.
5:29 You don't see them smiling. You don't see them happy. You don't see them. You see them being jealous.
5:33 Maybe my neighbor has a more beautiful spouse. Maybe my neighbor has a nicer car. Maybe my neighbor has nicer furniture. Maybe they're constantly dealing with that.
5:43 The gossip. They're talking. They're jealous. Maybe they have more than me.
5:48 Maybe they, oh, they went on a better vacation than me. I have to one-up them now. It's like, it's this whole culture. You know, the person who doesn't have money has none of those worries.
5:56 The happiest person in the world. Okay, I want to tell you something very special. I'll tell you, I met the happiest person alive. That's my rabbi.
6:05 My rabbi, you see him, you see his smile. You know, this person doesn't have a single worry in his life. Pristine purity. It's just amazing.
6:16 It's radiant. It's radiant. Not a single worry. And it's not because he's the wealthiest man, but it's because he's the happiest man.
6:26 The happiest person is the wealthiest person. A man of limited means who is content with whatever Hashem gives him is in truth wealthier than the man with vast assets who is consumed with concern about how to preserve and expand them. The person is worried. Oh, is the market going to make money?
6:47 Is the market not going to make money? Oh my goodness. So worried about it. Oh, I can't believe I just lost.
6:53 I told you the story last week. I have a friend. who lost $173 million when there was a crash in 2008. And I came into his office and he was so depressed.
7:06 I was trying to cheer him up. I'm like, you still have a couple of hundred million left. It's not like, you know, it's like, you know, it's like most people would love to have that, but you couldn't fathom the pain he was in. You couldn't fathom the pain.
7:23 Because it was a real deep pain of, he just lost half his wealth. Or not half, a third, whatever it was. I don't know how much he has to begin with. But, okay, but it's like most people are like, ah, if I had that kind of money, I'd be happy that I have 1 million.
7:38 It's like, fine, like 173 million, that's what he lost. Not the end of the world, right? He didn't lose everything. It's not true.
7:46 Terrible pain. Terrible pain. Chovah Salvovah elaborates on this point, explaining the content state of the mind of a person with Pitochem.
8:00 He says the one who places his trust and reliance on Hashem will thus gain the benefit of having money. Means you're going to get both. You're also going to rely on Hashem. You're also going to be content with what you have.
8:15 And Hashem will say, you know what? Let's throw him a bone. Let's throw him the benefit of having money. Meaning that he will have enough income to sustain himself.
8:24 And that's for him perfect. The wealthiest man. He has enough food for Shabbos. You know the Chavetz Chaim.
8:30 had a grocery store. Chavetz Chaim was the greatest rabbi alive in Europe, back when he was alive. Everybody, it was like, the Chavetz Chaim was like everybody, every rabbi recognized the greatness of the Chavetz Chaim.
8:46 Now, let
8:47 me ask you a question.
8:48 Honestly,
8:49 we have a great, great supermarket here that sells a lot of kosher food in Houston. It's called HEB. For those of you who are not from Houston, I'm sorry. HEB.
8:58 Let me ask you a question. If you had the opportunity to shop in HEB clean floors, clean aisles, it's a pleasure, it's well air conditioned, or you can shop in the little, little shop owned by the Chavetz Chaim, who would you go to? I can guarantee you we'd all be lining up around the block trying to get into the Chavetz Chaim's little store, and that's exactly what happened. The Chavetz Chaim wasn't the only...
9:30 little market in his community. He had a little shop. But everybody would want to buy from the Chavetz Chaim. Who wouldn't want to?
9:39 Who wouldn't want to get a glimpse of the Chavetz Chaim? It's like he's sitting there at the counter learning Torah and someone would come. He's like, okay, tell them what it is and continue learning. Who wouldn't want to see the face of the Chavetz Chaim?
9:51 You know what he did? As soon as he made enough money for Shabbos, he closed the store. He put a sign on the front door. The other store is open.
10:02 You can shop by the other store.
10:03 That was it. He had enough money for Shabbos. That
10:05 was it. I don't need more. I have enough money for Shabbos. You hear this, David?
10:10 Imagine if we closed our law practice, say, sorry, we're not taking new clients. We have enough money for Shabbos. We're done. So now we can go sit and learn.
10:20 Imagine such a thing. That was the Chavetz Chaim. He lived with real bitachon, with real reliance on Hashem. Hashem, I have no fears, no worries.
10:31 You know what? Maybe I won't have clients next week. Hashem will take care of it. It's his problem, not mine.
10:37 Hashem will take care of it. But imagine that. That's a level of reliance on Hashem. And not only that, he wasn't worried.
10:45 Oh my gosh, my competitor's doing it. Go to my competitor. Go to him. He's not a competitor.
10:51 There is no such thing as a competitor. There's no such thing. All right. So he says, Yet you will be speared the wealthy person's preoccupation with thoughts about managing his money and his constant worry about preserving it.
11:13 Ki Moshe Omer Hocha, mitukas, shnas.
11:26 He says, sweet is the sleep of the laborer. Someone who works hard, their sleep is so sweet. Whether he eats little or much, it doesn't make a difference. But the rich man's satiety, his fullness, does not let him sleep.
11:48 He is so worried. He's so worried. How am I going to, what's going to be? Am I going to be able to fill up the property?
11:55 Am I going to have to foreclose? What's going to be? Am I going to have to be able to refinance? Am I going to get approved for credit?
12:01 Am I, all the worries, all the worries, all the fears. Simple guys,
12:06 the happiest guy in the world. There's nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry about.
12:10 Thus, he says, the fourth spiritual benefit of Bitochon is that it enables a person to utilize his resources in Hashem's service regardless of how much money he has. If he is wealthy, he is glad to spend his funds on charity and other mitzvahs. And if not, he appreciates that Hashem freed him from the worries that wealth brings. Either way, he is satisfied with his portion.
12:38 So this concludes day number Seven
12:40 You've been listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe on a podcast produced by Torch, the Torah Outreach Resource Center of Houston. Please help sponsor an episode so we can continue to produce more quality Jewish content for our listeners around the globe. Please visit torchweb.org to donate and partner with us on this incredible endeavor.