Dear Friends,
The story is told of an affluent man, who, although rich, chose to dress in rags like the poor. One day the rabbi took him aside and asked him why he opted to dress like the poor and the indigent. The man replied, “I want to be humble and understand how the rest of the world lives.” “But you are mistaken,” replied the rabbi. “If you dress like the poor, eat like the poor, and suffer like the poor, you will also give tzedaka like the poor. You are rich, however. You must dress like the rich, eat like the rich, indulge like the rich, and give tzedaka like the rich.”
Consider a verse in this week’s Torah portion, describing the richness of the Land to which God had destined us: “a land where you may eat food without scarcity, where you will lack nothing.” (Dt. 8:9)
The 18th century commentary, Or HaChaim, explained the verse, saying, “There are wealthy people who always practice the lifestyle of poor people.” They do so for two reasons, 1. either out of fear that they will lose their wealth so they live prudently to ease the adjustment to modesty later, or 2. they do not want to appear wealthy and arouse envy. (Or HaChaim, Ekev 8:9)
Yet, the Torah indicates that we will live in a land where we will lack nothing, hence there will be no “haves” and “have nots.” The Torah, millennia before Karl Marx wrote his Manifesto, asserted an idealized, socialist society, with no scarcity. Torah imagined a world in which systems of distribution and sharing would mitigate against systemic poverty. Yes, some, through industrious effort or great ingenuity, would get rich. Yes, there would evolve class distinctions, yet the wealth of the land, itself, would forfend against an impoverished underclass.
The place which Moses described was the Land of Israel. Sadly, the vision never materialized. In yesteryear, and today, great stratification has prevailed. In the days of King Solomon, the monarch forced tens of thousands of his subjects into forced service, building the Temple and royal palaces. Today, the only nation in the world with greater wealth disparity between its richest and its poorest than Israel, is the United States. Ironically, the very wealth of the land, which is so evident in America with our vast resources, and Israel, undermines the biblical vision.
But, the vision remains. We are not there yet. We do not know how to live as the wealthy, nor do we understand how the rest of the world lives.
The land is still waiting for us. So too is God.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
The story is told of an affluent man, who, although rich, chose to dress in rags like the poor. One day the rabbi took him aside and asked him why he opted to dress like the poor and the indigent. The man replied, “I want to be humble and understand how the rest of the world lives.” “But you are mistaken,” replied the rabbi. “If you dress like the poor, eat like the poor, and suffer like the poor, you will also give tzedaka like the poor. You are rich, however. You must dress like the rich, eat like the rich, indulge like the rich, and give tzedaka like the rich.”
Consider a verse in this week’s Torah portion, describing the richness of the Land to which God had destined us: “a land where you may eat food without scarcity, where you will lack nothing.” (Dt. 8:9)
The 18th century commentary, Or HaChaim, explained the verse, saying, “There are wealthy people who always practice the lifestyle of poor people.” They do so for two reasons, 1. either out of fear that they will lose their wealth so they live prudently to ease the adjustment to modesty later, or 2. they do not want to appear wealthy and arouse envy. (Or HaChaim, Ekev 8:9)
Yet, the Torah indicates that we will live in a land where we will lack nothing, hence there will be no “haves” and “have nots.” The Torah, millennia before Karl Marx wrote his Manifesto, asserted an idealized, socialist society, with no scarcity. Torah imagined a world in which systems of distribution and sharing would mitigate against systemic poverty. Yes, some, through industrious effort or great ingenuity, would get rich. Yes, there would evolve class distinctions, yet the wealth of the land, itself, would forfend against an impoverished underclass.
The place which Moses described was the Land of Israel. Sadly, the vision never materialized. In yesteryear, and today, great stratification has prevailed. In the days of King Solomon, the monarch forced tens of thousands of his subjects into forced service, building the Temple and royal palaces. Today, the only nation in the world with greater wealth disparity between its richest and its poorest than Israel, is the United States. Ironically, the very wealth of the land, which is so evident in America with our vast resources, and Israel, undermines the biblical vision.
But, the vision remains. We are not there yet. We do not know how to live as the wealthy, nor do we understand how the rest of the world lives.
The land is still waiting for us. So too is God.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn