Money in Jewish Hashkafah: Honest Business, Emunah, and Yaakov’s Humility

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. Yankev Avinu, when he has to come across Esav, he prepares himself, like Chazal say, for three things: matanah, tefillah, and milchamah. What was the tefillah? What was the tefillah that Yankev Avinu davened? So the pesukim tell us, Vayomer Yaakov — this is Parshas Vayishlach, pasuk yud — Vayomer Yaakov, Elokei avi Avraham v'Elokei avi Yitzchak, Hashem ha'omer eilai, shuv l'artzecha u'lemoladtecha v'eitivah imach, katonti mikol hachasadim u'mikol ha'emes asher asisa es avdecha. What does it mean, mikol ha'emes? Good, we understand katonti mikol hachasadim. Rabbeinu Shlelam, with ketanah asah chesed with Yankev Avinu. What does it mean, mikol ha'emes? Vos iz der emes? What is the taich, katonti mikol hachasadim u'mikol ha'emes? So Rashi already says, amitis devarecha, sheshamarta li kol haavtachos. Truth. The Rabbeinu Shleilam matzugezagt. He promised, and he kept it. Sag reise gedule, k'tainti mikol hachasadim u'mikol ha'emes. As Rabbeinu Shleilam keeps his word. Habeisei, lomer oplain a bissel the k'tainti mikol hachasadim, and then maybe we could say a pshat, what it means, mikol hachasadim u'mikol ha'emes together, az opter tzvei zachen, mikol hachasadim u'mikol ha'emes. What does it mean, k'tainti mikol hachasadim? Zogt Rashi, nisma'atu zchuyosai. I became small because my zechusim became less. Al yedei hachasadim v'ha'emes, because of all the chasadim and the emes she'asisa imi. L'kach ani yarei, therefore I'm afraid, shema tachtani nislachlachti b'chet, gevan shmutzig. I became dirty with sin. V'yigrom li l'himaser b'yad Esav, and this is going to cause me to fall into the hands of Esav. What does it mean, nislachlachti, gevan shmutzig? What does it have to do with shmutzig? Tatze ton with dirt? Simple. I was oiver an aveirah, and because I was oiver an aveirah, I get a punishment, and if I get a punishment, it might be Esav. What's the nusach of nislachti? On Shmutzik mit chet. Why the nusach? Why the emphasis on lichluch? Chet on la'aveirah, and because of this aveirah, it קומט up oinesh, and maybe yesurim is the oinesh. You know, there's another shailah that the Sifsei Chachamim asks beautifully, that Rashi, from the beginning of the Rashi to the end of Rashi, is saying two different things. First Rashi, fine, he begins, Nisma'atu zechuyosai. My zechuyos got less. That doesn't mean aveiros. That means I'm lacking zechusim. And then he says, I'm afraid that maybe I did an aveirah. Which one is it, fragt the Sifsei Chachamim? Right off the bat, fragt the Sifsei Chachamim, which one is it? Was he afraid that he's lost his zechusim, or was he afraid that he did an aveirah? Emphas the Sifsei Chachamim.

Zogt der Sifsei Chachamim that he needed to come with both points, because nismatu zchuyosai, so what? Ein misah b'lo avon. A person doesn't get punished with death without an aveirah. So he had to say chet. Why did he have to speak about zechusim? Because even if you have an aveirah that causes you to have efsharus l'zechusim, tachas zechus. Zogt der Sifsei Chachamim, therefore he pointed out, and that's what Rashi means, Yankiv pointed out both points: falaren zechusim, un nislachlachti b'chet, beis dazach. It had to be both things together. Habeisai, let's understand what Yankiv Avinu was afraid of, and then maybe we could say a different pshat in Rashi. I've always been bothered by the question: how could Yankiv Avinu say, I'm afraid, nislachlachti, gavan shmutzik, I became dirty with chet? Didn't he just tell Esav, Vatayag mitzvos shamarti? Which child doesn't know the Rashi in Vayishlach, Vatayag mitzvos shamarti, garti, gematria taryag? Did you keep it or did you... nislachlachti b'chet? Which one was it? Chaposhte shayla. Dos zogt der chet. Getan aveiros, and dort gezogt der... shomer, and taryag, all the mitzvos. V'leila, madati mimaaseh varayim, mamash hatzaddik yesod olam. So then which one is it? So I always learned pashut all the years, which get kasha. So Esav, ate gezagt, because that's how you have to talk to Esav. You better be careful for me, I kept all the mitzvahs. U'veeinoi l'bein HaKadosh Baruch Hu, yeda mench, every person knows, nu nu, not so pashut. It's not as simple. Tzadik. I know, I know, katanti me'arech mimaas, I know where I'm holding. There's a difference between telling Esav, v'imaretz Esav, and v'im daven to retzon Borei Olam. I saw a chiddush nifla in the Alter from Kelm. In the Mamarim, siman kuf nun, the Alter from Kelm, R' Aharon Dershayli talks about this question: How could Yankev Avinu be afraid, afraid that he did aveiros, if we know Yankev Avinu was shalem, v'Yaakov shalem? Which one was it? Which one is it? Was he complete? Did he keep all the mitzvahs? Or was he nislachlachti b'chet? Zogt the Alter from Kelm, a chiddush nifla, a chiddush nifla: avadeh kein chataim nishketon. Didn't do any aveiros. So then what was he afraid of? Since he got money, he got oisher. He got riches. Efsher. It was mashpia on him. Sach gevildigt af em. It had an effect on him. The fact that he became an ashir, that he became rich, he made money. The lashon of the Alter from Kelm is, pen niskarev le'ahavas hamamon. Maybe, start to like money, maybe. And because of that, he was afraid for Eisav. Azoi zogt der Alter from Kelm. Avade tayag mitzvos. He didn't do over any of the taryag mitzvos. Un a tzaddik azel geven he was. But what was the fear? Maybe start to like money. Azoi zogt der Alter from Kelm. Before him, one of the mefarshim on the Chumash itself says already this yesod. There's a Kli Yakar, Rabbeinu Bachya, half luvafela, half luvafela, mamish half luva, pilei ploy. The Kli Yakar...

Explains, how could the sarei Esav even have a shaychus to start fighting with Yankev Avinu? Why was he not afraid? Yankev was complete. Yankev... There's got to be something, zogt the Kli Yakar, that's hung up. It was something that he caught on to. Oh, with this I could start already, hob an epes a pegiah in Yankev. I'm able to get to Yankev Avinu, and I read you from the Kli Yakar. Zogt the Kli Yakar from pasuk, when the sarei Esav fights with Yankev Avinu: Kach zeh ha'melech Shaul, sarei Esav, b're'oso inyanei Yaakov v'Esav. What did he see? What did he see? And the answer is, zogt der Achkash Rasha, Yaakov paratz gederai. That Yankev Avinu went out of his domain. He went out of his domain, ktzas, a little bit, ki chonan oso Elokim, v'nasan lo es kol v'rov oshro, u'nechasim v'kavod, v'Yaakov yotza migeder ha'histapkus, ktzas. Yankev Avinu should just be an aharman, finished. Yankev Avinu is supposed to be an aharman, supposed to be poor. All of a sudden, Yankev Avinu is an oysher... he gets kavod... The onerim at the dinners they're honoring him. Oh, I hope there's no upcoming dinners that the heilem has. I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything. That's first, lein a klayaka. Of course, in the shiur we're going to explain the klayaka of a tzutzachapta. Yankev's sheinish, then we're going to dem nebachler man, the nebachl yeshiva man, came an oysha. Sarei sheleisov. He's able to catch him with this. He even continues. He saw that Yankev Avinu went back l'kadei. Yeah, he went back for a jug. Mamish so much money. The money meant so much to him that he put himself in danger for a bitl gelt, for his jug. That's it. I'm able to chap. I'm able to get Yankev Avinu. And then he says a pele. He says a pele. A pele. He says it's symbolic. It says, Vayavok ish imo, avok. Shteib, earth, sand. Chazal say that the sand, the earth, by the fight went all the way up like a smoke, a cloud of smoke. Obviously when two people fight on the earth, it goes up as a cloud of earth, of dirt. Zogt der pshat is, it was in his eyes to blind him as a remez. Yankev, I caught you. You got blinded by your money. You got blinded by the klayaka, rabbeisai. Not my words. Yad reid, rabbeisai, helt. Peledige reid. The taina Yankev Avinu was? ... little money, and this little money? It's blinding. It's blinding. And the remez says, the Kli Yakar, it says it went all the way up to Shamayim because it blinds you. Money blinds you to see the Ribono Shel Olam, that He is the hakol yachol, that He creates and gives. But the truth is, Yankev stood strong because it's not true, and Yankev did not fall. Yankev did not fall into the trap of what we call avas mamon, to the point that the Sar shel Eisav was able to catch him on this taina of avas mamon. With this havesai, kemezogim pshat. Let's go back to the Rashi. Shemon nislachlachti b'chet, v'anshmutzig. Vos meint schmutzig? Why? It's interesting, I asked you, why does Rashi, why does the Chazal stress the nusach? His fear was not that he was over an aveirah, but he was mislachlech.

Kavan shmutzig. Hadeisai, gelt. If it's not toiredike money, if it's not reine gelt, if money is not used properly, money is lichluch. And I'll explain to you, my bubbe, under zeide, zichrono livracha, used to say over from the Alter Zeide, Reb Meishelandinsky, gelt is blut. Un az me hot nisht kein gelt, iz men alein blut. What does that mean? Money is dirt. Unfortunately, if you don't have it, you'll also be dirt. But you gotta know money is dirt. Gelt is blut. Az me hot nisht kein gelt, iz men alein blut. Zogt like the Alter Zeide, Reb Meishelandinsky, zogt, Shemon nislachlachti. And this is what the kliyaka is saying: the earth, the dirt, in the eyes. Maybe, maybe after years and years of handling with money, day and night, Yaakov Avinu was day and night, the cholani cherev v'kerev balaila, day and night with the money. He put the shame, all the people on Wall Street, vos is tog un nacht, tog un nacht, they don't close, tog un nacht. Agav, I used to say, what's the pshat, vatidad shnosi me'einoi? Cholani cherev v'kerev balaila, vatidad shnosi me'einoi. Who works like that? They don't sleep at all. Vatidad shnosi me'einoi, yashlof bichlal nisht. Who works like that? And the teretz is, it's not what it means. It means I worked by day and by night so much. So what's going to be with the learning? So I had to stay up late at night, through the nights, to finish, to be mashlim the learning. And Shabbos ... batog. He works hard by day. ... He had to ... all the learning. Stay up late at night. So maybe Shemon nislach lecha b'chet. That's what it means, nislach lecha. And that's what it means, mi'etz chusim. He was afraid. He was afraid. Efshar, efshar the money got the better of him. It's a good way of putting it. You could get the better of the money, or the money could get the better of you. What's the pshat, Esav? You look at the ... Esav chapt from yotzei miGidroi. What does yotzei miGidroi mean? When Klal Yisrael works with money properly, when Klal Yisrael uses money purely, honestly, Esav has no shlitah on Yaakov. If he didn't have to be in the courts because money wasn't taken properly, wasn't dealt with properly, Esav attacks. Eisav is vicious. Eisav is vicious. The vendetta against Klal Yisroel, the vendetta against the Yid in the courts sometimes are vicious. When? It's when they have a shtikel taineh. The money is not 100% clean, it's not 100% clean. It can be a small negiah of money. That's what this klei yoker is saying. Money blinds. Money is blut. Un blut macht blut. Habeisai, blut macht blut. You want me to translate that in English? I don't even know how to translate it in English. Almost untranslatable. Money is dirty, makes blut. How do you say macht blut in English? I don't even know how to say it. It just makes dirty, what should I tell you? Macht unblut. There's no word to say blut. This is it. So Yiddish, you got it in Yiddish, farshteyst es, farshteyst es nisht. Learn the word of blut. Blut is blut. Habeisai, saida goyim. The goyim in Nimri Noyam, the goyim in Nimri Noyam.

Did you have a siddur, if you don't mind? I meant to take a siddur with me and open it up to Birchas Hamazon. Open it up to the Harachamans of Birchas Hamazon. Good, it's for later in the shiur, but just remembered that I'm going to need it. There's a gaon in Imrei Noam. The gaon in Imrei Noam says, Chemdas hamamon is avi avos hatumah. Avi avos hatumah. What does he mean? It's avi avos hatumah? It's hanusach. Chemdas hamamon is avi avos hatumah. Let me tell you, rabosai. There's a vort from the Alter from Kelm, peledike vort. The Gemara in Makos, daf chof-gimmel amud beis, and the Rambam brings it lahalacha. Shtei devarim — there are two things, nafshi shel adam chomedasan. A person desires more than anything in the world. One of them is arayos, and the other is gezel. Arayos and gezel. It's a big difference between the two, fregt Alter from Kelm. Put them in the same sentence? Arayos and gezel? Arayos is shekelach, gezel... I want to tell you how the Alter writes this. To me it was something striking. The Alter says, shneihem, because they're put together in the same sentence, in the same rule, because shneihem mevuzim upchusim. They're acts which are degrading. Would you put them in the same sentence, rabosai? And you know what the answer to that question is? We've changed. The Chazal didn't change, rabosai. Ta'os gezel? No. It's a white-collar crime. Mit gefelach. The Alter von Kelm says clearly that the Chazal put them together because they both are in nature the same. They are actions which are pchisus, nidche zachen, very low-class, gzeilah, arayos. And at the same time, the chemdah, the desire for them, are just as strong. And that's why Chazal put it together. And if we don't feel that way, I think the pshat is we've fallen pretty far, that we don't understand that gezel and arayos are takke in the same league of pchisus v'nivzus. That's why the Alter von Kelm, that Chazal put them together because they belong together. They are both actions which are very low, and the taivah is very strong. And that's what the Gaon is saying, it's avi avos hatumah. It could be very, very—the same way we understand this arayos is avi avos hatumah. The chemdas hamamon, when it's not properly geared and it's not for the right reasons, and it's not a chemdah to get money for Torah, for Yiddishkeit, to support a family. The goyim calls this, avi avoys hatumah. I remember my zeide was once sitting with a few dayanim, and he said something, and all the dayanim remarked with such excitement about the vort. The zeide said, Ich farshtey nisht, I don't understand. The same way the chachamim made a nisui yichud for arayos, they should have made a nisui yichud of gelt echt. Certain people are not to be misyached with money. It's a danger. They're near money. Who knows what could happen? And I remember the rabbanim loved it. They were so... stam, they just came out of a heavy din Torah. They must have listened to who knows what, and they realized the irony and the truth behind the vort. Es gedav zayn an issur yichud, an issur yichud of gelt, azoy vi s'davar ha'ervah, which is what the Alter Kelem is saying. The Alter Kelem is saying the taiva and the damage is the same. I think with this, with our beisai, we can explain a beautiful pshat in the Yeratzon that we say.

For the balabayis in the bench, you come to someone's house, you take out your siddur, and you say the yehi ratzon, and everybody knows, Yehi ratzon shelo yeivaish v'lo yikalem balabayis hazeh lo l'olam hazeh v'lo l'olam haba. V'yatzliach b'chol nechasav, viyu nechasav mutzlachim u'krovim la'ir. Al yishlot Satan. Ooh, Satan. Where's Satan? What, the klipah? Satan? V'al yisdabek lefanav shum davar chet. It shouldn't be in front of him anything which will bring him to chet. Yisdabek lefanav. The situation shouldn't arise in front of him. And v'hirhur avon. And a hirhur avon. Why is all this? What, the Satan, yisdabek lefanav, hirhur avon? What's the hirhur avon? How did hirhur avon come in here? He's have hatzlachah and parnassah, and he shouldn't have any hirhur avon. V'eizeh prasanti azeh v'arayos. Shelo yisdabek lefanav. It shouldn't be in front of him, which means he shouldn't get the opportunity to have a yetzer hara taivah and a hirhur avon. Just like by arayos, there's something called hirhurim because there's chemdah. A mensch ken eich tap in a psachavas moment, a hirhurim that he's going to make business deals a little shady. Tosa hirhur avon. You see the same loshon, the same language that we find by arayos, we find here, shelo yisdabek lefanav. Almost like yichud, shouldn't have a situation and the hirhur aveirah. And if you notice, sotan b'maaseh yadeinu. That's this kliyaka, the Eisav. Where does Eisav chap yankif? When it comes to the nechasim, the ashirus, the sotan is able to catch and say, Where is the ashirus? Is it richdik? Is it rain? Is it pure? And if not, the sotan is sho'eil b'maaseh yadav. It's mamish this Chazal. When I saw the Alter's vort with the kliyaka, mamish jumped out in front of me, pshat. Al yesh loi sotan, v'hu sotan... You give a guy a bracha, you give that man shebrachos, ... What's ... b'maaseh yadav? So my wife, ... Where did the sotan come b'maaseh yadav? What does it mean? ... comes with this special ventral, walks over in the house, ... What does it say? Shelo yevosh v'lo yikalem. What is yevosh v'lo yikalem? Because mamon, as ... could be a busha. A person who doesn't handle himself richdik in business, does his yevosh v'yikalem. And it's possible that it's sotan b'maaseh yadav. Very good. Did you just make that? That was something, or you thought of that? You just on the spot. Next week you're saying the shiur. That was gevaldik. Bizyenes is o zayn mezaynes un nit bizyenes. Gevaldik. Bizyenes last week. Bizyenes o zayn mezaynes un nisht bizyenes. Gevaldik, you heard? Das is geredt a shiur. You hear, rabosai, zaycher l'yeveish v'lo yikalem. And on top of that, bali yesh li soton b'maaseh yado, because Esav. You think the court's running after? There's not soton b'maaseh yado, it's also soton b'maaseh yado. What do you think it is? Bali yizdakek lefanav, it shouldn't be a yetzer hara. And hirhur avon, a zevia arayos, mamash a zevia arayos. Habeisai, let me tell you now pshat, k'tointi mikol hachasadim u'mikol haemes. I ask you, what does it mean, mikol haemes? We brought Rashi's pshat, efsher kemetzogn the pshat. Business has to be emes. And what is emes? Emes means when I understand that it's from the hand of the Ribono Shel Olam, ki miyadcha ham leia psucha, kedoshah vachavah. That's called emes.

What does it mean, a sa'tav and a sa'ta b'emunah? What does emunah mean? The meforshim say it can mean two things: emunah, truth, and emunah, the Eibishter. And I've told you many times, they both mean the same thing. Because if it's with emunah, then it's emes. Then the person deals in business emes. They're tied. They're rooted together. The emunah and the emes is the same. It's the hashkafah that a person has when he deals in business. If it's with emunah, then it's emes. Katonti mikol hachasadim u'mikol ha'emes. He understands that it wasn't him; it was given to him. So mimeila, katonti. I'm humbled. An oyshiker walk around, wow, bright, business. He's blustrous, a greiser businessman. But then he understands, katonti. Some understand, I'm small. Katonti, because mikol ha'emes, I know the truth. And the truth is, it's havtachas HaKadosh Baruch Hu. It's chesed HaKadosh Baruch Hu. There's a meyridike medrash, mamash a pele. The medrash says, Amar Reb Levi, katonti mikol hachasadim. What does katonti mikol hachasadim mean? Kedai ani. Aval katonti mikol hachasadim. What is it? I'm kedai, I'm deserving, yet at the same time, I'm katonti. Kedai? Avul kateiti. I said, is that the medrash? So we've spoken many times that humility doesn't mean I'm nothing. I managed to have tachlis, kedai ani. And yet at the same time, kateiti, I'm still humble. And I think the medrash is saying, a megadek zach, in reference to Yankiv. Yankiv is saying, kateiti, I'm not humble, I'm humbled. There's a difference between humble and humbled. Kedai ani. Yes, I worked hard. And yes, I was about kishron. Eisav thinks I'm a yoshev ohalim, kened melachah eichet. Kedai ani. But I know the emes. And that is because even the biggest baal kishron, with all his koiches, and with all the hishtadlus that he puts in, doesn't mean there's results. That's pshat, kateiti. A person could make it in life, yet be humble, because deep down he knows the truth. It's all from the Borei Olam. A Yid walks around, thinks completely different than a goy. For a goy to be matzliach in business, it's the ultimate gaivah. It's the ultimate gaivah. It's the pride. To turn into a president one day, aza sudden. All mitzayin chutz, mit the ganze, mit the ganze gaivah, mit the ganze—forget. That's exactly what America needs. America needs that. A baal gavah, a sretz a chayinas, kluger, beser, and reicher. He's richer than everybody else in the world. This is not a political discussion. I don't care. Trust me, it's not negea to me. But that's what America needs. He epitomizes what America stands for. This is the American dream. קטונתי מכל החסדים ומכל האמת. Der ligent. Every word that comes out of his mouth is another lie. He's a businessman, though. No, he's a meydedik. Haflah, fellah. Ufakeach b'retzachayin that every lie that he says is emes. Haflah. Unbelievable. It's unbelievable zach. I'm just playing around. I don't know all the politics. ... they do like him, they don't like him. I'm just because ... Abel l'maaseh, Yankev Avinu made it, and he understood, Kedai ani. ... vafarshteyt, Katonti, I'm humbled. Mikol hachasadim u'mikol ha'emes. That's a Yiddish businessman. That's a Yiddish oy...

He's humble. For Keri is more humble than regular because he knows and he sees daily the chasdei Hashem. How could you not be humbled? Kedai ani. But yet, I know, קטונתי מכל החסדים ומכל האמת. There's a ma'amar in the Medrash Rabbah. וישב יעקב לבדו. What is levado? So the Medrash, like it says in the pasuk in Yiskov, Hashem levado. Esav couldn't get Yankev. Why? It's true, Yankev had all the riches and all the money. Yankev is ויותר. What was he left with? Ein zach. The whole world, ketumul, the greatest oisher, Yankev. But Yankev is left levado. What is levado? In Yiskov, Hashem levado. Hashem is great, that it's ein od milvado. Thus is oisher. ויותר יעקב לבדו. What does it mean, levado? ונשגב ה' לבדו. That through all the ashirus, he realized how great Hashem is, how much chesed, how much emes. ממילא, קטונתי, על הלב, with ein od milvado, that everything that happens. I'd end with this, rabosai. Money. Money is something very special, but it needs to be handled properly. Money makes a person. Money makes a person. Sulam. He saw a sulam on the way to Lavan. The Baal HaTurim says sulam is gematria mamon, gematria of the word sulam. So what was the chalom? It's pashut, farshim speak. Ro'eh shemagia shamayma, mamon. With money you could reach the skies, the Eibishter. It's all segulos of artza, yoredin bo. You could also have tremendous yeridos. There's aliyes, mamon, the sulam, the ladder of life. We'll call it the ladder of life. There's aliyes and yeridos. In the mamon itself, a person could rise; he could also fall. Money is also kesef, is also eish, matbea shel eish, fire. Fire has its ma'alah. Without fire we can't live, but fire is also very, very dangerous if it's not handled properly. Matbea shel eish. Moshe Rabbeinu was shown a coin. A coin is fire. Fire, money, money is fire. Be careful. Don't touch fire when it's not yours, when it's not rain, and you don't handle it properly. It's fire. Vayivaser Yaakov levado. With this ayen, rabosai, you know what Yaakov—he remained Yaakov. That's the pshat. That's the taich. I think this sums up the yesod. Many people, because of money, they lose themselves, who they are. And on both ends, if you make the money and if you don't make the money. If you have the parnassah, you don't have the parnassah, you lose yourself. Yankiv is vayevaser Yaakov. Yaakov remained, Yaakov throughout the nisayon. And a dos is Yiddishkeit. Dos is gelt. And a dos is parnassah. A yevaser Yaakov levado. You've just experienced another Torah class brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.