בס”ד
Vayetzei (Genesis 28:10-32:3 )
Bereishit, 28:12: “And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder (sulam) was standing on the ground and its head was reaching to the heavens…”
Baal HaTurim, 28:12: Dh: Sulam: “Sulam (ladder) is the numerical value of mammon (money).”
The Torah portion opens with Yaakov’s famous dream involving a ladder with its legs on the ground and its head reaching towards the heavens and the Angels are ascending and descending the ladder. The Baal HaTurim makes a fascinating observation: He writes that the gematria (numerical value) of sulam, the Hebrew word for ladder, is 136, and this is also the gematria for the word, mammon, the commonly used word for money. The obvious question is what is the connection between the two?
A number of commentaries1 explain that the connection between a ladder rising to the heavens and money is alluding to the fact that money is something that can be used to elevate a person to a very high level and conversely can bring a person down to a very low level.
In the positive sense, if a person uses his money to give tzedakah and perform acts of kindness, then he can achieve great spiritual heights. In particular, if a person uses his money to support Torah learning, then he can attain great reward in in the Next World. This is demonstrated by the relationship between Yaakov’s two sons, Yissachar and Zevulun. Zevulun was a merchant and supported Yissachar in his Torah learning. When Yaakov blessed his sons, he blessed Zevulun first even though he was younger than Yissachar, because without Zevulun, Yissachar would not have been able to learn to the same degree.2
One commentary applies the idea that money can be used for positive purposes to offer a novel explanation of the Rabbinic teaching that the money and property of the righteous is especially dear to them.3 He suggests that the reason they value money so much is because of it enables a person to do a great deal of kindness that he could otherwise not do.4
However, there are also many pitfalls that come with acquiring money that can spiritually hinder a person. We will outline a number of them here. The Menorat HaMaor5, citing numerous scriptural proofs, teaches that wealth causes a person to become arrogant. He notes that King Solomon requested from G-d not to give him poverty or wealth – the problem with wealth being that it would lead him to feel he does not need G-d. Rabbi Yechezkel Abramov elaborates: “Subconsciously, a rich man begins to think, ‘I made money through this deal and that investment’. It was my hard work and good decisions that helped me make this money! He forgets that G-d is the One who really makes everything happen.”6
Another way that wealth can hinder a person’s spiritual growth (as well as his general life satisfaction) is that when someone has money he lives in constant fear of thieves. Rabbi Abramov relates that a certain wealthy man had his home broken into. Even worse than the great loss of money and valuables was that this man now had a permanent feeling of vulnerability and fear. This is the explanation of the Bartenura of the teaching in Pirkei Avot7, “Marbeh nechasim marbeh daagah” – when a person acquires more property, he also acquires more worries. The Bartenura understands that this refers to fear of having his property stolen. An additional possible interpretation is that when one owns a great deal of money and property, he has to spend far more time and energy managing it all, which greatly reduces his feelings of serenity. These constant feelings of worry will inevitably hinder his ability to focus on his Divine service.
Yet another possible detrimental aspect of wealth is that a wealthy person is often very popular and respected. However, the truth is that often, people are really only attracted to the money, and not the person himself. Consequently, a wealthy person often lives with the doubt that people genuinely seek his friendship, and are only interested in his money (which sadly, is often the case). In this vein, Rav Abramov relates that he once paid a visit to a former supporter of his kollel. This man had been very wealthy, but had now fallen on hard times and lost most of his wealth. Rav Abramov went to the person to raise his spirits and also asked the man if he could help by speaking to some of his extensive contacts to help raise money. He replied with sadness, “There is no one to whom I can talk anymore. You know, when you have money, everyone’s your friend, but the minute that you lose it, no one wants to have anything to do with you.”8 This phenomenon can also damage a person’s Divine service as he can never fully trust anyone, with inevitable negative consequences for his relationships with people.
We have seen how money is a double-edged sword and it requires great vigilance to ensure that it is used to bring a person up the spiritual ladder and not take him down.
By Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen
- Notes:
See Pri Tzedakah, Bereishit, p.130-133; This idea was also expressed by Rabbi Yissachar Frand. - Bereishit Rabbah, Parsha 99.
- Chullin, 91a.
- Pri Tzedakah, p.132, mipi hashmuah.
- Addendum to Menorat HaMaor (written by Don Yosef Ibh Shushan), cited in ‘Becoming a Baal Bitachon’, (based on vaadim of Rabbi Yechezkel Abramov) p.251.
- Ibid, p.252.
- Avos, 2:7.
- Ibid, p.255.
WEEKLY TORAH PORTION,
The Guiding Light
by Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen
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