Use it Wisely
The story is told of a poor man who, despite his own poverty, would always invite strangers to come into his home and eat a home-cooked meal. His generosity was all the more special due to his own circumstances.
In the merit of these acts of kindness, he was blessed with riches and soon found himself in a large mansion. Now, a change started to occur. Slowly, the poor were no longer welcome in his home. First it was a hint, then a suggestion, finally he would not even let then into his new home lest they spoil the hand-woven white carpets. He was dismissive of their pleas for help, suggesting to them that they should work harder.
As news of his mean behavior spread, he soon found himself shunned by his former friends and colleagues. In despair, he called upon a wise old rabbi.
As they were talking in the mansion, the rabbi pointed to a huge mirror situated on the wall facing the street, feigning ignorance. "What a strange window! All I see is myself! Where are all the people on the street?"
The man laughed. "Rabbi, it is not a window it is a mirror." "But I don't understand", said the rabbi, "it is made of glass, like a window."
"If it were only glass you would be able to see the other people. But this is a mirror. It has a layer of silver added to it. Now you only see yourself."
"Aha!" said the wise rabbi. "Now I see the problem. When you add the silver, all you see is yourself!"
In Jewish tradition we do not extol poverty or see poverty as a virtue. And we do not look down at wealth. If fact, possessing financial means is a great blessing and merit. It enables us to do so much good. But – like every blessing – it has its pitfalls. It can be wasted on materialistic pursuits and can stimulate a self-centric existence.
This then is the primary theme of the portion we will read tomorrow. G‑d tells the Jewish People. “You inherited tremendous wealth from Egypt. Now do something holy with it. Build a home in through which my presence can be revealed throughout the world.”
And this is the perpetual call to each of us. We each have been endowed with wealth, with gifts, with talents, and with resources. And G‑d calls out to each of us, “Use your recourses to reveal my presence in your life by doing mitzvahs and giving charity. Use every gift you have to better the world around you; making it a more holy and G‑dly place.”
May we answer this call and very soon bring about the era when “the world will be filled with the Knowledge or G‑d” (Isaiah 11:9) – the coming of Moshiach!
Fruma and the children join be in wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Raleigh Resnick
