Earning a Living — Earning a Life

Essay #11

To keep these essays going, despite our not being “connected” these days, we will present in the next few weeks quotes from Reb Noson’s Likutey Eitzot, (“Advice” in English) as well as quotes from Rebbe Nachman’s Sefer HaMidot (“The Aleph-Bet Book”). We continue with Likutey Eitzot on “MONEY and LIVELIHOOD.”

42) The craving for money is one of the three temptations which flaw and spoil the fear of God which is latent in the heart. But when we celebrate the festival of Pesach with the appropriate honor we can cleanse ourselves of the craving for money and attain true fear, prophetic inspiration and prayer.

43) A person who wants to provide for those who are dependent upon him must be a person of strength and fortitude, not the opposite. A certain amount of authority and “push” is required in order to earn money.

44) There is a certain sin which causes people to fall into debt. A person who is in debt should repent wholeheartedly and plead with God to cleanse him of this sin. The time to do this is when he is in a state of expanded consciousness. (Rebbe Nachman never revealed which sin it is. There is a tradition amongst Chasidei Breslov that it refers to sexual sin.)

45) When a person has such joy from Torah and mitzvoth that he literally dances for joy, his material affairs are elevated (Likutey Moharan II, 81).

46) The only purpose in this world is to draw closer to the ultimate goal, which is the World to Come. Whether you have money or you don’t, don’t worry about it, because if you do you will surely waste away your days, regardless of whether you actually make any money or not. This world is completely deceptive. It constantly makes people think they are gaining, but in the end it is all an illusion Ì as everybody knows very well at heart. Even if you do become rich, eventually you will be taken away from your money. It is a basic rule that man and money cannot remain together. Either the money is taken from the man or the man is taken from the money. In all of human history there has never been a case where a person stayed with his money. It may be hard to achieve very much in serving God. But even if you don’t seem to get very far in this, you should still understand that in itself this world is nothing. Your one aim and desire should be to reach the ultimate goal of the World to Come. You should always long to do what God wants. The desire itself is very precious. The main thing is your will. Whatever good you can do besides — a good deed here, learning some Torah or saying a prayer there — all the better. Do as much as you can while you can, because the only thing that will be left of all your labor in this world will be your will to do good and whatever holy deeds you were able to snatch in this world while you were here.

47) Keep in mind the words of the Tzaddikim. Don’t deceive yourself, and don’t let the world deceive you. In this world nobody ends up well. The only good you will enjoy is the good you take with you to enjoy in the eternal world.

This completes the quotes from Likutey Eitzot on Money and Livelihood. The continuation is from Rebbe Nachman’s “The Aleph-Bet Book.

Money - Part 1

1) When a person is derisive of others, his livelihood diminishes.

2) The words of the Sages bring prosperity.

3) A person will lose his wealth because he shows no compassion for others.

4) One who withstands a test of his morality merits great wealth despite his enemies.

5-6) An occupation is a great thing; God Himself advised man that he must engage in some form of work. [But if a person has no choice, he should] borrow in order to eat.

7) [A farmer] who wants to grow wealthy should use a lean animal when ploughing.

8) A man should spend less than what his income allows for food and drink, clothe himself in accordance with his means and honor his wife and children by buying them things which are even beyond what he can afford.

9) Poverty in one's home is worse than fifty plagues.

10) A man's wife won't die unless he is first approached for money and has none to give.

11) The ability which the nations have to steal from the Jews comes from their learning the Written Law.

12) Drinking wine leads to poverty.

13) Anyone who possesses true knowledge must eventually prosper.

14) A person who steals from his neighbor is made impure by a chance nocturnal discharge.

15) Any new insight which a person gains carries with it great wealth.

16) As soon as the money of a Jew falls into the hands of a gentile it is instantly purged [of the special quality it acquires from Jewish ownership].

17) A person whose children are starving is spared from death by fire, one of the four judicial forms of capital punishment.

18) One who transgresses a Rabbinical enactment grows poor.

19) A person who breaks his desire for food merits living in a beautiful house.

20) [God's providing] man with his livelihood is as great [a miracle] as His splitting the Red Sea. It is even greater than bringing the Final Redemption and twice as great as the miracle of childbirth.

21) Once a person has been put in charge of the public's welfare he becomes wealthy.