Vayishlach 5777: The Spirituality of Wealth ~Understanding the spiritual road to richness

There is so much to be said about true wealth. In Jewish teaching our sages are quoted for saying, “There is no poverty but for in the mind.” A simple way to understand this is through a story that my friend once told me about life in the Shtehtle. So, the rich man buys a new hat for two ruble, and a year later sells the hat to a poor man for one ruble. At the end of the day, how much did each man end up spending on their hat? One ruble! However, the rich man wore a new hat, while the poor man wore a used hat. Yes, wealth in its most practical sense is manifested in having an abundance of financial wherewithal. However, wealth is more than just an ingathering of financial means. I remember the time when they found that the beggar at the synagogue in New York who would sit there in filthy clothes suffering from malnutrition, who after he died, the authorities literally found $1,000,000 in cash in his infested rundown apartment. And such stories there are unfortunately many of. These type of stories are not the only example, for there are the examples of people who show-off their financial wealth in a most pitiful and insecure fashion. And then there are those who are so attached to each and every one of their millions of dollars, unable to help anyone with their vast wealth. The point that I am making here is that in essence, for someone to become truly wealthy they must experience a transformation on their DNA level. No, I am not being poetic or seeking out dramatic expressions. What we are going to explore here is the spirituality of wealth. When someone undergoes a true spiritual experience they are transformed completely to the point that they are genetically different in how they experience themselves, G-d, and the world around them. Otherwise, they remain a poor person with a lot of money, and that isn’t called being wealthy. In this lecture we explore the mystical teachings of wealth and how to obtain it. --------------- Here is a link to the written notes of this lecture, which will be available until December 30, 2016, after which you can email [email protected] to request them: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4614078/8.%20Vayishlach%205777%20-The%20Spirituality%20of%20Wealth%20-Understanding%20the%20road%20to%20richness.pdf