When it Comes to Money…

It says in the Reshit Chochma that the true determinant whether a person is considered a tzaddik is from the way he deals with others when it comes to money. It says in the Tana Diveh Eliyahu Raba that בעלי אמנה – those who are honest when it comes to money are the ones who will merit to be together with Hashem במחיצתו-in His partition, as it says in Tehillim, "עיני בנאמני ארץ לשבת עמדי-My eyes are on the faithful of the land; they will dwell with me." Someone who has Yirat Shamayim is extra careful to make sure he never owes anybody money. His first priority is honesty and integrity. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous individuals who don't have a problem violating the will of Hashem and taking money in treacherous ways. What should a person's attitude be if he was swindled by one of those people? I met a man recently who told me that some ten years ago over $200 million was stolen from him, which he was never able to recover. After a couple of years of depression and thinking about what could have been and what should have been, he began delving into the topic of emunah. And today, he is happier than ever. He understands the money came to him from Hashem and was taken away from him by Hashem. He used the experience to get closer to Hashem and now spends his days involved in communal work. As much as it looks like people can use their free will to take money from us, it's not true. They could use their free will to try to take, but they can't actually accomplish anything if it is not the will of Hashem. Hashem has countless ways of foiling people's plans and when He doesn't, it's because that's what was meant to be. Of course, the deceitful party will have to pay for his actions, but that's not our business. Somebody told me they were swindled out of an inheritance by their very own family member. They know no one can take a penny from them, and they know they're allowed to make a hishtadlut to try to get it back, but it bothers them so much to know that they were betrayed by their very own family. They don't know if they can ever have any type of relationship with them ever again. It's a hard nisayon to deal with, but they should know, the more they're able to rise above their nature and view what happened as totally coming only from Hashem, the better off they will be. They still have the mitzvah of not bearing a grudge, and they still have the mitzvah of not harboring hatred. Those are commandments given by Hashem. He knows how difficult they are, and He will reward those who make the efforts to keep them. Hashem can give us the money that's meant for us in so many ways. Our primary goal is always making sure we are pleasing Him. A man who lives in Israel told me that he has a daughter and a son-in-law, who we'll call Yosef, who work together in their own travel agency. They recently had a dispute with somebody over a thousand shekels. Yosef explained to the other party why it was clear that he owed the money, but he just wouldn't hear it. Yosef then suggested politely that they go to a Bet Din to settle it. The other party said, "No way, I'm taking you to a Bet Mishpat," (a secular court). Although Yosef knew he was one hundred percent right and would definitely win, he also knew it would be a chilul Hashem for him to be in a secular court over this. He has a picture in his home of Rav Shteinman with a caption saying, "My whole life, I never saw anybody being mevater – giving in – and losing as a result." So with great strength, he told the other party, "Forget it, I'm dropping it." The very next day, Yosef was in a convenience store and decided to buy a scratch-off ticket, something he never does. He scratched off the numbers and was delighted to see, he won exactly 1000 shekels. הרבה שלוחים למקום-Hashem has many agents. What is meant for us to have, we're going to get. We have to concentrate on doing what Hashem wants us to do. We need to be considered a tzaddik in Hashem's eyes, and everything else will fall into place.