Words of the Gaon and Tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days) for Parshat Yitro - The Lust for Money, "We Have Been Struck Doubly"

"Men of truth, who hate ill-gotten gain" (Exodus 18:21)

The Rebbe (Rebbe Nachman) says in Torah 30, "Attainments of Godliness cannot be achieved except through many tzimtzumim (contractions), from cause to effect, from a higher intellect to a lower intellect... and to reach the lower intellect is impossible except through being a 'hater of gain,' one who hates money with the ultimate hatred." The entire world is led by the lower intellect, by chochmah tata'ah (lower wisdom). One who hates gain merits this lower wisdom, this lower intellect, and he can lead the world. He who hates money with the ultimate, absolute hatred will be able to be a leader of the entire world. King Solomon possessed this lower wisdom—"And he was wiser than all men"—he ruled over the entire world because he hated money. He reigned over the upper and lower realms. Everything King Solomon achieved flew with the eagle; he could rule over demons, over eagles, and over animals. Even the building of the Holy Temple was all through lower wisdom, because he was a hater of gain. He hated money, so he also ended up having endless money. All the kings came to him and brought silver, gold, monkeys, and elephants; they brought him everything because he hated money with the ultimate hatred, as it is written: "In the days of Solomon, silver was not considered as anything."

If a person wants to reach the lower intellect, the lower wisdom, to attain even a drop of intellect, a drop of wisdom—even in the revealed parts of Torah—it is only if a person begins to hate gain, to hate money. If a person does not hate money, he cannot reach any spiritual side. Ta’avas mamon (the lust for money) is the worst desire, more difficult than anything else. One can escape from all other lusts; every other lust is considered disgraceful, a person is embarrassed by it and people despise him for it. But the lust for money is the only thing a person has no shame about—on the contrary! He boasts that he has money and takes pride in it.

Reb Noson (Rabbi Nathan of Breslov) says regarding the lust for money, "We have been struck doubly." Not only has a person fallen into the lust for money, which is the greatest impurity in the world, but people even glorify him for it; everyone praises him, envies him, and runs after him. Therefore, it is very difficult to escape the lust for money. No one knows how to get out of it. Every other lust brings shame, but this lust is the most terrible in the world. The lust for money is hidden and concealed from every eye; a person has almost no chance of escaping it. A person doesn't even know that it is a lust; he doesn't know that thinking about money is disgraceful. He excuses himself, saying, "I need this thing, I need that thing, to marry off the children, for parnassah (livelihood)." What are you worried about?

Everything was announced in Heaven! Forty days before a person is formed, they plan in Heaven that on this day he will have a house and on this day he will have a field, livelihood—everything is announced before a person is even born. As long as human beings are immersed in the lust for money, thinking about it all day, then the Geulah (Redemption) cannot come. The Geulah can only come when a person trusts in Hashem and his eyes look toward Hashem: "The eyes of all look to You with hope, and You give them their food in its time." In its time! Everything in its time, in its proper moment—whatever a person is meant to receive: an apartment, furniture, etc. It all comes in its time because the very act of wondering about money, the very thought of money, distances the yeshuah (salvation) from him. It distances the apartment from him; it distances the livelihood from him. All his life, a person thinks about livelihood; he doesn't know that the moment he stops thinking about livelihood, the livelihood will come to him, it will run to him.

What is "Parnassah" (livelihood)? Par-nosea (the bull travels/flees). You run after the bull, and the bull travels; the bull runs away. "Parnassah" is like "nas'a" (traveled) with the letter Ayin. Are you chasing after livelihood? Then the livelihood flees from you. It's like the story of that simple Jew who heard a sermon from the Rabbi about a bear that was blind, lame, and wounded, lying in a cave, and every day a sheep would come and walk right into its mouth. The Jew went home and said, "From today, we won't do anything; from today, I'm not going to work." His wife began to cry, the children began to cry, everyone cried—it was like Tisha B'Av (the fast of mourning). In the morning they woke up and saw that everything had been stolen. Not only did he decide not to go to work, but the horse was stolen, the wagon was stolen. "Bad luck! You're such a jinx! Look what you've done to us! Just as you decided not to work, the horse and wagon were stolen. It's all because of you! Why did you go to that Rabbi's sermon? He told you about some bear that a sheep came to its mouth—what, do you think you're a bear? You're not a bear! You're not a bear! You need to be a human being, you need to go to work. Look at the accusations you've brought upon us—no horse, no wagon, nothing!"

And what actually happened was that there was a thief who needed the wagon and the horse to steal several crates of gold from a church. He loaded everything onto the wagon and drove into the heart of the forest. He dug a pit three meters deep where he wanted to hide all the crates of gold. Suddenly, all the earth collapsed on him, and he was buried inside the pit. All the crates of gold remained on the wagon—ten crates of gold with jewelry, diamonds, pearls, and gold candlesticks. Everything remained on the wagon, covered with a cloth. The poor horse didn't know what was happening to him, where he was being dragged, or what they wanted from his life. "Where is my master?" He began to cry and started heading back home. At that same time, in the Jew's house, everyone was still crying over the horse and the wagon, crying over the crazy father who decided not to go to work. Suddenly, they heard a noise at the gate, something knocking at the gate, banging against it. Everyone went outside and saw the horse with the wagon. They all said, "Here is the horse!" What joy and gladness! Joy and gladness, but what will be with the crazy father who doesn't want to go to work anymore? They saw the wagon was covered with a cloth and thought it was potatoes, carrots—maybe the thief put vegetables on the wagon to take to the market. What could he have left here? Probably some rotten potatoes. Suddenly, they saw that the entire wagon was full of crates of silver and gold. And so it is with every single person. This isn't a story from a million years ago; it's a story of every day! If a person believes in Hashem and trusts in Hashem, then the silver and gold will come to his home.

The Rebbe (Rebbe Nachman) yearned for us to have this quality—to throw away the money, to distribute the money to tzedakah (charity), not to accumulate money, and not to lust for money. He desired and yearned very much to merit us to reach this holy conduct, like the Baal Shem Tov, like the "Noam Elimelech" (Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk), who threw away their money every day and gave it to charity, leaving nothing at all from one day to the next. However, in Lesson 455 of Chayey Moharan (The Life of Our Teacher), the Rebbe said: "I do not want you to have confusion of the mind from this service. I do not want you to jump to this level all at once." Do not throw away the money immediately on the same day. If you have debts, pay them. When you receive money, set aside the ma'aser (tithe). Give charity; if you are of the mindset to give a fifth, that is even higher. But do not leave your wife and children hungry. However, you must know how to hate money. Be a "hater of gain." Do not make money into something holy. People think that money is the holiest thing in the world; they say over it "Holy, Holy, Holy," only sanctifying it. Know that it is the greatest impurity, and one should be ashamed to even think about money. Therefore, a person must have this principle, this readiness, this will to reach the level of the Tzaddikim—to trust in Hashem and to hate gain, to hate money with the absolute, ultimate hatred.