“If I were a rich man!” The famous character Tevye bargains with Hashem making grandiose plans for what he could carry out — if only he were wealthy. The line resonates with us. Don’t we all know the feeling of wishing we could afford this or that of wondering what we would do if we had a million dollars?
The Mishnah in Avos teaches that the true wealthy man is one who is samei’ach b’chelko happy with his portion. At the same time our tefillos contain requests for sustenance and plenty. How are we to understand this seeming contradiction?
The problem is further compounded by the reality that our communities today are so starkly composed of “haves” and “have nots.” In almost every classroom there are children who live in palaces sitting beside those who barely have food in the refrigerator. As we watch others prosper while we struggle how can we truly be happy with what we have?
A Cushion not a Shield
Rav Shlomo Wolbe explains that the struggle to be samei’ach b’chelko is mitigated with the understanding that life in This World is but a path to the Next. The blessing of “sh’asah li kol tzarki — Who provided me with all my needs” teaches us that whatever we have today is what we need to move us forward on this path. There are no parentheses after this brachah saying “I have all that I need minus X Y or Z.”
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