Becoming Spiritual And Rich

Many of us have tried to reconcile seeming differences between our desire for earthly fame and fortune and that of spiritual growth. Judaism teaches that one should follow one's passion and purpose in life and that success will follow. Martin Buber tells a story of Rabbi Dov Baer, the Maggid of Mezerich, who teaches a man how to find true spiritual wealth. Here's that tale:

In the days of the great Maggid, a well-to-do merchant, who refused to have anything to do with Hasidic teachings, lived in Mezerich. His wife to care of the shop. He himself only spent two hours a day in it. The rest of the time, he sat over his books in the House of Study. One Friday morning, he saw two young men there, whom he did not know. He asked them where they were from and why they had come, and was told they'd come a long distance to see and hear the Great Maggid. Then he decided that for once he too would go to his house. He didn't want to sacrifice any study time and so did not go into the shop on that day.

The Maggid's radiant face affected him so strongly that from then on he went more and more frequently and ended up attaching himself to him altogether. From this time on, he had one business failure after another until he was quite poor. He complained to the Maggid that this had happened to him after he'd become his disciple. The Maggid answered: "You know what our sages say: 'He who wants to grow wise, let him go south; He who wants to grow rich, let him go north.' Now what shall one do that wants to grow both rich and wise?" The man did not know what to reply. The Maggid continued: 'He who thinks nothing at all of himself, and makes himself nothing, grows spiritual, and spirit does not occupy space. He can be both north and south at the same time."

These words moved the merchants heart and he cried out: "Then my fate is sealed!"

"No, No," said the Maggid. "You have already begun."

With just a glance, one's first reaction would be to think that the Maggid was teaching that one should concede earthly success in favor of the spiritual. But a closer look reveals a deeper, hidden truth. For what the Maggid is really stating is a paraphrasing of the tenth commandment; Thou shall not covet. Through faith we realize that each of us is an aspect of God through creation, or emanation as Kabbalah teaches. The Maggid also said that one should "think of your soul as a part of the Divine Presence like the raindrop in the sea." My personal comparison is the analogy of the photon of light which is both wave and particle, or a note of music. From one perspective, each seems defined and limited, but a larger view reveals that they are part of something greater. Such is the case with the human soul and even the body, which is seen by Jewish mystics as nefesh, or spirit at rest. This is an even closer analogy to the photon of light mentioned above.

So, we shouldn't covet, as we are part of the Divine Presence here on earth and as such already have everything we could desire. God is beyond definition, or boundaries. There are no limits in reality, just limits in your belief in yourself and your faith in God. You truly can be whatever you believe yourself capable of and are willing to work towards as a personal goal.

What is interesting, is that today most people consider the Hasidim as among the ultra-Orthodox of Judaism. But in the days of the Great Maggid, the "Orthodox" authorities of that day were like the merchant in our story, who looked down on them. They were thought of as ignorant heathens and excommunicated by these rabbis. In truth though, the Hasidim simply cut through the red-tape of Talmudic legalism and taught the spiritual core of Jewish belief. It is my belief that a Neo-Hasidic path is what is needed today to revitalize the Jewish faith and build it's future purpose and legacy. Some aspects of this are being taught within the Jewish Renewal movement. It is a good start, but just the beginning of our journey. We need to grow our faith by sharing it with others as was the universal mission of the Biblical prophets. By considering what we'd tell others about Judaism, we can find deeper meaning in Judaism for ourselves.

Until next time....

Shmuel