Welcome to the Daily Chizuk. The Maharal explains the Pasuk (verse), “Tamim tihyeh im Hashem Elokecha,” tamim, that a person has to feel whole and complete, and feel that Hashem has given you everything that you need. The nature of man is to always feel lacking and to always feel that he wants more. As Chazal (the Sages) tell us, “Yesh lo maneh, rotzeh matayim,” if someone has a hundred, he wants two hundred; if someone has two hundred, he wants four hundred. Even the wealthy don’t always feel satisfied.
I once heard a story of a rabbi who was close to a wealthy man. The rabbi noticed that the man was a very hard worker and never had time for anything, so he asked him, “How much money do you need to be totally satisfied and take a little break?” The man thought about it and said, “I think I need a hundred million dollars to be totally satisfied.” The rabbi asked him, “If you don’t mind me asking, how much do you have now?” The guy said, “About fifty million,” exactly as Chazal told us.
This is our nature, but we have an ability to overcome it, to be tamim, and realize that we have everything that we need now and, Be'ezrat Hashem (with God’s help), we will have everything we need in the future. Instead of always worrying about the future, we could enjoy the present.
I once heard a mashal (parable) to explain this. There was once a businessman on vacation on one of the islands. He noticed the fishermen going fishing every day and saw that one guy stopped fishing a few hours before the others. He asked him, “Why do you stop so early?” The guy said, “When I catch enough fish to support my family, I stop.”
The businessman asked him, “And then what do you do?” He said, “Then I go for a stroll with the senora on the beach. I come home and play with my children, and we have an early barbecue for dinner.”
The businessman told him, “But I notice you’re a very good fisherman, and if you stay out fishing till the end of the day, you could probably catch double the amount of fish.” The guy said, “Yeah, and then what am I going to do with them?”
The businessman said, “And then you’ll sell them and make extra money.”
“And then what?”
“Then you could buy a little boat and go out into the ocean and catch even better fish.”
“And then what?”
“Then you’ll make enough money to buy a big boat. I’ll become partners with you, and we’ll go out deep into the ocean and catch very big fish.”
“Wow. And then what?”
“And then you’ll open up some stores, selling fish all over the island.”
“Sounds good. And then what?”
“Then we’ll start shipping the fish overseas and make even more money.”
“And then what?”
“Then we’ll go public, we’ll put our company on the stock market, and we’ll become even richer.”
“Wow. And then what?”
“And then you’ll have so much money, you’ll be able to retire and go for walks with the senora on the beach. You’ll be able to come home early and play with your children, and you’ll be able to eat an early barbecue every night for dinner.”
Let us recognize all the Beracha (blessing) that Hashem has already given us and take advantage of it now. Become tamim and enjoy life to the fullest. Have a great day.