The fifth reason as to why it’s wrong for people to want money down before going forward, just like the previous four, teaches us new ways to look at our relationships with Hashem. This reason is that normally you take a mashkon (collateral) because you’re not comfortable that the person will pay you back. The gold watch gives you security. But there’s something missing. You’re assuming that if you have the money, you’re good.
But just because G-d gave you the money, that doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get to keep it. You might lose it. You might make a bad investment. What does the money do for you? You might get the gold watch as collateral to make sure you get paid. But you don’t want to lose it. Just getting the money doesn’t do that much.
Like we say in the first beracha of Birchat Kohanim :
יְבָרֶכְךָ ה' וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ:
Hashem should bless you and guard you. He’s watching what he gives you. No one else can say, “I’m giving you a gift and I’m going to make sure you keep it.” A borrower could give you a gold watch, but it could get stolen. What is the collateral worth if you still need Him to protect you? You might lose it.
Furthermore, the Hovot HaLevavot says,
שאפשר שיקרהו פגע מן הפגעים המבדילים בינו לבינו
Who says you’re going to be able to use the money?
An example of this is a favorite Ben Ish Chai story, which we mentioned way back at the beginning of this series. It teaches a very important rule:
There was miser who loved baklava (pastry made of phyllo dough with nuts) He loved it, but it was expensive, so he never ordered it. He was too cheap. He’d only order coffee at the coffee shop. An employee of his felt bad for the boss, and felt like he should get to have it, so using some company money that he had on him (and thinking it was worth the sin), he bought the boss a baklava when they were in the coffee shop together one day. He lied and told the boss it was his treat. The boss excitedly took the baklava and started to eat it when he suddenly started choking. They tried to help him but nothing was working. A rabbi nearby saw what was happening. The worker ran over to the rabbi and confessed that he’d bought it with the miser’s money. The rabbi quickly reimbursed the worker the price of the baklava and the miser stopped choking and was able to swallow. What was the magical segula?
The rabbi explained that this miser had a gezera on him: He couldn’t enjoy his own money. So as long as it was his own money that paid for the pastry, he gagged on it. As soon as the rabbi paid for it, the miser was able to swallow. We see from this that it’s possible to have the money, but what does it mean? You still need G-d to be able to enjoy it and have benefit from it. People say,
“G-d, give me money so that I can afford a house, and then I’ll get married.” But who says you’re going get enjoyment and beracha from the house?
It’s not like getting the thousand dollars from the guy who gave you the collateral. We need G-d for much more than the money. Therefore, it’s silly to say, “Just give me the money and I’m good.” We need a lot of other things besides the money.
The Hovot HaLevavot explains that having menuchat hanefesh (peace of mind) based on money alone is impossible. Moreover, people think that having money will give them menuchat hanefesh, but on the contrary,
אפשר שיהיה סבה חזקה לטרדת לבם ולצער נפשם כמו שאמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה
It’s possible that this money could be the biggest cause of lack of peace of mind and pain,
As the Mishnah in Pirke Avot says,
(משנה אבות ב ז) מרבה נכסים מרבה דאגה.
The more money you have, the more worries you have.
You think you’ll be calm and relaxed and be able to get married when you have the money? Who said so? The whole notion that CBD- Cash Before Delivery will bring you peace of mind is totally off.
You need Hashem even after you have the money, for menuchat hanefesh., beracha and protection.
Therefore, we have to rely on Hashem to give us the money, we have to rely on Hashem to keep the money, and to have everything only good.
Have a wonderful day