Today is the first day of Hanukkah. We all know the miracle of Hanukkah, besides the victory of the war. But the great miracle we focus on is the miracle of the oil.
As we know, when they took back the Beit HaMikdash (sanctuary), there was an inauguration, a new start to the service of the Beit HaMikdash. They were only able to find one jug of uncontaminated oil. In order to light the menorah (lampstand) in the Beit HaMikdash, you need to use oil that was pure. Pure means there was no tum'ah, no spiritual contamination. They would seal it with the seal of the Kohen (priest), and that would be the light they would put on in the Mishkan, inside the sanctuary. There was a menorah they would light every night, and they would use this oil. When they came, they found only enough oil to light for one night. And we know the famous miracle we highlight at Hanukkah: the oil that was supposed to last one night lasted for eight days, until they had enough time to make more oil that would be pure and uncontaminated.
Olive oil specifically has very important information about the general holiday and what we’re supposed to take from it. The Gemara says in Masechet Bava Batra—an interesting Gemara—that a person who wants to become wise should Yadrim (turn to the south). The word Yadrim comes from the Hebrew word Darom. Darom means the south. The Gemara says that if you want to become wise, you should look to the south. And if you want to become rich, you should Yatzpin (turn to the north). Lashon, the word Yatzpin comes from the word Tzafon, which means north.
Very interesting. So, one more time: the Gemara says, if you want to become wise, turn to the south. If you want to become rich, turn to the north. So what does that mean? In the Beit HaMikdash, in the sanctuary, there was a menorah in the south, on the south side. And there was a Shulchan (table), where they put the breads from Shabbat to Shabbat. That was in the north. So the Gemara is saying that if you want to become wise, look to the south. By looking at the menorah in the south, in the southern part of the room, you will be able to have Chokhmah (wisdom). And by studying or looking at the Shulchan, at that table, you’ll become rich.
So when reading this Gemara, it seems like some sort of Segulah, some sort of magic that happens: when you look at the menorah, you know how to get wisdom, and when you look at the table, you know how to become rich. Or you’ll become rich. Obviously, there’s much more depth than that. But the Gemara says, if you want to become wise, turn to the north—turn to the south. There’s much more depth than that. What the Gemara means to say is that if you want to learn how to be rich, you look at the table, and if you want to learn how to be wise, you have to learn from the menorah.
Regarding wealth, surely there’s a lot more than what I’m going to tell you. But there are surely a few lessons you can learn right away about how to be rich from the Shulchan, from the table. The table represents Parnassah (physical needs). The Shulchan is the table where we eat. So the table of the Mishkan represents a person’s Parnassah. The Mishkan, or the Beit HaMikdash, is designed like a human being—the perfect human being. Every part of the Mishkan has to do with the great person. A person needs wisdom. He needs to sacrifice. That’s the Mizbe'ach (altar). And he needs to have Parnassah. So these three items are represented in the sanctuary: the menorah, wisdom; the Shulchan, Parnassah; and the altar, the Mizbe'ach inside, represents sacrifice.
What do we learn about Parnassah from the Shulchan? Well, number one, the Halacha (Jewish law) says that they put bread on this table. You and I might say that the bread should go on the table every day. We need to eat every day, just like the man (manna) came down every morning for the sustenance of the day. But interestingly enough, when it comes to the Shulchan, they only put the bread on it once a week. Now, if I asked you which day of the week you would guess they put the bread on, you would say Sunday. Because that’s the first day of the week. It’s the first day you’re able to make bread. You have to cut the wheat. You have to clean it, make sure it’s nice, and get rid of all the extra, all the stuff that grows with it. And you have to knead it and make dough. And you have to bake it. All that work cannot happen on Shabbat. That work can only happen on Sunday.
So if one would say that the Shulchan represents Parnassah, that it represents my physical needs, when would the service of the Shulchan be? I would say every day, because we have to work every day except for Shabbat. So I would say that the breads should be baked fresh every day, except for Shabbat. Put them on the Shulchan in the morning. Take them off at night. Eat them. Come back the next day and do the same thing until Friday. And on Shabbat, maybe you put double, double bread on Friday and leave it there for Shabbat. That’s how I would say the service of the bread should go, if it’s supposed to reflect a human being and how he makes his Parnassah. That would seem the most logical way to do it.
But the Torah says something outrageous. Actually, it says that during the week you don’t touch the table at all. Rather, you put the bread on the table on Shabbat, and only on Shabbat, and leave it there the whole week. It miraculously stays fresh and hot. And you take it off the next Shabbat. You’ll understand. And the next Shabbat, you replace it with new loaves of bread. What a Chiddush (new insight). The item that represents Parnassah—the bread that we need to work for and live on—why would the service be from Shabbat to Shabbat? The only day of the week when we can’t make Parnassah. How does that make sense?
We know, and this is the message of the Shulchan, that Shabbat is called Mekor HaBeracha. Shabbat is the source of the blessings in life. While you don’t work on Shabbat, a person might say, “If I don’t work on Shabbat, I’m not going to have Parnassah.” And the proof is that there are people who don’t work on Shabbat and make a lot of money. Excuse me, they do work on Shabbat and make a lot of money. So the more I work, the more money I make. Shabbat is another day. Either I’m going to open my stores, answer my emails, or have meetings. Shabbat is an important day for me. I get to catch up on all my work. And I see that there are people who are very successful and they work on Shabbat.
Yet we say, “No, what do you mean? Shabbat is the source of your Beracha (blessing).” It sounds like if you work on Shabbat, you’re not going to have Beracha. But we see a lot of people who work on Shabbat and make a lot of money, too. How do we understand that?
You see, looking at the Shulchan, the Shulchan doesn’t help you count how much money you have. Because it takes very wealthy people, and their honesty, to tell you that having a lot of money doesn’t make you a blessed person. Even though, of course, from the bottom up, it looks like once you have money, you have it all. And even a wealthy person can sometimes be so drunk with this mindset that he still thinks the money is going to make him happy. But if you look at the Shulchan, the Beracha of wealth doesn’t come only from the amount of money you have. You could have a lot of money, be very successful in the world, and be considered a Hashuv (respected) person. It doesn’t mean that you’re blessed. You want osher? Osher means you have what you need and you’re satisfied from it. The greatest wealth is a satisfied person. Sometimes having more makes you satisfied, and sometimes having more doesn’t. The satisfaction in life of our physical needs is called wealth. And where is the source of that blessing? Shabbat is the origin of Beracha.
When a person elevates Shabbat, keeps Shabbat, that brings Beracha into his money. It’s not just that you’ll have money—less money, more money. It’s different. It makes your money blessed, and that money will bring you Beracha in your life. For a person to be blessed having money, with all different holes in his family and all different issues going on in his life, is not called wealth. Unfortunately, we describe wealth by the amount of money. But there’s much more to being a wealthy person than the dollar amount. One issue can destroy a person’s life, even with all the money they have. Beracha is needed to make our physical existence blessed. And that says the Mishkan comes from Shabbat. Specifically, the day you don’t work brings the Beracha for all the days that you do work.
Hard to believe. For the non-believer, it’s hard to believe. But the person who lives and holds on to Shabbat doesn’t have a hard time believing, because they see it. Shabbat’s not only a great day in itself, but it’s like oil that overflows from Shabbat to the entire week. It’s a different week. Shabbat’s not only the end of the week, but it’s also the beginning of the week. It’s the seventh day and the beginning of day one. That’s why some explain that if a person—if Am Yisrael (Jewish people)—keeps Shabbat the right way for two weeks, two Shabbatot, Mashiach will come. Whatever that means. It needs more explanation, but let’s just take it at face value. It’s a very big deal if the Jewish people keep two Shabbatot in a row.
The problem with this statement is: why two? What’s wrong with one Shabbat? If I keep one Shabbat, it’s not valuable? If the Jewish people all together keep one Shabbat, that’s not a big deal? And if it’s not about one, it’s more. So why two? Maybe three. Maybe a month. Maybe a year. Why is it that, for such a powerful outcome, you need two Shabbatot?
I once heard beautifully that there is a world before Shabbat and there’s a world after Shabbat. Which means the first Shabbat you keep is a beautiful ending to your week. Very nice. But Shabbat is also the new beginning of the next week. The week that comes after Shabbat is a different week from a regular week. And the second Shabbat is a whole new level from the Shabbat that came after a week of Shabbat. So you have Shabbat that’s nice. You ended the week on a high. Gorgeous. But it doesn’t end there. Now you start the new week on a different level. Shabbat is the source of Beracha. Meaning it’s the beginning of something. Now the following week is a whole new week, and your next Shabbat is a whole different Shabbat from the one before, because it came after a whole different week. Two Shabbatot, because there’s a Shabbat that ends and a Shabbat that begins. And both Shabbatot together are very powerful.
And that’s the message of the Shulchan. You want to be wealthy? You want to enjoy your wealth? You want your wealth to be a companion to a great life? You need Shabbat. Shabbat puts a blessing in your physical existence so that you will truly be wealthy. That’s why the Gemara says those who wish to be wealthy should look at the table. Someone could ask, “Who are those people who don’t wish to be wealthy?” The Gemara says, “You want to be wealthy? Look at the table.” Have you met somebody who doesn’t want to be wealthy? I understand the first statement: “You want wisdom? Look in the south.” Okay, there are people who don’t want wisdom. They don’t understand the value of wisdom. Those people I can find. I haven’t met anyone yet who doesn’t want to be wealthy. Why would the Gemara say, “Those who want to be wealthy should look at the table”? Who doesn’t want to be wealthy?
But you understand from this statement that it’s deeper than you think. It means a person who wants to be truly wealthy. The people who think that having money is wealth are not people who want to be wealthy. They are people who are drunk on a drug called Forbes magazine. There’s a drug out there called Forbes. They created a drug that convinced people that the wealthy people of the world are the ones who have the most money. This is what Forbes has done. I don’t know if they started the movement or were just a product of a movement that was already in existence. But bottom line, Forbes has convinced humanity that you are wealthy when you have a lot of money. That guy should not look to the Shulchan. That guy can learn nothing from the table. If you think that more money makes you wealthier, you have nothing to learn from the Shulchan in the sanctuary, because you don’t want to be wealthy. You want to have a lot of money. Very big difference. You always have to ask yourself: do you want to be a wealthy man, or do you want to have a lot of money? It seems like the same question, but you have to notice a very big difference between the two. Most people you know today want a lot of money, and they assume that equals wealth. The guy who wants a lot of money has no reason to enter the sanctuary and look at the table. There’s nothing for him to learn from the table, because the table doesn’t talk about people who make a lot of money. But if you want to be wealthy—ah! Oh, you want to be wealthy? Come to the sanctuary, and we’re going to teach you how to be wealthy. It’s a very big Chiddush for a lot of people. I just said it’s a very big Chiddush that having a lot of money is not synonymous with wealth.
Again, we live in a country where we’re convinced that way. But the true definition of wealth is not having a lot of money. I once told a person this, and he got very agitated. I understand him. He’s working his whole life to make a lot of money so he could be rich. And finally, he’s got a lot of money. When he got to the end of the line, he was 80 years old, and now I’m telling him that that’s not the right definition of wealth. Having a lot of money doesn’t mean you’re wealthy. The guy understandably got a little agitated. So I had to explain to him. What is wealth? Wealth doesn’t mean—remember this very well. I hope you never forget this. I told this man, even at the age of 80, “I’m going to prove it,” and I also promised him that he would agree with me by the end of the conversation. Wealth doesn’t make you wealthy. He didn’t believe I could do it there, but I guaranteed him it would be so simple and obvious that he would agree. I took my chances. I told him, very simple. Very simple. I said, “You have to know that the definition of wealth—wealth doesn’t equal someone who has a lot of money. That’s a mistake. I don’t know if it started in America or maybe it started—I don’t know when this mistake happened—but know once and for all, it’s important for you to know that wealth doesn’t equal, if you look in the dictionary, people who have a lot of money. No. That’s a wrong translation. It’s not a wrong translation in the Jewish world or in the religious world. I don’t mean it like that. It’s the wrong translation in any language for any religion. Wealth doesn’t equal people who have a lot of money. And people who have a lot of money don’t equal wealth. It’s not what the word means.”
Actually, I know what the word wealth means. So I take it back. I know the word ashir. The word ashir doesn’t equal people who have a lot of money. So what does ashir equal? Ashir equals someone whose needs are less. So wealth is not someone who has more, but someone who needs less. The less you need in life, the wealthier you are.
It’s hard to understand when you say this. What does that mean? Wealth is not defined by how much you have. It’s defined by how little you’re missing. It’s hard to wrap yourself around that. So I gave the guy a mashal (parable). I told him, “Listen.” He said, “Dream with me for a second.” He said, “Can we dream together for a moment? Let’s dream.” Imagine you have a guy, a very unique person. He’s ready to come down to this world like every other neshamah (soul) that comes down. But unlike every other neshamah that ever came down, Hashem pulls him over. He says, “Listen. I’m sending you down. You’re going to live 120. You’re lacking nothing.”
The man replies, “Thank you. I appreciate that. It’s a nice gift.” God says, “Listen. We have a unique issue with you. You are not allowed to own anything you love. You can’t own anything.” The man says, “But God, people own a house.” God says, “You can’t own a house.” The man says, “But God, people have a car.” God says, “You can’t own a car.” The man says, “People own their clothes.” God says, “No, no, you can’t have clothes.” The man says, “But God, people own businesses.” God says, “You can’t have one.” The man says, “But God, people have money. They own money.” God says, “No, no, you can’t have money. You can’t own anything.” The man says, “But God, what are you doing to me? You’re sending me down for 120, and you tell me I can’t own anything. So out of 8 billion people, you’re making me the poorest guy on the planet? Why are you doing this to me? Did I do something wrong? Is there a way to negotiate out of this?”
God says to him, “Listen to me. You didn’t let me finish. I’ll tell you more.” He gets all excited. God says, “But I’m going to give you a special, special deal. It’s between us. Nobody ever got this deal. I’m going to show you that through the movements of your finger, you and I will have a connection. I’m going to show you how to move your fingers, right? Here’s the deal. You can’t own anything. Ever. But whenever you need something, whatever it might be, small or large, you move your fingers the way I will teach you now, and you’ll have it. You want a private jet right now? A 747 furnished just for you to get you to a destination an hour away? Just turn those fingers, and it will be waiting for you. What do you want to wear? Done. You just move your fingers. Where do you want to sleep tonight? Done. All yours. What do you want to eat? Done.”
In this dream, if this is something we can imagine, would you call this guy a wealthy person? What would you say? Is he ashir? Is that ashir? Is there anyone in the world who’s wealthier than this guy? Nobody. There’s nobody wealthier than this guy. Because now, if you looked in Forbes, he would be number 8 billion. Worse, he’d be at the very bottom. But in the true translation of ashir, where the less you’re missing, the wealthier you are, this man has nothing, has nothing, but is missing nothing. And true ashir is the less you need, the less you’re missing. That’s how wealth is translated. What good is it for a guy who has a lot but is missing a lot? Sometimes money can make you miss less, and sometimes money can make you miss more. That’s not real wealth. Real wealth is having fewer needs.
So if you want to be wealthy—the right kind of wealth, where you have a life where you’re satisfied and you don’t have needs that are holding back your success in this world—look at the Shulchan and go into the sanctuary and look over there. Study it. The first thing you’re going to notice is that they only put the bread from Shabbat to Shabbat, to teach you that the Beracha of your Parnassah comes specifically from the day that you don’t work. And why is it that way? It’s very simple. Because Shlomo HaMelech writes in Mishlei in very clear words. What I just said today, he writes in clear words. He says, “Birkat Hashem. The blessing of G-d. Hi ta'ashir.” The word Hi means “it,” and only it can make a person an ashir.
One more time. A very important Pasuk (verse). You have to memorize this Pasuk: “Birkat Hashem. The Beracha of Hashem. Hi.” It means excluding anything else that you might think will make you wealthy. You think what’s going to make you wealthy is your bank account? Wrong. You think what’s going to make you wealthy is your connections? Wrong. “Hi.” Only the blessing that comes from Hashem makes you a wealthy person. “Birkat Hashem.” Again, the key word here is the word “Hi.” It’s not saying that Birkat Hashem also gives you wealth, that it’s also a fountain to go look into. No, no, no. “Birkat Hashem hi ta'ashir.” Only Birkat Hashem—nothing else—can make you a wealthy man. A lot of money can give you a lot of money. But wealth can only come from the blessing of Hashem. What a Pasuk. “Birkat Hashem hi ta'ashir.”
Where do you find Birkat Hashem? Where is that? Where is Birkat Hashem? Well, that’s what the Shulchan comes to teach you. It says now, too, that you want to be ashir. So go look at the Shulchan. For what? So I can see “Birkat Hashem hi ta'ashir”? You’re looking for ashir. If you’re looking for money, go to the stock market. If you’re looking to be rich, go buy real estate. But you want to be ashir? You’ve got to go to the Shulchan, because you’re looking for “Birkat Hashem hi ta'ashir.” You heard the Pasuk of Shlomo HaMelech, that the blessing of Hashem makes you ashir. But now you’re trying to figure out where it is. The Gemara says, “You want to know how to be ashir? Go look at the Shulchan.” What are you going to find over there? Look what the Torah writes. Very important words, right in the beginning of the Torah, in Sefer Bereshit: “Vayevarech Elohim et yom hashvi'i.” Hashem blessed the seventh day. That means He blessed it—He put His blessings in the seventh day.
So when you want to find Birkat Hashem, where is the warehouse where Hashem stored His blessings? He put them in Shabbat. If you want to get your Beracha, go to Shabbat. Understand Shabbat. Live Shabbat. Hold on to Shabbat. Keep Shabbat in a perfect way. Don’t let one item go on Shabbat. Make sure you follow every Halacha of Shabbat. Make sure you dress like Shabbat. Make sure you learn on Shabbat. Make sure you utilize Shabbat in every way: from the meals to the way we speak to the way we act. Everything. Because the more you hold on to Shabbat, the more you’re able to take from Shabbat the blessing Hashem put in Shabbat. Shabbat is the warehouse of Hashem’s blessing. “Birkat Hashem hi ta'ashir.” The blessing of Hashem makes a person not need anything in the physical world to be a real ashir. And where do you find it? Go look at that table. And see what they’re doing over there. They want bread. They want food for the whole week. Where does it come from? The bread they put on Shabbat. Totally opposite of what we would have thought.
That’s why we need to learn that the blessing of the week comes from a beautiful Shabbat. The more you hold on to Shabbat, the more you dedicate yourself. It’s a real dedication. Shabbat is not only about not going to work. It’s not only about not driving. Shabbat has a lot in it. A lot. A person who holds on to Shabbat like they’re holding on for their life is a person who will get the blessing of Hashem for the entire week.
That’s what the Gemara means: Harotzeh (one who wants). Ah, you want to be ashir. That’s nice. At night we need Harotzeh. Not if you want to make a lot of money. Harotzeh. You want to be a real ashir. You want to be a satisfied person in life. You want to have all your needs in life taken care of, and your family’s needs taken care of. Baruch Hashem, people are doing well. You have a lot of satisfaction from what you do and what you made. Shabbat. Harotzeh. A person who wants to be ashir. Yatzpin. Look at that Shulchan. Look how the Beracha of the bread stays from week to week when you put it on Shabbat. Shabbat is the origin of Beracha.