Money Isn’t Everything

“Look, Yossi, you are very successful, baruch Hashem; why don’t you do even better?” asked the accountant.  

“What do you mean?” asked Yossi. 

“You never learned business communication and negotiation strategies,” replied the accountant. “I mean that you should take a serious course on influencing other people and on business techniques and strategies. That way, you will be able to upgrade your business endeavors by a few notches.” 

Yossi was taken by the idea and signed up for the most expensive, comprehensive, thorough and professional course on the topic. He was not disappointed. The content of the course was interesting and very useful. He learned about the many mistakes he had made in the past and how to correct them and graduated from the course with top marks.  

Yossi is an industrious and consistent person, and within a very short time he had implemented in his daily life all the new principles he had learned. He had no doubt at all that after his taking the course, his handling of the business was much more professional and promising.  

But a year passed, and the financial reports stayed the same. This was astonishing to Yossi.  

Two more years passed, and still nothing changed. Yossi spoke with the lecturers who had taught him in the course to try and understand why, in spite of his professional methods, there was no change in the bottom line, namely profits.  

One teacher suggested that he take another, deeper course. Another one suggested that he go abroad and take courses given by international experts. Yet another teacher suggested that he change the nature of the business completely. But Yossi thought that perhaps the suggestions were good in themselves, but what he was looking for was not advice, but an explanation: How could it be that in spite of far-reaching streamlining, there had been no change in the profits? 

A New Kind of Business Consultant 

The last lecturer Yossi spoke with said to him: “Listen, Yossi. Your question is not a question for business consultants. It is a question for a completely different kind of consultant. Come with me to my rabbi. He will explain everything to you.” 

Yossi had never consulted with rabbis. But he was so curious that he was willing to go to the rabbi with his lecturer.  

The rabbi smiled warmly and explained: “My dear son, diligence and industriousness are good traits, and I am happy to hear that you took the course. But not everything in life is a direct result of our efforts. 

“There are no foolproof formulas for success in any realm because success is not dependent on our efforts at all. In the course you learned to behave in the way expected of you as a businessman, but success and blessings come only because of a Heavenly decree. 

“If Hashem yitbarach decrees that a person will succeed, even a person who has no knowledge or skills can succeed. And if Hashem does not decree success, no effort and no skill will help. If you ask me, I will give you some advice that perhaps is not business advice, but it is definitely advice on how to succeed.  

“I recommend that you spend one hour a day learning Torah as an ironclad part of your day. Also, give more tzedakah from your profits, and you will see that that is what will bring you success and growth to your business. I cannot force you to do this, but you can try it and see for yourself.” 

After a year, Yossi did not care anymore whether the rabbi had been right or not. The big change that he experienced in all realms of life because of the daily study was worth more than all the riches of the world.  

It was the accountant who made sure to inform Yossi of the unexplained spiking of his profits in the past year…  

More Than Money 

This is an important principle in life – and not only in matters connected with earning a living. 

True, it is especially important to learn the rules properly in all realms in life and operate with efficiency, in a straightforward manner, but this is just the tool. The light and the blessing are sent from Hashem according to completely different criteria. 

And in this article, I wish to speak of an area that is much more important in life than money.  

The most important thing in life is peace. 

Whoever enjoys peace in his home lives in paradise, regardless of how much food he has and whether he drives a new and prestigious car or an old wreck.  

For all the Jewish people as well, the true blessing is peace, not riches, as Rashi says at the beginning of our parasha. 

In parashat Bechukotai the Torah promises us great economic well=being if we labor over our Torah learning and observe the mitzvot. But what is all that worth if there is no peace? Therefore, the Torah promises peace – shalom – as well.  

Says Rashi: “And if you will say, here is food, here is drink, if there is no peace, there is nothing, after all that it says, ‘I will grant peace in the land.’ From this we learn that peace is equivalent to everything. And it is said ‘Maker of peace and Creator of everything.’” 

Advice on How Not to Fight (or Advice on How to Maintain Peace) 

What is this about? There is much advice and many instructions in Chazal for maintaining the peace at home: judging others favorably, remaining silent during a fight, respecting others and placating them, purchasing clothing for the wife and making her happy – and it is very important to learn and implement all those ideas. 

In the Sifri, too, there are wonderful and very important of pieces advice of how to promote shalom bayit, without which the shalom bayit is impossible, and it is certainly a very important mitzvah, and it is Hashem’s will that each and every one of us learn these pieces of advice and implement them.  

But if a person asks, I am observing everything that is written in the Torah, and everything that you say, and I go out of my way to honor my wife – why don’t I see results? – the Torah answers this question: “I will grant peace in the land” – peace is a gift. Peace is not the result of your efforts.  

“A man and a woman – zachu – when they merit, the Shechina is between them.” 

Shalom is the result of refinement, zikuch, the result of Shechina in the home. “If you walk in my statutes…, I will grant peace in the land.” Shalom is the result of observing Torah and mitzvot. 

And so, along with the great importance of studying self-help books and taking their advice, we must know that success in maintaining peace in the home comes from a completely different place. Success and Shechina and shalom are gifts from Hashem.  

And to whom does Hashem grant these gifts? To he who walks in His ways, to he who observes His mitzvot and labors over His Torah. 

Therefore, a Jew who invests all his efforts only in reading instructive material and neglects to walk in Hashem’s ways, might find himself very frustrated.  

Whoever studied my book The Garden of Peace and took from it only the practical instructions of how not to fight is really missing the main point.  

I have repeatedly emphasized that the book The Garden of Peace is not just a book of good ideas and advice, but it is a book meant to correct and refine the person. 

Shalom bayit stands on true holiness, on maintaining one’s integrity – shemirat habrit (personal holiness) and shemirat ha’einayim (guarding one’s eyes); on a life of Torah and purity; on repentance and hitbodedut (personal prayer). 

Because only a person who refines himself and truly takes account of his life every day merits being worthy for the great gift that is shalom. “And I will grant peace in the land.” 

May we know to invest all our powers in upholding Torah and mitzvot, and Hashem will grant all of us peace in our homes and peace with all Jews. 

And so, we will be worthy of receiving the Torah anew in the festival of Shavuot, and of experiencing the complete Redemption, with mercy, soon.