Jews and Money

 This Shabbat Mevorchim Adar we read Parshat Shkalim for maftir. Shkalim is the first of the four special parshiyot that take us from Adar through Pesach. Rav Moshe Avigdor Amiel points out that, with the exception of a Jewish leap year, Parshat Shkalim is always paired with Parshat Mishpatim, because in Mishpatim we learn laws related to finances and the economy, and Parshat Shkalim provides the Jewish view of money and property.

The question of how to relate to possessions and wealth is an age-old one, dating back to the creation of humanity when brothers Kayin and Hevel fought about possessions. Each brother claimed the entire planet as theirs. Kayin chose an approach that has been taken many times since: he killed his brother over money.

Rav Amiel suggests that there are two basic philosophies when it comes to the distribution of wealth. One philosophy states that a person is destined to be either rich or poor, and there is no reason to intervene in changing the status of the haves or the have-nots. Others reject this approach and believe that everyone should be provided with the same exact amount of resources, sometimes referred to as socialism.

According to Rav Amiel, Parshat Shkalim teaches the nuanced approach of the Torah when it comes to wealth in society: הֶֽעָשִׁ֣יר לֹֽא־יַרְבֶּ֗ה וְהַדַּל֙ לֹ֣א יַמְעִ֔יט “The rich shall give no more, and the poor shall give no less”. The Torah acknowledges a world in which some people have more resources than others. However, it insists that there be limits to wealth disparity. If there are safeguards to ensure that the poor do not become too impoverished, then society reflects an appropriate distribution of wealth, and those with more means would not be considered “too much”.

Rav Amiel notes that the Torah provides concrete rules to help bring about this outcome: 1) the equal distribution of land portions in Israel among the tribes; 2) Yovel, the 50th year when ancestral lands are returned to their original family owners; 3) the prohibition of charging interest; and 4) Maaser Ani, a charity tithe given to the poor in Years 3 and 6 of the seven year agricultural cycle.

The first rule creates an economic system in which everyone starts with equal opportunity. The second ensures that one financial mistake does not doom a family to generational poverty. Prohibiting interest protects those in vulnerable situations from sinking further into debt. If society would religiously observe these laws, there would be far fewer poor people, and Maaser Ani would assist the unlucky few who still require help.

The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot 5:13 teaches: “There are four types of character in human beings: One that says, ‘mine is mine, and yours is yours’; ‘mine is yours and yours is mine’; ‘mine is yours and yours is yours’; ‘mine is mine, and yours is mine’.” Why describe these as four types of human beings rather than four attitudes toward wealth? Rav Amiel explains that human nature, character, and identity are closely tied to our relationship with wealth. It is no coincidence that the expression “a self-made man” refers to one’s financial acumen.

The Torah does not believe that money is the root of all evil, nor does it espouse the Prosperity Gospel, that wealth is the only blessing that matters. Parshat Shkalim lays the foundation for our attitude toward wealth. Wealth is a blessing to which everyone should have access, and those more blessed are obligated not only to give of their resources but to ensure that access to the blessing of wealth remains available to as many people as possible.