Community Magazine August 2017

20 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE And if a person believes that Hashem “is the One who gives you the strength to achieve wealth,” that He alone determines how much money we will have, he will be far more flexible and less insistent in the marketplace. He will avoid unnecessary fights and will learn to compromise. Once he recognizes that his financial success depends on Gd, he will obey Gd’s will to maintain peaceful relations with people even when this entails some degree of sacrifice. Additionally, faith in the workplace means less stress in the workplace. If a person goes to the office knowing that he is entirely in Gd’s hands, he will be able to enjoy what he does without the constant anxiety that plagues so many people. He will not fret over every decision or worry about every mistake, as he is fully confident in Gd’s unlimited ability to provide. Let us imagine what our society would look like if people went to work knowing that although Gd requires us to make an effort to earn a livelihood, it is ultimately He who decides how much money we have. How much less corruption would there be if people worked with this mindset? How many lawsuits and fights could be avoided if people placed their trust in Gd, rather than in their own efforts? Modern-Day Idolatry There is a verse in Tehillim which we joyfully sing every Yom Tov in Hallel , but when we probe deeper, it becomes very frightening. The verse ridicules idol-worshippers, observing, “ Atzabeihem kesef vezahav – Their deities are silver and gold.” We might assume that this refers to the worship of statues made from gold and silver – some odd form of religion that none of us would ever think of joining. But the verse continues, “ ma’aseh yedeh adam – the handiwork of people.” The verse is telling us that when we rely too heavily on “ ma’aseh yedeh adam ,” on our “handiwork” and efforts, then we turn our “silver and gold,” our assets, into “deities.” Frighteningly, this means that if a person goes about his commercial or professional pursuits with the attitude of “my strength and the might of my hand,” that his success depends entirely on his efforts, and not on Gd, then he is guilty of a form of idolatry. Idolatry is not merely bowing down to a statue. Idolatry is affording inordinate importance to something, viewing it as far more valuable than it really is. And this is why obsession with one’s business and career constitutes a form of idolatry. Undoubtedly, our work is extremely important. Gd expects us to work for a living, rather than sit around at home expecting a paycheck to miraculously fall from the heavens. We must work for a living, and we should take our work very seriously. But when we take our work too seriously, when we fret and obsess over it, and when we think that we cannot survive without a certain job, a certain customer, a certain contract, or a certain position, then we are guilty of “ atzabeihem kesef vezahav ,” of turning our material pursuits into a deity. This is truly a frightening concept. It means that a person can pray in the synagogue three times a day, wear a tallit and two pairs of tefillin – Rashi and Rabbenu Tam – ensure to eat only yashan and halav Yisrael , and learn the Daf Yomi , but still be guilty of no less an offense than idolatry. If he goes to work thinking that he makes his money, and it is not given to him by Gd, then he “worships” Dedicated in memory of the pure neshamot of the Sassoon children by Sandra Mansour We are fully stocked with every kind of mattress pad, pillow, sheets and towels. Freshen up YOUR BEDROOMS! 917-567-6499 1.800.SLEEP.56 Mattresses for Less