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Ein Ayah (Gemara Berachot 32a)
At the beginning of Devarim, the Torah situates Moshe’s speech in reference to a number of places, including one called “Di Zahav.” The school of R. Yannai understood this as an allusion to the sin of the Golden Calf (zahav = gold). In the wake of that sin, Moshe said to G-d – “Master of the Universe, the gold and silver that you lavished upon Israel [as part of the Exodus from Egypt] until they said enough [lit. ‘dai’], that caused them to make the Golden Calf!” And according to R. Yonatan, G-d Himself ultimately conceded to Moshe. As the prophet Hoshea (2:10) states in G-d’s name, “I gave them an abundance of silver, and they used gold for the Ba’al.”
At first glance, this midrash is puzzling. How could Moshe blame the Israelites’ newfound wealth for the debacle of the Golden Calf? Is there really such an immutable connection between wealth and idolatry? Are rich people not expected to keep away from idolatry? And why did G-d lavish wealth upon the Israelites in the first place if he knew it would lead to a Golden Calf? This has to be more than a cute play on the words on Di Zahav, but what are our Sages getting at?
The answer to this question takes us to the very essence of the difference between avodat Hashem and idolatry. The foundation of avodat Hashem is a continual striving to come close to G-d, by refining oneself and attaining progressively higher levels of spiritual accomplishment. A person can never say “I’ve done enough, I’ve ‘made it’ and now I’m going to rest on my laurels.” After all, G-d is infinite. As one gets closer to Him, newer vistas of spiritual potential continuously upon up. The horizon is constantly receding.
Because G-d’s infinite nature is what creates the need for continuous spiritual growth, our limited minds cannot easily comprehend it. For this reason, G-d implanted in human nature an insatiable desire for wealth. This desire is not meant to be indulged thoughtlessly. It is a reflection, a reminder of the soul’s more refined longing to acquire true wealth, as part of perpetual journey of coming closer to the Divine. This was the reason that G-d showered Israel with wealth when they left Egypt.[1]
However, wealth only serves this deeper spiritual purpose when its bearer dwell independently and in their own land.[2]The desire for wealth expand and extends only in a context of normal economic activity and material development. However, during their time in the desert, the Jewish People were completely estranged from this reality. G-d provided all of their needs miraculously, without any need for initiative or effort on their part. This led to a sense of being overwhelmed with wealth, to the point that the people said ‘dai zahav!’ – ‘Enough gold, we do not need any more!’
The excess of gold led to a mindset of ‘dai,’ of contentedness about physical wealth. Eventually, that same mindset took hold with regard to spiritual matters as well. Instead of constantly striving for greater levels of spirituality, of awakening each day to climb another rung on the ladder between heaven and earth, they sought to arrive at the top. They wanted to arrive at the apex of spiritual perfection and lay down the burden, having arrived at the destination. But this is the root of idolatry. While G-d is infinite, the world of idolatry is one of limits. These limits are most pronounced in the crude idolatry of worshipping physical forms or representations. But even more ‘refined’ idolatry is defined by gods who are limited in the scope and extent of their power and their very being. Any idol wields power only at certain times and over a particular ‘jurisdiction’ of the created world – the god of the ocean is not the god of dry land, the god of death is not the god of life, and so on and so forth.
We can now answer each of the questions that we started with. We see how the Israelite’s mindset of ‘dai’ regarding their riches planted the seeds of the Golden Calf. According to our Sages, there is a deep spiritual connection between idolatry and a certain attitude to wealth – but not wealth per se. G-d was not setting up the people for failure by lavishing them with gold. He was giving them a catalyst for spiritual growth, but they failed to use it properly. Di Zahav is not a play on words, but a profound lesson about the need to chase the ever-receding horizon of closeness to G-d, and not fall prey to avodah zarah and its ideology of limitation.
Food for Thought
Rav Soloveitchik (Days of Deliverance, Pg. 164): Historically, the Jew has proven his ability to remain loyal and devoted to his tradition in poverty, in oppression, in distress. However, he failed miserably to prove his loyalty when his destiny was one of success and glorious achievements. We met the challenge of poverty and oppression and persecution with courage and determination, and we emerged victorious. However, with few exceptions, we have failed the challenge of affluence, of prominence in society. Jews have never lived as comfortably as we do now; never in Jewish history have we been as free as we are now, particularly in the United States. Moreover, the commitment of American Jewry to the Land of Israel is very impressive now. But many have not met with the required quality of heroism the challenge to commitment to observance and the ancient lifestyle that we have defended with our blood and tears and sweat.
Rabbis Levi Avtzon (Contemporary, Chabad.com): Our tradition seems to offer opposing views on wealth… So is wealth a blessing or a curse? The answer to all these questions is the same: It depends what you make of it. Wealth, like any means, is a potential. Potential is neither good nor bad; it’s neutral and colorless. The user gives it meaning and color. We take potential out of neutral and decide whether it will drive us forward or set us back into reverse.
Rav Soloveitchik (Derashot haRav, pg. 116-117): Within the non-Jewish world, one sees commendable responses to wealth. Wealthy nations foster culture, nurture creativity and spirituality contribute to science and the arts, and demonstrate generosity to their fellow man. America, for example, has weathered the trial of wealth over the last fifty years very well. The charity that America bestowed on their former enemies after both world wars is unsurpassed. The United States has built a great civilization and placed huge resources into its universities, music, and its literature. However, the non-Jewish world cannot tolerate the trial of poverty or the trial of suffering. The best example is Germany’s behavior as a nation after World War I. In response to military defeat and hyperinflation, it systematically exterminated twenty million people.
The Jew’s reaction to the experiences of both poverty and wealth is precisely the opposite. Historically, Jews have fared poorly when confronted with the trial of wealth. When a Jew acquires excessive wealth, he becomes animal-like. While the nations of the world divert a portion of their wealth towards spiritual matters, towards culture, towards higher ideals, under similar circumstances the Jew takes on the trappings of a vulgar, cynical materialism. “And Jeshurun became fat and rebelled (Devarim 32:15)” is the characteristic reaction of the Jew to wealth. Yet when confronted with the trial of poverty or suffering, the Jewish people have fared very well. A Jew does not spill blood when he is hungry When he is hungry he senses the hunger of his fellow; when he is cold, he feels his brother’s discomfort.
Vilna Gaon (Berachos 64a): The prophet Zechariah (3:7) describes angels as omdim— standing, while referring to humans as holchim— goers. Although angels are virtually flawless and on an extremely high spiritual level, this greatness actually limits them, as they remain static and unchanging throughout their entire existence. Humans, on the other hand, certainly make mistakes, but they also possess the unique ability of evolving and improving.
Tanach:
בראשית לא:וְעַתָּה הָלֹךְ הָלַכְתָּ, כִּי נִכְסֹף נִכְסַפְתָּה לְבֵית אָבִיךָ – לָמָּה גָנַבְתָּ אֶת אֱלֹהָי?
תהלים פד:נִכְסְפָה וְגַם כָּלְתָה נַפְשִׁי לְחַצְרוֹת ה’, לִבִּי וּבְשָׂרִי יְרַנְּנוּ אֶל אֵל חָי
איוב יד:תִּקְרָא וְאָנֹכִי אֶעֱנֶךָּ, לְמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶיךָ תִכְסֹף
Questions for Discussion
- What are some of the spiritual challenges presented by wealth?
- How can a person constantly pursue spiritual growth without becoming unhappy with themselves and what they have accomplished?
- Do you agree with Rav Kook’s argument that the desire for wealth has a spiritual dimension? Why or why not?
- Take a look at the pasukim quoted above in “Food For Thought.” How might they support Rav Kook’s interpretation of the human desire for wealth?
- What are some unhealthy attitudes towards wealth that you think are widespread in the Orthodox community. From where did these attitudes develop? Are they something we absorbed from the broader culture, or do we have only ourselves to blame?
- Rav Kook writes that the desire for wealth reflects deeper, much more profound needs of the human soul. Can you think of any other desires that seem lowly on the surface, but really have a spiritual component to them?
- What line in Birkat haChodesh supports Rav Kook’s understanding that wealth has a spiritual component to it?
- What small step can you take in your own life to continue to grow religiously?
[1] According to the midrash, the Jews also collected riches from the Egyptian army at the Yam Suf. See Rashi on Shemot 15:22.
[2] In a portion not translated above, Rav Kook explains that G-d showered the people with wealth in anticipation of their needs in Eretz Yisrael. Although Hashem was providing everything in the desert, this would not last forever. It was Israel’s shortsightedness that led to the sense of being overwhelmed with wealth, that led to the attitude of ‘dai.’
