וְ אֵ לֶ ּה הַ מִ ּשְ ׁפָ ּטִ ים אֲ שֶ ׁר תָ ּשִ ׂים לִ פְ נֵיהֶ ם (כא א)
And these are the laws that I place before you. (21:1)
Transferring Decrees to the Gentiles:
Targum Onkelos translates this pasuk as: “V’eilin dina di tesader kadmeihun.”
Rav Hersh of Rimanov zy”a (Sefer Beeros Hamayim) understands this to mean that if a “din” (harsh decree) is issued in Heaven against Klal Yisroel, we ask that it should go “before us” and be transferred to the gentiles, so that it is not applied to the Jewish people.
The Poor Man’s Money is Deposited by the Rich Man:
The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh explains this pasuk as follows: “Im kesef” – if you see that you have more money than you need for yourself. “Tilveh es ami es ha’ani imach” – you should know that this extra money is not part of your portion. It is the portion of the poor man that was placed in your care and you are meant to give it to him.
We see from his words there is reason why some people are blessed with a lot more money than they need to sustain themselves, while others don’t have a dollar to their name. One may think that this is unfair. Why doesn’t Hashem distribute the money evenly?
Of course, the truth is that everything Hashem does is just and fair, and everyone is given an equal portion. However, He sometimes has reasons to deposit poor people’s money in the hands of rich people. This could be because they do not have sufficient merits to be provided for in a comfortable way or because He knows that wealth will be bad for them, or for a number of other possible reasons.
Since part of the money in the rich man’s possession really belongs to the poor man, it is his obligation to give it to them. And if he faithfully fulfills his duty of distributing the money to its rightful owner, he will be rewarded by being granted more and more wealth. If, however, he does not fulfill his duty and he keeps all the money for himself, Hashem will ultimately relive him of this job by taking his wealth away.
The Benefit of Tefillah B’Tzibur:
The Meor Vashemesh asks why the verse begins with the word “v’avaditem”(and you shall serve), which is written in the plural, and continues with the words “lachmecha” and “maymecha” (your bread and your water), which is written in the singular.
He answers that this pasuk is hinting to the importance of davening with a tzibur. It is teaching us that when one davens every day as part of a group, he will personally be blessed with whatever he needs, his parnassah will be sent to him each day sufficiently, bracha will be found in the work of his hands, and harsh decrees will be rescinded.
He uses this concept to explain the pasuk (Mishlei 14:28) that says: “B’rov am hadras melech.” (The king’s glory is in a multitude of people.) He says that this refers to a group of people coming together to daven and glorify Hashem. He adds that the word “hadras” can also mean “to turn back”. Accordingly, the pasuk can be understood to mean that when a multitude of Yidden gather to daven, Hashem turns back from harsh decrees that would have been issued against Klal Yisroel and, instead, provides them with an abundance of goodness.
In this vein, Rav Aharon of Karlin zy”a would say that tefillah b’tzibur is more effective than the tefillos of the tzadik hador.
Segulos for Wealth:
Since we have mentioned that davening with a tzibur is a segulah for wealth, it is appropriate to cite several other segulos for parnassah that have been passed down to us from the tzadikei hador.
A Segulah for Wealth:
The Mishnah in Peah (8:9) states: “If a person is not lame or blind and he pretends to be one of those (in order to collect charity), he will become one of those.”
Sefer Divrei Yisroel (Klalei Ohraysa, Ois 20) quotes his father, Rav Shmuel Eliyahu of Zhvolin zy”a as saying that since we know that “middah tova merubah” (Sotah 11A) – the good is always more than the bad – it is certain that if a person pretends to be wealthy, he will ultimately become wealthy.
The Rebbe of Lechovitch’s Advice:
The Rebbe of Lechovitch zy”a would tell all those who asked him how to merit wealth and bracha that they should make sure to do three things – to check the tzitzis of their talis koton and make sure they are not pasul, to say Ani Maamin with concentration, and to say five chapters of Tehillim slowly every day.
A poor man once came to him and bemoaned his difficult life, saying that he didn’t have a penny to his name. The Rebbe told him to be careful with these three things. The man followed his advice and, from then on, he saw much success and became very wealthy.
After the Rebbe’s petirah, however, the man started to become lax in these three areas. One day, he was traveling through a forest when he was attacked by a group of bandits. They took all the money he had with him and tied him to a tree, with plans to murder him on the spot.
Suddenly, the Rebbe of Lechovitch appeared in a vision right before him and asked why he had stopped being careful with the three things he had told him to do. The man promised to once again do those three things and, as soon as he said those words, the robbers thought they saw a legion of soldiers coming to catch them. They ran off immediately, and the man was saved. He took back his money, which the thieves had left behind, and he went back to carefully doing those three things.
In the Merit of Torah Study:
The Gemara (Bava Basra 25B) states: “If one wants to become wealthy, he should turn to the north (yatzpin).”
The Noam Elimelech zy”a (Parshas Yisro) explains by citing the Gemara in Eruvin (53B) that states: “The Rabbanan said to Rav Avahu, ‘Show us (hatzpinenu) where Rav Ilai is hiding (tzafun).’ He said to them: ‘He rejoiced with the latter (acḥaronis)...’ Some say that this refers to a Masechta.” Rashi explains that Rav Avahu was saying that Rav Ilai was learning a Masechta in Seder Kodshim.
Accordingly, when the Gemara says that one who wants to become wealthy should turn to the north (yatzpin), it can be understood to mean that he should “hide himself” to learn Torah, and he will merit riches in the zechus of his Torah study.
This is also seen from the pasuk (Iyov 37:22): “Golden splendor comes from the north (m’tzfon)”, which can be understood to mean that one who learns Torah (“tzafon”) will merit gold and wealth.
One Who Does Teshuva Merits Wealth:
The Gemara (Shabbos 155B) says: “Nothing is as wealthy as a chazir (pig).”
The Chozeh of Lublin zy”a explains the word “chazir” in the Gemara to be referring to one who is chozer b’teshuvah, and saying that one who does teshuva will merit an abundance of wealth. He says that Hashem “digs a tunnel” under His throne of glory for those who do teshuva to reach Him, and, in this tunnel, they will find great treasures of gold and silver that they are permitted to keep.
Giving Tzedakah:
The Medrash (Mishlei 11) states: “It is stated (Mishlei 11:24): ‘There are those who give away (money to charity) and receive even more.’ Rav Avahu said: If you see someone giving away money to tzedakah, know that he is increasing his value.” In other words, when one gives money to charity, not only does he not lose anything, he will see an increase in the amount of money he has.
Similarly, the pasuk in Mishlei (18:16) states: “A man’s gift will make room for him.” The Alshich Hakadosh explains this to mean that not only does giving money to the poor not decrease what a person has, it actually increases the amount of room he has to receive for himself.
He compares this to a funnel. When liquid is poured into the large hole on top, it pours out through the small hole on the bottom and into a cup placed underneath. If, however, a stone is blocking the small hole, none of the liquid will make it into the cup. A wealthy man is akin to a funnel in that he has a large amount of money poured into him from Shomayim for him to funnel into the hands of the poor. If, however, he stuffs up the funnel by not giving money to the needy, he will not be sent any more from Shomayim. But if he allows the money to flow to the poor people below him, Hashem will keep pouring more and more wealth into him. And, as the pasuk states, Hashem will “make more room for him”, meaning that he will become a wider “funnel” so that Hashem can pour even more wealth into him.
Sefer Divrei Yechezkel (Parshas Ki Sisa) relates that Rav Menachem Mendel of Rimanov zy”a once gave a certain man a bracha that he should become wealthy. Indeed, the man became incredibly rich. Rav Naftali of Ropshitz zy”a asked the Rimanover Rebbe, “Why did you bless one man to obtain so much wealth? Wouldn’t it be better to give a little bit of money to many different people so that all of them at least have enough to live on?”
The Rimanover answered, “I never said how much money this man should have. I just blessed him with wealth. I never said if he would get a little wealth or a lot of wealth. The reason he got so much is because when he got a little money, he gave much of it away to tzedakah. Since he gave tzedakah, the money came back to him. And since he keeps giving tzedakah, money keeps coming back to him. The more he gives, the wealthier he becomes.
“Since he gives money to tzedakah without any limit, Hashem sends him unlimited money.”
The Divrei Yechezkel goes on to quote the Baal Haturim on the pasuk (Shemos 30:12): “And each man will give (v’nasnu) a redemption for his soul.” The Baal Haturim notes that the word “v’nasnu” is a palindrome, meaning that it is read the same forwards and backwards. This teaches us that when one gives money to tzedakah, it will eventually come back to him and he will not lose anything by giving.
In the Merit of Shemiras Halashon:
The Chasam Sofer zt”l (Drashos, page 123) writes that wealth is the reward for specific mitzvos that most people stumble upon and only a special few fulfill properly.
It seems that one of those mitzvos is shemiras halashon. The majority of people fail to properly fulfill this mitzvah, as Chazal say (Bava Basra 165A): “All of them transgress ‘avak lashon hara’ (slight lashon hara).” This means that one who guards his mouth and makes sure not to speak any lashon hara will be blessed with wealth.
This is as seen from the Gemara (Chulin 46A) that says: “Rich men are miserly.” The Chozeh of Lublin zy”a explains that they are stingy with their words. They are careful with their words, and, in this merit, they are granted wealth.
The Middah of Shalom:
We also find that promoting peace is a segulah for wealth. The pasuk states (Tehillim 147:14): “Within your borders He makes peace; with the best of the wheat, He will sate you.” This indicates that peace creates an abundance of crops and parnassah. Furthermore, the Shlah Hakadosh writes (Maseches Yoma, Derech Chaim, Ois 44) that one machlokes pushes away 100 measures of parnassah.
The pasuk in this week’s Parshah states (Shemos 23:6): “You shall not corrupt the judgment of your poor man in his fight.” Sefer Divrei Yisroel explains this to mean that one should not corrupt himself and make himself poor by engaging in fights. This indicates that fighting causes poverty, but shalom, however, creates wealth.
Lending Money to the Poor:
The Alshich explains the pasuk in this week’s Parshah: “If you lend money (im kesef tilveh) to My people, to the poor person (es ha’ani) with you” by saying that one shouldn’t be hesitant to lend because he isn’t wealthy and doesn’t have gold. Rather, one should even “im kesef” – meaning even if he only has “kesef” (silver), and he isn’t very rich. If one does this, then the One who is “es ha’ani” – i.e., the One who is “with the poor person”, which is a euphemism for Hashem, who stands with the poor man – will be “with you” and will make you wealthy.
Serving as a Sandak:
The Rema zt”l writes (Yoreh Deah 265:11) in the name of the Maharil that serving as sandak at a bris is akin to offering ketores in the Bais Hamikdosh. Therefore, just like a kohen would not be allowed to offer the ketores twice, a person should not serve as sandak twice for the same family. And just like offering the ketores was a segulah for a kohen to become wealthy, serving as sandak is a segulah for wealth.
It is related that Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel zt”l, Rosh Yeshivas Mir, was once honored with serving as sandak at bris. Rav Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik of Brisk zt”l was also present at the bris, and Rav Finkel told him, “The reason they asked me to be sandak, rather than giving it to you, is because I have a big yeshiva and I need a lot of money to sustain it. Therefore, they offered me to be sandak, as the Rema says that this is a segulah for wealth.”
The Brisker Rov replied, “The Vilna Gaon writes (Biur HaGra ibid:46) that he never saw anyone who became rich from being sandak.”
Rav Finkel responded, “For me, a ‘check’ from the Rema is good enough.”
It should be noted that Rav Akiva Eiger writes in a teshuva (Yoreh Deah 165:1) that the segulah is only when one serves as both sandak and “kvatter”.
A story is related about a man who borrowed a large amount of money from his friend and had no way of paying him back. When the borrower had a baby, he decided to honor the lender with being sandak so that he would get the segulah to become rich and this would be in lieu of paying the debt.
The borrower was unsure if he should forgive the loan in exchange for being sandak, and he decided to ask the Satmar Rov zy”a if he should accept the deal. When he presented his question, the Rov stood up and said, “Sandaka’us is worth more than all the money in the world. There is no doubt that you should forgive the loan in exchange for a chance to be sandak.”
Honoring One’s Wife:
Chazal say (Bava Metziah 59A): “Rava told the residents of Mechuza, ‘Honor your wives so that you can become wealthy.’”
We learn from this that treating one’s wife well is a segulah to become rich.
The Chida states that this idea is hinted to in the pasuk (Tehillim 45:14): “M’mishbetzes zahav levusha.” (Her clothing is superior to settings of gold.) The first letters of these three words spell the word “mazal”. This is a hint that buying gold and jewelry for one’s wife is a segulah to have good mazal and to be successful.
Making Kiddush on Wine:
Tzadikim say that making Kiddush on wine, with a fine goblet, is a segulah for wealth. This is hinted to in the Gemara (Megillah 27B) that states: “Rav Zakai’s students asked him how he merited long life. He answered, ‘I had an old mother. Once, she sold her head-covering to buy wine for Kiddush.’ It was related that when she died, she left over 300 barrels of wine (as she had become very wealthy. When he died, he left over for his sons 13,000 barrels of wine.”
Saying “Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh” Out Loud:
Tana D’Bei Eliyahu (Perek 13) relates a story of a man who felt remorse that he had not learned much Torah. Eliyahu Hanavi was once with this man in a shul and when the tzibur reached Kedusha, the man raised his voice and said “Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh” very loudly.
Eliyahu Hanavi said to him, “My son, why do you scream so loudly?”
He answered, “Isn’t it enough that I haven’t learned anything? At the very least, I should be able to raise my voice in prayer.”
Within three years, this man moved from Bavel to Eretz Yisroel and was appointed a minister of the Ceasar. He amassed a fortune, which was passed down to many future generations.
Hiding Prayers for Wealth:
The Chozeh of Lublin zy”a states that if one wants to daven for wealth, it is best to keep those prayers hidden. He sees this from the Gemara in Bava Basra (25B) that states: “If one wants to become wise, he should turn to the south (yadrim). If one wants to become wealthy, he should turn to the south (yatzfin).” Since the word “yatzfin” can also mean “to hide”, he understands this to mean that one who wants to become rich should keep his prayers quiet, so that prosecuting angels won’t hear them and try to obstruct them. If, however, one wants to become wise, he prays loudly (the word “yardim” can also indicate a “kol rom”, loud voice), as prosecuting angels do not block such prayers.
A Good Form of Poverty:
Chazal states (Chagigah 9B): “Ya’ah aniyusa l’Yisroel.” (Poverty is good for Klal Yisroel.) Rav Meir of Premishlan zy”a understands this to mean that we ask Hashem to send “a good poverty” to Klal Yisroel. While we don’t ask for a lot, but we don’t want to be completely destitute. So we ask that our poverty should be “nice” – we should have a nice little house, a nice little property, a couple of animals, etc.
Rebbi Swept Away the Wealthy:
A chasid of Rav Yochanon of Rachmastrivke zy”a once came to the Rebbe and complained that his boss, who also was a chasid of the Rebbe, had fired him, leaving him penniless. The Rebbe summoned the boss and asked him why he fired the man, and he started to defend himself.
However, the Rebbe interrupted him and said, “I don’t want to hear any excuses. Just give him his job back.”
The wealthy chasid said that he couldn’t do this. The Rebbe then stood up, took the man by the hand, and pushed him out of his house, while saying, “It is forbidden to look at the face of a rasha.”
The wealthy man screamed back, “Doesn’t the Gemara (Eruvin 86A) say that Rav Yehuda Hanasi would give honor (mechabed) to wealthy men.”
The Rebbe replied, “The word ‘mechabed’ can also mean ‘to sweep out.’ The Gemara means that Rebbe swept rich men out of his house.”
My grandfather, the Kretchnifer Rebbe zy”a (quoted in Gilyon Kol Emunah, Leil Shishi, Lech Lecha, 42) would say in the name of his grandfather, Rav Mord’chele of Nadvorna zy”a that when the Gemara says that Rebbi honored wealthy men, it means that he honored them by taking them to a cold mikvah. This is because a wealthy man is strong and healthy and he can take the coldness of a freezing mikvah. He would then honor them by giving them the mitzvah of going from door to door to collect funds for the poor people of the city. He specifically wanted rich men to do this because he new they would garner the most donations.
My grandfather added, “And I say that the way Rebbi honored the rich was that when there was a big need in Klal Yisroel, he would be mechabed them by allowing them to give $50,000 to tzedakah.”
Trust in Hashem and Do Good:
We will conclude with the most tried and true segulah for wealth – having emunah and bitachon in Hashem.
The pasuk (Tehillim 32:10) states: “There are many maladies for the wicked but those who trust in Hashem are surrounded by kindness.” Sefer Agrah D’Pirkah (Ois 163) explains this to mean that even a wicked person who has bitachon is surrounded by kindness and...
