In the command not to covet it says לא תחמד בית רעך...וכל אשר לרעך, do not covet your friend’s house, his wife, his servants, ox, donkey, nor anything that belongs to him. The pasuk seems problematic as it details that which you shouldn’t be jealous of and then it concludes וכל אשר לרעך, don’t be jealous of anything that belongs to him. What are these last three words adding?
The Satmar Rebbe offers the following interpretation. People get jealous of others but they don’t see the problems that person has in life. They just see that which they are jealous of. See the entire picture. This is what the words וכל אשר לרעך are telling us. You want his nice house and nice car, but do you also want his health problems and the issues he has with his children?
In today’s world, many times people see the pictures of their friends with their families (on social media or elsewhere) or their businesses. From the picture, all seems perfect, while you may be struggling with your children, marriage, business and the like. If you see such a picture ask yourself, “Is this the picture or is it a picture?” It has been said that on social media, they are just showing you what is going well and hiding what they don’t want to tell. Realize that behind the perfect pictures that people post on social media are their financial struggles, problems with their children and their marital issues.
A sign once read, “The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.”
