Money, Money, Money, Money

Here are some notable songs featuring money:

“For the Love of Money” by the O’Jays (1973)
“Money, Money, Money” by Abba (1976)
“Money” by Pink Floyd (1973)
“Money is for Nothing” by Dire Straits (1985)
For something Jewish, there’s “Gelt” by Lipa Schmeltzer.

On the one hand, as sung in the musical Cabaret, “Money makes the world go round.” On the other hand, “Money is the root of all evil.” (Timothy, I 6:10) People have a complicated relationship with wealth. For Jews, who are stereotypically associated with money, our relationship with wealth begins at the very beginning of our history as a nation.

The setting: Pharaoh offers to free the Jews, but the children and cattle - the wealth - must be left behind. Moshe refuses. Pharaoh angrily dismisses Moshe, threatening him with death should they meet again. God announces one final plague that will, finally and definitively, free the Jews. And?

“Please, speak into the ears of the people, and let them borrow, each man from his friend and each woman from her friend, silver vessels and golden vessels." (Shemot 11:1-2)

One more plague to go and the Jews go free. But, first, the Jews need to borrow gold and silver.

The same interruption is found as the Jews leave Egypt. Pharaoh says, “Go! Get out! Take everyone and everything!” The Egyptians, fearing that they’ll all die, try to hurry the Jews out, not even allowing them time for the bread to rise. Not so fast…

“And the children of Israel did according to Moses' order, and they borrowed from the Egyptians silver objects, golden objects, and garments. The Lord gave the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they lent them, and they emptied out Egypt.” (12:35-36)

What is so important about the money?

1)  A promise is a promise.

God promised Avraham that his descendants would leave Egypt “bi’rechush gadol, with great wealth.” The gold and silver the Jews received from the Egyptians served as payment or reparations for the slavery. The Midrash reinforces the Jewish claim to this treasure.

During the time of Alexander the Great, the Egyptians took the Jewish People to court and sued them for the gold and silver that they "borrowed" from them during the Exodus and never returned. An outsider named Gaviah ben Pasisa volunteered to serve as the defense attorney for the Jewish People. He asked the Greek monarch, "From where do you bring proof that we unlawfully took the money?" He responded, "From the Torah."  

Gaviah countered, "Then I will bring proof from the Torah, where it states that the Jewish people dwelled in Egypt for 430 years. Please give us the wages of 600,000 workers for that time period, and we shall return the gold which we took." The Egyptians requested a three-day recess, and did not return to the court.

The gold and silver vessels were an attempt to compensate the Jews for slavery. It was about more than the money. The rechush gadol was an attempt to shed the slave mentality. Avraham knew it would not be enough for the Jews simply to leave. Years of oppression were bound to leave their mark. After all, the Egyptians took so much from each individual Jew: their peace-of-mind, their optimism, their children’s lives. Avraham was not satisfied with merely an Exodus. Just as the Egyptians took from Bnei Yisrael, Bnei Yisrael needed to take in order for that chapter to be closed. The despoiling of Egypt served as what can be called the “Minimal Effective Response” so that the nation’s journey could begin.

2)  One can do a lot of good with money.

As Tevye said: “There’s no shame to be poor, but would it be so terrible to have a small fortune?” Despoiling Egypt is an opportunity to focus on the possibilities and responsibilities of wealth.

In some segments of Christianity, there is what is called a prosperity gospel. This teaches that financial blessing is the will of God and that faith, positive speech, and donations to specific ministries will increase one's material wealth. It is quite controversial. Judaism rejects such an approach, but Judaism recognizes the good that can and must be done with one’s resources.

It’s impossible to strip money matters from spiritual life, because the two are so intertwined. Let’s face it, mitzvot cost money. The price of a Jewish education continues to rise. We believe in “hiddur mitzvah, beautifying the mitzvah,” which can add to the cost. There is a mitzvah of tzedakah, charity, and even the poor are required to give something.

As Bnei Yisrael leave Egypt, an essential lesson is taught: Your new life is going to cost you. It may be, at times, expensive. It is important to appreciate the need for resources and to use them in the service of God.

3)  There are things more important than money.

The Torah’s focus on wealth in the formative narrative of the Jewish people teaches both the value and importance of money alongside the truth that our worth is not defined by money. As Rabbi Joseph Lookstein, of blessed memory, used to say: “You should never put money ahead of everything, but you have to put money behind everything.”

A story from Israel.

Zvika Gringlik hit a car. He exchanged details with the owner of the car and told her, “I'm to blame, I wasn't okay, and we'll fix what you need in the car.” They arranged to meet at the garage on Wednesday. On Wednesday, the woman arrived at the garage, but Zvika Gringlik did not come. She tried calling him, and he did not answer. On Thursday, the woman sent him a message: “I'm disappointed. We arranged for Wednesday, and you didn't come.”

Zvika saw the message and immediately replied: “I'm very sorry. On Tuesday my son Shaul was killed in Gaza, so I couldn't come.”

The woman immediately apologized. She herself had been at the funeral, but she did not make the connection that Zvika was Shaul's father. That same day, she arrived at the shiva home and comforted the family. During the shiva, Zvika told her: “When the shiva is over, I will transfer the amount of the repair to you.” She told him: “Don’t worry about it, I don't want the money.”

At the first opportunity, Zvika transferred NIS 2,000 to the woman via Bit (the Israeli Venmo). She sent him a message that made him weep: “There is no need. The owner of the garage heard that the person who hit the car was the father of a soldier who fell in Gaza, so he fixed the car without taking money.”

If we truly understand wealth, we know there are things far more valuable than money.

As the Jews left Egypt, they needed to learn the true value of money. Our wealth and financial resources present us with opportunities, choices, and challenges. They also represent a finite, quantifiable baseline of who we are and what we can accomplish. We need to strive to achieve lives of value through actions that money just can’t buy.