Why Do We Have Financial Problems?

When I began learning about the vices of pride and the virtues of humility, I realized more sharply that the difficult crisis I went through was truly a blessing from Hashem.

Try to convince a person who has been healthy and strong all his life, who succeeds in his studies and contributes new insights into the Torah, and even teaches others and receives compliments after the lesson, "Rabbi, the lesson was truly beautiful and uplifting," and in addition, he is financially prosperous—

"Listen, my friend! You are nothing! Health is not from you; it is a free gift from the Creator; at any moment Hashem can take it from you. At any moment, the money you earned is not because of your wisdom, but because the Creator decided it so, and do not be proud of your money, for in Hashem's hand it can be taken from you in an instant. Your wisdom is a gift; even if you succeeded in giving a nice lesson, do not pride yourself, because gifts can be taken back, and in the next lesson, Heaven forbid, you might not succeed."

You certainly understand how difficult it was for him to accept these words, for he does not know any illness throughout his life, he doesn’t know a situation where he cannot study, and his wisdom has been with him since youth, and he never lacked money, "I am nothing," he would tell himself, well if that's what is written, I accept it, but the words will not truly enter his heart.

And today I know with absolute certainty, I am nothing, I am a doll that the Creator breathes life into at every moment and gives strength, intelligence, and livelihood. And this realization came to me thanks to the struggles I went through in my life. Health is something you certainly understand how much I value today, with which Hashem blesses me every day, and if Heaven forbid, I grow proud of my body’s strength and the like, I know Hashem can take the gift back.

Wisdom - when I recall those days when I could not begin to learn the first words on the page of the Gemara, and could not think of any idea or innovation, and only sometimes the Creator had mercy on me until I could read a little from the Psalms, then if today someone compliments me on a lesson I delivered and so forth, I know with absolute certainty that it is a complete gift from Heaven, not dependent on me, and immediately I thank the true master, Hashem, for His kindness that allowed me to deliver a lesson.

No book in the world could convince me of these truths like the poverty I experienced during my life, which was entirely for my benefit, causing me to understand not to pride myself on wealth.

The illness I went through taught me more than any ethical lesson I could hear, that my health is a gift. And even wisdom, if I have merited even a little, is pure kindness from Hashem.

How to Understand Everything is from Hashem

The way to understand the goodness in the difficulties Hashem brings us is to pause the race of life and contemplate how Hashem is benefitting me.

Sometimes the Creator prevents us from closing a certain deal because it is not suitable for us. Such as buying a house or getting accepted to a job, initially it seems so suitable and good for us, but if the Creator decided it should not happen, if we delve into it, we will understand it simply wasn’t right for us, and the Creator is preparing for us a better house or job.

The same applies to match-making. I met the perfect girl in my opinion, "the epitome of virtues," and she decided to end the relationship, what's good about this for me? Many young men ask me.

And my answer to them: Do you know that Hashem loves you? Yes - they all answer. Do you think He doesn't want you to have good? Of course, He wants - they answer. And then they immediately add, "But why?" and my answer to them: It could be that a much better bride is waiting for you, and who said that the said girl was really as you thought? Maybe Hashem saved you from a connection that was very bad for you? Our understanding of what is good for us is very limited. And understanding this is very important to accept His decrees with love.

Another common reason for the suffering that comes upon us, and it’s worth engraving well in our hearts, is "the trait of pride."

When we succeed greatly, economically or socially, or intellectually such as in Torah learning, etc., it is very easy to develop the trait of pride, which is a bad trait of all bad traits, so much so that King Solomon said about it (Proverbs 16:5), "Every proud heart is an abomination to Hashem."

Everything Depends on Us

And it's amazing when you think about it, for Hashem despises the proud, and the Gemara in Tractate Sotah (5a) interprets that Hashem says about him, "He and I cannot dwell in the same place." This is because the arrogant person thinks in his heart "My strength and the might of my hand have made for me this wealth," and, Heaven forbid, he forgets the Creator, and eventually, he kicks against faith in the Creator and His commandments, as it is said (Deuteronomy 32:15), "But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked."

Hashem knows us better than we know ourselves, and He also knows our future and examines our hearts. A Jew who strives to provide for his family, of course, Hashem wants it to be easy and comfortable for him, and that his livelihood should come to him with ease and not with struggle.

But sometimes Hashem knows that if the Jew receives his livelihood easily, his heart will be lifted due to his "amazing abilities" to earn so much money with such ease, and he will say in his heart, "Who else is as successful in business as I am," and then the very abundance provided by Hashem prevents the person from humbling his heart before his Creator.

Before my eyes, I saw Jews who quickly became wealthy, and they are not willing to accept ethical teachings from the rabbi if they are not pleasant to their ears, and when I asked one of them why he doesn’t attend lessons as before, his answer was "Rabbi, come to my house to teach me and I will pay you as you deserve." Unfortunately, I did not find free time for him, and so he remained without regular Torah lessons, and the continuation is known.

Many men who provide for their families alone sometimes allow themselves to disrespect their wives or children, thinking in their hearts what are they worth without me, after all, I "provide" for them, and they live off me like "parasites."

And vice versa, women who find their husbands learning Torah, or simply not able to bring a respectable salary, and they work in jobs that bring them a lot of money, feel superior over their husbands, what kind of man can’t provide for his family, they say in their hearts. These thoughts, of course, cause the destruction of the family unit.

Ingratitude

Imagine how much ingratitude there is in these thoughts, for Hashem knows the thoughts of our heart, and says I had mercy on him or her and made them a conduit to pass livelihood to their family, and they forgot about Me and think "we earned."

And so that these things do not happen, Hashem causes financial difficulty, so that each side understands I am worth nothing alone, and only together with my spouse maybe we can exist. And most importantly they do not become proud at heart since barely they finish the month.

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