{"id":48775,"date":"2019-02-05T18:27:10","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T16:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=48775"},"modified":"2022-08-30T09:55:35","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T06:55:35","slug":"riches-then-and-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/riches-then-and-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Riches \u2013 Then And Now"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[676,363,440],"acf":{"old_id":"48775","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33877,"related_cahpter":"149","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"When inordinate love of wealth leads to exile","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our chapter begins with a brief mention of the riches of two of the Israelite tribes, Reuven and Gad, in what was in biblical times a significant measure of wealth: \u201cNow the descendants of Reuven and the descendants of Gad had great flocks of sheep (<em>miqneh rav<\/em>)\u2026\u201d (32:1). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Midrash (Numbers Rabbah 22:7 and parallels) begins its elaboration of this verse with a message that remains highly relevant to our day. \u201cThree gifts were created in the world &#8212; wisdom, strength and wealth. If a man merits to acquire any one of these, he possesses what is most precious in this world. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But this is only so when these gifts come from the Holy One, blessed be He, through the power of Torah. For human strength and wealth are naught. Our Rabbis taught\u2026two rich men arose in the world, one in Israel and one among the nations of the world &#8212; Korah in Israel and Haman among the nations of the world &#8212; and both of them were eradicated from the world, because their gifts were not from the Holy One, blessed be He. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And so, you find that the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuven were very rich, having great flocks of sheep. It was their flocks that they loved, and so they settled in territory best suited to raising sheep that was outside the Land of Israel. As a result, they were the first of all the tribes to go into exile (see I Chronicles 5:26). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why did this befall them? Because they separated themselves from their brethren for the sake of their flocks. From where do we learn about their inordinate love of wealth? From what we read in our Chapter: \u201cNow the descendants of Reuven and the descendants of Gad had great flocks of sheep. And when they saw the land of Yazer, and the land of Gilad, that, behold, the place was a place for sheep, the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuven came and spoke unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying: <\/span><b>\u2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the land which the Lord smote before the congregation of Israel is a land for sheep, and your servants have flocks.&#8217; And they said: &#8216;If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given unto your servants for a possession. Bring us not over the Jordan\u2019\u201d (32:1-5).<\/span><\/p>\n<p>image: Michal Ben Hamu<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":48599,"id":48599,"title":"Num29-Michal Ben Hamu","filename":"Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/post-nationalism-globalism-and-70-cows\/num29-michal-ben-hamu\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"num29-michal-ben-hamu","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":48598,"date":"2019-01-31 15:22:33","modified":"2019-02-05 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