Rabbi Abrams Blog

  Yesterday I gave a class that I've been meaning to give for such a long time.  The Torah's advice on money really has transformed Natanya's and my life and it's something that I feel very passionate about sharing.   Here are the cliff notes with some additions: While health, relationships and happiness are definitely more important than wealth, they are not wealth in the material, literal sense. T he definition of "wealth" is money that you don't need for your own needs.  Hence a penny that you don't need is a penny of wealth, just like $100 or $1M that you don't need, is that amount of wealth.  Whether it's $1, $100 or $1,000,000, it is qualitatively the same thing.  Money that you don't need. On the one hand, Hashem guarantees us that we'll always have what we need to live.  On the other hand, we are not entitled to wealth.   Getting excited or anxious about amassing wealth is futile, as it's not really ...

Here are the cliff notes with some additions: While health, relationships and happiness are definitely more important than wealth, they are not wealth, in the material, literal sense. T he definition of "wealth" is money that you don't need for your own needs.  Hence a penny that you don't need is a penny of wealth, just like $100 or $1M that you don't need, is that amount of wealth.  Whether it's $1, $100 or $1,000,000, it is qualitatively the same thing.  Money that you don't need. On the one hand, Hashem guarantees us that we'll always have what we need to live.  On the other hand, we are not entitled to wealth.   Getting excited or anxious about amassing wealth is futile, as it's not really for you anyways.  Your entire life savings might just be destined to support your wife's future husband, stepchild, or your enemy!  Torah doesn't share any magic tricks to make a successful business, but it ...

The shulchan oruch (Jewish rule book) says that we should start studying about Passover 30 days before the holiday.  If you count the days on a calendar, you'll find that 30 days before Passover is Purim day.   Why would the rabbis tell us to study about Passover in the middle of the Purim celebration?    Here's a possible answer:   In a way, Pesach is the completion of the Purim holiday.  It's kind of like life.  I know that I'm a good guy, at least 98 or 99%.  There's that one or two percent though, that haunts me.  My blind spot is that weak point to bring me down and ruin the most important things in my life.   For some people it is an addiction, depression, money habits, victim-hood, lack of empathy, narcissism or a million other things.  They almost always jeopardize or ruin the relationships that are most important to us.  This is called a personal exile or Egypt (מצרים).  I know what ...