People are always looking to better their lot but as long as they want more – which is just about everyone – they can never be ‘rich.’ So if career ambitions status and accumulation of money or power will never satisfy your hunger can you every truly be rich?

“Ben Zoma says who is rich? He who is happy with his portion” (Pirkei Avos 4:1). A fine familiar saying — but a cryptic one as well. People like to quote it when they feel they should be taking a break from the pursuit of worldly achievements even though they don’t really intend to be satisfied and happy with whatever they have.  

At first glance it seems like a pretentious statement. The Tanna doesn’t say that one who is happy with his portion can be counted among the rich men of this world. Instead his one-dimensional question “Who is rich?” could be rephrased as “Who is the only one who is rich?” There is one categorical answer: “Hasameach b’chelko he who is happy with his portion!” He and no other.

And thus with two words Ben Zoma disqualifies most of the world’s famous men of wealth from being described as rich. Rockefeller Donald Trump Bill Gates Rothschild and all the other glittering names in the annals of fabulous financial success… yes they have money but no   they aren’t rich not according to Ben Zoma.

The average person doesn’t see things this way. When Forbes magazine publishes its list of the world’s 500 richest men and women the envy of all the rest of us struggling mortals you won’t find Mr. Sameach B’Chelko listed among them. No matter what ranking system is used he’s not there not even at the bottom of the list.

Are we to conclude therefore that our popular concept of wealth is diametrically opposed to that of the great Tanna Ben Zoma?

Before answering that question let us examine his definition of a rich man. What are the characteristics of this millionaire? If one were to become a disciple of Ben Zoma and apply his teachings carefully what sort of person would emerge? Again let us pay attention to his choice of words. He does not say that the rich man is one who makes do with whatever he has and doesn’t complain. Instead he says that the rich man is one who is happy with his portion. The emphasis is on simchah on being happy. And since we know that the Sages were precise in their use of language just as they were precise in every aspect of their lives we need to understand what role simchah plays in this conceptualization of a person who is satisfied with little and does not aspire to material grandeur.

A great truth in fact is contained in that one word sameach. Our rabbis taught that the sign of real simchah is when a person asks others to share in his joy when he invites his friends neighbors and family to rejoice together with him. Someone who is marrying off a son or daughter for example doesn’t keep his joy locked up inside; he rents out a hall prints invitations and waits for a crowd to come and join him for a seudah. At every successful turning point in his life he will act similarly: if he gets appointed to a public office or enjoys a stunning success in a business deal he will celebrate with a party or at least drink a lechaim with his closest friends. In contrast someone who is hit with a failure or a sorrowful event chalilah tends to withdraw from society and remain wrapped up for a time in his private world of sadness.

The main attribute then of Ben Zoma’s rich man is simchah actual joy in what he possesses. And joy always overflows bursting past the boundaries of the narrow ego. Add to that is added the word b’chelko “with his portion.” This negates material possessions as a quantifier in the concept of true wealth. “With his portion” means with whatever he has be it a few dollars or a few billion. It doesn’t matter because money doesn’t play a role here.

Apparently there is no bridging the gap between our concept of wealth and that of Ben Zoma. We would all like to be wealthy because for some reason we believe that wealth is the key to happiness. But we’ve never really thought in the terms Ben Zoma suggests. We may know people who can make do with little but usually that is because circumstances have forced them to do so. They make do but they are far from rejoicing in their portion.

We must ask ourselves therefore why does Ben Zoma define this mysterious figure who is actually joyful with whatever he possesses as “rich”? Why doesn’t he just say that this is the “truly happy man?” What is he trying to tell us by describing him as “the truly rich man?”

People look for happiness in the wrong places. They imagine that it is somehow linked to personal achievements and accumulating property. This is why the Tanna chose to tear the aura of mystique from the figure of the wealthy man and to proclaim that he does not embody the concept of riches at all. Ben Zoma does not want us to look upon these figures with envy so that we should not feel a sense of failure where no failure exists.

What really is the meaning of the word “rich”? And how are we to understand the idea of poverty? On the basic level the answer is simple: poverty implies lack; richness signifies plenty. People translate these concepts erroneously on the material level assuming that they apply quantitatively to how much money one has. This is the scale by which they measure a person’s wealth and happiness. The error lies in the fact that everyone looks at others rather than at himself and the grass always looks greener on the neighbor’s side of the fence. By looking at wealth this way we make ourselves miserable.

But if we knew that every human being even the wealthiest feels the pain of lacking something we would think differently. If it were clear to us that a person who seeks happiness in the accumulation of wealth and worldly achievement can never be happy because “he who has a hundred wants two hundred ” then we wouldn’t be driven to struggle towards some Olympian height of financial success. We would know that even there the torment of desiring what we haven’t yet achieved would rob us of the pleasure of what we have achieved. Then we would be able to ascribe a different meaning to the concept of riches. And we would look for them elsewhere.

While every individual knows that he hasn’t yet found happiness and riches he is sure that they are somewhere to be found. Rav Eliyahu Dessler writes “If we wish to clarify this in a systematic way there is only one way to go about it. Let us go out and take a survey. We’ll ask people not about others but about themselves. Then the truth will become clear. But what will we find then? Let us begin by asking the wealthy people who have such fabulous sums of money that they could afford to scatter it in the streets people who live in mansions and ride in fancy cars. What would they say of themselves? ‘Happiness? Not by me. Osher (wealth) with an ayin (hara) maybe but not with an alef (i.e. happiness).’ One speaks of the jealousy that torments him another of the desires. Most of them have problems at home family troubles troubles with sons or with daughters every sort of trouble imaginable. And not just side issues but chiefly troubles arising from the very fact that they are wealthy. For a man will not die with half of his desires in hand. And therefore happiness is not found in their quarter” (Michtav Me’Eliyahu Part I p. 2).

If none of these people has found happiness the inevitable question then is “What has HaKadosh Baruch Hu done to us? Has He created a world in which everybody no matter what his condition has to suffer such torment?” (ibid).

Lest we drown in this sea of bitterness Ben Zoma throws us a life preserver. Do not look for happiness outside of yourself he tells us because you won’t find it there.  Career ambitions positions of status accumulation of money or power will never satisfy your hunger. The only way to happiness is to “chase worldly desires and ambitions from your heart” (ibid). Everyone has ambitions though so take them and direct them towards spiritual conquests which aren’t dependent on strangers or on external circumstances. You hold the power to enrich your spirit aided by the tools the Torah gives you. You can experience the delight of feeling your personality your neshamah blossoming. And then without a doubt you will rejoice in what you have and bring others with you into your circle of joy.

Go ahead — be rich. The way Ben Zoma says.

Food for Thought

I am rich in my love for others

(The Chazon Ish)