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Rebbe Nachman’s Advice: Money and Livelihood 8-9

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MONEY AND LIVELIHOOD.

8. A person who is sunk in the craving for wealth is not just enslaved to one kind of idolatry, but to every single idolatrous cult belonging to all seventy nations of the world. This is because all forms of idolatry are rooted in materialism. Again and again, the Shekhinah cries out in pain because of these idolatries: “Woe for the pain in my head! Woe for the pain in my arm!” (Sanhedrin 46b). There are seventy cries (corresponding to the seventy nations) for the pain in the head, and seventy for the pain in the arm, equalling 140. This corresponds to the numerical value of the word MaMON (money) [including one unit for each letter].

9. By contemplating the spiritual source from which material wealth and blessings flow, the desire for material wealth is dissipated. Because here at the root, radiant with translucent light, the joy is purely spiritual. By comparison, the object of the craving is very degraded. Only a fool would throw aside spiritual joy for the sake of some crude pleasure. … When a person has sanctified himself and his body, he can contemplate Godliness. This explains why the basic remedy for the desire for wealth is through fulfillment of the covenant. When a person achieves this, he will not fall into this desire (Likutey Moharan I, 23:5).

מאמרים קשורים