מָמוֹן וּפַרְנָסָה

If a person were to merit in completeness to the dimension of peace within his own bones [shalom ba'atzamav] — meaning that there should be true peace between his body and his soul — he would certainly not wish to engage in any worldly business at all except for the sake of his soul. And even in all his prayers he would intend only for the perfection of his soul's rectification — even the prayers that are for bodily needs, such as "Heal us" and "Bless us" and the like; he would intend only for the sustenance and healing of his soul. For in truth, when one is rectified spiritually, one is automatically rectified also physically — and Hashem Yisborach provides all his needs in abundance and great plenty. And what we see sometimes — that there are tzaddikim who have certainly rectified everything in completeness spiritually, and yet even so they have no material abundance — this derives only from the side of the transmigration of souls [gilgulei nishmasin], as is understood in the holy Zohar.

The primary establishment of livelihood — meaning a person's money that keeps him on his feet — and all the Divine flows, is only through emes [truth], the dimension of the radiance of the face [or ha'panim], which is the dimension of breaking the lust for money. But falsehood — which is the idolatry [avodah zarah] of the lust for money — has no permanence or establishment whatsoever. For the money and profit it seems to the person he is earning through it is not money at all — since he derives no benefit from it; for "idolatry is sterile and yields no fruit" [Aramaic: El acher istris v'lo avad pairim — Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 63b]. And therefore in truth the more he profits the more he is lacking. And this itself is the falsehood of this idolatry of the lust for money: that it seems to them they are profiting through it, but in truth they profit nothing at all — for they are lacking more each time, and they are all their days great debtors to their lust, to the point that generally those who run most after the lust for money die literally as debtors with nothing in their hands. For the primary money and wealth of holiness flows only from breaking the lust for money — which is the dimension of emes as above.

Through a person being generous [vatran] with his money — through this all the foreign thoughts that confuse his mind are nullified, and he merits to a clear and pure brain [moach zach v'tzach]; and then he can come each day to the hidden goodness that belongs to him — which is the primary length of days.

Through conducting business in faithfulness [b'emunah], one fulfills the mitzvah of "and you shall love" [v'ahavta] — which is the root of all the mitzvos. And through this one also comes to the dimension of above time [l'ma'alah min ha'zman] and to the dimension of mochin d'gadlus [expanded consciousness], and can pray with a clear intellect.

Every person — according to how much more he has departed from the lust for money than his fellow — is called, relative to him, a tzaddik. [Translator's note: No source citation appears for this teaching in this edition.] The needs of the body are very many — and even the necessities alone are many and great: food, drink, clothing, and housing. And a person can spend his days and years, Heaven forbid, even on the necessities alone — and they greatly prevent a person from the service of Hashem Yisborach. And even though these themselves are also the service of the Creator, blessed be He — for through all the labors and businesses a person performs, when done as befitting as they need to be done, the dimension of the Mishkan [Tabernacle] is formed through this, and through this one gives life-force and illumination to ma'aseh bereishis [the work of creation], and it is the sustaining of the world [see the inner text] — even so, when one merits to receive in completeness the flow of chesed [loving-kindness] through the vessel formed through awe [yir'ah], then one does not need to engage in any business or labor at all, and even the necessities are provided through others — and then the world is sustained through the loving-kindnesses of Hashem Yisborach alone. And this is merited through charity [tzedakah].

Through drawing the spirituality of Divinity into contractions [tzimtzumim] — through this one's livelihood is doubled and multiplied.

The reason that when a person asks for livelihood it is not given to him immediately from Heaven — but only through means [sibbos], each person according to his own means — is this: for all the livelihood that Israel receives, they receive it through the King [ha'melech]; and when the sustenance flows through the King, clarifications [birurim] etc. are made from it, until from it is clarified that which is for the eating and sustenance of Israel. And also in its eating there are clarifications until from them are clarified and formed beautiful utterances [imrei shafer], and these beautiful utterances connect with the King, and from them a crown [atara] is made for the King. And since the primary honor and greatness of royalty [malchus] is through humility and smallness — for this reason livelihood is not given immediately, but through circuits and at special times; and all this so that the King should not be seen in his smallness, only in his beauty and greatness — in the dimension of "the King in His beauty your eyes will behold" [Isaiah 33:17]. For through the livelihood one sees the King with the crown, as above. See the inner text.

Holy money is exceedingly lofty — and it contains many lofty dimensions and supernal holiness. And similarly the children of holiness are exceedingly lofty. But the money of the lust of this world is surplus [mosorot] — what remains from a person after he has filled all his lusts in this world; and the surplus after all his lusts is the money that remains after him as an inheritance for his children whom he did not merit to beget in holiness as befitting — and they too derive and come from nothing but surplus and the putrid residue and turbidity of the brain [achirusas ha'moach] that went outside through his abundance of lusts — literally like a putrid drop [tipah serucha]. And this money inheritance he leaves them is like taking surplus and covering over surplus.

A person never fills his desire and will for money — for he is always lacking, as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: "No person dies with even half his desire in his hand" [Talmud Bavli, Koheles Rabbah 1:13]. But there is a dimension of doubled abundance [shefa kefolah] — in which abundance one's will is fulfilled, since it is doubled.

Generally the very wealthy are literally mad — and each one of them has a great madness, for money and wealth bring them to complete madness.

The greater a person is, the more he needs to seek what he seeks at a greater distance; and this applies both in the matter of livelihood and in the matter of marriage partners [zivugim] and the like.

What we see sometimes — that when a person is below, in hardship [b'dachakus], he serves Hashem and recognizes Hashem Yisborach; and when he is elevated above and becomes wealthy, he forgets Hashem Yisborach — in truth, the more a person is elevated, he is certainly closer to Divinity, for all goodness is Divinity, as it is written: "Hashem is good to all" [Psalms 145:9]. And what we see in reverse — that when a person comes into wealth and goodness, he forgets Hashem Yisborach — this is because he has drawn close to the light of Divinity more, and then the light blinds his eyes and harms him — like one who stares directly into the sun itself. Therefore one must beseech Hashem Yisborach to draw him close with a great drawing-close and raise him higher and higher — both physically and spiritually — and in a manner that should not harm him, Heaven forbid, as above.

In these times it is very difficult for a truly wholesome person to have money. And even though there are found also tzaddikim and wholesome people who have money and wealth — it is exceedingly heavy and difficult, and moreover generally wealth damages their service of Hashem. And even though they have some little wealth — even so they do not have large readily available wealth like the frivolous of the world, who have thousands and tens of thousands readily available. For now it is very difficult and heavy for the truly wholesome to have wealth as above.

There are wholesome people who have no livelihood — and they have great hardship and confusion from this. And it is a good thing for the world.

The very great paupers who go from door to door — generally they are very cruel and have no attribute of compassion [midas ha'rachmanus] — since they are in the dimension of the intensity of judgment [tukpa d'dina], and there is no mercy in judgment. And because of this they have no power and merit to awaken and draw upon themselves the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy through which Hashem Yisborach forgives the sins of His people and passes over them one by one [Exodus 34:7]. Therefore they need all the more to spread their hands to Hashem and entreat Him greatly — that He Himself should awaken the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. And this is the dimension of: "Do not remember against us former iniquities; may Your mercies come swiftly to greet us, for we are very impoverished" [Psalms 79:8].

Generally every person is greatly lacking — each according to his own level: for this one a plain garment is lacking, and for that one important garments or a dwelling and the like are lacking. One must take great care not to force the hour to fill the deficiency immediately and at once — for through this one comes to debts and loans and credit; rather one must take great care in the attribute of contentment [midas ha'histapkus] and conduct one's household according to the hour and time. And even what seems to him very necessary — even so one should not force the hour by borrowing and taking credit and becoming a debtor to others; but rather one should wait until his time comes. And it is better to be a debtor to oneself and to endure hardship even in food — and all the more so in clothing and housing, etc. — than to be a debtor to others. The general principle: in all matters of livelihood one must wait in trust [b'vitachon] for the salvation of Hashem until its time comes — as it is written: "The eyes of all look hopefully to You, etc." [Psalms 145:15, etc.].

A person must take very great care to guard his money from damage and loss, Heaven forbid. See the inner text.

One who is not swept after and flustered for money [lahut v'nivhal l'hon] — and conducts business in faithfulness, using only his own money, and does not borrow from others to conduct large business — such a person fulfills "and with all your very much" [u'vchol me'odecha — Deuteronomy 6:5]. And likewise when one gives a fifth [chomesh] of one's money to charity — one thereby fulfills "and with all your very much" as well.

One must take very great care not to be swept after the lust for money — for there are those so swept after money and so deeply sunken in it that the entire measure of one's worth and importance in their eyes is only according to one's money. And one who has only a little money — and especially one who is completely poor — is not at all in the category of a human being according to their foolish thinking, and is considered by them only like an animal or bird. And likewise one who has a very great deal of money is, in their eyes, like something above the category of a human being — like a star or constellation or angel. Until some who have so very much more money are considered by them almost like complete Divinity and idolatry, Heaven forbid. And so many of the world's people have entered into this folly and error of the lust for money — to the point that the poor and those lacking money fell so low in their own eyes and in their own minds relative to the wealthy and possessors of money, that they almost sacrifice themselves as offerings to them — out of the self-nullification they feel before the abundance of their money. But in truth it is not so, as the verse says [Ecclesiastes 6:8]: "What advantage does the poor man have who knows how to walk before the living?" — for the poor are also counted among human beings just like the wealthy; and the wealthy too are only human beings and "like grass they shall wither" [Psalms 90:5–6] — and no one is accompanied on his way with either silver or gold, etc. And in truth there are people so deeply sunken in the lust for money that when one comes to rebuke them that the lust for money is folly and that money is not the ultimate purpose at all — not only are his words not listened to at all, but he is also considered by them like one who speaks against the faith; for money for them is the primary ultimate purpose and faith, Heaven forbid. And in truth those who fall into the lust for money — it is very difficult to extract them from it, more than all those who fall into other lusts, may the Merciful One protect us — unless through the path explained in the inner text.

There are foods [presumably spiritual, as is understood] — when one merits to taste and eat of these foods, one immediately throws off the lust for money and feels the great stench of money, which stinks like excrement literally — to the point that one becomes greatly ashamed on account of money; and the money is the greatest of all shames, and whoever has more money is more ashamed, and even those of lower standing and those lacking money are also ashamed for themselves — in that they were so small in their own eyes on account of the lack of money. For now it is revealed to them that on the contrary, the money is the primary shame — and therefore the wealthy are all the more ashamed and hide themselves in holes in the ground from the greatness of the shame they feel before one another, to the point that they cannot raise their faces at all out of shame. For these above-mentioned foods have this virtue: that through them one comes to despise money with utter contempt, and one casts away one's silver idols and golden idols — as will be in the future, speedily in our days.

Sometimes a person pursues his livelihood or other things, believing himself compelled to pursue them — and he pursues them all his days and cannot attain them; and because of this he is constantly full of anger and pain. And in truth, if he were to take it to heart, he would see that he is pursuing nothing but his own sins — for his sins are leading him astray and taking him from matter to matter and from cause to cause, until he pursues utter vanity — and all his days without giving him rest. And in truth perhaps he has already received his punishment for his sins more than sufficiently — and the time of his rectification and rest has already arrived.