Embracing Divine Provision Over Financial Anxiety

What if true financial security isn't about hoarding savings but trusting in something greater? Join us for a riveting exploration where we challenge the conventional wisdom of savings accounts and emergency funds, guided by the teachings of Rebbe Lazar Hamodoy and the profound lessons of the manna in the wilderness. Instead of urging you to set aside three to six months of expenses or 20% of every paycheck, we propose a paradigm shift: embracing the present and finding comfort in the divine provision of daily needs. This episode is not just a talk about finances—it's a call to balance prudence with faith, grounding your financial decisions in trust rather than anxiety.

Through captivating anecdotes and insights, we reflect on how ancient wisdom can inform our modern lives, particularly the delicate dance between self-reliance and spiritual faith. Our discussion encourages gratitude for what we have today, without the crippling fear of tomorrow's uncertainties. Whether you have a robust financial cushion or are just starting to build one, this conversation offers a fresh perspective that marries fiscal responsibility with a deeper spiritual journey. Tune in for an enlightening session that promises to revolutionize how you perceive wealth and security.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

How much money should a Jew have in his savings account? Contemporary wisdom, the standard financial advice, tells us you should aim to have about three to six months worth of essential expenses kept in some combination of a high-yield savings and or other liquid accounts. If, god forbid, there should be a rainy financial season, I can fall back three months' worth of what I need to get by. Another rule of thumb I came across was well, just put away 20% of every paycheck. That way you have some room to a bit of cushion to fall back onto. But today I'd like to present to you a different approach to a Jewish person's savings accounts, and it's novel. It's different, maybe even radical, but it's not for me. It's from Rebbe Lazar Hamodoy, as cited in the Mechilta.

Speaker 1: 1:03

We learned just last week that while we're traveling in the wilderness and we're hungry, we're looking for some parnasa. We need to make ends meet. We go to Moshe, who goes to God, and God answers that I will parachute magical manna down from the sky. When are we to collect our parnasah? When are we to go to the grocery store? We put on our bathrobes, put our newspaper underneath our arm and slip on our UGG slippers and walk outside to collect our paycheck each and every single day, then manna would show up. Rashi comments, based on the Pasuk, very precisely, stating that that we collect our parnas every single day, says Rashi collect today for today, but do not collect today for future needs. For tomorrow's needs, savings should not be taken. Stockpiling of the manna should not be done. Rashbam actually echoes this point and tells us exactly precisely how much one could take inside to meet his needs for today and no more. See the Medrash.

Speaker 1: 2:24

Concludes, from all of the lessons of the manna and how it's been rained down to our Yom B'Yom, that any single person, as we were traveling through the wilderness, as he watched the manna fall down onto his doorstep, if he should find himself feeling nervous about tomorrow, about what's going to be with tomorrow, says the Mechilder of Elazer Hamodai Omer, anyone who possesses enough to eat today, god has sufficiently provided for his needs today, but he still exclaims what shall I eat tomorrow? Some nerves in his belly? Behold, this individual is Michusr Armana. He lacks sufficient trust and belief in God. Radical. If you have enough for today, you have sufficiently been taken care of. You're to trust in God. We learn in the wilderness the point of life, really To learn. How are you going to perform under pressure when you have all of your needs met? You truly do. But tomorrow you're a bit unsure of. That's where God and your faith in God should kick in.

Speaker 1: 3:37

And it's not to say that anyone who has $60,000 to $70,000 to $80,000 in savings is doing something wrong. No, kol ha'kavod mazotav, you have the ability to take larger risks, to give more away. You have the ability to. It's probably even healthy and financially smart and sound and probably would be encouraged by a lot of smart holy rabbis.

Speaker 1: 4:02

But you shouldn't get carried away in the fact that when you have a lot, shomua Malach says Pen'espa v'chichashti v'yomartim yashem, a person can feel satisfied, self-sufficient, and then he can say who's God? I don't have to cry to him for more because I have my savings to rely upon. He should not fall into that trap. And instead he should not fall into that trap and instead he should understand that, day by day, I still have to trust and it all is from God. But if God forbid, someone should have not even enough for tomorrow.

Speaker 1: 4:33

Well, welcome to the University of the Wilderness, where you're supposed to channel your inner trust and faith and say I'm good Tomorrow. We'll deal with that tomorrow and God will probably parachute more magical manna down from the heavens or up from the ground tomorrow, but I have enough for today. That is enough to have in your savings account An unbelievable new idea. So never forget, it's all from God. Trust in God and maybe even have some savings to be able to do what you need in life. But don't you dare ever, god forbid, get caught up in the money, forget God or even feel a little bit lacking faith and uneasy. If you don't have for tomorrow, god forbid. Because that's kind of the point that you should take what you need for today and then learn to trust in the Almighty, for tomorrow you.