YONATAN HAMBOURGER/TZALI REICHER: Money is today’s manna from Heaven

The Children of Israel had been through a lot since God led them out of Egypt in “shock and awe” fashion, as Jewish communities will read this week in the portion of the Torah that describes the exodus. After two centuries of slavery, Moses was leading the Israelites back to their indigenous homeland of Israel.

On the way, they crossed the Red Sea in miraculous fashion and were now beginning their 40-year trek through the desert when a most practical question arose: What would they eat in the barren and desolate wasteland on their long way home?

The answer: the mysterious — and miraculous — manna from Heaven.

Moses explained to his people that every morning this thin bread would fall from the skies above in specific portion sizes, and it would sustain them for the whole day, and that any leftovers would spoil. It would taste like anything they could conjure in their mind — all they had to do was think it, and so it would taste.

The renowned mystic and sage of 19th century Russia, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, was wont to say that “We must live with the times,” explaining that we must not only read the Torah portion of the week as an intellectual exercise, but seek to apply its lessons to our current day and personal realities.

So, what can we learn from the Biblical story of holy bread falling from the skies? It’s more relatable than you might think.

Our country is a remarkable miracle. Born with the revolutionary spirit of our Founding Fathers, for 250 years our nation has stood as a beacon of hope, freedom, and possibility, leading it to become the most prosperous and admired nation in the history of the world.

There are those who see their own prosperity as the gift from God that it is. These people humbly recognize the fortunate position they’re in from God having blessed their own hard work; and they pay this gift forward. They give charity, support their community institutions, and share with others less privileged, and never take their blessings for granted. Sure, they enjoy themselves and even live large, but they still value the important things and have their priorities in order.

But sometimes God blesses those people who don’t appreciate their prosperity for the gift that it is. The Bible speaks of this arrogance in Isiah 10, describing people who don’t credit God and say, “With the strength of my hand I accomplished it, and with my wisdom, for I am clever.” This sort of “successful” person only facilitates the culture of materialism, consumerism and “keeping up with the Joneses” that has challenged recent generations, particularly the youth.

The lesson from this week’s Torah portion is that we must ensure that our relationship with money and material success is healthy and generous, and that we see it for the blessing it is.

It is no different than manna from Heaven, a blessing that will sustain us and turn into whatever we desire it to be, whether we use it to support our family, celebrate a happy occasion, or even go away on a special vacation to rejuvenate our mind and soul. But like manna which became spoiled when people hoarded it out of lack of trust in God’s providence, money also becomes spoiled when it is abused, while corrupting those whom God entrusted this blessing with.

Believers know that God has determined their path and will help them in their efforts. In return, He wants to see you do your part and open a channel by which to receive His blessing. For most people, that means working hard and applying yourself to earn this blessing, while being generous, charitable and humble to show yourself to be a worthy recipient.

And if there is anything I know about the people of this great state, it’s that this lesson is something you already live with.