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The Secret behind Every Billionaire
Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky
CONTRARY TO POPULAR belief, the very first World War in re- corded history did not occur in 1914. Rather, it occurred in this week’s parashah, when four of the mightiest countries battled five equally powerful countries. When Lot, Avraham’s nephew, was taken captive by the four kings, Avraham gathered a tiny group of men to wage war against them and rescue him. Avraham’s “army” was minuscule — according to one opinion, it consisted of only 318 men. According to another opinion, it consisted of even less — merely Avraham and his trusted servant Eliezer. Incredibly, Avraham won the battle in a stunning triumph, thereby rescuing Lot as well as the five kings. The king of Sedom was one of the captives who Avraham rescued. In a seemingly gracious gesture, he offered to reward Avraham with all the spoils he had won in battle and asked that Avraham simply return his subjects to him.
Strangely, Avraham vehemently declined the gesture. He did not stop there either. Avraham went on to raise his arm and state (14:22), “I lift my hand to Hashem, G-d [as an oath]… if I take anything from you! So you shall not say, ‘It is I who made Avraham rich.’”Avraham’s reaction, at first glance, seems a bit dramatic. Was anyone accusing Avraham of taking the spoils for the wrong reasons? Furthermore, was there really such a great concern that the king of Sedom, who had publicly been rescued by Avraham, would take credit for making Avraham wealthy? Everyone had seen Avraham publicly win the battle. All the king of Sedom had offered was for Avraham to keep the loot that he had rightfully won in battle. Why, then, did Avraham refuse to keep it? Furthermore, why the seemingly over-dramatic raising of his arm and statement?
Lastly, if Avraham was not interested in accepting gifts from sin- ful kings, why did he accept the gifts that Pharaoh offered him (12:16)?
Isaac came from a wealthy family. He was the youngest of three boys, but he was rebellious. Unfortunately, the only thing that kept him close to his father was his father’s money.
One day, at the age of twenty-one, he got fed up with abid- ing by his father’s rules and informed his father that he would go out on his own. He defiantly told his father, “I don’t need your money anymore. I will become wealthy by myself.”
Isaac traveled to a distant city, hoping to make it big. How- ever, during his first day there, his job search was unsuccessful and he did not even have money for lodgings. He was forced to sleep on a park bench.
The next day was the same story. Before long, he was tired. He was hungry. He even had second thoughts about leaving his family, but he was too proud to admit defeat and return. The third day, early in the morning, something finally changed. A passerby asked Isaac why he was sleeping on a bench. Isaac told him that he did not have money or a job. The man said, “Don’t worry. I have work for you. If you walk my dog every day for half an hour, I will give you a room in my house and provide you with three meals a day in exchange.”
Isaac was so thankful for the opportunity. Now, with less pressure, he was able to search for a job with a clear head. Even- tually, he found a position in a bakery and they paid him a very high salary for the small job he was doing. After a year there, he had enough money to rent his own apartment and open his own bakery. He leased a cheap storefront for his bakery but it was in a terrible location. Business did not go well. In fact, the first month there he actually lost money. Then one day a man walked into the store, bought something, tasted it, and said, “Wow, this is delicious! If your store was in a good location, you would make a fortune.”
Isaac said, “I wish I could move, but I simply don’t have the money.”
The man said, “I believe in your product. I will put up all the money to buy you a store in a prime location and we’ll be part- ners.” That is exactly what happened.
The store did so well that Isaac was able to buy another store, and then another. After just two years, he owned five stores and was very successful. At that point, he decided to write a letter to his father. This is what he wrote: My dear father, I wanted to tell you that after three years of being away from you, I’ve made my own fortune without any help from you or my brothers. You are welcome to come see my bakeries whenever you want. It just goes to show that hard work and perseverance are the keys to success. You don’t need a rich father to succeed.
A few days later, Isaac received a reply from his father: My precious son, I am very happy to hear that you are do- ing well. But for your ultimate benefit, I am obligated to tell you what really happened. Did you ever wonder why a total stranger would let you stay in his house and provide you with three meals daily for just walking his dog for half an hour a day? I sent that man to you to get you off the streets and I paid that man your rent for the whole year.
Did you ever wonder why you were given such a high sal- ary in the bakery for that simple job you were doing, with no prior experience? I got you the job and I funded your salary. Also, remember that man who walked into your store and offered — out of the blue — to be your partner? I sent him there and he was using my money. When you were in the new location, I paid customers to come patronize your store and make you successful.
You see, son, it is not your hard work that made you your money. All this time, it was your loving father, who will always love you. I would love to hear from you again soon. Love, Dad.
Rabbi Yissocher Frand quotes the Beis Yisrael of Gur, who ex- plains that Avraham was actually not addressing the king of Sedom at all when he raised his arm and made his declaration that he would not partake in any of the spoils. Rather, as the literal translation of the verse states, he was talking to his raised arm! You see, Avraham had just achieved an incredible military victory. No doubt, neighbor- ing militaries would shortly be studying every move that he made and trying to incorporate Avraham’s techniques into their military strategy, as, according to many Sages and the simple translation of the Torah, no open miracle had occurred whatsoever. It was quite easy for Avraham to stop and think to himself: “Hmmm…. I made all the right moves one after another, and lo and behold, I defeated the most powerful armies in the universe! And I did so with just a few soldiers. I must be a military genius!” It is a very natural tendency to bask in one’s feeling of power after great success. In order to stop himself from that very real risk of feeling Kochi v’otzem yadi asah li eshachayil hazeh — “My success is due to the power of my own hand” (Devarim 8:17), he immediately raised his arm to the sky and pas- sionately declared to it: “I won’t take a single spoil of war, lest you, my arm, state, ‘It is I who made Avraham wealthy!’” Indeed, anyone who studies the pompous and wealthy will quickly realize that such a risk is much greater than it looks. (See the Meshech Chochmah [14:22] who offers a similar explanation.)
In contrast, Pharaoh presented Avraham with gifts in exchange for taking Sarah against Avraham’s will (12:12). Therefore, there was no risk whatsoever of Avraham taking pride in that wealth, and so he accepted the gifts.
MY FATHER OFTEN points out: What’s the difference between a “vision- ary” and a “dreamer”? There really isn’t much of a difference between them. Take two men of equal ambition and talents. Both of these men think big and take large risks. One invests in a risky business venture, a venture that many advise him against, makes it big and profits a few billion dollars; people will laud him and his risky ven- ture as pure genius! He will be praised for ignoring the naysayers and for perceiving the incredible potential for profit that he acquired. The other man makes an equally risky investment, one that many people also advise against, but he loses everything; people will label him a “dreamer.” In truth, however, they are often quite similar.* The only difference is who Hashem granted success to; for ultimately, it is Hashem and Hashem alone Who grants wealth to the wealthy. Avraham Avinu himself taught us that we must take concrete measures and precautions to instill within us the firm understand- ing that Hashem alone is responsible for our successes (and failures) in life, including those that seem to come solely from our effort. If it was necessary for Avraham Avinu to do so, how much more so must we?
Man on a Mission
IN THIS WEEK’S parashah, Avraham Avinu traveled from Canaan to Egypt and back. On his way back home to Canaan, Avraham made sure to specifically stay at each one of the inns he had lodged in on his original journey (Rashi 13:3).
Why did Avraham do so? What would’ve been wrong with some variety and staying at new places? What’s the Torah coming to teach us?
A distinguished yeshivah student had the great honor of driving Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l, one of the greatest Torah giants of his generation, to yeshivah each day. The young man took great in- spiration from the fact that Rav Moshe was incredibly meticulous in making sure that he arrived to seder on time, often arriving at the car a few minutes earlier than necessary. Indeed, nothing was more important to Rav Moshe than his learning.
One day, the driver waited for Rav Moshe Feinstein, but he did not arrive. Five minutes passed, then ten, and finally fifteen minutes passed by. Yet Rav Moshe did not show up. The young man was alarmed and decided to check on Rav Moshe. He went up to the rav’s apartment and was surprised to hear crying on the other side of the door. Knowing that he probably shouldn’t, he couldn’t help but open the door a crack to see what was hap- pening inside. He caught a glimpse of Rav Moshe holding an elderly man’s hand. The two men sat together crying quietly, and Rav Moshe had tears running down his face, literally drenching his beard. The driver quietly closed the door, and went to his car to wait for the great Torah sage. Clearly, the young man sur- mised, the elderly man was a renowned sage who had reported a world tragedy. What else could possibly explain Rav Moshe’s tears and his delay to yeshivah? The young man realized that it was his duty to wait in the car for as long as was necessary.
A few minutes later, Rav Moshe finally sat down in the car, his eyes still red from crying. The yeshivah student asked gently, “Rebbe, is everything okay? What happened? Who was that man in your house?” Rav Moshe’s reply shocked him. “I actually don’t really know who that man is. He knocked on my door, and when I answered, he broke down crying and told me that his wife of over fifty years had passed away. Nothing I said could calm him down. Seeing this man in so much pain, I couldn’t help but cry with him. He was too overwhelmed to talk, so we just cried together. After a half hour, the man seemed to feel better. He thanked me, excused himself, and left. As for his name — like I said, I simply don’t know.”
Even though Rav Moshe was a great Torah sage who valued his learning immeasurably, he would never allow his Torah learning to be at the expense of treading on the feelings of another Jew — even a total stranger. His actions teach us that the Torah, and Judaism in general, is intended to serve as a vital tool to make us better, more refined, and more caring people. The Maharal (in Gur Aryeh, based on Arachin 16b) explains that Avraham Avinu’s actions clearly demonstrated this mentality as well. Avraham was a very respected and well-known personality. This caused him to make the follow- ing calculation: “If I stay at a different inn on my return journey, the original innkeepers will probably notice. If they do, they may become offended and conclude that I did so because I did not en- joy my stay with them.” In order to avoid causing them this pain, Avraham Avinu specifically returned to every one of the inns that he had lodged in on his original journey.
LIVING INSPIRED
RABBI SHMUEL SILBER points out a life lesson from this that is relevant to each and every one of us. Let us remember that this is Avraham Avinu we’re talking about. He was a very busy man with a plethora of critical tasks on his proverbial “to-do list.” For one thing, Avraham was the only person in the world who was educating the masses about Hashem’s existence. Every minute he wasted meant another person wouldn’t be aware of Hashem’s existence and would be lost. Each moment of his time was precious. Additionally, G-d Himself had commanded Avraham to go to Canaan, thus adding urgency to reaching his destination as soon as possible. In short, Avraham Avinu was arguably the busiest and most important man, with the most important mission, on the planet! He easily could have adopted a standoffish mentality and reasoned, “I can’t care if some innkeepers might be a little offended by my actions. My task is far too great to worry about every little person’s feelings.”
Instead, Avraham Avinu went out of his way to show tremendous thought and sensitivity to the feelings of even the simple roadside innkeepers (who were strangers). By doing so, Avraham was teaching us the following life lesson: Judaism with a disregard for the feelings of others, is not true Judaism! * Similarly, any accomplishment at the expense of others, is not an accomplishment.**
Over the course of a busy day, it is so easy for us to forget about the feelings and needs of others. This becomes compounded when we are engrossed in a particularly important task. We often tend to rationalize that the ends (accomplishing this vital task) justify the means (of overlooking others). Let us learn from Avraham Avinu’s shining example that the first priority of every Jew is to always be sensitive to the feelings of others. May we all make an extra effort today to be sensitive to the feelings of even the “simple innkeepers” in our lives.