Wisdom, Strength, and Riches

Rabbi Melanie Aron

Saturday, April 8, 2006

In her Haftarah introduction this morning, Maddie focused our attention on the final verses of her reading:

Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
let not the strong man glory in his strength,
let not the rich man glory in his riches,
but only in this should one glory,
in his earnest devotion to Me,
for I the Eternal act with kindness, justice and equity
in the world, for in these I delight.

At first reading the passage seems surprising. What's wrong with wisdom, strength and riches? Academic achievement is certainly important to us as parents, right? Any of the kids here this morning will testify to that. Strength and riches? Jews have been powerless and poor for enough generations to know that there is value in political power and material wealth. What are we supposed to learn from this passage?

For those familiar with Jewish texts, these verses from Jeremiah call to mind two other well known passages, one from the book of Kings and one from Pirke Avot, that section of the Mishnah I mentioned last night in talking about the customs of Moroccan Jewry.

The reference in the book of Kings is to a story about King Solomon. As a young man, God comes to him in a dream and offers him anything that he wants. Imagine the temptation, God says, ask and I will give it to you. The young Solomon responds, give me an understanding heart. He is worried about being a good king. He wants "to be able to discern between good and evil". God responds, because you could have asked for power or wealth but asked only for wisdom, you will gain all three, wisdom and strength and riches.

The second passage is the first verse of Chapter 4 in Pirke Avot. It asks the questions: Who is wise? Who is strong? Who is Rich? It makes us wonder, can a person be wise without necessarily having straight A's? Can a person be strong, without being Arnold Swatzenegger? Can a person be rich without having a lot of money?

For each of these questions, the Mishnah says, there is more than meets the eye. Only a person who continues to learn from everyone is really wise. Only a person who can control their own impulses is truly strong. And only a person who is satisfied with what they have is really rich. Knowing a lot isn't wisdom if one doesn't remain curious and open to learning from others. Bravery in combat is a kind of strength but so is the ability to withstand temptation. The rabbis conclude that the hardest tests are not on the field of battle but within our own family relationships.

Finally wealth cannot lead to happiness, as the human propensity is always to want more. Until we learn satisfaction, we are always looking to see what others have.

Perhaps Jeremiah was reminding us that a person should not be praised for what they have but for what they do with their lives. Its not what one has, but who one is, that really counts.