Dinero, Torá «Dinero, Torá y Mashiaj» Mussar, Pirkei Avot

Money, Torah, and Mashiach are all connected in the Pirkei Avot, and it's critical to understand this properly if you want to prepare for what's coming. Let me be very clear with you: The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot teaches us that without Torah, all the money in the world is worthless. When Mashiach comes, your bank account means nothing. Zero. You made ten million dollars? It's going to be zero. A hundred million? Zero. The guy in Vegas with fifty, sixty, seventy billion dollars? Zero. Before Mashiach comes, if he survives, zero. The Gemara and the prophets already promised this from Hashem - you're going broke. This is why people who spend all their time investing, following the stock market, worrying about their retirement plan while being less busy learning Torah are making a catastrophic mistake. You think Mashiach is going to pay your debt? You have to pay your debt. The reality is, if you want to prepare yourself for Olam Haba or for the time of Mashiach, whichever comes first, you have to start learning how to use money as a tool, no different than a hammer. Not as a destination. Because so long as you use money as your priority in life, you're going to fall into the trap of loving money too much, which means you will start worshipping money, which means you will start sinning because of money. The Mishnah tells us that Rabbi Yosi says your friend's money should be as dear to you as your own, and you must prepare yourself to study Torah because it's not an inheritance. What does this mean? It means you have an obligation. The first thing you need to think about after Modeh Ani is what you have to fix about yourself today. If you think you don't have anything to fix, that means you haven't learned enough. The connection to Mashiach is this: Rabbi Yochanan teaches us that there are three crowns - the crown of Torah, the crown of Kehuna for the Kohen Gadol, and the crown of kingship for the king selected by Hashem. There is no fourth crown for money, no fifth crown for modern society. The Mishnah in Avot tells us that any time you say Divrei Torah, you must provide a source, because when you provide a source you bring Mashiach closer. When you don't provide a source, you're delaying Mashiach. If you invest your money into Torah - not just five dollars here and there, but really support Torah - then your job becomes a mitzvah. It counts as if your entire day was like learning Torah. This is how you use money to bring Mashiach closer and secure your place in the world to come.