THE DANGER OF WORSHIPPING MONEY

0:00The Chida says that the test for the world, obviously the nation of Israel, was divided into three where for the first two thousand years there was a test of idolatry, then there was immorality, and the last two thousand years, which is where we find ourselves now, is the test of money. He says those are the three major tests that were divided to this world that's going to be only alive for 6,000 years. We're about to hit 5781. divided into three where, for the first two thousand years, there was a test of idolatry, then there was immorality, and the last two thousand years, which is where we find ourselves, is the test of money. The Midrash says those are the three major tests that were divided for this world, which is only going to be alive for 6,000 years. We're about to hit 5781. So we're in the last 2,000 years. Our test is making money an idol. Making money an idol. That's actually one of the things that it says in this week's parashat Nitzavim. Parashat Nitzavim, chapter 29, verse 16, says, וְתִרְאוּ אֶת שִׁקּוּצֵיהֶם וְאֶת גִּלּוּלֵיהֶם, עֵץ וָאֶבֶן, כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב, אֲשֶׁר עִמָּהֶם.

1:23...says through Moshe Rabbeinu that you know and you saw their abominations, meaning the other nations' abominations. You saw their abominations and their detestable idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, that were with them. So these are different idols, obviously not all idols are... Like, I had a chiddush one time where the etz, the wood, represents Christianity. The stone represents Islam. Silver, kesef, says silver, but kesef also means money. And gold, pride, kavod. Four different idols. worshiping Christianity, worshiping all types of heresy, thinking that Muhammad is bigger than Moshe Rabbeinu, all types of nonsense. Even though the Rambam says that Islam is not idolatry, they believe in the same God, but still, it's obviously not what Hashem wants.

2:37uh, then worse obviously Christianity is much worse because it's 100% idolatry, according to the Rambam and most poskim. But then, even worse in some cases, is when people idolize money. Because they could be completely frum, keep Shabbat, keep kashrut, but when it comes to money, no, no, no, they'll kill you for money. They'll kill you for money. They'll do anything for money. So that's a person that's made money an idol. You know, he doesn't want to have any more kids. Why? Hashem said to have more kids. Yeah, but we don't have money. What do you mean you don't have money? Well, HaKadosh Baruch Hu is not going to give you money. He's going to give you the kid, but he's going to let him starve to death. Doesn't make any sense. People sometimes idolize money to such a point where it distorts their mindset, even if they are religious. Needless to say, if they're not religious. But one of the worst of all is the last one, ga'avah, meaning pride. People want to be show-offs. A lot of times people do things just to get some type of audience. They'll say things even if they don't mean them. They'll say things even if they don't believe them. They'll do things even if they shouldn't. They'll do things even if they couldn't. Why? They want to be praised by the public. They want attention. They want popularity. They want likes.

4:00Pride, perhaps, is the most dangerous of all of them because it could literally be in you without you knowing. You could be a prideful person without even realizing that that's the reason why you're suffering so much. I'll give you a couple of examples of how terrible pride is. Many times you tell people, listen, why don't you do teshuva, do this, do that, da-da-da. And many times they listen. And then you tell them, okay, you have to read, you have to learn, you have to do this. No, no, it's too tough. Maybe I'll do something else. Maybe I'll do something easier. And they complain about the difficulty of what you're asking them to do because it's going to take an extra half hour or an extra hour. But they complain about it for six months. Why? Because they want it catered to them a certain way, a certain size, the way they want it. They want you to nurse them for their whole life. They want to be babies. They don't want to be grown-ups. And what ends up happening is that they're so focused on having things their way, they forget to realize that had they not complained about the difficulty and simply did what they were supposed to do, did what they were told to do, they'd actually be finished by now.

5:24I had this situation happen to me many times with people, you know, many times with people. I had one time, a wonderful, wonderful person came to me, learned, and wanted to convert to Judaism. Now, I told him, you would be a great Jew because you have good character traits, you're a nice person, you like to learn. And he learned with me for a while. And one of the requirements is that you have to live in a Jewish community. So, after being with me already for a couple of years, I told him, "Listen, you're ready to convert. You've already been ready. The only thing that's missing is you don't live in a Jewish community. Just move to a Jewish community and I'll convert you tomorrow. I'll take you to the Beit Din. I'm more than happy to do it. You're a good guy. You're perfect." "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm still looking. I'm still looking." You're looking for that loan? Okay, all right, well, I'm not a babysitter. Well, look, whenever you're ready, let me know. But months would pass, and I would see him every week. Another three months, another six months. "Hello, you ready or what?" "No, no, no, I found something, but it's still $200 more expensive." I said, "What? What do you mean it's $200 more expensive?" He said, "It's $200 more than what I'm spending now, so I'm waiting for the market to drop a little bit."

6:40And then I'm going to move. I wanted to eat his head. I said, "Are you kidding me? You're going to delay moving in order to convert for $200? Like, this is where we're at? No, come on, Rabbi, I know, I know, you say, I know, I know, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, but he's not going to do it. Now, because I like him," And I hope he's listening to this. I'm going to say this: that was the biggest mistake of his life. Because HaKadosh Baruch Hu doesn't have an open-door policy that remains open forever. And what ended up happening is that he didn't take the advice that I gave him to simply find a way to come up with the extra $200. Find a way to do it. Don't delay becoming part of the Chosen People for a measly $200. Just get it done. And he had a way to get it done. Unfortunately, it was a very serious disease that, like I said, was idolatry of money. Just having, "I want things my way. I want things to fit my budget, my Excel spreadsheet, and my QuickBooks, and the way that I'm used to things." Where does that come from? Number one, it's idolatry of money. Number two, it's ego.

8:05It's ego. You want things your way. HaKadosh Baruch Hu says, oh, you want things your way? How about this? You're not going to become a Jew. How about that? How about that for that? And you know what happened? For another year, I waited for him. Another year he kept coming to my shiurim. And I liked him so much. And I said, I can't believe it's been a year already since I already told you to move. And you're still holding on for the $200. He goes, yeah, I know it's not available. And eventually, what ended up happening, one day he just disappeared. He came to every single lecture. Some of you know him, and everyone loves him. He came to every single lecture. He was one of the best. And one day, Hashem just simply took the desire to convert out of his heart. For no apparent reason, like nothing happened. We didn't get into a fight. There wasn't a disagreement. Nothing. Just one day he just disappeared and stopped desiring to be a Jew. And he wanted to be a Jew for many years even before he met me.

9:05Why? HaKadosh Baruch Hu says, if you're not willing to take a $200 risk on Me, we can't be close. We can't. And that's what happens. We're very excited to offer you the new Be'ezrat Hashem app 3.0. It's a newer, faster app, full of Torah, lots of Kedusha, by the shiurim that we do, myself, Rabbi Ephraim, Rabbi Chaim, where you'll also have newer features, enabling you to use the app while using other applications on your phone. You'll be able to share the lectures directly from the app. You'll also be able to donate online and support our kehillah and our Torah work. And the most exciting feature is that you'll be able to actually ask questions directly on the app and get answers from the rabbis directly from the app. This is something unprecedented, and Baruch Hashem we will be able to offer it. Thank you again for all of your support. Check it out. Make sure you have the Kosher Torah that will re-energize your neshama each and every single day. Kol tuv b'hatzlacha.