It would be proper
for all Israel to have wealth, but there is one trait that interferes and
causes them to lose it. The trait in question is a very bad and lowly trait
from which it is very difficult to escape. Sometimes a person wants to escape
this trait out of a desire for wealth itself, so as not to lose money, but even
so this evil trait attacks him from childhood, causing him to lose the money he
should have had.
The evil trait that
causes a person to lose the money he should have had is anger. The reason for
this is that at its very root and spiritual source, wealth is in the same
category as anger. Thus when the evil one sees a flow of influence descending
to bring wealth to a person, he turns it into anger, because, at their root,
anger and wealth are in the same category: they both descend from God’s mighty
powers, deriving from the same place. “From the north comes forth gold” (Job
37:22) and “The evil will start from the north” (Jeremiah 1:14).
Wealth is a “wall”
(chOmah) while anger (chEYmah) ruins the wall. Thus when the evil one sees that
a flow of wealth – chOmah, a “wall” – is being sent to a person – he turns this
flow into anger, sending something to make the person angry. Thus the “wall”,
choMah, is ruined because of the anger, chEYmah. Since anger and wealth are at
root one category, the evil one can easily turn the flow of wealth into anger.
And know that even
if the descending influence has already reached a person and turned into actual
wealth, a “wall”, the evil one can still sometimes tempt the person to become
so enraged that he loses even his existing money and wealth. One might have
thought that after the blessing has already reached him and turned into wealth,
it would be impossible for the evil one to turn it back into anger. The wealth
should have been a “wall” protecting him from the evil one and preventing him
from succumbing to anger, which is the opposite of a “wall”. Yet the evil one
has the power to attack a person with such great anger that he loses even the
money he already has.
May God guard and
save us from this despicable trait! Amen.
Likutey Moharan I,
68
Taken from THE
ESSENTIAL RABBI NACHMAN –
Edited by Azamra
Institute, Holy Land.
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