Riches You Never Get to Use
“Hashem gives a man riches, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart could want. Yet Hashem does not give him the power to enjoy any of it.” Saving for Later Some people save money their whole lives. They save for the big trip, for a year off, or for the retirement when “finally” there will be time. Then the moment comes. The money is there, but the body is not. The legs ache. Sleep is short. The appetite for food and for life alike has dropped by half. You earned it all, and now you can only look at it. King Solomon, in his wisdom, saw this thousands of years ago: “A man to whom Hashem gives riches, possessions and honor… yet Hashem does not give him the power to enjoy it.” This is plainly a tragedy of the material world. But King Solomon did not write a book of money tips. He wrote a book that touches the soul. So we must ask: what is he telling us, Jews who are trying to serve Hashem? What the Real Wealth Is Hashem gives each of us a real fortune when we are young. It is not always money. It is strength. Think of the vitality of a Sabbath morning when you are twenty-five. You are saying the morning prayers, and you are already thinking about the chapter of Talmud you will study next. There is the sharp mind. There is the body that can stand through hours of prayer. There is the heart that catches fire easily. King Solomon wrote: “The glory of young men is their strength.” The strength itself is the glory. The strength itself is the gift. This is the “riches.” These are the “possessions.” Hashem has given you, a Jew, a vast fortune, and its name is the years of your youth. “Not the Power to Enjoy It” If so, what is the tragedy of “Hashem does not give him the power”? Everything is there, but he does not take charge of it. He does not use it. He saves it. We know this voice. Everyone knows it from the inside. “When the kids are older, then I’ll join a regular Torah class. When my income is steady, then I’ll pray slowly and calmly. When I have free time, then I’ll get to it.” And so it goes, year after year. The strength is there. In a way, the desire is there too. But he is not in charge of himself. He does not put the fortune he was given to work. Our Sages already taught: “Do not say, ‘When I have free time I will study,’ for perhaps you will never have free time.” They did not say “perhaps you will not want to.” They said “perhaps you will never have free time,” because the time itself will run out. And the strength of the body will run out along with it. When “Later” Arrives When that later time finally comes, he discovers that the “riches” are simply gone. It is not the money that is gone. The money may still be there. What is gone is the strength, the vitality, the joy of a body that works, and the heart that caught fire. Now he wants to “enjoy” it. He wants to stand in prayer the way he always dreamed of. He wants to study with real effort, the way he knew he could. But the body already says “no.” He “saved” the riches for a future version of himself who no longer exists. King Solomon himself gives the answer: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.” Remember Him in the days of your youth especially. This is not because old age has no worth. “The beauty of the old is their gray hair.” It is because being in charge of the body, ruling over your own strength, belongs to youth. And that power has to be “spent,” on eternity.
Putting It into Practice
You can calculate as much as you want. But know what you are “saving,” and for whom you are “saving” it. Every page of Talmud you push off to “not today,” you are saving for someone who may be too tired to open it. Every prayer you rush through to keep up with the day, you are saving away the heart that right now still catches fire easily. Our Sages teach: “The eager do a commandment at the first chance they get.” This is not because later is forbidden. It is because right now you are still in charge. Today, cash in the “riches.” Study one page of Talmud. Say one prayer slowly and calmly. Do one act of kindness without waiting for tomorrow. The only safe investment is to invest the strength you have now, in a place where it will never be forgotten.
Questions and answers
Q: Which verse from Ecclesiastes about riches a person cannot enjoy is this essay about?
Rabbi Landau answers: “Hashem gives a man riches, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart could want. Yet Hashem does not give him the power to enjoy any of it.”
Q: What happens to people who save their whole lives for later?
Rabbi Landau answers: Some people save money their whole lives. They save for the big trip, for a year off, or for the retirement when “finally” there will be time. Then the moment comes. The money is there, but the body is not. The legs ache. Sleep is short. The appetite for food and for life alike has dropped by half. You earned it all, and now you can only look at it. King Solomon, in his wisdom, saw this thousands of years ago: “A man to whom Hashem gives riches, possessions and honor… yet Hashem does not give him the power to enjoy it.” This is plainly a tragedy of the material world. But King Solomon did not write a book of money tips. He wrote a book that touches the soul.
Q: What is the tragedy of "Hashem does not give him the power to enjoy it" in serving Hashem?
Rabbi Landau answers: If so, what is the tragedy of “Hashem does not give him the power”? Everything is there, but he does not take charge of it. He does not use it. He saves it. We know this voice. Everyone knows it from the inside. “When the kids are older, then I’ll join a regular Torah class. When my income is steady, then I’ll pray slowly and calmly. When I have free time, then I’ll get to it.” And so it goes, year after year. The strength is there. In a way, the desire is there too. But he is not in charge of himself. He does not put the fortune he was given to work.
Q: What does a person discover when the "later" he was waiting for finally arrives?
Rabbi Landau answers: When that later time finally comes, he discovers that the “riches” are simply gone. It is not the money that is gone. The money may still be there. What is gone is the strength, the vitality, the joy of a body that works, and the heart that caught fire. Now he wants to “enjoy” it. He wants to stand in prayer the way he always dreamed of. He wants to study with real effort, the way he knew he could. But the body already says “no.” He “saved” the riches for a future version of himself who no longer exists. King Solomon himself gives the answer: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.” Remember Him in the days of your youth especially.
Q: Why shouldn't you push off Torah study and heartfelt prayer for later?
Rabbi Landau answers: You can calculate as much as you want. But know what you are “saving,” and for whom you are “saving” it. Every page of Talmud you push off to “not today,” you are saving for someone who may be too tired to open it. Every prayer you rush through to keep up with the day, you are saving away the heart that right now still catches fire easily. Our Sages teach: “The eager do a commandment at the first chance they get.” This is not because later is forbidden. It is because right now you are still in charge. Today, cash in the “riches.” Study one page of Talmud. Say one prayer slowly and calmly. Do one act of kindness without waiting for tomorrow.