Wealth and Immortality: A Tribute to My Father, Chaim Ben-Naftali A”H

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

Psalm 49

Listen to this all peoples, give ear all dwellers of Earth. Also sons of average and accomplished men, [listen] together rich and poor. My mouth speaks wisdom, and my heart’s thoughts tell understanding. I inclined my ear to the Torah, I will commence my riddle with the harp.

Why shall I fear in the evil days, when the sins of my heels surround me? Those who trust in their wealth, and praise their abundant riches. Man cannot redeem his brother [from death], nor can man pay God his own ransom. Too high is the soul’s price, so one ceases to live forever.

Shall man live eternally and never see the grave? For one sees that the wise die, that the foolish and ignorant both perish, leaving their wealth to others. In their hearts they feel their homes are eternal, their dwellings are for all generations, they name cities after themselves. Man’s glory does not lie down with him, he is like an animal.

This is the way of the wicked and those after them who in their mouths praise the wealthy. Like sheep heading to the slaughter, death devours them, but the upright will rule over them in the morning [the days of redemption], their strength will rot in the grave with nothing remaining of body or soul.

But God will redeem my life from the clutches of the grave for He will take me. Fear not when man grows rich, when the honor of his house increases. For in death he will not take it all, when his honor too follows his death. Though he blesses himself in life, but [in truth] you are praised if you do well to yourself. He will join his fathers’ generation, he will never see daylight. Man whose soul does not understand will be like the animals.

This Psalm addresses man’s false overestimation of wealth as that which secures his immortality. But our wise king and psalmist King David rejects man’s foolish value of wealth, and its fantasies. Based on reality, he teaches us that man is wrong.

We understand man is disturbed by death: it’s when all ends and what awaits is completely unknown. Furthermore, lifeless bodies are disturbing, certainly our own lifeless state. Man might think after death, he is then under the ground, or that he ceases to exists. As all man knows is this earthly existence, he can’t form a clear picture of what death is. But with God’s answers through His leaders and prophets—through Torah—man can approach death realistically and with anticipation. Maimonides teaches, “How very much did David desire the life of the world to come as implied by "Had I not believed that I would see the goodness of God in the land of the living! (Psalms 27:13)” (To better appreciate insight in to the afterlife, study Maimonides’ Laws of Repentance, chapter 8.)

Let’s now understand Psalm 49 above, that man imagines wealth as that which secures immortality. King David teaches that no man escapes the immortality fantasy, be he of any nation, rich or poor. Meaning, it’s part of the human design, where societal status is irrelevant. Thereby, King David directs us where to find the false belief: in our psyches. It is of a psychological need to seek wealth and immortality. Man thinks a rich person has security, that he won’t die. This error is because with great wealth comes unlimited purchases that can continue without end. The quantity of wealth tricks one to believe such riches can’t be exhausted, and one has all the time in the world to spend it. That’s why man desires great wealth, he associates it with immortality. Man thinks, “If I have unlimited wealth, my spending is also unlimited, making my life unlimited.”

I will commence my riddle with the harp.

King David knows very well that man is disturbed by death, so he doesn’t approach it head-on, which would shock man. So he opens with a riddle:

Why shall I fear in the evil days, when the sins of my heels surround me?

He calls death “evil days” as that’s something man can imagine, meaning a time he is still earthbound. But he eventually reveals that he refers to death. For the same sensitivity, King David first talks about redeeming a brother—not yourself—from death.

King David asks man to accept the reality of death, and that wealth is not taken to the grave. He critiques the imagination that great homes provide immortality. A home is where one spends most of his life, and if his home is a great structure that will endure hundreds of years, man thinks he will too. Man attaches his lifespan to the lifespan of his home, it’s a strong identification.

This is the way of the wicked and those after them who in their mouths praise the wealthy.

King David says this belief is a “way”, a philosophy, it’s widespread and an accepted “way of life.” Not only for him, but for “those after them.” The blind follow the blind.

But God will redeem my life from the clutches of the grave for He will take me. Fear not when man grows rich, when the honor of his house increases. For in death he will not take it all, when his honor too follows his death [to the grave]. Though he blesses himself in life, but [in truth] you are praised if you do well to yourself [to your soul].

King David concludes with reality, the true philosophy: the afterlife is eternal and good. If one does good to his soul, this secures the afterlife, which is not physical, where wealth does not exist: “You are praised if you do well to yourself.” “Praised” means you act in reality by valuing the good for the soul which is the only part of you that survives after death. And doing good for the soul while alive is the greatest life here as well. The greatest minds said that physical pleasures, wealth, and fame don’t compare to the enjoyment of wisdom: “All desirous things don’t compare to it [Torah study]” (Prov. 8:11).

The lesson is not to follow your emotional sense that money provides immortality. Don’t feel men with great wealth have greater security, as all men die, no man takes his money with him. It’s difficult to escape the grips of our society that praises wealth and fame as the ultimate life. But instead of following today’s foolish society, follow the great Torah minds.

My Tribute to My Father

My father never aspired for wealth, he never discussed money. He earned his basic needs. He never suggested what career I should take, to be successful, to be a lawyer or a doctor. When I began studying Torah, he supported me financially for 10 years in the yeshiva dorm, never suggesting, “It’s time to stop learning and work.” When I shared with him my excitement at my rebbe’s Torah ideas, he never expressed any sign of jealousy or resentment that his son now has a new hero, his rebbe. You’d think a father wants to remain his son’s hero. Not my father. He patiently listened with a smile to all the Torah I repeated in my rebbe’s name. He was so delighted that I found my greatest passion in Torah study, that he never resented my rebbe, but greatly respected him. Any move I made, my father supported and got me interviews when I started some side work. He respected my decisions in word and in deed.

After he passed away this Shavuos, I had time to reflect. I realized it was because he never valued wealth that I too never chased it. This enabled me to have no conflict when choosing a Torah life, and not pursuing a career as a main focus. My father presented me with a model of life that did not idealize wealth or romanticize a grandiose career. I was enabled to value what is truly our purpose: Torah study and education. My father went on to engage more in Torah himself, sharing his Torah thoughts and questions in the Jewishtimes. He was thrilled to have a platform to broaden his audience.

He never spoke about people, so he never spoke Lashon Hara. He was honest in business. He loved making people laugh, even while in assisted living these past 3 years. His motto was, “Its’ my job to make people laugh.” And he also said “Thank you” to everyone profusely. Upon my visits a number of times each week, I asked him, “Dad, how are you feeling today?” Most days he replied, “I’m doing just fine.” Thank God for that. God made him strong, and with dignity so he wished to maintain an appearance of dignity and rarely complained.

When younger, my father gave us enjoyment and memories with surprise gifts like a new backyard pool, car trips, fishing trips, winter sleigh riding, and great summer Sundays at the schoolyard. He was never sick, never in the hospital, lived until 91, and he passed quickly in 12 hours Erev Shavuos. Neither he nor I suffered a long goodbye or a tortuous end-of-life, bed-ridden sickness.

Thank You God for my father, my mother and my brother. They were all fine individuals.