Preparing video...
0:00 / 0:00

Why is Stinginess Compared to Idol Worship in the Torah?

275 views
Hidabroot - Torah & Judaism avatar
Hidabroot - Torah & Judaism

Transcript

Auto-generated transcript. Not time-synced to the video.

The Torah considers someone who averts his eyes from the needy as though he worshiped idols. Now, ostensibly, the connection is difficult to understand. Stinginess is a lacking in our relationship with our fellow human [music] beings. Idol worship is purely between us and God. Really, every mitzvah that involves giving to our fellow beings is a reflection of our relationship with Hashem. As it says in Drahayamim Chronicles, [music] everything is from you and it is from your hand that we have given to you. We have nothing to give except the giving itself. Everything else belongs to God. The medieval Torah commentator the Rash writes, "Do not make gold and silver your folly, for this is the beginning of idol worship." When we give saddaka charity properly, we're acknowledging that we are merely the stewards of our wealth, [music] that it's not ours. In addition, by using our possessions to serve God, we testify to the fact that the world has a purpose, that the point of life is not self-gratification. We acknowledge that we and everything we have is part of God's plan to bring this world to a state of perfection. That's both our inheritance and our bequest.