Parshat Shoftim

Money isn’t everything, but it doesn’t hurt

Issue of Sept. 9, 2008

The Jewish king has three restrictions: he may not have too many horses, too many wives or too much money. As a matter of fact, when Shmuel outlines for the people (Samuel I Chapter 8) what life under a king will look like, we see clearly that a king can do just about anything else. He can appoint whomever he wants to just about any position, as per his governmental and personal needs.

Yet there are three restrictions on his behavior, and the question is “Why?” To make matters easy, the Torah gives a reason for the first two restrictions, but offers no direct explanation for the restriction on too much money.

The king should not have too many horses, for he may not bring the people back to Egypt (17:16). Either they’ll go to Egypt to get the horses, or the horses are fleet-footed, and will transport the Israelites back there.

He should not have too many wives, for they will cause his heart to veer away from G-d. (17:17)

And he should not have too much silver and gold. (17:17), but no reason is given for this. What’s wrong with too much money? Why doesn’t the Torah explain why it’s a problem for a king to have too much money?

Some will call it obvious. As King Solomon said, (Ecclesiastes 5:9) “One who loves money is never satisfied with money.” Other aphorisms support this idea, including, most famously: “Money is the root of all evil.”

But some philanthropists do a great deal of good with their “excess” of money! How can extreme wealth be clean-swept into a category of things a king must avoid?

Rashi says the point of a king becoming wealthy is for him to be able to pay his servants and soldiers. But extra riches, beyond that, are not what it’s all about.

Ibn Ezra says that a king who tries to amass large amounts of silver and gold will only be overtaxing his citizens.

But Rabbenu Bachya says the reason the king is cautioned against becoming too wealthy is actually mentioned in the last verse of the chapter –– (17:20) “l’vilti rum l’vavo me’echav.” The whole point is for the king not to lose sight of his brothers.

This is why the king has this prohibition while others do not. If a person is successful in business, the Torah does not say, “Put a cap on the amount of money you make.” There are other rules which are meant to take a person away from earning money 24/7, such as Shabbat, the need to attend synagogue, the obligation to set aside time for Torah study, etc.

A person is entitled to make as much money as his Jewish life permits him to. But a king, who makes his money primarily through the collection of taxes, is prohibited from losing sight of where his salary comes from –– his subjects.

So Rabbenu Bachya says, “As he develops his gold and silver storage, he will put his faith in his wealth and will lessen his trust in G-d. However, even a king must ‘fear’ G-d, and that fear should be his true treasure.

Woody Allen made an astute observation when he said, “Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.”

We can all relate to the financial stability that wealth can bring, and the desire of every person to “not need to worry” about money. But perhaps the king’s role as ‘role-model’ can serve as a guide to everyone about how to relate to others who are not in the same financial circumstances. We can not lose sight of how money can so easily turn us away from the plight of others, especially when we feel superior to them because of our own success.