Wall Street - A Crisis Of Values

The ancients looked up at the heavens and saw the stars in their constellations. They honored them as stewards of divine energy and life, as the embodiment of all forces of nature and the origin of human passions. They abandoned the Master for the servant, for in truth there is only One and all else is but a tool in His hand.

Modern man looks down to the headlines of the finance page and sees there all the forces that will make or break his career, his retirement plans, his success as a human being. He too is a fool, for in truth there is only One and all else is but a tool in His hand. [M.M. Schneerson]

From Wall Street To Main Street

God throws things at us, totally confusing and mixing up our order and plans for our lives, and our sense of security as well. And our job, I feel, after the initial overwhelming upset, is to set to work organizing and setting the mess right again.

So how are we to deal with an overwhelming financial crisis?

The Rebbe often told people that wealth is a test – a test because it is often harder to keep focused while comfortable. Somehow, our inner wiring is such that when faced with crises we find ourselves searching for God, spirituality and meaning.

But, he would tell people, that test is the challenge of our generation. Our job is to have wealth, lots of real, touch-with-your-hands-and-feel-it money and to turn that into a good thing, to use the money for Godliness.

When faced with any question, we are taught to look inside the Torah and see what it tells us. Torah, our Sages have taught us, is from the Hebrew word hora'ah, lesson. The Torah is, essentially, a guidebook and lesson for us, for all times and for every situation.

When the Torah teaches the law of tithing, it says  "and you shall surely give a tenth of your earnings to charity". The commentaries explain that the double language of "and you shall surely give a tenth of your earnings to charity", which can be viewed as a strengthening of terms, hence the phrase "and you shall surely", has another meaning as well.  "you shall tithe", comes from the same root as , "you shall be wealthy". The verse is also saying "tithe" and  "you will become wealthy".

In other words, when we give charity, God gives us the ability to do so in abundance. Of this promise – that when you give charity, God will repay you many times over God says:  "test me in this". Try it, He is telling us, give some charity and you will see that you will make the money back, and then some.

As counter-rational and unbelievable as this piece of advice is, going against every grain of logic in our minds, I have seen some really special people who actually follow this advice. [Aliza Silberstein]

The crisis in the Western world is not financial, but a crisis of values.

A culture that conditions people to believe happiness will come from possessions rather than relationships is bound to collapse. Without spirituality and faith, materialism corrupts the mind and soul.

The best investment a person can make is to look far beyond the materialism and invest in their relationships, families, communities and human connections, business values and ethical dealings. 

Our real security comes from within, in feeling and trusting God’s presence in our life. 

Focus on nurturing your connection to nature, the universe, a deity, and whatever lies beyond here and now.

Who is truly happy? One who is content with their lot. One never knows what life will bring and how things will wrap themselves up in the end.

The great use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

It is every man's obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it. The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.