So who are you anyway?
How do you deal with wealth and how do you deal with adversity? Many of us get a shot at both ends of the wealth/adversity continuum while for the rest it’s an either/or proposition not of our choosing.
The test of wealth is, in actuality, a reality check because it references what is as opposed to what was or what might be and it prompts two questions: where did it come from and, by the way, who’s in charge here? The answer for either one suffices for the other because the two questions are essentially one.
So where did your wealth come from?
You made it you say? How so? What’s that, you’re a software engineer with an advanced degree from MIT? And after you graduated you developed a plethora of killer applications that you licensed to the likes of IBM and Microsoft for millions of dollars?
So now that we know that it all came to you by your power and the strength of your hand, we can venture a pretty educated guess as to who is in charge of your world. But how about the guy to your left? How about you, sir?
So where did your wealth come from?
From the Ribbono Shel Olam? And it was a Nes you say? Exactly what kind of a Nes are you talking about?
You’re a software developer, and even though you developed and sold for millions what everyone said were killer applications, there were a number of other applications that were functionally competitive with yours, but the public always seemed to prefer your stuff and you can’t understand why?
Yeah, you already said it was a Nes, so there is no sense in asking who’s in charge of your world.
The test of adversity, aside from the obvious quantitative differences that distinguishes it from that of wealth, also inhabits a distinctly different qualitative plane because given the nature of the test, the trap of Kochi VeOtzem Yadi is not an option.
Unlike the test of wealth, where the choice is inherently between the emes that Hashem does it all and the sheker of the strength and the power of my hand, adversity presents only one choice, and the test, as such, is in how we deal with it. Rather than look back and ask, where did this wealth come from, the focus is prospective, and the question to be asked is, when will it come, or better yet will it come?
And as to adversity, who’s in charge morphs into is anyone in charge?
So at the end of the day, the two tests present us with two risks, each one unique unto itself. The test of adversity puts us at risk by pushing the envelope of our free will in the direction of denying the Creator, whereas the test of wealth, the purpose of which is to dazzle us with our own greatness, puts us at risk of ignoring Him.
