Materialism

By Rabbi Joshua Flug

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I. Introduction- This shiur outline will present various Jewish perspectives on materialism
as well as some comparative secular sources on the topic.
II. Is it wrong to pursue wealth?
a. In Koheles, it states that one who loves money will never be satisfied with what he
has. {} This doesn't mean that it is prohibited to pursue money, but it is a
recommendation not to pursue money.
i. The Mishna in Avos makes a similar type of point in stating that wealth is
determined by one who is happy with what he has. {}
ii. The Gemara quotes a Beraisa with different opinions among the Tannaim
about ‫איזהו עשיר‬. {}
1. Maharsha (1555-1631) explains that they all agree with the Mishna but
are presenting, in a sarcastic way, why it must be that way. {}
iii. Compare to NYT Article about materialism where Professor Dan Gilbert is
quoted as saying "If it were the case that money made us totally miserable,
we'd figure out we were wrong [to pursue it. [But] it's wrong in a more
nuanced way. We think money will bring lots of happiness for a long time,
and actually it brings a little happiness for a short time."
b. The Gemara quotes a Beraisa that a nazir (tamei) brings a chatas because he
intentionally distanced himself from wine which the Torah permits. The Gemara ties
this together with the opinion that one who fasts too much is considered a sinner. {}
i. This Gemara certainly gives the impression that the Torah does not look
favorably on ascetics.
c. The Mishna states that the way of Torah (‫ )כך היא דרכה של תורה‬is to eat bread with salt
and a small amount of water. {}
i. This seems to imply that the proper way to acquire Torah is through ascetics.
ii. Yet, Rashi (1040-1105) doesn't take that approach. Rashi explains that even if
that is all one has, one must still pursue learning Torah. But, if someone has
the means, he doesn't need to put himself in a situation of poverty in order to
acquire Torah. {}
d. Rambam (1138-1204) seems to take a different approach than Rashi. Rambam writes
that one must perform teshuva for pursuing money or food. {}
i. Rambam also writes that part of the ‫ מדה בינונית‬is to only eat what one needs
and only pursue what one needs financially. {}
e. There are Rishonim and Acharonim who present what seems to be conflicting
approaches and through understanding their opinion, provide a way to find common
ground between Rashi and Rambam.
 i. R. Menachem Meiri (1249-1306) presents two approaches to understanding
the Mishna about eating bread and salt. {}
1. One should live a life of affliction in order to properly acquire Torah.
2. One must learn Torah even if one is very poor, but if one has the
means, there is no requirement to make oneself poor.
3. Meiri also writes that even though one should not pursue materialism,
if one's intent is for peace of mind or other altruistic purposes, it is
permissible (‫)תבא עליו ברכה‬. {}
a. Perhaps this can be applied to Rambam's opinion and that
Rambam is dealing with pursuit of wealth and materialism for
personal indulgences and not for altruistic purposes.
ii. R. Ya'akov Emden (1697-1776) writes that one should prefer wealth over
poverty because poverty was only created by God so that the wealthy can help
them. At the same time, and only a few paragraphs later, R. Emden writes
that one should be satisfied with what one has because pursuit of indulgences
leads to all types of bad things. {}
1. Perhaps the way to justify the two comments is to suggest that similar
to Meiri, one should have enough to live on and live a life where one is
comfortable. Yet, one's goals should not be the pursuit of money
simply for the sake of indulgences, but rather for altruistic reasons.
iii. R. Chaim Volozhiner suggests a different type of compromise. He writes that
one doesn't need to shun material goods but one must be prepared to serve
God even in a condition where one is eating bread with salt. This way,
material goods don't become a distraction as they are not a priority in one's
life. {}
f. Other opinions of the Rishonim
i. Ramban (1194-1270) writes the mitzvah of kedoshim tihiyu teaches that one
should not assume that certain ways of life are a Torah way of life simply
because it doesn't violate any specific commandments. Kedoshim tihiyu is a
mitzvah to refrain from being a naval b'rshus hatorah. {}
ii. R. Yehuda HaLevi (c. 1075-1141) writes the Torah doesn't believe in ascetics
and one must find the proper balance between living a normal life and not
pursuing luxuries. {}
iii. R. Vidal of Tolosa (Magid Mishneh late 14th century) writes that being
satisfied with what one has is a critical character trait and leads one to a path
that he should be on. {}
III. Materialism and How it Affects Well Being
 a. The Mishna notes that one who has many assets is prone to having worries. {}
i. Rabbeinu Yonah (d. 1263) writes that one might think that pursuing material
goods will give someone tranquility. Therefore, the Mishna states that the
opposite is true and one will actually have anxiety from these assets. {}
ii. R. Ovadia of Bartenura (14th century) mentions the concept of pizur hanefesh
which means that a person has no tranquility because his assets are in one part
of the world, he is in another part of the world and his family is a third place.
{}
iii. Compare to two studies:
1. Study that financial pursuits lead to anxiety and depression: "Highly
central financial success aspirations in the first two studies were
associated with less self-actualization, less vitality, more depression
and more anxiety." {}
2. Materialism and Well-Being: A Conflicting Values Perspective
discusses the negative effects materialism has on one's mental health,
specifically when one is a community oriented person. {}
3. Rabbi Benjamin Blech wrote a book called "Taking Stock" which is a
personal journey through his experience losing his money in the stock
market and how Jewish ideas helped him through it.
4. Will Money Increase Subjective Well Being (see page 26).
5. Recently the term affluenza has been used to describe pursuit of
wealth as an illness (see the external links at the end of the linked
article for various resources on affluenza).
IV. Pursuit of wealth leads to violation of bein adam lachaveiro transgressions
a. The Gemara notes that there is a strong desire to steal. {}
b. The Gemara states that most people are suspect when it comes to theft. {}
c. Rambam, combines the two ideas stating that because there is such a strong desire for
theft, most people are suspect. {}
d. Both ideas seem to contradict the facts on the ground. We don't find that most people
are thieves, nor do we find people with a strong desire to steal. Perhaps the
explanation is based on R. Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1746) who writes that
because people have such a strong desire for pursuit of wealth, they find ways to
justify questionable activities and say that they need the money. {} I.e. pursuit of
wealth lowers people's standard of morally acceptable behavior. The two statements
of the Gemara are not dealing with actual thieves, but with people who are ‫מורה היתר‬
‫ לעצמן‬on the gray areas of bein adam lachaveiro in order to make more money.
e. David Callahan wrote a book titled "The Cheating Culture" where he contends that
materialism has created a culture where people cheat to get ahead. A shorter version
of his opinion is available here.
 ‫‪ .7‬רש"י אבות ו‪:‬ד‬ ‫‪ .1‬קהלת ה‪:‬ט‬
‫המון‬
‫הב בֶ ָ‬
‫א ֵ‬
‫מי‪ֹ -‬‬
‫סף‪ ,‬ו ִ‬
‫בע כ ֶ ֶ‬‫ש ַ‬
‫לא‪-‬י ְ‬‫סף ֹ‬‫הב כ ֶ ֶ‬
‫א ֵ‬
‫ֹ‬
‫בל‪.‬‬ ‫גם‪ֶ-‬זה‪ ,‬הָ ֶ‬
‫תבואה; ַ‬ ‫לא ְ‬ ‫ֹ‬

‫‪ .2‬אבות ד‪:‬א‬

‫‪ .8‬רמב"ם הל' תשובה ז‪:‬ג‬

‫‪ .3‬שבת כה‪:‬‬

‫‪ .4‬מהרש"א שבת כה‪:‬‬

‫‪ .9‬רמב"ם הל' דעות א‪:‬ד‬

‫‪ .5‬נדרים י‪.‬‬

‫‪ .6‬אבות ו‪:‬ד‬
‫‪ .13‬רוח חיים אבות ו‪:‬ד‬ ‫‪ .10‬מאירי אבות ו‪:‬ד‬

‫‪ .11‬מאירי יבמות סה‪.‬‬

‫‪ .14‬רמב"ן ויקרא יט‪:‬ב‬

‫‪ .12‬בירת מגדל עוז בית מדות עליית דרך ארץ‬

‫‪ .15‬כוזרי ב‪:‬נ‬
‫‪Materialism‬‬ ‫‪and‬‬ ‫‪Well-Being:‬‬ ‫‪A .21‬‬ ‫‪ .16‬מגיד משנה זכיה ומתנה יב‪:‬יז‬
‫‪Conflicting Values Perspective‬‬

‫‪ .17‬אבות ב‪:‬ז‬

‫‪ .18‬רבינו יונה ב‪:‬ז‬

‫‪ .22‬מכות כג‪:‬‬
‫‪ .19‬רבינו עובדיה מברטנורה אבות ב‪:‬ז‬

‫‪A Dark Side of the American Dream .20‬‬

‫‪ .23‬בבא בתרא קסה‪.‬‬

‫‪ .24‬רמב"ם הל' איסור ביאה כב‪:‬יט‬

‫‪ .25‬מסילת ישרים פרק יא‬