Poverty

Rav Elazar Abuchatzeira זצ״ל, focused on Yakov Avinu’s request for לחם לאכול ובגד ללבוש, bread to eat, and clothing to wear.

Yakov was pleading with Hashem not to leave him impoverished. He understood the emotional strain that is placed on one who cannot provide for the basic needs of his family.

I know of people who give the majority of their צדקה to feeding the poor. Their reasoning is that, “Hungry people cannot learn.” We need our own wake up call to be reminded how fortunate we are that we know where our next meal is coming from.

The Gemara in בבא בתרא further emphasizes the difficulty of being poor. It mentions that איוב, Job, was consoled by his friends, that despite the horrible suffering he went through, he, at least did not have to go through poverty.

We need to be more sensitive to the needs of the poor, and not take for granted Hashem’s abundant blessings that he has bestowed upon us.