Keep lies and false words far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches, But provide me with my daily bread.Proverbs 30:8 (The Israel Bible™)שָׁוְא וּדְבַר־כָּזָב הַרְחֵק מִמֶּנִּי רֵאשׁ וָעֹשֶׁר אַל־תִּתֶּן־לִי הַטְרִיפֵנִי לֶחֶם חֻקִּיHear the verse in HebrewSHAV ud-var ka-ZAV har-KHAYK mi-ME-nee RAYSH va-O-sher al TI-ten LEE hat-ree-FAY-nee LE-khem khu-KEE
"Provide me with my daily bread"
We often think about how grateful we would be to have wealth and abundance. This proverb points out that often, riches do not lead people to gratitude, but rather to smugness and self-satisfaction. If we have too much of a good thing, we may forget Hashem's (God's) hand in our lives. In fact, the Bible warns that forgetting Hashem and attributing one' wealth to his own power is one of the dangers of the blessing of bounty in the Land of Israel. If we lack something in our lives, we may come to curse Hashem, forgetting that He has our best interest at heart. We should always hope to have just enough for our needs- not to feel the strain of lack, but also not the pride of luxury.
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