Our Gemara on Amud Aleph quotes the scriptural source for shechitta. The context of the verse is a broader discussion of how the Jewish people will settle more and more land, leading to greater distance from the Temple. In such cases, a person may still want to eat meat, though not as typically done through a festival and/or sacrifice. This is known as basar ta’avah, literally meat of desire. That is to say, meat that one consumes with no specific sacerdotal function, but rather just to enjoy meat. The verses (Devarim 12:20-21) state:

“When GOD enlarges your territory, as promised, and you say, ‘I shall eat some meat,’ for you have the urge to eat meat, you may eat meat whenever you wish.

“If the place where GOD has chosen to establish the divine name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of the cattle or sheep that GOD gives you, as I have instructed you; and you may eat to your heart’s content in your settlements.”

Sefer Daf al Daf reads extra meaning into this verse. The theme is God expanding the boundaries and wealth, and then instructing a ritual (specifically shechitta) to properly moderate this experience. The overall message is “When God expands your territory…do as He instructs.” This is a model that when we enjoy material wealth and pleasures by the grace of God, we must follow procedures that God instructs to contextualize it.

What is the Torah’s attitude toward wealth? It seems pragmatic and aware of human nature. Success and safety will lead to desiring more, which is not necessarily a bad thing so long as certain procedures and rituals regulate it.

The Gemara (Eruvin 86a) tells us, “Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi would honor the wealthy, and Rabbi Akiva would likewise honor the wealthy.” On a simple level, the wealthy tend to support others philanthropically, and since God chose them as messengers for this worthy task, they should be honored.

If you look at the world through the eyes of a mystic, there is nothing in this world devoid of God or purpose. Furthermore, something that has more energy is a signal of potential divine force. The fact that money holds such fascination and attraction for people is an indicator that it is the tip of the inverse spiritual iceberg. A small point of manifestation into our physical reality represents a larger spiritual reality.

Likkutei Moharan (68) explains that people are not just attracted to money, but even to people who have money. The soul senses the expansion and largess represented by money, understanding that it is a concrete representation of God’s overflowing goodness.

Then Rav Nachman adds a fascinating point. He says anger also is a powerful force that comes from the same Godly force as money. I believe he considers the root of money and anger to be power and aggression, and so both of these physical qualities are manifestations of God’s power and agency. He goes on to say that therefore the force that is most destructive to money is anger because it diverts the Godly power from money toward anger.

Psychologically, this is interesting and corresponds. Angry people tend to be impulsive and sometimes self-destructive. Indeed, people smash and destroy their possessions out of anger. These are not qualities that help people hold onto their wealth or develop strategies to increase it.

The correspondence between the psychological and the spiritual is not accidental. They are two systems of representing emotional and cognitive processes that transcend either system’s language. A mathematician can use base ten or base two to calculate and represent numbers and numeric concepts, but neither are the idea of the number itself, which is a larger non-verbal concept. Psychological forces and drives are one way of noticing and describing what motivates thoughts and emotions, and the mystic identifies these forces and drives as embodiments of a Godly power. Both systems are intuiting the beneath-the-surface motivations and conflicts that are the “back office” operations of the human psyche.

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Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com