(AUDIO) Succos: Leave Your (Fancy) House for a More Realistic Home

October 02, 2009 | Comments 0

For seven days, we are to leave our permanent homes and make residence in flimsy little succahs, with no roof over our heads. As the meforshim all explain, the essence of the mitzvah is to remind us how flimsy our very existence is. Our lives are wholly dependent on Hashem’s protection and care. During these seven days, we reflect on how he provided for the needs of the Jews in the desert for 40 years, from food and shelter to clothing and protection. Now, when we are under the illusion that we are self-reliant, we take these 7 days in the flimsy shack to remind ourselves that everything really does come from Him.

Perhaps its time to think about our obsessiveness with fancy homes. Today, its not uncommon to find even “kollel families” living in very expensive homes, especially in Lakewood. The social pressure that we are faced with is surely a large contributer to this phenomenon. However, the negative consequences are getting worse. Most kollel families can barely afford these high mortgage payments. Add to that the growing cost of raising children today, the decline of financial support from parents, and you have a serious crisis which can lead to foreclosure, bankrupcy, and of course, shalom bayis disasters.

Did you know that most million dollar homes are not even owned by millionaires? How is that possible, you ask? Looking around Lakewood, you can answer that question pretty quickly. When a home is mortgaged to the max, the family occupying the home doesn’t “own” their home. Rather, their home owns them.

In this interview, Dr. Tom Stanley describes the finidngs of his study that he did with people who appeared rich and with those who were actually rich. It is a very eye opening interview, and it will change your thinking about money and stuff after you listen to it.

Dr. Tom Stanely Millionaire Interview

bookmark this post