Ep 109Rav Reuven Feinstein: Why Working Harder Won't Make You Rich (According to the Torah)
Ep 109A billion dollars is a thousand dollars a day for 3,000 yearsRabbi Reuven Feinstein
▶1:27
Torah & Jewish outlook · 1:27
A billion dollars is a thousand dollars a day for 3,000 years
My father used to say ... I make more than Rockefeller ... Rockefeller works for nothing. He has all the money he needs ... But I, whenever I work, I get money from. So I enjoy it.
Rabbi Reuven Feinstein
Ep 109Feb 19, 2026
Rav Reuven Feinstein: Why Working Harder Won't Make You Rich (According to the Torah)
There's no such thing as business is business. Business is from God.
More moments · 3
Ep 109As much as you decide you need, that's how much you'll have to workRabbi Reuven Feinstein
▶1:08
As much as you decide you need, that's how much you'll have to work
Ep 109Eliyahu gave them money for six years, then came to take it backRabbi Reuven Feinstein
▶0:53
Eliyahu gave them money for six years, then came to take it back
Ep 109Someone opened a competing store half a block away and called him a heretic for complainingRabbi Reuven Feinstein
▶1:27
Someone opened a competing store half a block away and called him a heretic for complaining
Try this · top 3
Quotes
“A million dollars I would say is about a thousand dollars a day for about three years ... What's a billion dollars? A billion dollars is a thousand dollars a day for 3,000 years ... You're going to live 3,000 years? Who's it for?”
Rabbi Reuven Feinstein
“My father used to say ... I make more than Rockefeller ... Rockefeller works for nothing. He has all the money he needs ... But I, whenever I work, I get money from. So I enjoy it.”
“A person who makes $50,000 a year ... to a guy who makes $150,000 a year, we both work paycheck to paycheck. The difference is the $50,000 guy has a small house. The $150,000 guy has a big house.”
Rabbi Reuven Feinstein
“That's not your money. It's the poor people's money.”
Rabbi Reuven Feinstein
“Use Shabbos to pay for your week.”
Rabbi Reuven Feinstein
Takeaways
1 The manna lesson: whoever gathered more or less ended up with exactly one omer. Do the normal effort your job needs; extra hours don't make extra income.
2 If you did your usual work and the results didn't come this week, go to the beis medrash instead of doubling your effort - doubling becomes a permanent treadmill (the salesman example).
3 Money beyond your needs isn't for you. A billion dollars is $1,000 a day for 3,000 years - you are a trustee for the poor.
4 Rich and poor both exist so there can be givers and takers. Wealth is not a reward or punishment in itself, and both can enjoy life fully (the broomstick-stickball story).
5 Enjoying a nice home is fine. Wasteful frills (like a monkey handing out seating cards) are not.
6 Shabbos, Yom Tov and Torah education costs are "outside the budget" - Hashem pays them back, often as money you didn't work for (tips, gifts, sale prices).
7 Tzedakah extends life - the story of the tzaddik whose giving "earned" him 22 more years.
8 Honesty: there is no "business is business." Cheating in business is a sin against God. Slanting the truth your way is still lying.
9 Hasagas gevul: even if God sets your income, a competitor who opens next door still harms how you earn it.
10 Secular skills matter: good English helps you earn and express ideas (MTJ keeps secular studies).