There is a Jewish "folk tale", that I think of as well known, but perhaps not. It is "The Choice (Bechira)". Don't worry, it's not a horrid story, it's a nice story:
A good, poor man is on his way to work as he is every morning, when he is approached by a stranger. "You have been allotted a great sum of money by the Lord. Would you like to have it now, to do with as you please, with the assurance that the money will be gone in 25 years? Or would you like to wait and have in held as a security for your old age?"
" This is too large a question for me to answer alone. I must consult with my wife," says the man.
"Good," replies the stranger. "Meet me here this same time tomorrow, and give me your decision."
The man goes home and explains the offer to his wife, who is not only wise, and good, but has great faith in heaven. "We can have the money now to use as we see fit, or wait so that we will not need to worry about sustenance in our old age. But who knows what the future will hold in any event? We may be wealthy without the extra gift, we may die in the next year, we may lose a hundred good opportunities in the intervening years. Now is what we know; we have needs today, we have children to nourish and raise in a proper manner, and there are many in need in our community. Ask for the money now."
The man returns to find the stranger the next day. "We will take the money now," says the man.
"Go home," orders the stranger, "and you will find the fortune already arrived."
And so it is that when the man gets home, and large purse of gold has already been delivered to his wife. They spend the money judiciously over the subsequent years, and continue to prosper. They raise a large family of upright, scholarly children. Meanwhile their house and purse were always welcome to those in need, and they were generous to any worthy cause. But at the end of twenty-five years, the fortune is spent and gone.
The couple realizes their great financial prosperity has ended, and they are reconciled to live life as it was previous to the gift. The man goes out to work as he used to, and he again finds the same stranger before him. "The Holy One has watch how you used His gift, and saw that it was given to bring Torah and Mitzvos (commandments) into the world. Because you made His will your will, there is no reason to withhold fortune from you." And they once again are blessed with great providence, which continues until the end of their days.
Okay, when I first learned this story, I guessed wrong. I though the moral was going to be "a penny saved...". This story really stuck with me. And although I still have a hard time truly TRULY always believing that all providence is from Heaven, still, when I do have, I really want to use it well. Until now this has been more philosophical than practical. But to be honest, I now find we have a substantial amount of extra funds. And I have started to spend. But am I spending in the right way?
We have had seders in our house for the last fifteen years, but besides the actual dishes, which were mostly wedding gifts, the table looked (correctly) like everything was from the dollar store, with a couple Target glasses and pitchers thrown in. I wanted Pesach to be fancy , beautiful, to really look like we are royalty, as we should feel like royalty. So yesterday I bought gorgeous Naharia hand blown wine glasses (that I have loved since I was sixteen) and Menachem picked out a silver becher (wine cup) set with the stand that that pours out into the tiny silver cups. It really is beautiful, and I really want it to enhance our Pesach. But am I really using the money for God's will? Or am I just justifying my own desires?
