I woke up Wednesday morning to a few similar emails. Some of our vendors were trying to charge the Chabad Israel Center credit card, and the charges weren’t going through. I phoned Amex and apparently we’d maxed out. Unfortunately, this is something that happens quite frequently when running a Chabad house.
Chabad Israel Center has no real estate assets, endowment funds, holdings etc. We launched from scratch seven years ago, and what we have in the bank at any given time is through donations from very generous individuals. But our expenses are high, and on a typical month we land close to zero, and now even Amex has cut us off. We can’t just increase our debt limit like the United States, so we’re stuck.
So I called a friend of mine, someone who has helped support our Chabad center in the past. Unfortunately, he responded, “Rabbi, times are tough now. Are you reading the news? The American government has been in shut down for the last two weeks and the government may even default on its loans.”
I am aware. In fact, we called President Obama’s office this week to request a letter in honor of our second annual gala dinner, marking seven years of service to our community. But we were told that the President’s office is currently shut down and no letters are being issued.
This week’s Torah portion outlines the story of the wicked city of Sedom and its ultimate destruction. Sedom was the superpower of that era. They were extremely rich and powerful. When Avraham helped the king of Sedom defeat his enemies, the king wanted to repay him. What a fabulous opportunity! Avraham had a chance to become exceedingly wealthy! But instead of saying, “Thanks, I’d love that,” he did the complete opposite and refused to take so much as a loose shoelace from the spoils.
“Why won’t you take a fabulous reward which you certainly deserve?” asked the king.
And Avraham explained, “I don’t want you and your “government” to one day attribute my wealth to you. The only source of my wealth is G-d. He promised me wealth, and He will deliver. And indeed, Avraham did become fabulously wealthy, and he attributed it only to G-d.
It’s easy for us to think that the money we have comes from our hard work and intelligent decisions. And it’s all too easy to forget that the one who truly holds the purse strings is G-d.
So when my credit card had reached its limit, and I still had bills to pay, I reminded myself that it’s all in G-d’s hands. I opened up my tehillim (Psalms) and prayed for the ability to repay my loans. Of course, I also have to make my best effort and work hard to pay off the debt. But it’s important to remind ourselves that it’s all in G-d’s hands, and it’s up to us to reach out to Him.
Thank G-d, the American government has emerged from the crisis, albeit temporarily. While they argue back and forth over the next few months about paying back the 17 trillion dollars we owe, the government officials would do well to take a closer look at the dollar bill and internalize the message written there, “In G-d we trust.”
May G-d look favorably upon our nation, and bless us with continued growth and prosperity, as we keep in mind that He is the true generator of all income.