In an article on the billionaires of the world a few weeks ago, the New York Times asked how much wealth is too much. In America, we all believe that we are middle class, no matter how much more or less we earn than the average income ($63,179 for median household income in 2018). I know people who make more than 10X the median and still consider themselves decidedly middle class. Today’s Daf asks who is rich.

The Rabbis teach that anyone who takes pleasure in their wealth is wealthy. You may make less than the national median, but if you come home and cook a delicious dinner with the people you love and get into bed with your life’s partner at the end of the day, you may feel satisfied – and you may be much happier than someone with far more monetary resources. Indeed, Rabbi Akiva’s opinion is that anyone who has a spouse that is “beautiful in deeds” is wealthy. I have the great fortune to be married to a spouse who is “beautiful in deeds” both in her public life and her private life. I understand what Rabbi Akiva means and I need to take comfort in these uncertain days.

I am also wealthy by Rabbi Yosse’s definition. Rabbi Yosse says anyone with a toilet near their table is wealthy. I assume Rabbi Yosse did not mean right next to the table. One of my toilets is only a few seconds away from my table. A note on this curious passage in The Shottenstein Edition states, “There is no limit to the cash reserve one can build as a hedge against a debilitating illness; hence, if one accumulates wealth for that purpose, he can never be considered rich. Rather, the best insurance against illness is good hygiene, which includes having a convenient privy.” I don’t doubt the statement, but I find more satisfaction in my wife than the closeness of one of our bathrooms to our dinner table. Nevertheless, I do have indoor plumbing and clean bathrooms.

Before we get to the discussion about who is truly wealthy, we have a long discussion about Terumah – foodstuffs set aside for the Priests – that has become ritually impure. We have to burn these items and there is a lot of discussion about whether we can benefit from the fire we use to burn the impure Terumah. We also learn various ways to beautify Shabbat. We learn not to use foul-smelling fuels in our Shabbat lights. We also learn to bathe ourselves in preparation for Shabbat. Rabbi Yehudah bar Il’ai was in the habit of washing his hands and feet in warm water before Shabbat and then wrapping himself in a clean fringed garment to welcome the Sabbath. His disciples said he resembled “an angel of the Lord of Hosts” – suggesting contentment as well as cleanliness.

The Talmud takes one of its strange swerves and looks at verse 3:17 from Lamentations, “My life was bereft of peace, I forgot what happiness was.” The Talmud states that the first part of the verse refers to Jeremiah’s inability to kindle the Shabbat lights. No other explanation is given. Numerous interpretations are given to the second part of the verse – Jeremiah did not have access to a bath, or a nice bed and bedclothes, or a made bed an an “adorned wife”. Funny how simple things can bring us such pleasure. My wife has a resolution this year to make our bed every day. There is something really comforting to get in a made bed next to someone you love. I hope all of my readers have the same experience.