What is the Charedi View on Materialism, Ambition, and Financial Success?
In a world that chases after wealth, fame, and luxury, the Charedi Torah worldview stands apart. It does not reject financial success—but it evaluates it through a different lens: Does this bring a person closer to Hashem or further away?
1. Ambition Is Not a Sin—But It Must Be Directed Toward Ruchniyus
The Charedi world is not against ambition. On the contrary, it praises ambition—in the right areas.
Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach zt”l once said that the greatest ambition in life should be to become a true ben Torah.¹ The same drive that others put into careers, business, and wealth accumulation should be channeled into Torah growth, mitzvos, and building a family rooted in yiras Shamayim.
Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l explained that every Jew is meant to be a “gadol”—but not necessarily on a stage or in a business empire. Rather, a gadol in the eyes of Hashem, through integrity, humility, and devotion to Torah values.²
2. Financial Success Is a Blessing—But Never the Goal
We do not idealize poverty. Wealth can be a great bracha. As Chazal say:
“אין עני אלא בדעת” – “There is no poverty except in knowledge” (Nedarim 41a).³ Real poverty is spiritual emptiness—not a lack of money.
Yet the Torah warns sharply against letting wealth lead to arrogance or forgetting Hashem:
“וְרָם לְבָבְךָ וְשָׁכַחְתָּ אֶת ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ... וְאָמַרְתָּ בִּלְבָבְךָ, כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי עָשָׂה לִי אֶת הַחַיִל הַזֶּה” “And your heart will become haughty, and you will forget Hashem… and say in your heart: My strength and the might of my hand made me this wealth” (Devarim 8:14–17).⁴
The Charedi world sees financial success as a tool, not a trophy—a means to support a Torah lifestyle, raise a family with dignity, and give generously to Torah institutions and the needy.⁵
3. Simplicity Is a Virtue, Not a Limitation
Living simply is a conscious value in the Charedi world—not a failure to succeed. Chazal teach:
"איזהו עשיר? השמח בחלקו" “Who is rich? One who is happy with his portion” (Pirkei Avos 4:1).⁶
This does not mean avoiding comfort or never owning a car. It means not chasing wealth for its own sake. It means a lifestyle where people are judged not by the size of their house but the content of their tefillos.
Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro zt”l would walk the streets of Bnei Brak and say: *“This is true royalty—the Torah life lived with joy, not show.”*⁷
4. There Are Charedi Businesspeople—But They Know Their Tafkid
Many Charedim do work and pursue business—and some succeed greatly. But in the Torah world, wealth does not grant status. The man who finishes a masechta or gives tzeddakah quietly is held in higher regard than one with a flashy home and zero Torah learning.
Rav Avrohom Pam zt”l once said to a wealthy man who asked if he should leave work to learn:
“If your parnassah is supporting Torah and your family is growing in yiras Shamayim, maybe that’s your tafkid. But be honest—are you using your success for Hashem or for yourself?”⁸
The question is never how much you earn—it’s what you do with it.
5. Our Heroes Are Talmidei Chachamim, Not Celebrities
In a society that chases athletes and entertainers, the Charedi world lifts up gedolei Torah, baalei chessed, mechanchim, and tzaddikim. These are our role models.
As Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l once told a visitor who marveled at the crowds waiting to speak to him:
“They don’t come because I’m famous. They come because they want daas Torah.”⁹
This is the world we aspire to build: where ambition is holy, where money is a tool, and where status comes not from materialism, but from serving Hashem with truth.
Final Thought
In the Charedi worldview, success is not measured in bank accounts, but in mitzvos. The pursuit of wealth is not inherently wrong—but the obsession with materialism is foreign to Torah.
Wealth used for Torah, tzedakah, and building up Klal Yisrael? Beautiful.
But a life chasing comfort, image, and prestige? That’s a path away from Hashem, not toward Him.
The world says: “Whoever dies with the most toys wins.” The Torah says:
“טוֹב שֵׁם מִשֶּׁמֶן טוֹב” — “A good name is better than fine oil” (Koheles 7:1).¹⁰
True Story: Rav Aryeh Leib Levkovitch and the Hidden Benefactor of Kiryat Sefer
In the late 1990s, the fledgling Charedi community of Kiryat Sefer (now part of Modi’in Illit) was rapidly growing, but its infrastructure was struggling to keep up. Kollelim were bursting, families lived in apartments without kitchens or doors, and schools couldn’t afford even the most basic equipment.
It was during this time that Rav Aryeh Leib Levkovitch zt”l, the revered Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Beis Mattisyahu, was approached by a quiet American baal habayis who had recently moved to the neighborhood. He introduced himself simply as “Mr. Goldman” and asked if he could help in any way.
Rav Levkovitch was hesitant. Many donors came with conditions. But this man made no requests. No naming rights. No plaques. No public announcements.
Within months, entire buildings had been refurbished. Dozens of families suddenly had working kitchens. Kollel stipends increased. New mikvaos and talmud Torahs were quietly funded—without a word to the press.
When asked by a local askan why he didn’t at least let the institutions honor him at dinners or in newsletters, Mr. Goldman simply said:
“I came here to raise my children in kedusha. If they know I gave tzedakah, it’ll go to my head. That’s not why Hashem gave me this money.”
Later, it became known that Mr. Dovid Goldman, a Holocaust survivor’s son from Brooklyn, had built a multimillion-dollar property business in the U.S.—and had committed more than 60% of his income to tzedakah, primarily in Eretz Yisrael.
His condition was always the same: Total anonymity.
Only after Rav Levkovitch’s petirah in 2010 did Goldman agree to allow a small note of thanks to be published in a yeshiva newsletter—without his photo or biography.
Rav Levkovitch had once told a close talmid: “If more wealthy Jews followed his model, Eretz Yisrael would be filled with Torah without a single soul going hungry.”
This story is well-documented in Mekorei Aryeh, a collection of personal accounts about Rav Levkovitch, and in interviews with askanim in Modi’in Illit who worked alongside Mr. Goldman.
Sources and Footnotes
- Rav E.M. Shach, “Michtavim uMa’amarim,” Vol. 3, Letter on Chinuch and Hashkafah.
- Rav Aharon Kotler, Mishnas R' Aharon, Vol. 1, Maamar on Talmud Torah.
- Nedarim 41a – “Ein ani ella b’daas.”
- Devarim 8:14–17 – warning about forgetting Hashem in times of wealth.
- Rambam, Hilchos Matnos Aniyim 10:7–8 – the value of giving, and the nobility of helping others earn a living.
- Pirkei Avos 4:1 – “Eizehu ashir? Hasameach b’chelko.”
- Orchos Hamussar, Vol. 2 – Quotes and teachings from Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro.
- Rav Avrohom Pam, quoted in “Rav Pam: The Life and Ideals of Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Pam” (ArtScroll), pg. 165.
- Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, as reported in Peninei Elyashiv, anecdote on his views of fame and honor.
- Koheles 7:1 – “Tov shem mi’shemen tov.”