וישמן ישורון ויבעט (האזינו לב:טו)

Yeshurun became fat and kicked.

Reb Yisroel Salanter zt’’l visited Frankfurt and was invited to visit the mansion of Baron Rothschild, renowned for his wealth, and Yirai Shamayim (fear of Hashem.)

After spending some time at Rothschild’s magnificent estate and touring its premises and possessions, Reb Yisroel was ready to leave and bid farewell. On his way, Reb Yisroel told Baron Rothschild, “Please forgive me, but I need to tell the truth. Your home isn’t completely compliant with the Torah.”

Baron Rothschild became disturbed and fearfully asked, “What makes you say so?”

Reb Yisroel smiled and replied, “Very simple. It says in the Torah וישמן ישורון ויבעט   – when a Yid becomes wealthy, the first thing he does is kick away the Torah and forgets about Hashem…By you, it’s the opposite. You are extremely wealthy; thus, you run a true Yiddishe and Kosher home as our ancestors did. Nu! Isn’t this phenomenon against the Torah!?”

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