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Video class August 20, 2026 44 min

God's Store Runs on Credit. Who Pays?

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Welcome to Ethics of Our Fathers: Pirkei Avot, Chapter 3, Mishnah 16

If everything you have was given to you on credit, who is keeping the books, and how do you pay it back?

In one of his final teachings in Pirkei Avot, Rabbi Akiva paints an unusually detailed picture: everything is given against a pledge, a net is spread over all the living, the store is open and the storekeeper extends credit, the ledger is open and the hand writes, and the collectors make their rounds every day. The message in one sentence: nothing we do goes unnoticed, and every blessing we enjoy is a loan from God meant for a higher purpose.

Rabbi Greenberg walks through the Mishnah image by image: our wealth, health and intelligence are ours to enjoy, but they come with an obligation of tzedakah, gratitude, and using our lives to connect God to the world.

🔎 In this video we explore: • Why every blessing in life, from health to intelligence, is a loan • Tzedakah: at least 10%, preferably 20%, and why not more • What it means to give God “good health” • Hakafot on Simchat Torah: God gives us the year’s blessings on credit • Arev: responsible, intermingled, and sweet: the secret of Jewish unity • Why siblings and close communities fight precisely because they’re close • The net is the yetzer hara, and why a challenge is a compliment from God • Why Adam and Eve, with the holiest souls, couldn’t resist one fruit • The Baal Shem Tov: how we unknowingly pass judgment on ourselves • Why the messianic world is greater than the spiritual Olam Haba

💡 Key Insights:

  • All of our income is God’s; He lets us keep most of it.
  • When God gives a gift, saying thank you is the point of the gift.
  • We repay God’s credit through Torah study and mitzvot.
  • The extra you give when you have to push yourself is worth more than a larger sum given easily.
  • A good intention you couldn’t carry out still counts; a passing bad thought isn’t punished.

❓ FAQ: Q: Does God punish us for bad thoughts? A: Generally no. God judges mainly by action. A thought that enters your mind isn’t your fault; dwelling on it diminishes you, and overcoming it earns greater reward. Q: Is Olam Haba the afterlife or the messianic era? A: Both, as two phases: the soul’s spiritual reward after life, and the physical world of the messianic age, which is the greater of the two.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Welcome and opening 00:55 Pirkei Avot 3:16: Rabbi Akiva’s store, ledger and collectors 02:33 “Given against a pledge”: every blessing is on loan 05:38 Wealth: tzedakah and the 10%–20% rule 06:41 Health: why we answer “Baruch Hashem” 08:08 Giving God “good health”: connecting soul and world 11:32 Simchat Torah hakafot: blessings on credit 14:31 Eravon and arev: every Jew is responsible for every Jew 17:28 The cholent metaphor: one pot, many flavors 19:57 Arev means sweet: the sweetness of Jewish unity 21:20 Why closeness also breeds friction 22:55 “The net is spread over all the living”: the yetzer hara 23:56 Why did Adam and Eve fail? The gift of challenge 27:58 The open store: a department store of good and harm 30:20 “The hand writes”: signing the ledger 31:39 The collectors: suffering, debts and judging yourself 33:16 Be careful what you say about someone else 34:24 A true judgment: actions, not thoughts 36:19 The value of struggle and self-mastery 39:04 Good thoughts are credited; bad thoughts aren’t punished 39:43 “Prepared for the feast”: two meanings of Olam Haba 41:36 Q&A: How do we know? Sinai and tradition 43:14 Why the messianic world surpasses paradise

🙏 If this shiur changed how you think about the blessings in your life, hit like, subscribe, and tell us in the comments: what’s one “debt” you want to start repaying this year?

📚 Sources discussed: Pirkei Avot 3:16 (Rabbi Akiva); Pirkei Avot 3:15; Talmud: “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh”; Talmudic teaching that a good intention is credited as a deed; laws of tzedakah (10%–20%); Bereishit: Adam, Chava and the Tree of Knowledge; Kabbalistic teaching on the soul of Adam; a Chassidic teaching on hakafot as credit; the Baal Shem Tov on self-judgment; the Novardok mussar movement

#PirkeiAvot #EthicsOfOurFathers #RabbiAkiva #JewishEthics #YetzerHara #OlamHaba #SimchatTorah #Tzedakah #TorahStudy #RabbiGreenberg

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