Review By: Myra Salzer
Truth be told, I never would have picked this book up, let alone read it, had it not been recommended by someone whom I respect a great deal. I’m glad I did, even though it’s a bit dated (published in 2003). Prophetically, the author saw a technology-interfering-with-living trend. But that’s not what the book is all about.
Leder, the author, is a rabbi and Pritzker Chair of Senior Rabbinics at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. Given the title of the book and his position, I was very concerned that this would be a couple hundred pages of preaching. Not so! 🙂
The book included story after story, and joke after joke, of what true wealth is and how financial resources tend to interfere with what’s really important. An example in the form of a joke:
A poor man is walking in the forest conversing with God. He asks, “Lord, what is 1 million years to you?”
God replies, “My son, 1 million years is like a second to me.”
The man then asks, “Lord, what is $1 million to you?”
God replies, “My son, $1 million is less than a penny to me.”
The man stores up his courage and asks, “So, God, can I have $1 million?”
To which God replies, “In a second.”
- And then the author cites “101 classic Jewish jokes.”
Though nothing in the book was new to me, it’s a good reminder. Lines like:
“We can all spend less time counting our money and more time counting our blessings.”
And…
“Remember that the time we spend with our kids is more important than the money we spend on them.”
All in all, the greatest benefit of reading this book is that I got to take some time to be introspective and explore my own relationship with money and with life.