[Avodah] A Righteous Person's Property

[Professor L. Levine via Avodah]

The following is from RSRH"s commentary on Bereishis 32:25


25 Ya'akov was left alone, and someone wrestled with him until the break of day.


According to our Sages, nishtyar al pachim k'tanim  (Chullin 91a): After he
brought everything across, he returned to see whether something had
been forgotten. And to this they add: mikan l'tzadikim shechaviv aleyhem mamonom yosar migofom v'kol kach lamah l'fi she'ain poshtin yadeihen b'gezel    (ibid.).

Property that a righteous person acquires honestly - even
something of the slightest value - is sacred in his sight. He will not
squander it or allow it to go to waste, and he is held responsible for its
proper use. A vast sum is like a shoelace to him, when he gives up this
sum for the sake of a good cause; but a shoelace is like a vast sum to
him, if it is about to be wasted for no reason or purpose. A person who
is not pshet yado b'gezel, who calls his own only what he has acquired through
honest effort, will see the graces of God's providence in every possession
that he acquires; everything that he owns - even the very smallest
possession - has come to him through honest sweat and toil and
through God's blessing, and hence is of inestimable value.
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