Recognizing Wealth From Hashem

במדרש ומקנה רב כו' ג' מתנות כו' בזמן שבאין בכח התורה והם מתנת שמים כו' חוטפין לעצמם כו'

The Midrash expounds on the verse "And the children of Reuven and the children of Gad had a very great abundance of cattle" (Bamidbar 32:1), teaching that there are three good gifts that Hashem gave to Klal Yisrael — and these are acquired specifically through the power of Torah; they are gifts from Heaven, yet a person can seize them prematurely for himself.

The Sfas Emes opens with the Midrash on the wealth of the tribes of Reuven and Gad, noting that the abundant gifts Hashem grants are channeled through Torah, but a person can grab them for himself rather than receiving them properly from Heaven.

אף כי הכל מהשי"ת

For even though everything comes entirely from Hashem Yisbarach,

Whatever a person has is in truth given entirely by Hashem.

מ"מ לפי הידיעה שיודע האדם היטב שכל אשר לו מהשי"ת

nevertheless, according to the clarity of a person's recognition — when he knows well that all that he possesses is from Hashem Yisbarach —

The measure of a person's blessing tracks the measure of his recognition that all he owns flows from Hashem.

כמו כן נתגלה אצלו הפנימיות חיות מהשי"ת

to that same degree the inner vitality from Hashem Yisbarach becomes revealed within him.

When a person truly knows his possessions are from Hashem, the hidden Divine life-force within them becomes openly revealed to him.

וכן להיפוך שחוטף לעצמו שחושב כחו ועוצם ידי כו' עי"ז נסתר באמת כח השי"ת שצפון בכל דבר:

And so too the reverse: when a person seizes a thing for himself, imagining that it is "my own strength and the might of my hand" (Devarim 8:17) that has produced this wealth — through this the power of Hashem Yisbarach, which lies hidden and concealed within every single thing, is truly obscured.

Conversely, when a person credits his own strength for what he has, he conceals and blocks the Divine power that is hidden inside every created thing.

Summary: The Sfas Emes, building on the Midrash about the great wealth of the tribes of Reuven and Gad, teaches that all the gifts a person receives are truly from Hashem Yisbarach and are drawn down through the power of Torah. The decisive factor is a person's recognition: to the extent that he clearly knows that everything he has comes from Hashem, the inner Divine vitality concealed within his possessions becomes revealed to him. But the reverse is equally true — when a person seizes things for himself and credits "my own strength and the might of my hand," he obscures and conceals the very power of Hashem that lies hidden within every single thing. Thus the proper acquisition of Hashem's gifts depends entirely on humble recognition that they are gifts from Heaven, not the spoils of one's own might.