If I was a rich man...

Money is the language of the land. Ever see a guy at a restaurant slip the Maître d' money to be seated first, even after he says that all the tables are full? (Or does that only happen in the movies?)

Money corrupts people. The rich have it, the poor don't, everyone wants it, few achieve it, bribes are bad, the weak take them, money causes discordance, jealousy, corruption, disunity, unhappiness. And yet, the world revolves around it.

“Money may not buy happiness, but I'd rather cry in a Jaguar than on a bus.”
― Françoise Sagan

“While money can't buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own form of misery.”
― Groucho Marx

“Too many people spend money they earned..to buy things they don't want..to impress people that they don't like.”
― Will Rogers

“Money cannot buy health, but I'd settle for a diamond-studded
wheelchair.”
― Dorothy Parker

“Money isn't everything...but it ranks right up there with oxygen.”
― Rita Davenport

“The two most beautiful words in the English language are 'cheque enclosed.”
― Dorothy Parker

“Disagreements over money are the biggest cause of divorce."
― Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Match Me If You Can

“[Credit is a system whereby] a person who can't pay, gets another person who can't pay, to guarantee that he can pay.”
― Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit

"Money isn't everything, but it keeps you in touch with your kids." (As seen on my fridge at home.) In "Fiddler on the roof" Tevye sings 'If I was a rich man'. He asks G-d, "Dear God, you made many, many poor people. I realize, of course, that it's no shame to be poor. But it's no great honor either! So, what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune?"

If I was a rich man...
I'd build a big tall house with rooms by the dozen,
Right in the middle of the town.
A fine tin roof with real wooden floors below.
There would be one long staircase just going up,
And one even longer coming down,
And one more leading nowhere, just for show.

If I was a rich man...
The most important men in town would come to fawn on me!
They would ask me to advise them,
Like a Solomon the Wise.
"If you please, Reb Tevye..."
"Pardon me, Reb Tevye..."
Posing problems that would cross a rabbi's eyes!
And it won't make one bit of difference if i answer right or wrong.
When you're rich, they think you really know!

Lord who made the lion and the lamb,
You decreed I should be what I am.
Would it spoil some vast eternal plan?
If I were a wealthy man.

So why couldn't G-d have made us all rich? So that people have an opportunity to give tzedaka? Doesn't seem good enough to me. People only think about money when they don't have any. And what is this 'middle class' which everyone keeps talking about?

   

If I had a million dollars... I'd be rich.