וּמִקְנֶה רַב הָיָה לִבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן וְלִבְנֵי גָד. יְלַמְּדֵנוּ רַבֵּנוּ, כַּמָּה מַתָּנוֹת נִבְרְאוּ בָּעוֹלָם. כָּךְ שָׁנוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ, שָׁלֹשׁ מַתָּנוֹת בָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בָּעוֹלָם, חָכְמָה וּגְבוּרָה וָעֹשֶׁר. זָכָה אָדָם לְאֶחָד מֵהֶן, נוֹטֵל חֶמְדַּת כָּל הָעוֹלָם. זָכָה בְּחָכְמָה, זָכָה בַּכֹּל. זָכָה בִּגְבוּרָה, זָכָה בַּכֹּל. זָכָה בְּעֹשֶׁר, זָכָה בַּכֹּל. אֵימָתַי, בִּזְמַן שֶׁהֵן מַתְּנוֹת שָׁמַיִם וּבָאוֹת מִכֹּחַ הַגְּבוּרָה שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, אֲבָל גְּבוּרָתוֹ וְעָשְׁרוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם אֵינָהּ כְּלוּם. שֶׁכֵּן אָמַר שְׁלֹמֹה, שַׁבְתִּי וְרָאִיתִי תַּחַת הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְגוֹ' (קהלת ט, יא). וְכֵן יִרְמְיָה אָמַר, כֹּה אָמַר ה', אַל יִתְהַלֵּל חָכָם וְגוֹ' (ירמיה ט, כב). וּמַתָּנוֹת אֵלּוּ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאֵינָן מִן הַמָּקוֹם, סוֹפָן לִיפָּסֵק מִמֶּנּוּ. שָׁנוּ חֲכָמִים, שְׁנֵי חֲכָמִים עָמְדוּ בָּעוֹלָם, אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶחָד מֵאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם. אֲחִיתֹפֶל מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, וּבִלְעָם מֵאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, וּשְׁנֵיהֶם אָבְדוּ מִן הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וּמִן הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. שְׁנֵי גִּבּוֹרִים עָמְדוּ בָּעוֹלָם, אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶחָד מֵאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם. שִׁמְשׁוֹן מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, וְגָלְיָת מֵאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, וּשְׁנֵיהֶם אָבְדוּ מִן הָעוֹלָם. שְׁנֵי עֲשִׁירִים עָמְדוּ בָּעוֹלָם, אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶחָד מֵאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם. קֹרַח מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, וְהָמָן מֵאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, וּשְׁנֵיהֶם אָבְדוּ מִן הָעוֹלָם. לָמָּה, לְפִי שֶׁלֹּא הָיְתָה מַתְּנָתָן מִן הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, אֶלָּא הָיוּ חוֹטְפִין אוֹתָהּ לָהֶן. וְכֵן אַתְּ מוֹצֵא בִּבְנֵי גָּד וּבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן, שֶׁהָיוּ עֲשִׁירִים הַרְבֵּה וְהָיָה לָהֶם מִקְנֶה גָּדוֹל וְחִבְּבוּ אֶת מָמוֹנָם וְיָשְׁבוּ לָהֶם חוּצָה לָאָרֶץ. לְכָךְ גָּלוּ תְּחִלָּה מִכָּל הַשְּׁבָטִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיַּגְלֵם לָרְאוּבֵנִי וְלַגָּדִי וְלַחֲצִי שֵׁבֶט הַמְּנַשִּׁי (דה״א ה, כו). וּמִי גָּרַם לָהֶם. עַל שֶׁהִפְרִישׁוּ עַצְמָם מִן אֲחֵיהֶם בִּשְׁבִיל מִקְנֵיהֶם. וּמִנַּיִן, מִמַּה שֶּׁקָּרְאוּ בָּעִנְיָן וּמִקְנֶה רַב הָיָה לִבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן וְלִבְנֵי גָד. (Numb. 32:1:) “Now the Children of Reuben and the Children of Gad] had much livestock.” Let our master instruct us: How many good gifts were created in the world?14Numb. R. 22:7. Thus have our masters taught: The Holy One, blessed be He, created three gifts in the world: wisdom, strength, and wealth. A person meriting one of them receives what is most desirable in the whole world. A person meriting wisdom has merited everything. A person meriting strength has merited everything. A person meriting wealth has merited everything. When? When they are gifts of the Heavens and come from the power of the strength of the Holy One, blessed be He. But human strength and wealth are nothing; for thus has Solomon stated (in Eccl. 9:11), “Again I saw that under the sun [the race does not belong to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor even wealth to the discerning, nor even favor to the knowledgeable].” Thus also has Jeremiah stated (in Jer. 9:22), “Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not the wise boast in their wisdom, [nor the strong boast in their strength, nor the wealthy boast in their wealth].’” So these gifts, when they do not come from the Holy One, blessed be He, will finally be cut off from them. The sages taught, “Two wise men arose in the world, one from Israel and one from the nations of the world. Ahitophel was from Israel, while Balaam was from the nations of the world; but both of them were lost from this world and from the world to come. Two strong men arose in the world, one was from Israel and one from the nations of the world. Samson was from Israel, while Goliath was from the nations of the world; but both of them were lost from the world. Two wealthy men arose in the world, Korah from Israel and Haman from the nations of the world; but both of them were lost from the world. Why? Because their gift was not from the Holy One, blessed be He. Rather they grabbed it up for themselves. So also do you find with the Children of Gad and the Children of Reuben that they were very wealthy and had a lot of livestock. But they loved their money and resided outside the Land [of Israel as a result]. For that reason they were the first of the tribes to go into exile, as stated (in I Chron. 5:26), ‘and he carried them into exile, i.e., the Reubenites and the Gadites […].’ Who brought [the exile] upon them? [It happened] because they had separated themselves from their siblings for the sake of their livestock. And where is it shown? From what they read on the subject (in Numb. 32:1), ‘Now the Children of Reuben and the Children of Gad had much livestock.’”