"Judaism challenges many of our most fundamental assumptions about money. We almost universally assume that if we make money, it is ours. And, in one sense, this is entirely defensible. When our efforts to earn money yield results, we feel that it rightfully belongs to us. Yet, Judaism would tell us that this is to view matters from a very limited perspective. In fact, all the material prosperity that we enjoy is a gift, no matter how hard we have labored to produce it. After all, the earth and all the natural resources that sustain us are not of our making. Our bodies, which enable us to turn those resources into all the things we need in life, have capacities that we did not create and limitations that we do not control. The intellectual capacities necessary to devise new ways of earning a living — our ability to learn, to use our imagination, and to solve problems — are also innate qualities of our minds not of our own making (though, of course, we can work to enhance our natural gifts). Finally, the social conditions needed to create wealth, such as political stability and the opportunity for commercial trade, are largely beyond our personal control. If we are fortunate to live in a society that embraces democratic values and free enterprise, we are far more likely to accumulate money than would otherwise be the case. For all these reasons, the money we earn is only very partially the fruit of our own efforts, and so Judaism teaches us to be grateful to God for our prosperity and not to take undue credit for our material success. The Torah puts this very directly and succinctly: 'Beware lest your heart grow haughty and you forget the Lord your God . .  and you say to yourselves, "My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me." Remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to get wealth, in fulfillment of the covenant that He made on oath with your fathers' " (Deuteronomy 8:14, 17-18).