A new proverb was posted to the Mishlei section on Wednesday, September 13.
The poor man speaks with entreaties, and the rich man answers with
harshness.
Rich people and poor people alike are victims of the same fallacy. They overestimate
the importance of financial wealth. As a result, they forget that the value of a person
is not determined by how much money he has but by the human qualities that make
him unique as an individual.
Unfortunately, the misconceptions of both rich and poor tend to feed on each other. A poor person may see the wealthy person, not for who he is, but as someone who could very well help him with a loan or gift. The rich person in turn sees the poor person as a failure who has only himself to blame for his inadequacies and is therefore not really deserving of financial assistance.