דברים, פרק ח׳, פסוק י״ד

Transitioning from a life of hardship to a reality of wealth and independence carries a deep psychological and spiritual danger. When daily survival is no longer a struggle and comfort becomes routine, the human mind tends to take success for granted. The primary approach among commentators is that physical abundance and wealth act as direct triggers for spiritual failure. Surrounded by plenty and peace, a person is prone to discard their values, making material wealth the main focus while treating spirituality as an afterthought [רבנו בחיי, תורה תמימה, נחלת יעקב]. The habit of living comfortably naturally causes a person to forget the need to be thankful [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This destructive process begins with arrogance. A person starts to think highly of themselves, placing their trust entirely in their own wealth and intellect [העמק דבר, ביאור יש״ר, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This arrogance inevitably leads to the next stage, which is forgetting that God is the true source of success and instead attributing achievements to personal talent or luck [צאינה וראינה]. The connection between pride and forgetting God is so tight that arrogance is not merely a stepping stone to forgetting Him; it is the very beginning of the forgetting itself. A heart filled with pride leaves no room for God's presence [רש ר הירש, תורה תמימה]. Because of this, many commentators view this dynamic not just as a description of a future state, but as a strict warning and an actual negative Commandment forbidding arrogance [חזקוני, רש ר הירש, תורה תמימה]. One might argue that forgetting is a natural, uncontrollable process for which a person should not be punished. However, since this forgetting stems from a conscious, earlier choice to indulge in pride, the individual bears full responsibility. According to Jewish legal principles, a person who willingly acts wrongly at the start and consequently ends up in an unavoidable situation later is still held fully accountable for the outcome [חומת אנך].

To stop this false sense of power, the reminder of leaving a life of slavery forces a person to confront their past. It brings back the memory of a time when they were lowly, poor, and broken-hearted [אבן עזרא, העמק דבר]. This creates a sharp contrast between the feeling of independence in the present and the total helplessness of the past. The greatest danger of wealth is blindness. A successful person forgets that their normal, everyday livelihood is just as much a product of God's supervision as the open miracles and rescues experienced in the desert [רש ר הירש]. While suffering and poverty naturally awaken humility and a fear of God, it is precisely goodness and success that can lead a person astray, trapping them in the illusion of absolute control [נחלת יעקב].