# The Roots of Inequality | A World Transformed | Moshiach Life

> One shocking statistic is that during the pandemic, when many American workers lost their jobs and struggled to pay rent and put food on the table, net…

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# The Roots of Inequality

![Glass towers of Manhattan's Hudson Yards seen across the Hudson River](https://moshiach.life/assets/archive/a-world-transformed--the-roots-of-inequality.webp)

We live in a time of rising inequality, where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Each year, the top 1% in the United States controls an ever-growing share of the overall economic output of this country. Many political scientists believe that inequality is at the root of all social unrest and conflict.

One shocking statistic is that during the pandemic, when many American workers lost their jobs and struggled to pay rent and put food on the table, net worth of billionaires jumped by $914 billion. The pandemic forced many of us to shift our shopping and personal interactions to virtual, and most of these billionaires have their wealth tied up in tech companies. So, while we grew poorer, they grew richer.

Over the course of history, there have been a number of theories proposed to redistribute wealth in more equitable ways. This article is not going to focus on economic or political theory, which are well outside its scope. But from a Jewish perspective, why does inequality exist? Why did G-d create the world so that there are rich and poor, with the poor dependent on the rich for survival? Why doesn’t G-d support the poor Himself?

This question was posed by the Roman emperor Turnus Rufus to Rabbi Akiva. He argued that if a king banishes his servant to a dungeon without food or water, anyone who feeds the servant is rebelling against the king. Rabbi Akiva answered that if the king banishes his own son to the dungeon, surely he would want his servants to take pity on him and bring him food.

G-d created the world with inequality precisely because He wanted charity and kindness to exist. Some people have a lack in order that other people can fill it. Neither are we stuck in the dependent position forever. We are all needy in some areas and advantaged in others. The children of today will one day be parents; the students of today will one day be the teachers. Sometimes your role is to be a follower, sometimes to be a leader. Nobody is a lifelong taker and nobody is a lifelong giver. Rather, we are all interdependent, with each of us having something that we can give and share with others.

Originally, when G-d created the world, the sun and moon were both equal in size and strength. The moon complained, “Two kings cannot wear the same crown,” so G-d told the moon to diminish itself. Afterwards G-d said, “Bring an offering for me to atone for making the moon small.” In other words, He introduced inequality to the world by diminishing the moon, but also asked us to atone for Him, because inequality is not the ideal state of existence. Indeed, in the time of Moshiach inequality will be abolished and the moon will shine like the sun.