Why Agur Begged God for Neither Poverty Nor Wealth

"Two things I have asked of You" (Proverbs 30:7); "Keep falsehood and lying words far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with my allotted bread" (Proverbs 30:8); "lest I be full and deny You and say, 'Who is the LORD?' and lest I be impoverished and steal and profane the name of my God" (Proverbs 30:9). Rabbi Levi said: Would it ever enter your mind that King Solomon was a speaker of lies, or a thief, or one who swore falsely? Rather, you must say that he set down wisdom for the generations, that they should not do such things. Rabbi Yudan said: It was stated only to add stringency upon the words of Torah. Elsewhere it is written, "You shall not take [the name of the LORD your God in vain]" (Exodus 20:7), and he too added stringency: "Keep falsehood and lying words far from me." And elsewhere it is written, "You shall not steal" (Exodus 20:13), and he too added stringency and said, "lest I be impoverished and steal." From this you have learned that he did not come to nullify the words of Torah, but to make them more stringent.