King Solomon, the wisest of all kings, once taught a lesson about wealth and poverty using the simplest of demonstrations: two meals.
The first meal was served in the house of a rich man. The table groaned under the weight of roasted meats, fine wines, delicacies imported from distant lands, golden plates, and silver cups. But the host was a cruel and bitter man. He berated his servants, insulted his guests, quarreled over debts, and turned every bite into a miserable ordeal. The finest food in Israel tasted like ashes in the mouths of everyone present.
The second meal was served in the house of a poor man. There was nothing but a dish of herbs — simple vegetables, the food of those who cannot afford meat. But the host loved his guests. The conversation flowed with warmth and laughter. Stories were told. Children played at the edges of the room. Every person at that humble table felt welcome, seen, and valued.
Solomon pointed to these two scenes and spoke the words that became (Proverbs 15:17): "Better a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted ox and hatred with it."
The Midrash Hagadol on Deuteronomy preserves this teaching as a window into Solomon's philosophy of the good life. Wealth without love is a curse. Poverty with love is a feast. The king who possessed more gold than any ruler in history understood, better than anyone, that gold was never the point.