The Talmud in tractate Kallah (5:1) tells the story of a man who inherited a large sum of money and faced a decision that would define the rest of his life. He could invest the money in land, which would make him wealthy. He could lend it at interest, which would make him wealthier still. Or he could do what no one expected.
He built a school.
His family was furious. "You have taken our inheritance," his brothers protested, "and poured it into bricks and mortar for other people's children." His wife wept. His neighbors laughed. Who builds a school when he could build a mansion?
But the man was unmoved. He had studied the teachings of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Gamla, who centuries earlier had established the principle that every town in Israel must have a school, and that no child should have to travel far to learn Torah. Before Rabbi Yehoshua's decree, only children with fathers learned. Orphans grew up ignorant. The decree changed everything — but it required buildings, and buildings required money.
Leviticus Rabbah (ch. 34) confirms what happened next. The school flourished. Children who would have grown up illiterate became scholars. Some became rabbis. One became a judge. The man who built the school never became rich, but the merit of the Torah learned within its walls was credited to his account in heaven. The rabbis taught that whoever uses their wealth to build a house of learning receives a reward in the World to Come that no amount of gold could purchase — because gold perishes, but wisdom endures forever.