It is written (in Prov. 3:9), “Honor the Lord with your wealth.” Thus if you are handsome, do not be uncontrolled in sexual matters, lest people say, “So and so is handsome but not restrained in sexual matters.” For that reason, “Honor the Lord with your wealth.”<sup class="footnote-marker">11</sup><i class="footnote">10:3; <i>PR</i> 25:2.</i> Another interpretation: Do it from your wealth, before you [must] do it without your wealth (i.e., in poverty).<sup class="footnote-marker">12</sup><i class="footnote">For another interpretation of the section, see William G. Braude and Israel J. Kapstein, <i>Pesikta de-Rav Kahana</i> (Philadelphia: JPSA, 1975), p. 189, n. 12. They find a wordplay in the Hebrew word for “substance” and translate the last sentence thus: “Honor Him while you have your wits, before you are led to do foolish things after you have lost your wits.”</i> Another interpretation: “If your voice is pleasant, recite the <i>Shema</i>', and cross over before the ark (to lead in the recitation), because of [the teaching], “Honor the Lord with your wealth (<i>honcha</i>),” with whatever he has endowed you (hanancha). (Prov. 3:9:) “Honor the Lord with your wealth.” There is a story about a person who amassed wine and oil but did not take out his tithes properly. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do to him? He put a squally wind (i.e., an evil spirit) in him, so that he took a staff and began to smash the [wine and oil] barrels. A member of his household rebuked him. What did [the owner] do to him? He took the staff and cracked him on his head. He said to him, “The spirit is helping me, and you are rebuking me?” [The other] said to him, “Give me the staff, and I shall also smash away.” He gave him the staff. While the [first] one was smashing one [barrel at a time], the other was smashing two [at a time]. What made this happen to him? [It was] because he had not taken out his tithes properly. As R. Levi said, “There is a story about a person who took out his tithes properly. Now he had a certain field, and the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him a mind to prepare half of it for sowing and half as storage place for water. So when a year of drought came, he sold a <i>sea'h</i> of wheat for a <i>sela</i>' and a <i>sea’h </i>of water for three <i>sela'.</i> He announced and said, ‘Come and buy a <i>sea’h</i> of water, which makes three <i>sea’h</i> of wheat.’ What made this happen to him? [It was] because he had taken out his tithes properly.” For that reason Moses warned Israel (in Deut. 14:22), “You shall surely tithe”.