Here is another mishnah with the words of Hillel (chapter 2, mishnah 8, and in some versions mishnah 7). The basic point behind his words: in today's language people like to say that you can never be too rich, too thin, or too well dressed. Wrong, says Hillel. In matters of the physical world you certainly can have too much of a good thing; but in spiritual matters, whoever increases is praiseworthy.
"Hu hayah omer" - increase in material matters:
"Marbeh basar marbeh rimah" - there is nothing wrong with eating, drinking and rejoicing, but a person who does so to excess and fattens his body may think that he is thereby demonstrating his strength and durability - and he is mistaken. Many Rishonim point out that obesity causes a whole range of illnesses, and there is no benefit in it at all in this world. All he has gained is more flesh for the worms that will consume his body in the grave. The commentators (the Bartenura and others) cite the words of Chazal that the worm that breaks down the body is as painful to the dead as a needle in the flesh of a living person. Therefore a person should eat according to his needs and in moderation - and we return to the straight path that we discussed earlier, according to the approach of the Rambam and the Bartenura.
"Marbeh nechasim marbeh de'agah" - there is nothing wrong with a person having what he needs, and there is nothing bad about being a person of means either. But a person deceives himself when he thinks that once he has enough, he will finally feel safe and secure. On the contrary: once he has more than he needs, people immediately say "he has a lot," and they look to confiscate or to steal; and he carries the burden of thinking about where to invest, how to make sure it does not go to waste, and how to deal with the problems his assets cause him around the world. The bottom line is that the difference between someone worth ten million and someone worth a hundred million or a billion is only in the quantity of worries: where his assets are held, what to do with them, who is taking them, and how to deal with tax planning and the like. A person should not delude himself into thinking that an abundance of assets will buy him security; it does not, and it brings nothing but trouble.
"Marbeh nashim marbeh keshafim" - according to the Torah a man may marry more than one wife (although Ashkenazim, and in practice almost everyone today, do not permit more than one wife), and there is nothing wrong with marrying a wife. But having many wives does not make life better, and a person should not take pride in having two or three wives. "Marbeh keshafim" - one of the 613 mitzvos is the prohibition against allowing a sorceress to live, and in truth the law is the same for a sorcerer and a sorceress. The Torah used the feminine form because women are more inclined toward this than men. The reason for this may be that women, and certainly in earlier times in the era of the Mishnah, were a sort of oppressed majority with no power of their own such as men had; and when they wanted to achieve their aims, to provoke their rival - the husband's second wife - or to increase the time they spent with their husbands, they turned to mystical activity and to casting spells. It follows that whoever has many wives brings all of that forbidden activity into his home, and having many wives is in no way a better life.
"Marbeh shefachos marbeh zimah" - a shifchah is a maidservant, and in practice a Canaanite maidservant who is like a slave to her master. In the time of Chazal many people kept slaves as help in the house and for every kind of work, and it was a common thing. The Torah's attitude toward slavery is a topic for a separate discussion: by general agreement it does not look upon it favorably, but it also does not forbid it. Keeping an army of maidservants was a kind of status symbol and a way to make life easier for all his wives, and one might have thought that this improves the situation - but in fact it makes it worse, because it increases immorality, promiscuity and immodesty. The girls have nothing to occupy them, and from then on mischief takes place in his home. It follows that even if it sounds like a fine idea to keep a whole staff to run the household, other problems come along with it. There is also a secondary reading here, another angle on the matter: the man himself may be drawn into it, and having many maidservants and helpers living in his home may lead to problems with him as well.
"Marbeh avadim marbeh gazel" - the more slaves and servants a person has, the more theft increases. Chazal say that Canaan, the father of slaves, commanded his children to love immorality and theft - promiscuity and stealing, in the manner of the gangs and the mafia of our day. Here too, it may sound like an excellent idea to keep a huge estate with working hands for every task, but there are negative side effects: for the neighborhood, for the well-being of the home, and even for the person himself, who may be drawn into dishonesty and especially financial dishonesty. Again, what sounds like an excellent thing actually produces problems of another kind, and indeed a person can have too much of a good thing.
The approach of the Bartenura - a gradual progression:
The Bartenura explains the order of the mishnah as a step by step progression, similar to what is called nowadays 'lifestyle creep': a person gets used to being a glutton, to eating and drinking to excess, tastes what is called 'the good life,' and now he has to pay for it - and from "marbeh basar" he moves on to "marbeh nechasim." Once he has become wealthy, halachah permits marrying more than one wife only to someone who can afford it; in the era of the Mishnah women generally did not work but relied on their husbands, and a wealthy man attracts women - and so he can boast about his many wives, as is still found today in primitive societies. The wives do not want the chores of a large household and demand help, and so maidservants are brought in so that they can live an easy life - and these bring further problems with them, and so do the slaves. One thing drags along the next, and once a person is pulled into the path of material addiction, the situation steadily deteriorates: he spends his days dealing with his material problems, and before he notices he has used up an entire life caring for his body and not for his soul.
Increase in spiritual matters:
"Marbeh Torah marbeh chaim" - the more time a person invests in his Torah and his learning, the more life he gains. The commentators explain both sides of this: long life even in this world, as the verse says, "for they are your life and the length of your days," and also life in the World to Come. Torah is a good thing, and whoever increases in it - adds.
"Marbeh yeshivah marbeh chochmah" - this refers to a sage who sits with students before him ('yeshivah' - many who learn before him). The more students he has, the greater his gain: they ask more questions, and through that the material becomes clearer to him. They gain wisdom from him because he teaches them, and he gains wisdom from them - because they ask wonderful questions, they sharpen him and illuminate the material for him from different angles, and everyone benefits. Therefore whoever has more students is praiseworthy.
"Marbeh eitzah marbeh tevunah" - the more a person seeks advice and asks others about their insights in life, the greater his understanding will be. It is foolish to learn only from your own mistakes, when you can also learn from the mistakes of others. Therefore a person should not hesitate to seek advice from many people, and in this way he will gain insight into the ways of success in life and an ever broadening understanding of the world around him.
"Marbeh tzedakah marbeh shalom" - the more charity a person gives, the greater the peace and tranquility in his world and in his life. On the basic level, people like him more, respect him, and cause him fewer headaches. But beyond that: society has many ills, and when people are in need it puts a strain on the entire system, fills the heart with sadness and despair, and brings people to do things they would not otherwise do. Ensuring that charity exists creates a safety net that protects those in need (and nowadays there is sometimes a government safety net). A great deal of crime is committed out of desperation; and when a community has a well established charity system with no desperate people alongside it, peace and prosperity increase. It turns out that this is good for the community and good for the giver himself.
"Kanah shem tov kanah le'atzmo":
This matter is somewhat different. The acquisitions a person makes in the physical world are his only temporarily. There is a midrash that points out that all the words that denote money, such as "zuz," have to do with movement and going - to teach you that what comes easily also goes easily. So it is with everything: people's fortunes constantly rise and fall, some are rich and some are poor. What a person has today may be lost tomorrow: it can break or be stolen, and he himself may fall on hard times. It turns out that what belongs to him is not necessarily truly his. Not so with one's reputation - with a good name, with the way people see him and with his integrity. These he acquired for himself, and they are his forever and no one can take them from him. He will always remain a person of excellent character, a respected person deserving of respect. And even if he is forced to take his belongings and flee, when he arrives at his new place his good name will stand by him there, unlike the assets he was forced to leave behind.
And finally: "Kanah lo divrei Torah, kanah lo chayei ha'olam haba" - one who has acquired words of Torah and internalized the Torah within himself has acquired life in the World to Come. There is the well known story of the man who came to the Kotzker Rebbe and said, "Rebbe, I have learned Shas ten times." The Rebbe answered him, "I am happy that you have gone through Shas, but how much of Shas has gone through you?" This is the idea before us: Shas and the Torah are meant to influence a person, to build him, his soul and his character. Once he has acquired them and they are his forever, they are his entry ticket to the World to Come, and no one can take them from him. He will have an excellent portion in the World to Come in the merit of the Torah he acquired for himself, of which he is the owner and which he earned through his own deeds.