DEUT1690 R. Yannai said: It is not within our ability [to understand or explain] the tranquil well-being of the wicked or the afflictions of the righteous. Pirkei Avot, Perek IV, mishnah 19. … we could interpret our text this way: It is not within our ability to handle either the tranquil well-being of the wicked or the afflictions of the righteous. We probably would not withstand the temptations of good fortune and extreme luxury, which indeed turn many wicked. Nor is it likely that we could bear with equanimity the extreme suffering that befell some of our great Sages and scholars, like the afflictions of Job. We are ordinary people of small spiritual stature. We can do best in a medium "climate of life," with a moderate amount of joy and happiness and a normal amount of trouble. Great woe, massive amounts of suffering, or unbearable burdens can well make a person's faith snap. The crushing pain of poverty, say the Sages, is one of three causes that will drive a man beyond his own good sense and the good sense of his Maker (T.B. Erubin 41b). Similarly, there are few people whose usual belief and easy-going faith could withstand the upheaval and temptation of sudden great wealth. In our written Torah we read, "Jeshurun grew fat and kicked," [this verse] a dire prophecy that with prosperity and affluence the people Israel would kick over the traces to reject its faith. Our prayer to the Almighty should be to give us everything in moderation, and proportions that He knows to be best for us.