Our Gemara on amud aleph discusses the various virtues and benefits of wisdom:

And Rabbi Elazar says: Any person in whom there is knowledge, in the end, becomes wealthy, as it is stated: “And by knowledge are the chambers filled with all precious and pleasant riches” (Mishlei 24:4).

Ben Yehoyada picks up on the extra phrase, “in the end” (le-basof). He explains that the phrase should be parsed differently: “Any person in whom there is knowledge OF THE END becomes wealthy.” In other words, wealth comes from the ability to anticipate what will become valuable, rather than merely focusing on the present. One might say this teaches the importance of patience, persistence, long-term thinking, and the ability to delay gratification.

The psychological concept of delaying gratification has been most famously explored in the much-discussed Stanford Marshmallow Experiment, conducted in 1972 by Walter Mischel. In the experiment, a young child was given a choice between one immediate treat (a marshmallow or a pretzel) or two treats if he could wait for 15 minutes without eating the first one. Mischel’s findings indicated that the children who were able to delay gratification performed better years later on standardized tests (such as the SATs), achieved higher education levels, and had healthier body mass indexes.

The implication of the study is that a child who masters delay of gratification early in life will develop tools for success in various domains, such as education and healthy life choices. The study has been replicated with some success, though the differences between those who exhibited patience and those who did not were less dramatic. In some studies, the results were not conclusive.

One major criticism of the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment is that it presupposes the child trusts the adult conducting the experiment to actually deliver the promised reward. In other words, some children may not struggle with delaying gratification but are simply street-smart enough to take what they can now, sensing that the promised future reward may never materialize.

This is particularly relevant in the context of children who come from chaotic environments and have less trust in caregivers and authority figures. Such children may develop an adaptive attitude of “grabbing what you can now.” Studies show that financial hardship fosters short-term thinking and impulsivity. When survival becomes the primary concern, long-term planning and rational decision-making often take a back seat.

For example, a person struggling to make ends meet might rely on high-interest credit cards to cover sudden expenses. The resulting debt, compounded by exorbitant interest rates, traps them in a cycle of financial instability. By contrast, wealthier individuals often borrow strategically, such as taking out mortgages or business loans that yield long-term returns.

Beyond finances, poverty frequently brings chronic stress, poor health, and disrupted sleep—all of which impair cognitive functioning and decision-making. Good judgment often depends on subtle discernment, which becomes harder to achieve under the fog of exhaustion and anxiety.

Recognizing this, researchers modified the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment to factor in the financial and educational standing of parents and family. When doing so, the results shifted. Among children from economically secure and stable homes, the ability to delay gratification correlated strongly with later success. However, among children from disadvantaged homes, there was no such correlation. This suggests that growing up in a more chaotic and less predictable emotional and economic environment requires a different kind of intelligence.

Consider this analogy: a restless child with ADHD might struggle in a rigid academic setting but thrive in an environment that demands quick thinking and adaptability. This was certainly true for many youthful Holocaust survivors who outwitted their Nazi oppressors by impulsively jumping from one line to another or escaping from transport trains. The Nazis relied on people to follow orders and behave predictably, whereas those who survived often did so through bold, unpredictable actions.

Thus, while delay of gratification is important and often predicts success in conventional settings, there are contexts in which impulsiveness and aggressiveness serve a person better.

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com