24 Aug LIVING A LIFE OF OPEN HANDS

The Torah in

Parashat Re’eh

discusses the

importance of

charity, commanding

us to lend assistance to the poor: לא

תאמץ†את†לבבך≠†ולא†תקפוץ†את≠†ידך†מאחיך

האביון≠Ɔכי†פתח†תפתח≠†את†ידך†לו†ÆÆƆDo†not

harden your heart and do not shut your

hand†from†your†brother¨†the†pauperÆ

Rather, you shall open your hand to

him… A famous pasuk in Mishleh

teaches וצדקה†תציל†ממות†– “and charity

saves†from†deathÆ”†This†pasuk†has

been understood in a number of

different†waysƆOne†is†that†charity†can

save†the†recipient†from†deathƆPoverty

can sometimes be a death sentence,

either literally or figuratively, in the

sense of completely ruining a person’s

life and denying him any chance of

happinessƆSo†by†giving†charity¨†we

save†the†recipient’s†lifeƆThis†pasuk

has also been explained as referring to

the reward for charity – that even if has

been decreed that a person should die,

he†can†save†his†life†by†giving†charityÆ

But there is also another way to

understand†this†pasukƆThe†Midrash

observes that when a baby is born, his

fists†are†clenched†shutƆThe†exact

opposite happens when somebody

passes on – at the moment of death, a

person’s†hands†are†wide†openƆThis

means that we come into this world

with a natural selfish instinct – to look

out only for ourselves, for our own

interests, to grab, and to keep

everything for ourselves without

sharingƆBut†by†the†time†a†person

leaves this world, it is expected that his

hands open, that he becomes sensitive

to†the†needs†of†othersƆA†huge†part†of

the process of maturing is learning to

open our hands, to share, to look out

for other people and not only for

ourselvesƆThe†Midrash†here†is

teaching†us†that†the†GOAL†OF†LIFE†is

to open our hands – to transform

ourselves from takers to givers, to

overcome our selfish instinct and be

sensitive, compassionate and

generousƆThis†is†the†essence†of†the

mitzvah of tzedakah, which is why the

Torah formulates this mitzvah as an

obligation to open our hands: כי†פתח

תפתח†את†ידך†לו†Æ†In†the†Book†of†Shemuel

I†we†read†the†story†of†Naval¨†a†wealthy

man†to†whom†David†sent†his†men†to

ask for food and provisions while they

were†are†in†the†runƆNaval†rudely

rejected†their†requestƆSoon†thereafter¨

G≠d†killed†himƆThis†was†a†man†who

lived with his fists tightly clenched,

keeping everything he was given for

himself, and refusing to share it with

anybodyƆHe†did†not†deserve†to†live

another†dayƆHis†name†was†נבל†, which

means†“repugnantÆ”†Living†with

clenched†fists†is†disgracefulƆIt†is†a

betrayal†of†the†very†purpose†of†lifeÆ

This might be the meaning of צדקה

תציל†ממות†Æ†Charity†“saves†from†the

death”†in†the†sense†that†it†is†the†essence

of†lifeƆWhen†we†give†charity¨†we

fulfill one of our primary purposes in

life – to open our hands, to become

generousƆAnd†so†tzedakah†is

described†as†saving†us†from†deathÆ

May we all live our lives with open

hands, generously and selflessly

giving of ourselves for the benefit of

othersÆ