25 Sep TZEDAKA – ARE WE GIVING ENOUGH?

One of the most urgent
segments of our Rosh
HaShannah and Yom
Kippur liturgy is the
proclamation we say with
great feeling, “Us’shuvah

us’filah u’tzedakah ma-
avirin es ro-ah hagizeirah

– And Repentance, and Prayer, and Charity
remove a bad degree.” As we are getting
closer to the Judgment Day, it behooves us
to arm ourselves heavily with these three
ingredients to ensure that nothing unpleasant,
chas v’shalom, happens to ourselves and to
our loved ones during the upcoming year.
Today, I would like to zoom in on the third
of these powerful weapons, namely tzedakah.
The Rambam in the tenth perek of Hilchos
Matnos Aniyim makes a truly incredible
statement. “Chayavim adam l’hizaheir
b’mitzvas tzedakah yoseir mikol mitzvas
asei sheb’Torah – A person is required to be
careful with the commandment of charity
more than with any other positive precept in
the entire Torah. Wow!! Bear in mind that
amongst the 248 positive mitzvahs in the
Torah are such heavyweights as learning
Torah, keeping Shabbos, wearing tzitzis and
donning tefillin. All of these mitzvahs are
complex and necessitate supreme precision to
fulfill them properly. Yet, the Rambam says
that even more care is needed for the mitzvah

of tzedakah.
The Rambam then proceeds to prove this
remarkable point from the verse describing
why Hashem chose Avraham Avinu as the
father of the Jewish nation. There the posuk
states, “Ki yidativ lamaan asher yitzaveh es
bonov v’es beiso acharov v’shomru derech
Hashem laasos tzedakah…– I loved him
because I know that he would instruct his
children and his household after him in the
way of Hashem to do charity…” Thus, the
Rambam concludes that the number one
reason to choose Avraham as our first father
is his dedication to tzedakah. This puts the
mitzvah of tzedakah on a very lofty spiritual
pedestal. Take note that the Rambam doesn’t
simply state how important charity is. Rather
he highlights how careful we must be to fulfill
this mitzvah properly.
Let me shed some light on one of the demands
of this lofty mitzvah. The Gemora relates
that after the destruction of the Temple, Reb
Yochanan Ben Zakkai was taking a walk
during a time of severe famine and he noticed
a Jewish woman of noble bearing and regal
carriage bending down and picking out
barleycorns from the dung of animals. Moved
by this sad sight, he asked the woman who she
was. She answered that she was the daughter of
Nakdimon Ben Gurion, one of the wealthiest
men in pre-destruction Yerushalayim. She said
to Reb Yochanan, “Rebbe, do you remember

my kesuvah?” “Yes,” he exclaimed, “you
were promised a dowry of one million golden
dinarim. My daughter,” he continued, “what
happened to all of your father’s wealth?”
“He lost it all because he didn’t give proper
tzedakah,” was her response.
The Maharsha is quick to explain that
Nakdimon Ben Gurion definitely gave charity.
The Gemora reveals to us that when he would
go to the study hall, servants would roll out
fresh carpets for him to walk upon. After he
entered the study hall, he would command his
servants to leave these carpets behind for the
poor to take. Nevertheless, says the Maharsha,
Hashem took away his wealth because he
didn’t give charity in the correct proportion to
his great wealth.
What a scary thought! Many wealthy people
comfort themselves with the fact that they
give move charity than the average person.
At times, their conscience might gnaw at
them saying that they could give even more.
But their guilt is assuaged when they tell
themselves that they give more than their
fellow man which by itself affords them ample
protection. This Gemora is a wake up call that
this is a wrong way of thinking. Nakdimon
Ben Gurion certainly gave more than the
average man to tzedakah but his daughter
was condemned to pick out barley from feces
because he didn’t give enough.
In a similar vein, we are taught in Masechtas
Kallah that Rebbe Akiva noted that Rebbe
Tarfon was not giving sufficient charity
according to his ability. Rebbe Akiva
approached Rebbe Tarfon and asked him
if he wanted to invest in a great real estate
opportunity. As you can imagine, any
venture that was suggested by the great
Rebbe Akiva was extremely attractive and
Rebbe Tarfon readily acquiesced, handing
over to Rebbe Akiva the large sum of 4,000
golden dinarim. Rebbe Akiva took the
money and promptly gave it to the poor.
A while later, Rebbe Tarfon asked Rebbe
Akiva to show him his investment. He
was curious to see what Rebbe Akiva had
bought for him; a farm, a vineyard, a bank!!!
Rebbe Akiva surprised him by taking out a
Sefer Tehillim and showing him the verse in
Number 112, “V’tzidkoso omedes lo-ad –
Your charity remains forever,” and informed
him that this was his investment. And, as the
Chofetz Chaim embellishes, the comment
about real estate was not a white lie at all.
Rather, Rebbe Akiva was helping Rebbe
Tarfon invest in real estate in his Afterlife,
for charity remains forever. Once again we
see that Rebbe Akiva was helping Rebbe
Tarfon to give the rightful amount of charity,
commensurate with his wealth.
How often there is an appeal in shul and
everyone answers with the same one
hundred or one hundred and eighty dollar
response. It is incumbent upon us to realize
that we must give according to our success
and not just according to the amount that
everyone else is giving. It is only then that
we can truly merit the full protection of the

third ingredient or Repentance, Prayer, and
Charity.
The Rambam assures us that no one will ever
become poor from giving. Then he goes even
one step further and assures that no bad will
ever come upon a person from his charitable
activities. That tzedakah is linked to our health
is also absolutely clear. The Kitzur Shulchan
Orech cites the famous Medrash for Shir
HaShirim, “Tira d’lo tiftach l’anya, tiftach
l’asya – The door that doesn’t open up for
the poor will open up for a doctor.” And of
course the Gemora teaches us in Baba Basra,
“Tzedakah tatzil m’maves – Tzedakah saves
us from death.”
In preparing our defenses for the Day of
Judgment, we have many weapons. Saying
“Amein, y’hei shmei rabba,” can tear up an
evil degree. Learning Torah can ward off
retribution. Doing teshuvah and petitioning
Hashem with meaningful prayer are also
extremely potent. There is something however
truly unique with the mitzvah of tzedakah:
While all of the other weapons at our disposal
can save us from leaving this world before
our keitz, our designated time, one of the
only ways to actually add years to one’s
keitz is through the mitzvah of tzedakah, as
the Gemora teaches us in Baba Basra [11],
Hashem added twenty-two years to the life
a Benyamin HaTzadik for taking care of a
woman and her seven children during a time
of famine.
May it be Hashem’s will that we have the
smarts to give generously according to our
ability and in that merit may we be zoche to
a Kesiva v’chasima tova u’mesuka, always
being able to give and never needing to take.