Our Parasha commands to give Tzedakah, but with a specific attitude as stated; “Give to him readily and have no regrets when you do so, for in return Hashem your God will bless you in all your endeavors and in all your undertakings.” [Devarim 15:10]. What is the purpose of that commandment? The Torah has already instructed us to open our heart and to support the needy a couple of Verses prior; “If, there is a needy person among you, one of your kinsmen in any of your settlements in the land that Hashem your God is giving you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand on your needy kinsman. Rather, you must open your hand and lend him sufficiently for whatever he needs.” (Devarim 15:7-8). The Talmud [Bava Basra 9b] explains: “Rabbi Yitzhak says: Anyone who gives even a small coin to a poor person receives six blessings, and whoever comforts him and cheers him receives eleven blessings, as it is stated: “And if you extend yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall your light shine in darkness, and your gloom shall be as the noonday. Hashem shall guide you continually and satisfy your thirst in drought… you shall build the ruins of the world; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations” (Isaiah 58:10–12).” The Talmud suggests that one receives almost double the number of blessings for comforting a needy person, which is difficult to understand. By taking a closer look to the blessings, it is striking that never were such powerful blessings promised for any other Mitzva. What is so particular about encouraging another person? Besides, what a needy person needs foremost is money to feed his family, words will not feed his children, so why are kind words a greater deed than giving money which sustain many lives? Moreover, The Talmud [Brachos 6b] says; “And Rabbi Chelbo said in the name of Rav Huna: One who knows that his friend will greet him is not only obligated to return his greeting, but he must greet him first, as it is stated: “Seek peace and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15). If the one greeted his friend and the latter did not return the greeting, he is considered a thief: “It is you who have eaten up the vineyard, the spoils of the poor is in your houses” (Isaiah 3:14).” It is clear the Talmud adopts the concept that words are not “hot air” but indeed the expression of the soul. In other words, the soul not being of physical matters it can only interact with “spiritual” matters, and through words something is shared. To comfort a pauper amounts to revive his broken soul. This in itself is a Godly act, as he thought he was carrying alone his burden, but by acting kindly it indicates that we consider it our burden too, which revives him. This enlightens the words of the Talmud, as by not returning one’s greeting it is indeed a theft, as the only way to steal from a pauper who owns nothing is to rob him of his dignity by refusing to return his share our blessings with him cheerfully. It comes out that the Mitzva of Tzedakah has two components; the act of giving, with which one shares his assets with the pauper, which is a great by limited act of goodness. Indeed, the Zohar says that one’s sustenance is the responsibility of Hashem. Though, due to reasons only He knows, for some to accomplish his mission in this world they need poverty, hence Hashem in His infinite Goodness entrusts the rich with the money of the poor. All the rich does is to show the honesty to return what was entrusted by him. The second component, which is a true act of generosity, is to involve our soul, as it shares our blessings with the pauper and alleviate his suffering. It enables him to “use” the rich person’s Mazal and it will be easier for him to earn his livelihood. The Mishna [Avos 1:15] says: “Shammai said: Make your Torah fixed, say little and do much, and receive every person with a cheerful countenance.” This Mishna seems more suitable to be stated by Hillel rather than Shammai who was very stringent, who considered that besides learning Torah, everything else is irrelevant. How does he then equate the Torah learning to the kind greeting of every person? In view of the above the answer is simple; Shammai’ intention is to provide the secret of life. Regarding learning Torah King Solomon says in Proverbs [3:2]: “for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.” Regarding the stakes of speaking King Solomon says in Proverbs [18:21]: “The tongue has the power of life and death.” So, the importance of learning Torah and being stingy on speaking were already taught by King Solomon. The only novelty Shammai discloses is the power of kind words, which also provides life to the giver. Now, it is understandable why the comforter deserves double the blessings as of a giver. Hereafter is a story illustrating the importance of our dealings with other: A strong, healthy and successful butcher lived in the city of Kozhnitz. He owned and ran a successful shop, until, out of the blue, his luck began to fail. More than half of the animals he bought and had slaughtered were deemed non-kosher, and he started to incur substantial losses. To try to offset them, he worked harder and longer, often remaining at work late at night, doing tasks he would have once paid others to do. Eventually, the stress affected his health, and he died prematurely and broken-hearted. His widow and children were left burdened by debt. At first, the creditors were polite, but before long they began to pressure the widow to pay up. The odd jobs she managed to find were barely enough to feed her children, leaving nothing with which to pay her late husband’s debts. Sad and bitter, she went to his grave and begged him to plead with G-d for help. Soon, she was summoned to the town rabbi, Rabbi Yisrael Hopsztajn, known as the Kozhnitzer Maggid. She feared that her husband’s creditors had summoned her to Beth Din, but once she arrived, the Rabbi simply took out a sizable sum of money and said, “This is for you, take it and use it to sustain your children. You will receive more each week.” He told her that whenever creditors come to ask for money, she should refer them to him, and he would pay off the debts. The woman could not understand how the Rabbi, who was not known to be wealthy, had the money to help her, but she did not ponder the matter too deeply. It was only after the Shochet (ritual slaughterer) of the town passed away that she found out where the money had come from. After the butcher’s tragic death, the shochet started experiencing disturbing dreams in which the butcher would come to him and tell him that he was summoning him to a Din Torah (court case) in heaven. The dream happened once, twice, and then a third time, and the shochet feared he may soon die to face the butcher before the Heavenly Court. Worried, he went to consult with the Kozhnitzer Maggid. The maggid told him: “Next time he comes to you in a dream, tell him that according to Jewish law, a plaintiff must appear before the court in the location of the defendant, and your case must therefore be heard here in Kozhnitz. After this happens, come to me and we will arrange the court date.” It was not long before the Shochet had another such dream, and he passed on the maggid’s message. And so a court date was set. When the day arrived, a partition was set up in the study hall. One side was empty, and on the other side sat the Kozhnitzer Maggid, the shochet, and the Kozhnitzer Maggid’s assistant. The maggid handed his walking stick to his assistant, and instructed him: “Go to the cemetery, knock three times with my stick on the gravestone of the butcher, and tell him that he’s being called for the Din Torah held by the Kozhnitzer Maggid in the town’s study hall.” A short while after the assistant returned, human wailing was heard from behind the partition. The Kozhnitzer Maggid turned to the source of the noise and said: “Tell me, what is your claim against the shochet?” The butcher explained the chain of events which had led to his mountainous debts, and eventually, his untimely death. “When I arrived in Heaven,” he continued, “I found out that when the Shochet was pronouncing my cows non-kosher, he was being overly stringent. Many of my cows were indeed kosher, according to a straightforward reading of the law. But because he chose to needlessly declare the animals unfit, my business was destroyed, and I left this world with a miserable trail of debt. Since it was his wrongful judgment that brought about my family’s sorry state, I demand that the Shochet pays off my debts and supports my family.” “And what do you have to say?” the maggid asked the Shochet. The Shochet, being a G-d-fearing Jew, readily agreed to pay the butcher’s debts and support his widow and orphans. In order to protect the dignity of the Shochet, who had meant no harm, the story was kept quiet for the remainder of his life. Are we sometimes overly zealous at the expense of others? Have we caused financial or emotional distress to others? If the answer is affirmative, it is a lesser price to ensure to correct it in this world.

By Rabbi Shimon Fridmann – Din Torah Of North Miami Beach

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