B"H

Tuesday, Iyar 9, 5778 (24th day of Sefirah) / April 24 2018

 

In the third chapter of Pirkei Avot, Rabbi Elazar from Bartusa says, "Give to Him [G-d] of that which is His, for you and everything which belongs to you are His.”

 

Rabbi Elazar teaches us that the money that the Torah requires us to contribute to charity doesn’t belong to us in the first place. Rather, G-d entrusted us with it to give to the poor on His behalf.

 

Therefore, say our sages, when we give charity we become G-d's messengers to carry out His will.  When we fulfill G-d’s mission to His satisfaction, he will be happy to entrust him with more missions. The reward for the mitzvah of Tzedakah, is that G-d enables us to perform more of the same mitzvot.

 

The Talmud tells the following story: Rabbi Elazar of Bartusa was very generous.  Once, he went out to shop for his daughter's wedding.  When the charity collectors saw him, they said to each other, "Let's leave before Rabbi Elazar sees us!  He will give away his last coin for charity."  

 

When Rabbi Elazar noticed that the collectors were turning away from him, he ran after them and insisted that they tell him about their cause.   "A boy and girl who are orphans want to get married. We are collecting for their wedding."  When Rabbi Elazar heard this, he said, "The orphans are more important than my daughter."  He gave them all the money he had, except for one small coin.

 

With his last coin, he bought some wheat. He put the wheat in the shed near his house and went to the synagogue to pray.  When his wife came home, she asked her daughter, "Where are the things your father bought?" The daughter answered, "In the shed."  Rabbi Elazar's wife went to the shed but she couldn't open the door. When she managed to open the door, it was full of wheat floor to ceiling.

 

His daughter ran to tell her father about the miracle that just occurred. "Now we can sell the wheat and we will have more than enough to make the wedding," she said. Rabbi Elazar replied, "This is a miracle and we don't deserve to enjoy it more than others who are in need." He called the poor people of the town and told them that the wheat was theirs as much as his.

 

On the lighter side: Two poor brothers regularly visited Baron Rothschild for alms.  Once a month, Rothschild's treasurer would give them 200 marks, 100 marks for each of them. 

 

Then one of the brothers died.  The next month the remaining brother approached the treasurer, and told him of his brother's death.  He was given 100 marks.

 

"Why only 100 marks," he protested.  "I'm entitled to 200 marks!"   "But your brother is dead.  His 100 marks is withdrawn!" replied the treasurer.

 

"This is not just," retorted the beggar.  "Who is my brother's heir -- me or Mr. Rothschild?"

 

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY