The Zhemigrader Rebbe zy”a (Sefer Aryeh Shaag) explains this pasuk with the following story:
The Sanzer Rov zy”a once met with a talmid chochom whom he knew since childhood, and the man asked him, “When we were youngsters, we were equals, both in Torah and tefillah, as well as in tzedakah and chesed. How is it that you became a po’el yeshuos who people flock to from all over the world while I am still a simple talmid chochom who achieved no fame or renown?”
The Rebbe answered, “The difference between us is that I can’t stand to see a Jew in pain. Since I feel so bad for a Jew in a difficult situation, I make the effort to go to good Jews and collect money for those in need. When I ask them for tzedakah, they often say to me, ‘If you promise me a yeshua for such-and-such problem that I have, I will give you the money.’ Since I have no other choice, I promise them what they ask for.
“I then say to myself: I promised people certain things. If I don’t fulfill my word, I will be a gazlan, and, furthermore, this could cause a chilul Hashem. Therefore, I beg Hashem to send the yeshuos I promised. In His infinite mercy, He does what I ask of Him and He sends whatever salvation was requested.
“After this happened several times, word got out that I can bring about miracles and wonders, and my reputation spread. You, however, want to be a Rebbe so that you can collect pidyonos, and once you have the money, you will give it to the poor. That’s not how it works!”
Accordingly, the pasuk is saying: “Ka’asher yachanu” – according to the way you help the poor (as the word “yachanu” connotes “chonen dalim”, supporting the poor). “Ken yisa’u” – that is how it will go for you. Only if one starts off with a will to help others will he succeed in becoming a po’el yeshuos.
The Giver is the Receiver:
Rashi states: “All of them were bound to take care of the needs of the Mikdash, but the Levi’im were in their stead, as their agents. Thus, in reward, they take ma’aser from them, as it says (ibid 18:31): ‘For it is your reward, in exchange for your service’.”
My grandfather, the Kretchnifer Rebbe zy”a (Gilyon Kol Emunah) states that we see from this Rashi that the Levi’im were not “taking” ma’aser from Klal Yisroel. Rather, they were paid with ma’aser in exchange for doing the avodah. This means that Klal Yisroel was actually taking something from the Levi’im, as they were acting on their behalf when they did the avodah.
In this vein, it is said in the name of tzadikim that when one gives tzedakah, he thinks that he is giving; in truth, however, he is receiving a lot more than he is giving away. We recite in Tefillas Shacharis: “Zoreah tzedakos matzmiach yeshuos.” (He plants tzedakah and makes yeshuos sprout.) When one plants one seed, many fruits sprout as a result. So too, when one gives a few dollars to tzedakah, he makes many Divine salvations sprout for himself.
One Cannot Live Without Tzedakah:
The Bikurei Aviv of Radzomin zy”a was once visited by a very wealthy man who complained that he was constantly being approached by one poor person after another. He said that it had gotten so bad that he didn’t have a moment of peace all day, and he was exhausted from giving so much charity.
The Rebbe told him, “Why don’t you ever get tired of eating? You eat every day but you never say that you had enough food already!”
The wealthy man said, “What does that have to do with anything? I can’t live without eating food!”
The Rebbe responded, “A person also cannot live without giving tzedakah to those in need!”
Helping Others Opens Heavenly Doors:
After the petirah of the Baala Hatanya zy”a, his grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek zy”a merited having his grandfather appear to him in images and dreams many times and to reveal to him secrets of the Torah and chasidus.
One day, the Tzemach Tzedek had several shailohs that he needed help answering. He hoped that he would merit seeing the Baal Hatanya in an image so he could ask him these questions.
However, the Baal Hatanya did not appear to him. This caused him a lot of pain and anguish.
One morning, the Tzemach Tzedek was on his way to daven in shul. On the way, he bumped into a resident of Lubavitch named R’ Mordechai Eliyahu. R’ Mordechai Eliyahu asked him to lend him a few rubles so that he could do some business in the marketplace, as it looked like he had an opportunity to make a profit that day. The Tzemach Tzedek told him to come to his house after davening to pick up the money.
After the Tzemach Tzedek got to shul and was preparing to daven, he remembered the Gemara (Bava Basra 10A) that says Rav Elazar would give tzedakah to the poor first, and he would then begin to daven. He also remembered the words of Chazal that gemilus chasadim (such as giving a loan to help someone out) is greater than tzedakah. He realized that he should have lent the money to R’ Mordechai Eliyahu before davening, so he ran home and grabbed a few rubles and ran to the market to find R’ Mordechai Eliyahu.
By that time, the marketplace was already crowded and it took a while to locate him. When he finally found him, he handed him the money and went back to shul to daven.
When he got back to shul and put on his talis and tefillin, the Baal Hatanya revealed himself to him with a shining face. The Baal Hatanya told him, “When one gives a loan to a fellow Jew with a full heart and no complaints, and when one does a favor for a Jew with love, all the Heavenly gates open before him.”
When the Tzemach Tzedek related this story to his son, the Maharash of Lubavitch zy”a, he said, “When one helps a Jew with his livelihood, even if he only helps him make a small amount of money, every Heavenly door is opened for him and he can accomplish anything.”
It Is All Worth it For One Chesed:
One Friday, Rav Shlomo of Karlin zy”a was preparing for Shabbos when he looked out his window and saw a man going from store to store, trying to exchange a ruble for smaller coins. However, no one was able to do it for him.
Rav Shlomo immediately began to knock on his window to get the man’s attention. As the man approached, the Rebbe dragged his table over to his bookshelf and placed a chair on top of the table. He struggled to climb up onto the chair so that he could reach the top of the bookshelf, where he had stored a bag full of money he had raised for the poor of Eretz Yisroel.
The Rebbe took out the small coins in the bag and counted them until there was enough to provide the man with change for a ruble, and he made the exchange.
The chasidim who were present were amazed that he exerted himself so much just to provide change for a ruble, but he told them, “This is gemilus chesed. It is worth all the exertion in the world just to do a small chesed!”
