Giving Tzedakah Right Away:
The following story is related in Sefer Toras Hamidos (Tzedakah, page 332):
Rav Mordechai Meisel was a resident of Prague who was very close to Emperor Maximilian and was given much honor. As a sign of his love and respect, the emperor gave him a golden chain, which he personally placed on his neck.
Rav Mordechai was once strolling in the streets of Prague when a poor man approached him and told him that he had a daughter who had reached marriageable age but he had no money to marry her off. Rav Mordechai reached into his pocket, but found that he had no money on him to give the man. He then took the gold chain off of his neck and handed it to him, saying, “Sell this and use the money to marry off your daughter.”
The man refused to take it and said, “I can’t take the chain that you got as a gift from the emperor. The emperor might find out about it and be very upset that you gave away the present that he gave you. I can come to your office tomorrow and get a donation from you.”
Rav Mordechai laughed and told the man, “Every penny I have was given to me as a gift from a King. It was all given to me by the King of kings. If I am allowed to give something Hashem gave me away, I certainly can give away something I got from a human king. I suggest you take it now because right now I am in the mood to give you a large donation. Who knows if I’ll feel like giving you as much tomorrow?”
