He Sold Everything He Had For Tzedakah

Sefer Toras Hamidos (Tzedakah, page 332) relates the following story about Rav Moshe Rivkis zt‑l, author of Be’er Hagoleh, who lived in Vilna during the times of the Shach.

Rav Moshe would always give a large portion of his income to the poor. One year, there was a terrible hunger in the city and many people were in need of sustenance. Rav Moshe sold all of his furniture, pots and pans and even his wife’s jewelry in order to support them. His wife had a silver leichter that she used for Shabbos, which she had inherited from her mother. She hid it so that her husband wouldn’t sell it.

A year later, when the situation in town changed for the better, she took out her leichter and set it up to use for Shabbos. When Rav Moshe saw it, he fainted. When he was revived, he cried, ‘Oy! How many Jewish people could have been fed if I had sold that leichter!’

Giving Tzedakah While Still Alive:

The same sefer relates (page 336) that the Dubno Magid zt‑l was once going door to door to collect money for tzedakah. He entered the home of a wealthy man who was known to be a miser and said, ‘Mr. A, who is not considered to be wealthy, gave me such-and-such amount. Mr. B., who is also not rich, also gave me a large donation...’

The wealthy man interrupted him and said, ‘Those people have very few possessions. When they die, they won’t leave anything for charity. I have a large fortune. In my will, I will leave the majority of my money to tzedakah. I don’t need to give anything now.’

The Magid said, ‘I will answer you with a moshol. There are two distinct animals – the chicken and the pig. The chicken only gives its owner a small egg. It gives a ‘small donation’. But every villager is fond of his chickens and lets it play in his house. A pig gives a ‘large donation’ of pork and fat. Still and all, non-Jewish villagers don’t like them and won’t allow them into their homes. Why is that?

‘It is because the chicken only gives a small amount, but it gives it while it is alive. The pig, however, gives a large amount but only after it is dead.’