“Rav Elozor of Bartosa used to say: Give Him what is His, for you and whatever is yours are His” (Avos 3:8).
When Rav Ovadia Yosef used to teach Pirkei Avos he would illustrate the above Mishna with the following story:
Once, when the Arizal was studying the secrets of Torah together with his talmidim, all of a sudden he paused and recited the blessing over bad news, “Boruch Dayan HaEmes – Blessed is the True Judge.”
“I hear a heavenly voice that a decree has been proclaimed in the Heavens above,” he said, quoting Doniel 4:14. “‘By the decree of the wakeful ones is the matter and by the word of the holy ones is the edict.’ It has been decreed that a swarm of innumerable locusts will overrun the city of Tzefas and devour all vegetation and all fruits and trees, as well as all the plants growing in the fields. The residents will starve and be left without sustenance! This will all come to pass because of one poor Tzaddik, a Talmid Chochom named Yaakov Altretz, who is fasting and wallowing on the ground with complaints against Hashem that he is left bereft of all livelihood and means of support and no one has any mercy on him. Hashem cannot bear to remain silent because of this pauper’s prayers and sufferings, and His anger has been kindled against the residents of Tzefas, his neighbors, since no one is doing anything to help the pauper and no one pays attention to him or his plight. This is the decree, and now, my brothers and friends, I ask you to make a collection for tzedoka and send one of us to purchase food and provisions; the rest of the money, give to this poor man immediately to ease his pain and suffering and end his hunger.”
Rav Yitzchok Kohen quickly got up, gathered money from the chevraya and headed to the local grocery, where he purchased food and provisions. He took these and the rest of the money and went off to find Rav Yaakov Altretz lying on the floor in misery and hunger.
Rav Yaakov was a water carrier by trade and that morning his clay pails with which he would draw water from the well had fallen and broken. He was left with no means to purchase new ones and no means of support. He had no money and no food, and had not eaten that day.
Rav Yitzchok grasped Rav Yaakov by the hand, helped him get up and sat him at the table. He revived him with food and drink and presented him with provisions to sate his hunger and slake his thirst. He also gave him the rest of the money so that he could now purchase new pails to draw water from the well and continue to earn a living. Finally, he asked him to daven to Hashem for forgiveness for Tzefas that the decree should be canceled.
“Because of you a terrible decree has been cast against Tzefas that a plague of swarming locusts devour our food. Now ask Hashem to have mercy. Please, from now on, be careful how you complain and what you say against Hashem’s ways,” Rav Yitzchok said to Rav Yaakov. He accepted the rebuke and promised to never do it again. He got up and tearfully davened, asking Hashem to annul the decree and remove His anger from the people of Tzefas.
Afterward, Rav Yitzchok Kohen returned to the Arizal and related what he had done and what had happened and the Arizal said, “Know now that your tzedoka for the poor man has canceled the decree of the locust plague. Thank goodness for Hashem’s mercy and kindness!” They resumed their study once more, when all of a sudden the sky darkened. All the talmidim became worried and terrified at the sight of clouds of innumerable locust swarms flying over the city, darkening the skies of Tzefas.
“Do not be alarmed, and don’t worry,” the Arizal reassured them. “As I said, the decree has been annulled. The locusts just haven’t yet received the message.” As soon as he had said this, a great gust of wind came from the sea and cast the entire swarm of locusts into the depths of the ocean, where they all drowned; not one of them set foot in Tzefas.
Hashem saved the residents of Tzefas in the merit of the tzedoka and chessed that they did for Yaakov Altretz. Rav Shlomo Shlumiel was an eyewitness who testified as to the veracity of these events and was personally acquainted with the pauper, who was a Tzaddik and Chassid and well versed in the Torah by heart. Afterward, he was appointed Av Bais Din in Tripoli. Thus was fulfilled the dictum of Chazal in Avos: “Whoever fulfills the Torah in poverty shall in the end fulfill it in wealth”. (Anaf Etz Avos p. 181–182)
