Everyone needs salvations, and people are ready to pay lots of money for segulos. However, they would be much better off using their money to do chesed, such as giving tzedakah or lending money to those in need.
The Chofetz Chaim zt'l in his sefer Ahavas Chesed (2:5) writes, "When we do chesed, this arouses Hashem's chesed on Bnei Yisrael even when they don't have zechus avos.
We live at a time when midas hadin, strife, and hardships prevail in the world. We don't have any other counsel to be saved from the tzaros that come each day other than to be occupied with chesed!"
This counsel is worth remembering. People need salvations. What should they do? Of course, Tehillim and Tefillos help, but remember that doing deeds of chesed also helps. It arouses Hashem's chesed onto them and all of Klal Yisrael.
This week discusses the mitzvah of lending money. People think that the purpose of the mitzvah is to help the poor and those in need, but the Chinuch (66) clarifies that this isn't the reason for this mitzvah. Hashem can assist the poor without our help. Primarily, the mitzvah is so we can be occupied in deeds of chesed, and then we merit receiving Hashem's chesed.
The Chinuch writes, "The root of the mitzvah is that Hashem wants His creations to be trained and accustomed to doing deeds of kindness and compassion because these are praiseworthy traits, and by engaging in these traits, they become worthy of Hashem's kindness. We have said this many times: Hashem's goodness and blessings go to the good, not to those who act in the opposite manner. And, when Hashem does kindness with His creation, that will fulfill Hashem's desire to bestow His kindness to the world. If it weren't for this reason, Hashem could give the poor their needs without our help. Rather, it is Hashem's kindness. Hashem wants us to be the shluchim, messengers, to help the poor, so we can merit receiving goodness."
The Chofetz Chaim zt'l (Amud HaChesed) tells a story that happened with a certain talmid chacham. The Chofetz Chaim doesn't say the name of the scholar, but after the Chofetz Chaim's petirah, his student, author of Afikei Yam, said that the talmid chacham mentioned in this story was none other than the Chofetz Chaim, himself:
The Chofetz Chaim writes about a person who didn't have children. He came to the Chofetz Chaim zt'l for advice on how he can merit bearing children. The Chofetz Chaim told him, "I don't know segulos, but we do know that Hashem acts with us as we act with others. If you do chesed with others, Hashem will do kindness with you. Perhaps in this merit, you will bear children."
The man followed this advice and opened a gemach, lending money to those in need. He wrote up a list of rules and customs on how the gemach will be run. One of the customs was that every three years, on Tuesday before parashas Mishpatim, he would make a dinner in the honor of the gemach.
Three years later, on Tuesday of parashas Mishpatim, on the date chosen for his first dinner, he also celebrated the bris for his first son. Heaven arranged that the bris would be on the date of the dinner to show that the child was born in the merit of the gemach. There shouldn't be any doubt that he bore children in some other merit. It was clarified from heaven that it was because of the gemach that his first son was born.
Years passed, and he merited to give birth to several other children. It became difficult for him to run the gemach, so he informed the Chofetz Chaim that he wanted to give it over to someone else. The Chofetz Chaim advised him against giving it up. This mitzvah brought him his salvation, and besides, no one would run the gemach as well as he did.
Another few years passed, and the man repeatedly asked the Chofetz Chaim for permission to give the gemach over to someone else. It came to a point that the Chofetz Chaim felt that he couldn’t say no to him anymore.
The morning after he gave over the gemach, he returned to the Chofetz Chaim and told him that he wanted to take the gemach back. He said that one of his children began to choke that night. He understood that he must continue his deeds of chesed for the safety of his family.
The Navi (Yeshayah 58:7-9) says that one of the rewards for giving tzedakah is that one’s tefillos will be answered: 'וה תקרא אז ...בית תביא מרודים ועניים לחמך לרעב פרס הנני ויאמר תשוע יענה, "Share your bread with the hungry, and moaning poor you shall bring home... [Then] when you shall call, Hashem shall answer. You shall cry, and He shall say, 'Here I am.'" This means that in the merit of helping the poor, Hashem will answer all your tefillos.
The Gemara (Yevamos 63.) quotes these pasukim and says they refer to when one lends money to the poor דחקו בשעת when he is having a hard time. Rebbe Hirsh of Riminov zt'l says that דחקו בשעת is referring to the giver. When a person goes through a difficult period, he should help the poor because his tefillos will be answered, and he will experience yeshuos.
The Chida (Shut Chaim Shaal 74:2) teaches that when one gives tzedakah to the poor, it is not the poor who receive a gift. The poor are the ones who are giving the gift! This is because Chazal (Vayikra Rabba 34) say, "More than the baal habayis does for the poor, the poor does for the baal habayis." The poor enable the wealthy to give tzedakah, so the giver gains more than what was given to the poor person.
It states (Mishlei 15:27) יחיה מתנת ושונא, "He who hates gifts will live." The Chida says this doesn't apply to a person who needs to ask for tzedakah. He isn't receiving a gift; rather, he is giving a gift!
The Torah states (23:5) רבץ שנאך חמור תראה כי משאו תחת, "If you see your enemy's donkey lying under its burden, עמו תעזב עזב, you will surely help him." Unkelos translates those final words as follows: עלוהי דבלבך מא תשבוק עמה ותפרק, "Drop whatever is in your heart against this person and unload the animal together with him."
Bris Menuchah (a student of the Ramban) quotes this Unkelos and writes: If you will be דבלבך מה תשבוק, drop all bad feelings that are in your heart against this person, ותפרק, you will have your salvation and all your tzaros will go away. This is related to what was discussed above. If you do kindness for others, Hashem will do kindness with you. If you drop all grudges and forgive others, Hashem will forgive you.
It states (21:18-19) רעהו את איש והכה אנשים יריבן וכי ירפא ורפא ...באגרף או באבן, "If men quarrel, and one strikes the other with a stone or with a fist...he must pay for the medical costs." The Chasam Sofer asks, why does the Torah specify that he hit his fellow man during a dispute (אנשים יריבון וכי)? The same halachah applies even if one hits his fellow man without a fight! Also, then he must pay the medical bills.
The Chasam Sofer replies that the Torah is telling us that if there had been peace between them, there would be no medical costs. This is because it states (Yeshayah 57:19) ורפאתיו 'ה אמר ולקרוב לרחוק שלום שלום, "'Peace, peace to the far and the near,' says Hashem, 'and I will heal him.'" When there is peace, Hashem heals. There won't be a need to pay a medical bill. It is because of the fights and disputes among Yidden that medical bills exist.
The Pele Yoetz (Vatranus) writes: "Sometimes, with vatranus (letting the other person have his way, rather than to fight with him) you will live, and it will save you from tzaros and problems. How good is his portion! A person doesn't know how to measure it."
Reb Chaim Palagi writes, "When a man has an ill person in his home, he should practice vatranus with the birds, and it is proven and tested that they will daven for him."
