Chassidic teachings greatly extol the virtue of charity, tzedakah, which in our generations is the greatest and most powerful tool for refining the human being. Chassidic history is replete with wondrous stories about Rebbes and chassidim who were extraordinary givers of tzedaka, giving everything they had for charitable needs.
The Rebbe Rayatz writes in one of his letters: “Involvement in acts of tzedaka is something fixed, planted, and deeply rooted among the chassidim, beginning with the Alter Rebbe, who obligated chassidim to be active and engaged in the service of tzedaka. The holy letters in the Tanya testify to this, for most of them deal with matters of tzedaka and the tzedaka of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes—and these letters are only a small portion of the letters the Rebbe sent to chassidim regarding tzedaka.”
You Give Life
The chassidim of the Alter Rebbe would say to one another: “Within the livelihood that the Holy One, blessed be He, grants me, there is also your portion.” In Torah Or, the Alter Rebbe also teaches that the service of tzedaka refines a person’s mind and heart a thousandfold.
Chassidic discourses speak extensively about the difference between serving G-d with the “outer heart” and with the “inner heart.” In one discourse this difference is also explained with regard to giving tzedaka: “outer heart” — giving tzedaka because it is a commandment; “inner heart” — feeling the inner meaning of the verse, “and You give life to them all.” (Nehemiah 9:6) The Rebbe Rayatz taught, “this saying produced thousands of people giving tzedaka with self-sacrifice. They themselves subsisted on a slice of bread with sour milk, yet they distributed tzedaka with a generous hand.”
The chassid R. Zalman of Dubrovna was renowned for his generosity. Before him were always three drawers: one with gold coins, the second with silver coins, and the third with copper coins. When a poor person entered his home, he would look at him and decide from which drawer to give the donation. After deciding, he would put his hand into the drawer, and whatever he drew out he would give to the poor man.
In his time there lived another chassid, also a great philanthropist, named R. Pinchas of Shklov. When he heard of R. Zalman’s practice, he traveled to see it, and from then on he too adopted this custom. When he later entered for a personal audience with the Alter Rebbe, he related the method he had learned from R. Zalman, but added: “Nevertheless, there is a difference between me and R. Zalman. He does not look at the coins in his hand at all to see how much he is giving, whereas I—even though I do not reduce what I have drawn into my hand—open my hand to see how much is in it...”
Not Giving Of Their Own
The Rebbe Maharash instructed a certain chassid to establish a charitable fund in his city, and said that each of the young married Torah learners amongst the chassidim should invest in the fund half of the dowry he had received at his wedding. The chassid said: “Rebbe, I will not be able to persuade them to give half of their dowries.” The Rebbe replied: “When I say it, the words will be accepted. Tell them that when they give, they are not giving of their own; and if they do not give—they will not have.”
And something about tzedaka collectors: chassidim had the custom that the one collecting money for a charitable cause would contribute the first coin himself.
Laws of Peace
“...one can understand the great need and absolute necessity to increase with even greater intensity and strength in matters that draw nearer, hasten, and actually bring about the Redemption immediately. First and foremost—regarding the theme emphasized in the Torah reading Mishpatim: “mishpatim,” the detailed laws governing relations between one person and another, carried out in peace (and, obviously, the negation of their opposite, which nullifies the cause of the last exile). Through this, the Redemption will come. (the Rebbe, Mishpatim, 5752—1992)
