The trait of Emes—absolute integrity—shaped every aspect of Rav Moshe Feinstein ZT”L’s life, from his responsa to his daily conduct and character. In order to escape the military draft in Russia, he obtained a birth certificate listing him as five years older, a date that later appeared on his passport and other official documents upon arriving in the United States.
Accordingly, when he reached the age of sixty-five according to the official documents, he began to receive Social Security checks. However, Rav Moshe would not take any money that he was not entitled to. Every month, for five years until he actually reached the age of sixty-five, Rav Moshe returned each check with no other explanation other than, "Thank you, I do not need it. When I need it, I will let you know."
Rav Moshe was extremely generous, giving a significant portion of his income to charity and carefully documenting every donation. He never returned a fundraising envelope without including at least a few dollars. Despite earning a modest $7,000 a year, his charitable contributions drew the attention of the IRS, resulting in five audits. However, he always had proper receipts and never claimed a donation he couldn’t verify. Each time, the auditor was so impressed by Rav Moshe’s honest and careful record-keeping that he sent him a courteous letter of apology for the inconvenience. Still, these audits continued, likely triggered by the unusual ratio of donations to income that appeared each year on Rav Moshe’s return due to his incredible generosity!
