I live in a neighborhood that is constantly developing. We daven in a trailer and are in the process of building a permanent beis medrash. For this purpose, an official organization was set up for the building fund, and members of the community make a monthly donation to the fund. I too take part in this communal mitzvah, donating to the building fund every month.
One day, the gabbai came over to me and said, “Because of some technical reasons, we decided to change the official name of the organization for the building fund. Please do me a favor and call the bank to change the name of the organization toward which your monthly donation goes, so that your donation will continue coming to us.”
In general, I do people favors happily, but this time I apologized after having forgotten to do so. Even then, I did not check the bank accounts, and I neglected to make the simple change in order to ensure my continued donation to the beis medrash.
Then I got a reminder. The person who reminded me to do this was someone I barely knew – my tenant.
I have an apartment in another city, and I rent it out to a family that has been living there for several years. I have raised the rent twice, and the raise was accepted understandingly. They were paying on time, and everyone was satisfied with the arrangement.
But recently, the tenants started singing a new tune. The father kept coming with complaints and was asking us to repair all sorts of problems in the apartment. He also informed me that he intended to move out. I thought to myself, What is the meaning of this change? Perhaps I need to check what’s going on with my ma’asros? I checked my bank account, and then I discovered that for several months the money I had pledged was not being transferred to the building fund, because I hadn’t changed the official name of the organization. The amount of tzedakah meant for the fund was lower than all the recent expenses surrounding the rented apartment. I hadn’t gained anything from saving the tzedakah money. I had only lost out.
I immediately changed the name of the organization in my bank account; the tzedakah money once again reached its proper address, and my tenants calmed down. When a Yid gives, he saves himself much agmas nefesh.
