Preparing For Rosh Hashanah With Tzedakah

Preparing For Rosh Hashanah With Tzedakah:

The pasuk (Devarim 16:20) states: "Tzedek tzedek tirdof l'ma'an yichyeh v'yarashtah es ha'aretz." (Seek out a lot of righteousness so that you shall live and inherit the land.)

Rabenu Efraim (one of the great commentators on the Torah) writes: "This is as is stated (Mishlei 10:2): 'Tzedakah saves from death', as is seen from the story of the daughter of Rav Akiva (Shabbos 115B) and the story of Shmuel and Avlet (ibid), as well as the story of Binyomin Hatzadik (Bava Basra 11A).”

He adds that this is hinted to from the word “v'yarashta", which has the same letters as the word "v'Tishrei". This teaches us that one should give tzedakah before Tishrei so that he is sealed in the book of life.