רְ אֵה אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לִפְנֵיכֶם הַיּוֹם בְּרָ כָה וגו' (יא, כו)
See I have put before you today the blessing... (11:26)
Treating Each Day Like It’s Your Last:
Sefer Lechem Ani explains that a person must treat every day as if it is his last day on earth. This mindset will arouse a person to remain faithful to Hashem and to stay true to His Torah and mitzvos.
Accordingly, the pasuk is saying that Hashem gives us just “hayom” (this day). He wants us to look at life as if we only have one day to live and, as a result, to faithfully obey Him. And in this merit, we will receive all the brachos of the Torah.
Showing Everyone They Can be Like Him:
The Medrash Tanchuma states that Moshe Rabenu was saying: “See I. See how I chose good and how I am different from all other nation“.
The Sifsei Tzedek asks how it could be said that Moshe Rabenu, the most humble man who ever lived, boasted in such a way.
He answers that Moshe was actually saying: “Look at me. I am the lowliest person but because I made good choices, I reached a high level by choosing to follow the ways of the Torah. You are all greater than me, so you certainly can do the same.”
This is akin to Hillel’s statement at the Simchas Bais Hashoeiva (Sukkah 53A): “If I am here, everyone is here.” His intent was: “If I am worthy of being here, everyone else certainly is worthy of being here.”
Seeing Hashem’s Hashgacha:
The Kedushas Yomtov asks why the pasuk uses the word “anochi”, rather than the more common “ani”. He answers by quoting the Sanzer Rov zy”a as saying that there are two levels of emunah. Some people have emunah in Hashem because the Torah commands us to believe in Him. Others have emunah because they clearly see for themselves that Hashem rules the world with Divine Providence. He says that the second level is greater than the first.
With this in mind, the Torah is saying that one should see “anochi.” The Baal Haturim writes that this is a reference to the word “anochi” in the Aseres Hadibros (Yisro 20:2). Thus, the pasuk is saying that one should see for himself that “anochi Hashem Elokecha.” One should have emunah not merely because the Torah commands him to believe, but because he can see Hashem’s ways for himself.
Joy Through Giving to the Poor:
The words “b’chol mishlach yadecha” indicate that one will have joy through his earthly endeavors. Sefer Kli Chemdah (written by Rav Shmuel Laniado) asks why the pasuk phrases it this way, rather than simply saying that one will rejoice on the holiday.
He answers that if a person thanks Hashem for everything he has, his main source of joy on yomtov will not be from the special foods that were prepared for the holiday. Rather, his main joy will be that since Hashem provided him with an abundance of livelihood, he is able to help others and give them funds for their yomtov needs. During the days preceding yomtov, these poor people see the wealthier Jews preparing all sorts of delicacies but they have no money for anything, and they are greatly downtrodden and saddened by this. When this man is able to help them, that is his main source of simchas yomtov.
When the pasuk says that one should “eat there before Hashem, your G-d”, it is speaking about enjoying yomtov with delicacies. However, this will not be the main source of joy. Rather, the main joy comes from rejoicing “with all your endeavors”, which is a reference to the tzedakah given to the poor for their yomtov need.
As an aside, Sefer Ateres Yeshua writes that the first letters of the words of the pasuk: “V’hitzalta nafshi m’sheol tachtis” (Tehillim 86:13: Save my soul from purgatory.) spell out the word “manos” (portions). This indicates that when a person gives portions to the poor, he is saved from purgatory.
He Who Has Mercy on His Friend Receives Hashem’s Mercy:
The Rebbe of Parisov zy”a (Sefer Atarah L’Rosh Tzadik) writes that this pasuk contains a hint that when one is merciful to his friend, Hashem is merciful to him. Accordingly, the pasuk can be read as saying that “when you give him (your friend) mercy, and He will be merciful with you.” This is in line with Chazal’s statement (Shabbos 151B): “Anyone who is merciful with His creations is treated mercifully by the Heavens.”
He Who Has Mercy on His Neshama Receives Hashem’s Mercy:
Alternatively, he explains that one must have mercy on his own neshama by recognizing how much it is damaged when he disobeys the Torah. According to this explanation, the pasuk is saying that if one “gives mercy” to his own neshama by refraining from damaging it through sin, then Hashem will show mercy to him and help him avoid transgression.
Giving a Poor Person Everything He Needs, Including Respect:
Rashi states that one must give a man who lost his wealth everything he is used to having – “even a horse to ride on and a servant to run in front of him.”
A simple man once wanted to know what it felt like to be a Rebbe, so he dressed up in the garments of a Rebbe and pretended to be one. He traveled to Kotzk, where he spent Shabbos with Rav Menachem Mendel of Kotzk zy”a. Over Shabbos, the Rebbe treated him with much honor. It was obvious to everyone that the man was a phony and they asked Rav Menachem Mendel why he was playing along with the charade.
Rav Menachem Mendel answered, “We learn from the pasuk that a man must be given everything he lacks. Chazal say that he even must be given a horse to ride on and a servant to run before him. From the fact that he is given a servant to run before him, we see that not only must we give a needy man his physical needs, we also must give him the kavod that he needs. I saw that this man feels like he needs kavod. Since he is my guest, I have to provide it for him.”
He concluded, “To give a silly man his foolishness is also a chesed.”
Greatness in the Merit of Tzedakah:
The Admor of Tchortkov zy”a related that the Noda B’Yehuda zy”a married a woman from a wealthy home and received a large dowry. He was worried that his local bank was partially owned by a Jew, so he didn’t want to deposit the money there out of a concern that this might be a problem of ribbis. Therefore, he kept all the money in his study.
A man once came to him and said that he had a daughter who was engaged to be married but since he had no money for a dowry, the other side wanted to cancel the shidduch. Immediately, the Noda B’Yehuda took ahold of the bundle of money he had in his study and asked, “How much do you need?”
The man said that he needed the huge amount of 300 rubles. The Noda B’Yehuda gave him 290 rubles and said, “You can get the last 10 from someone else.”
The reason he didn’t give him the full amount was because Chazal say that “a mitzvah is only called after the one who completes it.” He didn’t want to feel proud that he did the entire mitzvah, so he left it for someone else to complete.
The Tchortkover Rebbe concluded the story by saying, “In the zechus of this mesiras nefesh of giving over the money and not even wanting it to be considered his mitzvah, the Noda B’Yehuda merited his greatness.”
Giving Three Times:
Sefer Likutei Yehuda relates that a wealthy man from the city of Radzimin once came to the Sefas Emes zy”a. The gabbai, R’ Mendel, asked the Rebbe if he could request of the man to give a donation to his relatives, who were very poor.
The Sefas Emes spoke to the rich man and asked for a donation, and the man immediately took out 100 rubles and handed it over. The Sefas Emes then said, “That was for ‘noson’. What about ‘titein’?”
The wealthy man then handed him another 100 rubles. The Sefas Emes then said, “And what about ‘v’lo yeira levavcha b’titcha lo’?”
The man reached into his pocket a third time and gave another 100 rubles. The Sefas Emes then motioned that he was satisfied with the nice donation.
Giving Tzedakah Perfectly, Not Out of Mercy:
Sefer Ramasayim Tzofim (Siman 1, Ois 74) relates the following story:
Rav Bunim of Peshischa zy”a once was traveling home to Peshischa from the city of Danzig. On the way, he stayed overnight in the city of Sheps, which was the home to a big talmid chochom named R’ Zalman Chasid, who was a very poor man.
Rav Bunim went to the house he was staying in and sent for R’ Zalman. He told him that he wanted to make a seudah for the local chasidim, and he gave him a handful of money – without counting how much it was - to buy food. Rav Zalman went out right away to buy chicken, fish and other foods, and he still was left with some change.
Meanwhile, Rav Bunim told his host’s servant to go out and purchase expensive fabric and to have a fancy suit made form it right away. He also told him to buy nice shoes and gloves.
When it came time for the seudah, Rav Bunim had the servant bring all the clothes with him and he told him to give it all to Rav Zalman. Rav Bunim took Rav Zalman into a private room and dressed him in all the nice clothes. When he saw that his Rav Zalman’s children were dressed in tattered rags, he gave him some money to buy new clothes for them as well. It goes without saying that they were overjoyed.
At the end of the seudah, Rav Bunim told Rav Zalman to buy some whiskey for the chasidim. Again, he gave him a handful of money without counting it and, again, some change was left over.
After the seudah, Rav Zalman escorted Rav Bunim back to the place he was staying. When they parted, Rav Bunim handed him some more money. Rav Zalman protested, saying that he already had the change from both handfuls of money the Rebbe gave him, as well as all the new clothes.
Rav Bunim told him, “The pasuk says that ‘you should surely give him and your heart should not be bad when you give him.’ There are many explanations offered for this pasuk but the p’shat is if one gives a poor man tzedakah because he feels bad for him, that is not genuine tzedakah. Such a person is only giving the money because he feels bad and he wants to ‘heal’ himself. This is not the highest form of charity. Therefore, one must give tzedakah several times so that he is no longer giving merely because he feels bad. Thus, the pasuk is saying that one should give, but his giving should not be because he feels pity for the poor man.”
Rav Bunim continued, “Now that I have already given you clothing and a large amount of money, I no longer feel bad for you. now I can truly fulfill the mitzvah of tzedakah by giving you more money. If you don’t accept it, that would mean that everything I did until now was for nothing.’
Of course, Rav Zalman accepted the money.
Tzedakah L’Sheim Shomayim:
Sefer Lechem Oni also explains the pasuk to mean that one shouldn’t give tzedakah to a poor man simply because he feels bad for him. Rather, one should give tzedakah l’sheim shomayim, because that is what Hashem commanded him to do.
The way to make sure that one is giving l’sheim shomayim is to give twice. The first time may be because one feels pity for the poor man, but the second time will be l’sheim shomayim. This is hinted to in the words “noson titein”, which indicates that one should give two times.
Giving Away the Zechus of the Mitzvah:
The Satmar Rov (Divrei Yoel, Parshas Bamidbor) quotes the Sanzer Rov zy”a as similarly explaining that the pasuk is teaching us that we should give tzedakah l’sheim shomayim, and not only because we are overcome with mercy for the poor man. He states that the way to do this is in addition to giving money to the poor man, one should also give him “the zechus of the mitzvah”. He explains that the zechus of this mitzvah creates much blessing and when one gives it to the pauper, he is giving him those blessings. Doing this is certainly l’sheim shomayim.
He thus explains the words “noson titein” to mean that one should “give the nesina”, meaning that he should give away the merits of the giving of the tzedakah. If one does this he will not “feel bad in his heart.” He won’t feel bad for the poor man anymore because he will know that because of this “Hashem will bless” the poor man, and he will no longer be impoverished.
Giving all he Needs:
Sefer Mekor Chaim (Ois 83) relates that a grandson of Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk zy”a once approached the Divrei Chaim of Sanz zy”a on a Friday, while the Divrei Chaim was cutting his nails. He tearfully told him that his daughter had reached marriageable age but he was unable to marry her off because he had no money for a dowry or for wedding expenses.
The Sanzer Rov told him, “You came to me three years ago with the same story, and I gave you a few hundred gold coins. Two years ago, you came to me again, and again I gave you money. Why is your daughter still not married?”
The man replied, “It’s true that the Rov gave me money for this purpose in the past but it wasn’t enough to cover all the wedding expenses. Since I have a big family, I ended up using the money to sustain them.”
The Rov then told him, “Give me an exact reckoning of how much money you need to marry off your daughter.”
The man made an exact calculation and concluded that he needed 600 gold coins for the dowry, 300 gold coins for the traditional gifts and for the cost of making a wedding, and 100 gold coins for clothing for his family and to provide “kest” (meals) for the chosson and kallah for their first year of marriage. In total, he needed 1,000 gold coins.
The Rov then said, “I am happy to now hear the truth from you.”
He then asked, “Are there any guests currently staying in the nearby hotel?”
When he was told that people were staying there, he quickly finished cutting the nails on his right hand and then immediately ran to the hotel. He took a loan from one of the guests of 1,000 gold coins and gave it to the man. Only after this did he finish cutting the nails on his left hand.
One Who Investigates the Poor is Investigated by Hashem:
The pasuk (Yirmyahu 18:23) states: “At the time of Your anger do it to them.” The Gemara (Bava Kama 16B) explains that Yirmiyahu told Hashem, “Even when people want to give tzedakah, they should stumble upon paupers who are not upright.”
Sefer Shmuos Tovos (page 6) asks why Yirmiyahu Hanavi would ask Hashem to make people give tzedakah to undeserving paupers. Why would he wish for such a bad thing to happen?
He answers by quoting the Baal Shem Tov zy”a’s explanation of the pasuk in Tehillim (121:5) that states: “Hashem is my shadow.” The Besht explains that just like a shadow mimics whatever a person does, so too, Hashem, so to speak, mimics what a person does and acts towards him in the same that he acts. Accordingly, if a person gives tzedakah to everyone who asks for assistance, without making any investigations, Hashem will also give him what he requests without investigating him to see if he is worthy. But if a person does investigate the poor and only gives to those he deems worthy, Hashem will investigate him as well.
Thus, Yirmiyahu Hanavi was asking Hashem to send unworthy paupers to ask for tzedakah so that when people give to them they will be able to receive Hashem’s kindness even if they are unworthy.
We Do Not Check The Poor Man’s Conduct:
It is related that the Ropshitzer Rebbe zy”a once met a wealthy man who was known as a big miser. He asked him, “Why don’t you give money to tzedakah? Don’t you want this mitzvah?”
The miser answered that there were many scammers and thieves amongst the charity collectors and he didn’t want to give any of them a penny.
The Rebbe told him, “You are refraining from giving tzedakah to thousands of genuine paupers because a couple of them might be liars. I am willing to give money to thousands of liars on the chance that amongst them is one genuinely poor person.”
A Miser’s Share in Olam Haba:
The Dubno Magid zt”l once approached a rich man who was known to be a miser and asked him for a donation for tzedakah. The man refused the request.
The Magid then told him, “You are very fortunate. You are going to have a portion in Olam Haba!”
The rich man asked what he meant and the Magid said, “Let me tell you a story. There was a miser who died and asked in his will for all his money to be buried with him. When he came to Bais Din Shel Mailoh, they judged him and found that he had not fulfilled the mitzvah of tzedakah. When they asked him why he didn’t give any charity, he defended himself and said that many people who ask for tzedakah are scammers and he didn’t want to give any money to dishonest people. Therefore, he brought all his money with him to Olam Haba, where there are no swindlers, and he was ready to give it out now.
The Bais Din Shel Mailoh ruled that if two other people could be found who did the same thing as him, they would rule that he was correct, and he would be granted a portion in Olam Haba. They searched but only could find one other – Korach, who also was buried along with his money and possessions.
“And now,” the Dubno Magid said, “you will be the second. In your merit, you will save that man.”
Sins Forgiven in the Merit of Tzedakah:
A person benefits greatly from giving tzedakah. The Gemara (Pesachim 118A) states: “Rav Chisda said: What is the meaning of that which is written: ‘Give thanks to Hashem for He is good’ (Tehillim 136:1)? It means give thanks to Hashem who collects one’s debt (the punishment he deserves for his sins) in accordance with the goodness of each individual. He punishes a wealthy person by taking his ox, and He punishes a poor person by means of his sheep. He punishes the orphan by taking away his egg, and He punishes the widow by means of her chicken.”
Rashi explains that Hashem punishes a person by taking his money, thereby atoning for his sins so that no physical punishment is necessary. In His great mercy, Hashem does not punish a person by causing him to suffer physically. Rather, He takes some of his possessions instead, taking a big possession for a wealthy man and a small one from a poor man.
However, there is an even easier way to be granted atonement. The pasuk says (Daniel 4:24): “Sins with tzedakah will be redeemed.” This means that one can give money to charity and receive atonement in that way. And not only will such a person receive forgiveness for his sins, he also will be rewarded for his mitzvah of giving tzedakah, both in this world and the next.
Furthermore, tzedakah will atone for a person without him even losing any of his money. This is as the Baal Haturim discerns from the verse (Shemos ...
