Tosfos Yom Tov himself was the president of this charitable organization. He saw to the collection and distribution of funds, often donated hefty sums from his own pockets and when the coffers were empty he himself took on the role of collector, and made his rounds among the wealthy Jews of Cracow seeking their support for the plight of the poor. And so did Rav Zelig Margoliyos testify in the introduction to his sefer Chibburei Likkutim:
Despite his role as Av Beis Din of Cracow, he himself supported the poor to the point that after he passed away there was no money left to even purchase him the burial shrouds; all his money had been donated to tzedaka as charity for the poor.
THE STINGY MISER
There was one thing that bothered the Rav, and that was Reb Yosseleh. Reb Yosseleh was a wealthy man, he was kind and good hearted, he seemed to be very respectable and ardently fulfilled the Torah and the mitzvos in all ways. . . in all ways but one. Somehow, for some reason that the Rav couldn’t understand when it came to charitable giving, no donations were forthcoming from the wealthy Reb Yosseleh. Despite his immense wealth, the man was a miser, stingy as could be! He always donated small paltry sums that were totally incompatible with ways and means. It was a puzzle but that citizens of Cracow knew that Yosseleh the wealthy was Yosseleh the miser.
One day Rav YomTov was on a tzedaka collecting mission. Despite his best efforts he simply was unable to collect enough donations to cover the great deficit and help the poor that so desperately needed the funds. That day everything seemed to be against him, one wealthy generous donor was absent and away, one had recently suffered a tremendous downturn in his business and his donations was smaller than usual, the other had gone out of business, and the final donor claimed that he was bankrupt with not even a penny left to his name. What was the Rav to do? The Tosfos YomTov felt he had run out of options, with no choice left he turned to Yosseleh.
As usual the wealthy man gave a small donation, much less than a man of means with his wealth should be able to give. The Rav was understandably upset and he argued and complained with the rich miser to give more, “Yosseleh please don’t be unreasonable, just this once can’t you give a larger donation? Even your poor neighbor who is no man of means gives a larger sum than you?!” But his words fell on deaf ears. No amount of pleading or cajoling helped, Yossele stood his ground.
HIS BURIAL IN SHAME AND DISGRACE
According to some accounts the Tosfos YomTov himself took the miser to Beis Din over his stinginess. Others say that the matter was ruled on after the wealthy miser passed away when the chevra kaddisha refused to even bury him at all. Either way all accounts agree the chevra kadisha was ordered by the Rav to bury the miser close to the fence and gate of the beis hachaim, a location known as a shameful and disgraceful place reserved for burying criminals and sinners.
THE GREATEST SECRET BAAL TZEDAKA IN CRACOW REVEALED
For a while the matter was forgotten, until something strange happened that is. First the amount of poor seemed to grow exponentially. The demand for money from the coffers of the chevra tzedaka increased sharply and then the complaints came pouring in from the poor, the orphans and the widows. “What did you do all these years?” asked the Rav who was shocked and surprised at the sudden unexplained increase in poverty. “All these years Yosseleh supported us in secret,” they revealed, shopkeepers were paid to keep quiet so they could donate food to the poor, even the poor neighbor who lived opposite Yossele revealed that his sizable donation, always incongruous to his means, was in fact Yosseleh’s as well, hidden and secret just as all his charitable works were.
It seems that the stingy miser was actual a great baal tzedaka a master of charitable giving, in its highest form. The Rambam in Hilchos Tzedaka tells us that one of the greatest forms of charitable giving is tzedaka called matan be’seiser – anonymous donation. Yosseleh didn’t want anyone to know that he was the biggest baal tzedaka in town. He shunned the honor and the fame, he remained anonymous, rebuked and even labeled as the town miser. He suffered shame and disgrace, all so long as no one revealed his secret.
YOSSELEH THE HOLY MISER REDEEMED
When the Rav realized what had happened he was greatly dismayed and distressed. Yosseleh the miser was really Yosseleh the holy donor, a great man who had supported so many poor people for so many years. He did not deserve to be shamed and disgraced by being buried in a plot usually reserved for criminals and sinners. And so the Tosfos YomTov redeemed him, he himself was buried not far, close to the holy Yosseleh, now they were to be neighbors in the nest world, by being buried himself there the Rav Tosfos YomTov hoped to atone for the accidental mistaken injustice done to Reb Yosseleh who was nicknamed Kamtzan Kadosh – the holy miser.
Today in the old Beis HaChaim in the courtyard of the Rema shul in Cracow you can visit the Kever of the holy tzadik, the Tosfos YomTov. He is indeed buried on the other side of the beis hachaim, closer to the old gate which was once open and today is blocked and closed. And there not far away is a small weathered headstone, this small matzeiva whose writing is barely legible has on it many stones, left by visitors. Petitioners, those that come to seek yeshuos and refuos – and have their tefilos answered. Tradition has it that this is the kever of none other than Yosseleh Kamtzan Kadosh. (Based on Al haTzadikim veal HaChassidim and Tzadikei Olam)
Rav Betzalel Rakov of Gateshead, a descendant of the Tosfos YomTov is cited as telling a story he saw in print that this story about Yosseleh was once told publicly at a convention. Afterwards the speaker was approached privately by a priest who revealed that his mother had once told him this story and that they were descendants of the holy miser of Cracow. Events have a way of leading one to another and somehow this priest eventually returned to his roots and today he is a baal teshuva learning Torah in Jerusalem. Perhaps it is the merit of his holy ancestor Yosseleh Kamtzan Kadosh the holy miser and the power of one of the greatest forms of charitable giving is tzedaka called matan be’seiser.
