A story is told about two wealthy people who were extremely stingy with their money. They weren't only tightfisted to others; they wouldn’t even spend on themselves. They preferred eating stale bread to spending a few pennies on better food.
One of them realized they couldn’t go on like this, so he told his friend, “Our stinginess is causing us to lose both worlds. We don’t have This World because we don’t spend money even on life's simple pleasures. We will also not earn Olam Haba because we don't give tzedakah. We must change our ways."
His friend disagreed. "The picture isn't as bleak as you're making it sound. We do have Olam HaZeh because we derive pleasure from saving money. I'm not worried about Olam Haba because I thought of a plan to protect myself. You see, I made a vow that I would never give my hand to another person. So, when heaven asks, ‘Why didn’t you give tzedakah?’ I will answer, ‘I couldn’t. I made a vow. I couldn't stretch my hand out to another person.”
His friend replied, “I doubt this will help you, but if it does work, I want to do the same. Therefore, if you die first, come to me and tell me whether heaven accepted your excuse.” The man agreed. “Give me your hand in a promise.” “I can’t. I made a vow. But I give you my word.”
A few months later, he died and came to his friend in a dream. He was wearing ripped clothing; he was bruised and burnt to a crisp. "Your plan didn’t work," his friend said, stating the obvious. He replied, "Actually, heaven accepted my excuse. But then they said, “One time, you were swimming in the ocean, and you almost drowned. Someone gave you his hand, you took it, and he brought you to shore. Why did you give him your hand? What happened to your vow?” “I replied, ‘That was pikuach nefesh. My life was at stake.’ “Heaven said, ‘Why don’t you realize that tzedakah is also a matter of pikuach nefesh. There are people who are hungry, and there are sick people, and tzedakah could save them.’ The miser concluded, “So the plan does work. Just don’t swim in the ocean, so you won’t need to give your hand.”
This story demonstrates the foolishness of people who don’t recognize the value of tzedakah. But tzedakah is so precious, that even publicity at times, doesn’t taint its inherent value.
