In the bustling city of Bnei Brak, Israel, Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky was renowned for her role in distributing Tzedakah (charity) to those in need. Every day, countless people would come to her modest home seeking assistance, and she would carefully distribute the funds that had been entrusted to her by her donors.
One winter evening in the 1990s, after a particularly busy day of receiving visitors and distributing charity, the Rebbetzin discovered that an envelope containing several thousand dollars meant for a specific family in dire need had gone missing. She was deeply distressed, knowing that this money wasn't hers to lose – it had been specifically designated for a family struggling to pay for their daughter's medical treatments.
Despite her advanced age and the lateness of the hour, the Rebbetzin refused to rest. She began methodically searching through every corner of her small apartment, retracing her steps from the entire day. Her family urged her to wait until morning, but she insisted, saying, "This isn't my money to sleep on."
After several hours of searching, she finally found the envelope. It had slipped between some books on a shelf when she had quickly moved them earlier to make space for visitors. However, what happened next truly revealed her character.
The next morning, before delivering the envelope to the intended family, the Rebbetzin went to the bank and added a little money to cover the interest that could have been earned if she had been able to deliver the money immediately to the family who then could have invested it at that time. When her family protested that this wasn't necessary – that no one would have known or expected this – she replied with the words that would long be remembered, "The fact that no one would know is precisely why it must be done. Integrity isn't about what others see, it is about what is right in the eyes of Heaven."
