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Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

part 2
1st chapter
Chafetz Chayim Ahavat Chessed c part 2
1st chapter
An explanation of the topic of A Love of
Kindness.
(Emphatically) How so very much should man continually attach
himself to the character trait of kindness, as the pasuk states
(Micha 6:8) He has told you, man, what is good, and what does
Hashem ask of you, only to do justice and a love of kindness.
Ostensibly, he should have written saying, only to do justice
and kindness, or love justice and kindness. Also, what is the
expression tell you, man, implying the text is coming to reveal
something that man would not have known by himself. Yet the
entire world knows that to do justice is very important - from
perashat Mishpatim, and also to do kindness is very important
from many pesukim that are instructive to the topic, as was
explained above in the Introduction to this sefer.
Rather, the topic is based on what Chazal have said (Gemara
Sanhedrin 7a) That man whose shirt was seized by the Beit Din
(in payment of a debt) should sing (i.e., rejoice). We will explain
the reason for this by way of a parable: In a particular city there
was a band of rebels who were joined by many men. In order to
solidify the bonding within the gang, they all agreed to wear one
style of clothes whose color was different than the color of the
clothes worn by the general population, in order that they would
be able to recognize one another from a distance away. One day
they went to a party (to a bar) and got very drunk. Several of the
men in the group did not want to pay their bill and the owner of
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the bar would not let them leave until they were forced to leave
their clothes behind as a security, and they left his bar angry.
After a short while their conspiracy was made known to the
king, as well as the sign that bonded them, and everyone wearing
those clothes was caught. The matter was investigated and their
rebellion was disclosed, and as a result all of the rebels and all
of their belongings were obliterated except for those who were
not wearning those clothes, they were not recognized and so they
were saved. These men said to one another We thought the
owner of the bar did something bad to us, that we had to leave our
clothes with him, but he did us a great favor, and because of him
we remain alive. Let us go to him and give him our admiration
and thanks, and regarding the future - resolve that from now on
we will not do those evil things that our evil companions did, in
order that we will not be captured as they were.
So too literally in our topic Man must understand to the core
of his soul that for the reason of theft, and in particular when he
wears clothes that are not clean of theft and contain extortion,
that is reason to obliterate the rest of all of the money he earned
legally, as we know this from the words of Chazal (please see
Gemara Ketubot (66b) regarding holding back Tzedakah, and
all the more so here; also see Gemara Sukah (29b) That for
any one of four reasons man will lose his wealth; please see that
reference, and also what is written (Yirmiyah, 2:34) Even on your
hems is found the blood of poor, innocent victims). Therefore,
Chazal have expressed this very well (Gemara Sanhedrin 7a) that
when Beit Din determined that the clothing he was wearing was
thievery in his hands, and they determined that it should be given
back to his fellow Jew, he should sing and be joyful because of
this, in order that Heaven will not catch him, and because of it he
will be left with none of his possessions (meaning, he will lose
everything because of the theft in his possession).
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With this we can now understand the text of the pasuk cited above
(Micha 6:8) He has told you, man, meaning, that when man
toils with all of his might to accumulate money, and he does not
exercise any care to make sure his soul will be clean \ free of all
theft and extortion and cheating, and the like, still, he imagines
to himself that by his efforts at present he is doing great good
for himself, and the accounting of all of his actions will only
take place at the end in the World On High. (In refuting this
mindset) Therefore, the prophet comes to reveal to us and says
They tell you man, what is good, meaning what people think
is not so, that it is a good thing for man to accumulate wealth,
rather, it is a good thing for man to use his wealth to do justice
meaning, each time he gains some profit to think carefully if it
was obtained in a way that conforms to the statutes of the Torah
in order that his wealth will remain with him. That is the intent
of the pasuk only to do justice. And then the prophet adds
to that statement and says and loving kindness, meaning, that
man should not think that in only doing this his money will now
be seen as being clean from any theft and that his wealth will
remain with him, and in so doing it will be good for him. Rather,
he should also see to it to give Tzedakah and do kindness with
his money in proportion to his wealth, because in the absence
of that, in the end G-d forbid, his wealth will go and be lost to
him. Chazal have expressed this in Gemara Ketubot (66b) in the
example of Nakdimon; please see that reference.1
1. [Quoting from the Mazal Elul English translation of Kuntres Sfat Tamim,
produced by the Mazal Elul Congregation, published by the Mazal Press
and distributed by Feldheim Publishers, 5770, page 53]: The Gemara
there relates that while traveling with his students Rabban Yochanan ben
Zakai saw a girl (who was so impoverished that she was) picking out
grains of barley from the dung of animals belonging to the Arabs. He
asked her who she was and she answered that she was the daughter of
Nakdimon ben Gurion, who was one of the wealthiest men in Jerusalem.
He asked her what happened to her fathers money? She replied, this
came and consumed this, meaning that money obtained illegally (because
not enough of it was given to Tzedakah - Rashi) became intermingled with
her father in laws money obtained legally (her Ketubah money) and both
were consumed.
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The reason prophet expressed this in the pasuk as a love of

kindness, and did not say only do justice and loving kindness
was in order to teach us a great, new concept, that because of
our many sins practically all of us stumble specifically in this
sin, even though all of us do acts of kindness. But the topic of
Chessed from our perspective has become an issue of necessity
(i.e., we are coerced to do it), meaning, when an impoverished
man come to us in need once or twice, and it is hard to move
away from him \ deny his request, only then do we do Chessed
with him, and even at that we dont do it willingly or with a good
heart at all. Addressing this, the prophet says (Micha 6:8) and
what does Hashem ask of you, only to do justice and a love of
kindness, meaning, dont think to yourself that by occasionally
doing an act of Chessed you have perfectly fulfilled your duty,
rather, man must acquire for himself a love of this character trait
of doing kindness.
It is well known that there is a very substantial difference between
something that a man does out of necessity and something that he
does out of love. The measure (lit., the sign) of this is the way in
which every father conducts himself towards his son; in feeding
him, in clothing him, in marrying him off, and in every matter
all from the perspective of the love he has for him, much more
so than from the perspective of an obligation towards him; he is
constantly thinking of ways to do good for his son, even though
the son made no request of him. He is happy and pleased when he
does good to him. So too literally in our topic of Chessed. When
a man has a love for this character trait he will look for ways with
all of his strength how to do Chessed for his fellow Jew, and he
will do all of this generously \ wholeheartedly. This character
trait of Chessed includes many topics as we will explain with
Hashems help all of this further on; all of this should be done in
the context of love and not in the context of necessity.
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Come and see the magnitude of this topic, given that the text of
our Tefilah has been arranged for us (by the Sages of the Great
Assembly) with praise to our Creator for this. We say in the
conclusion of our Tefilah (i.e., Amidah \ Shmoneh Esreh) because
in the radiance of Your face, You have given us, Adonai, our
G-d, a living Torah, and a love of Chessed, meaning, from the
time that the light of His Face, Yitbarach, was revealed to us at
Har Sinai, as the Torah states (Devarim 4:35) You (Israel) were
shown this in order to know that it is Adonai who is G-d, as
Chazal have said (please see Rashis commentary on that pasuk)
that Hashem Yitbarach opened up for them all of the Heavens
and the Depths of the Earth, and showed them that He is One
over everything. At that time many fundamental things were
revealed to them, specifically, that the holy Torah is the source
of all life in the Heavens and Earth; it is only in the merit of
the Torah that everything continues to exist, and if not for it all
of physical reality would cease to exist. Chazal have expressed
this in Gemara Shabbat (88a): HaKadosh Baruch Hu made a
stipulation with Creation at its inception If Israel will accept
My Torah - good, and if not- I will return you back to a state of
chaos and void. So too now, if there was no learning of Torah
anywhere in the world for even one moment, immediately all of
Creation would revert back to nothingness and chaos, since the
Torah is still above the source (i.e., it is the source) of life of the
entirety of all of Creation, as this has been expressed in our holy
books (Nefesh HaChayim, 4th shaar, 11th perek) in the name of
the holy Zohar (Beresheet).
It was further made clear to them at that same holy assembly
how much a person needs to run after this character trait of
Chessed and to love this character trait with all of ones soul.
Because at that point they understood deeply with a divine spirit
what the basis is of all of Creation, and they grasped how the
entirety of all physical reality its continued existence and its
sustenance, is solely dependant only on the kindness of Hashem
Yitbarach who fills the entire world. The pasuk expresses
this as (Tehillim 136:25) He gives sustenance (bread) to all
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life (flesh) for His kindness is everlasting. It is further written

(Tehilim 33:5) The kindness of Hashem fills up the world, and
if HaKadosh Baruch Hu was to deal with mankind as strict law
would dictate, G-d forbid, the world could not continue to exist
at all. Chazal have expressed this concept in Midrash Shocher
Tov in commentary on the pasuk (Tehilim 89:12) An instruction
by Eitan HaEzrachi. I will sing forever of Hashems kindness:
They said to Eitan, What does the world stand on \ What is the
basis for the continuing existence of the world? He responded
to them On kindness, as the pasuk states (Yeshaya 16:5) The
throne will then be established with kindness. By way of a
parable illustrating what this is comparable to: There was a chair
with four legs (please see the following Hagahah) and one of the
legs was wobbly. He took a stone and supported it. So too, as if
to say the chair of HaKadosh Baruch Hu is wobbly until He
supported it. What did He support it with? With Chessed! For
that reason it was said (Tehilim 89:3) I have said the universe is
built on Chessed. Therefore man must constantly bond to this
character trait, and in its merit he will have a continued existence
in this world and in the World to Come, as we will explain this
concept further on, based on the words contained in The Writings
(i.e., Ketuvim) and on the words of Chazal.
Hagahah
We can paraphrase the intent of the Midrash (Shocher Tov, cited
above) that said one of the four legs is wobbly. Even though
it is well known that apart from this physical world there are three
other (spiritual) parts to the world, namely, Olam HaYetzirah
(which is the domain of the holy Chayot which Yechezkel the
prophet saw), Olam HaBeriah and Olam HaAtzilut, wherein
resides the repository of His glory, Yitbarach. These worlds
can all exist even in a framework of \ even if He conducts them
in strict law. However, our world - where we are clothed in
physical materialism and we are prone to sin - could not exist in
a framework of strict law, and necessarily this will also reflect
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on the glory of His monarchy, Yitbarach, since there can be no

king without a nation, and so necessarily His throne will not be
complete \ perfect, G-d forbid. But when He, Yitbarach, conducts
Himself with us in a framework of Chessed, the entire Creation
can exist.
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An explanation of the reason why the Torah
encourages man to have a love of this topic of
Chessed \ A Love of Kindness
In this chapter we will explain the reason why Hashem Yitbarach
so greatly encourages man in this character trait to the point were
every corner of the Torah is filled with it, as described in the
Introduction to this sefer. Also, He required man to have a love
of this trait, as described in the first perek. We will come to
explain this, with the help of Hashem Yitbarach, in many ways \
from many different perspectives.
It is written in the Torah (Beresheet 1:27) and Elokim created
man in His image; The Commentators (in sefer Divrei David,
authored by the Turei Zahav on the Torah) have explained this to
mean His attributes, namely, that He instilled within mans soul
the ability to emulate His attributes, which is to do only good and
kindness to others. The text expresses this as (Tehilim 145:9)
Hashem is good to all, and it further states (Tehilim 136:25)
He sustains all flesh, for His kindness is eternal. The continued
existence of the universe is entirely dependent on this kindness,
as stated further on. Accordingly, one who follows along this
path will carry within him the image of Elokim, and one who
withholds himself from this character trait of Chessed and
says to himself Why should I do good to others - completely
distances himself from Hashem Yitbarach (please see the
following Hagahah).
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Hagahah
Since were on this subject, we will explain a pasuk that is relevant
to this topic. It is written in Sefer Yechezkel (16:49) This was
the sin of Sedom, your sister; She and her daughters had pride,
plenty of bread and tranquility, but she did not strengthen the
hand of the poor and the needy, meaning that their country was
filled with everything good and there was quiet tranquility for
her and for her children, and they did not need help from any
other country, and yet they wanted to prevent foreigners from any
other city from passing through their province, and they did not
want to support the welfare of the poor and impoverished, and
because they wanted to withhold from themselves this character
trait of Tzedakah \ charity and kindness which is the basis
for the continued existence of the world they and all of their
possessions were obliterated from the world.
As one carefully ponders this he will see that the continued
existence of mankind is entirely dependent on these character
traits of Tzedakah and Chessed, since man will pass through many
stages in his life and each stage requires support and assistance
appropriate to that circumstance. How is that so? Occasionally
he will need his fellow Jew to help with money, for example, to
give him a loan this occurs even if the borrower is wealthy, or
that his friend should find a job for him or some other occupation
by which he can earn a livelihood (this is the mitzvah of and you
shall strengthen himand your brother will live together with
you) and included in this is virtually the majority of all men.
Occasionally he will need his fellow Jew to extend a kindness
to him with his physical efforts, for example, at a time when he
is happy he needs other men to be happy with him (this is the
happiness of a groom and a bride) because when a man is all
by himself he cannot be in a state of happiness. To too when a
man is sad, he needs someone to comfort him and talk to him
heart-to-heart (this is the mitzvah of comforting a mourner, and
other comparable things, to comfort someone in their sorrow)
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to comfort someone and take them out of their sorrow in order

that he should not become sickened by their troubles. So too
occasionally in times when he journeys away from home carrying
a load and he needs help from others, he will be forced to rely on
others to help him (this is the mitzvah of unloading and loading).
And if he is forced to go to other peoples homes, he needs them
to invite him into their homes as is appropriate to his prestige
(this is the mitzvah of inviting guests, which is also appropriate
to people who are not poor, as explained in the 3rd part of this
sefer, in the 1st perek). And if he is ill, he needs people to come
and visit him and to inquire into his condition, perhaps they can
find a way to have him cured (this is the mitzvah of visiting the
sick). And if he lived out his life and passed away, most certainly
he needs people to deal with him with the purest kindness (i.e.,
expecting nothing in return). The rule that emerges from all this
is that the world cannot continue to exist without the attribute of
kindness, and it is for this reason that the Torah highlighted this
in many places, in order that man should strengthen himself in
this attribute. It is possible to say that this is the intent of their
teaching (Avot 1:2) The world stands of three things: On Torah,
on Service to Hashem and on doing Kindness.
We may also say that it is well known that the ultimate form of
pleasure that man can merit is to sit in the presence of Hashem
and to take pleasure from the radiance of His Shehchinah; this
is the true delight and the greatest of all possible enjoyment that
can be found. However, all of this is conditional on whether
or not he bonded himself to Hashem Yitbarach with all of his
might during his lifetime, as the pasuk states (Devarim 11:22)
and cling to Him, meaning, attach yourself to His attributes,
as Chazal have said (Sifri, perashat Eikev, piskah #49), namely,
to encourage oneself throughout his entire life to cling to the
attributes of Hashem Yitbarach which are good and kind.
The pasuk expresses this as (Michah 7:18) since He desires
Kindness, only then will he merit to sit eternally before Hashem
and be satiated with a clean soul. This is something that cannot
happen if during his lifetime his personality was not to do good to
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others which is completely opposite to the conduct of Hashem

Yitbarach; and so how could he bond to Hashem after he passes
away?!
In fact this is a statement made in Gemara Eruvin (86a) Rava
bar Mari expounded on the pasuk (Tehilim 61:8) May he sit
forever before Elokim, kindness and truth poised to protect
him; when will he sit forever before Elokim? At a time when
kindness and truth have been designated and will protect him.
(Rashi explains When will he sit forever before Elokim? At a
time when the wealthy dispense kindness and prepare food for
the impoverished and they will advocate for him. The word
mahn is an expression of food \ feeding people). And the texts
use of the expression will protect him is because in fact in this
holy place, namely, in the place where one merits to stand before
Hashem, the G-d of Heaven, there he will need much greater
protection since there in that place are found Angels and Seraphim,
any of whom could incinerate the entire universe with the breath
of their mouths. This concept is brought down by the Sifri in
commentary on perashat Haazinu (piskah #306) (please see the
following Hagahah) and one needs very great merit in order not
to be harmed by these forces \ powers of strict (unmerciful) law.
In this context the text states (Tehilim 61:8) that whoever has this
character trait of truthfulness which is the Torah - and also the
character trait of Chessed they will protect him so that he wont
be harmed by them (i.e., by Angels and Seraphim). In this same
sense Chazal have said in the Yerushalmi Taanit, 4th perek, 2nd
halacha, (Yeshayah 51:16) and I will place My words in your
mouth this means words of Torah, and the shade of My hand
will cover you this is extending kindness to others (meaning,
that by virtue of the kindness one does with his hand, he will
merit that Hashem Yitbarach will also cover over him with the
shade of His hand) to teach you that one who toils in Torah and
in extending kindness to others will merit to sit in the shade of
HaKadosh Baruch Hu (please see further on, in the 4th perek, in
the paragraph beginning with the words Regarding the topic of
this statement).
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Hagahah
This is the language of the Sifri (perashat Haazinu, piskah #
306): My teaching shall drop like rain: Chachamim say
Moshe said to Israel Perhaps you know how much suffering
I endured for the Torah and how hard I worked for it, and how
much effort I put into it. In this same sense it states (Shemot
34:28) I was there with Hashem forty days and forty nights.
I entered among the angels, I went among the Chayot, I went
among the Seraphim, that any one of them could incinerate the
entire world. My soul was given for it; my blood was spent over
it. Just as I endured suffering to learn it, so too should you endure
suffering to learn it.
From this, man can understand just how much he must have a
love of this character trait, and necessarily when he acquires this
love, he should consider it as a found opportunity when Hashem
presents him with an opportunity to do kindness, and he should
do it perfectly and the borrower will not be embarrassed by him
(i.e., he will not feel embarrassed because he had to take a loan,
or because he had to take Tzedakah) and because of that he will
be blessed by Hashem. Moreover, after he has acquired a sense
of love for this character trait, he will encourage others to do
kindness. This concept is expressed by Rabbeinu Yonah in his
Igeret HaTeshuvah (16th notation).
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Another reason for the Torahs encouragement \
Zerizut of this topic of kindness \ Chessed.
Further, it is appropriate to explain the text brought down in Yalkut
Shimoni (Tehilim, remez #670, in commentary on the pasuk in
Tehilim (17:2) From before You, let my judgment come forth:
Rebbe Levi said HaKadosh Baruch Hu said to David: Did
You needlessly make the Sanhedrin, go and be judged before
them. David said to Him: Master of the universe, You wrote
in Your Torah (Shemot 23:8) Do not take a bribe, and they are
afraid of taking a bribe and judging me. But You, You do take
bribes, as the pasuk states (Mishle 17:23) He (i.e., Hashem) will
take bribery from the lap of the Rasha. What is that bribery?
The Teshuvah that HaKadosh Baruch Hu takes from Reshaim
in this world, and good deeds. HaKadosh Baruch Hu said to
Israel My children, as long as the Gates of Teshuvah are open,
do Teshuvah, that I will take bribes in this world, but when I am
sitting in judgment in Olam Haba I dont take bribes, as the pasuk
states (Mishle 6:35) He will not be appeased by any payment.
Ostensibly, how can Teshuvah and good deeds On High be called
bribery? If it is appropriate not to accept this mans Teshuvah
On High, what is the relevance of bribery? HaKadosh Baruch
Hu is the G-d of truth! Thus the explanation of this topic is as
follows: On High, HaKadosh Baruch Hu guides \ conducts the
world in two pathways: One is with the Attribute of Strict Law
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give us rain that falls to the Earth . Two: The conduct of the world by
miracles that are obviously supernormal, as happened during the time of
our Exodus from Egypt Three: There is yet another level of conduct that
is in between miraculous and natural, namely, at the level of Beracha
\ Bounty. this bounty is sent via the efforts of ones hands, and this
bounty increases greatly out of proportion to the effort put into it, as .
Heaven arranges for him all of the elements he needs for this business to
succeed greatly.
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and the other is with the Attribute of Chessed and Compassion.2

It is well known that in the Coming Future mans liabilities
and merits are dependent entirely on a majority of his mitzvot
or sins. Chazal have expressed this (in Gemara Kedushin 40b)
as follows: If he has a majority of mitzvot, then he is in the
category of Tzadik, and if he has a majority of sins, then he
is in the category of Rasha. This is readily understandable by
anyone with intelligence, that if at the time of mans judgment
Hashem Yitbarach will sit on His seat of Strict Law, then even
if this mans merits are very great he will emerge guilty from
the Heavenly Beit Din (unless he strengthened himself with
all of his might to do this mitzvah in all of its details) because
with absolute certainty they will thoroughly examine every
mitzvah to determine if the mitzvah was performed carefully as
the law requires with attention to each of its details. Moreover,
even that part of each and every mitzvah which is hidden from
sight (meaning, the intensity of his thought at the time he was
performing the mitzvah) if it was done as the law requires, with
love and trepidation and happiness in that mitzvah, that and many
other details that are required by each mitzvah, just as is written
in Sefer Chareidim, and as written (in sefer Kohelet 12:14)
since all of mans doings will be brought before Elokim for
judgment for every hidden thing and with absolute certainty
they will find many, many mitzvot that were not completed as the
law requires in all of their detail, and those incomplete mitzvot
will not be included in the count, and so automatically his sins
will outweigh his mitzvot and he will be declared On High as
2. Within this framework of Strict Law tempered by Chessed and
Compassion: the Chafetz Chayim writes as follows in his Kuntres Nefutzot
Yisrael (appended to the Chafetz Chayims ZTL Sefer Shem Olam, in
English translation entitled Mazal Elul, volume 2, page 347; produced by
the Mazal Elul congregation, published by the Mazal Press and distributed
by Feldheim Publishers, 5772): Moreover there is yet something else you
must understand; that there are three methods by which HaKadosh Baruch
Hu manages His world: One: A normal, natural course of events by which
HaKadosh Baruch Hu continually governs the entire world, namely, He
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a Rasha, G-d forbid. Even if he did Teshuvah for some sins,

when they scrutinize his Teshuvah they will assuredly find that
his Teshuvah was not done appropriately. And if at that time
HaKadosh Baruch Hu was to deal with him with kindness and
compassion, even though there is a tremendous difference if he
did the mitzvah as it was said with all of its details or if
some detail was omitted, nevertheless, with absolute assurance
they will find the merit that would excuse him for not having
completed the mitzvah perfectly, and his merits will remain. On
occasion it happens that even if in the accounting of his deeds
his sins outnumber his merit, if HaKadosh Baruch Hu conducts
Himself with complete compassion, they (this mans sins) will be
subtracted from the accounting since assuredly Heaven will find
that many of his sins can be ascribed to being done unknowingly
or for some other reason that would neutralize the sin, and
necessarily if these sins are removed from the accounting his
merits will outweigh his sins and they (Heaven) will eternally
characterize him as a Tzadik, especially if he did Teshuvah for
those sins, most certainly his Teshuvah will be accepted even
though that Teshuvah was not done precisely right.
Now, truthfully, every man wants Hashem Yitbarach to deal
with him with the attributes of kindness and compassion, but
that literally also follows along together in the path of truth
and righteousness, since it is well known that depending on
how a man conducts himself in expressing his personality in
this world, he in turn arouses a corresponding resonance in the
Attributes of Heaven. If his conduct was to express himself to
other people with the attributes of kindness and compassion, he
activates a corresponding compassionate response from Heaven,
and Hashem extends mercy to the entire world because of him.
Therefore, (paraphrasing Mishle, 18:20) From the fruit of the
mouth of man his soul will be nourished \ satiated. This man
will also merit that Hashem Yitbarach will act towards him in that
same way at a time when he is in need of mercy. The Gemara
Shabbat (111b) expresses this concept as whoever has mercy \
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compassion for mankind, Heaven will have compassion \ mercy

for him.
So too is this concept expressed in the holy Zohar, in perashat
Emor: We have learned actions Below arouse corresponding
actions Above. If a man does an action properly, so too is aroused
Above a corresponding force. If a man extended kindness
to others in the world, he activates kindness Above which
dominates the world on that day and in turn that day is crowned
by that attribute because of him. And if man behaves with mercy
\ compassion in this world Below, he arouses compassion on the
world on that same day and is crowned by mercy \ compassion
because of that. That day then stands for him as protection in
his moment of needwith the same character trait that a man
expresses himself, so too that is how Heaven acts towards him.
Praiseworthy is the man who demonstrates proper deeds Below,
since the response of Heaven is entirely reflective of his actions
in arousing a corresponding attribute. (Please see the following
Hagahah).
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And during his life if his attitude was never to allow others to
keep anything at all which was really his, and he never extended
mercy to others, with his actions he empowers the Attribute of
Strict Justice On High, and when he will be in need of such
things he will reap the rewards of his own hands, and Hashem
Yitbarach will also deal with him with that same attribute. That
is the meaning of the pasuk in Yeshaya (3:10-11) Say to the
Tzadik it is good, because they will eat the fruits of their actions;
Woe unto the Rasha because the rewards of his actions will be
done to him. This is what Chazal meant when they said that
HaKadosh Barcuh Hu accepts bribes of repentance and good
deeds, as good deeds allude to the topic of Tzedakah and Chessed
which a person does in this world. They cause his repentance to
be accepted On High even if according to the Attribute of Strict
Justice that repentance is not entirely fitting, since by his actions
he arouses for himself during his lifetime the attributes of charity
and mercy On High, and in this manner the Attribute of Justice
itself later deals with him with this same attribute in regard to the
acceptance of his repentance and the number of his mitzvot, as
described above.
Hagahah
It seems to me that that is the intent of the pasuk (Tehilim
85:11) Kindness and truth met together, righteousness and
peace kissed. Now, ostensibly, what is the relevance of
meeting or kissing in regard to character traits? But based
on this \ based on what weve said these concepts mesh very
nicely. The trait of righteousness is in force when HaKadosh
Baruch Hu conducts Himself towards this man in the path of
truth and righteousness, as the pasuk states (Devarim 16:20)
righteousness run after righteousness, as this concept is
written in Sefer HaPardes in Shaar Erchei HaKinuyim (the
Gates of Sacred Names). The trait of peace is in force when
HaKadosh Baruch Hu overlooks matters \ lets the matter pass,
which is the meaning of the name, Shalom. Therefore He
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said During his lifetime if man bonded only to truth which

is the Torah, and not to kindness, then later on at the time of
his judgment, the traits of righteousness and peace will not
be able to link together since the trait of righteousness will not
agree to being overlooked \ ignored. However, if during his life
these two traits of kindness and truth met together in his
conduct, then as a result, in the end righteousness and peace
will kiss, meaning, they will join together, so that even the trait
of righteousness will specifically agree not to scrutinize this
person so carefully. With our words, one can well understand the
teaching of Chazal (Gemara Babba Batra, 10a) Rebbe Elazar the
son of Rebbe Yossi said All of the Tzedakah and kindliness that
Israel does in this world creates a great peace and grand palaces
(Rashi Advocates comprised of Ministering Angels) between
them and Our Father in Heaven, as the pasuk states (Yirmiyah
16:5).
We can now understand well why Hashem Yitbarach encouraged
a person repeatedly throughout the entire Torah in regard to this
character trait since it is well known that Hashem Yitbarach
wishes to extend Chessed, as the pasuk in Mishleh states (7:18),
and He also wants the children of Israel to be found worthy when
they are judged in the Coming Future, and not G-d forbid
guilty. Therefore He commanded them in several places to follow
in His ways, which are the paths of goodness and kindness, in
order that He will also be able to deal with them in the end with
this attribute.
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An explanation that performing this mitzvah will
endow man with an ancillary reward in this world,
while the principal reward will be left for him in
Olam Haba. Also, his merit will advocate for him
to save him from all sufferings.
Come and see the enormity of this trait of kindliness, that it is
one of the things for which man will receive an ancillary reward
in this world while the principle reward is reserved for him in
Olam Haba, as this idea is expressed in the 1st perek of Pehah
(1st Mishnah). Chazal have further said (Yerushalmi Pehah, 1st
perek, 3rd halacha) Kindness will advocate for a man forever, as
the pasuk relates (Tehilim 103:17) and the kindness of Hashem
is eternal for those who fear Him. However, Tzedakah will
endure \ advocate for him for three generations, as the pasuk
states and His righteousness \ Tzedakah will extend to his
childrens children. The reason why extending kindness is called
the kindliness of Hashem \ Chessed Hashem is because by
virtue of our efforts in this regard we arouse On High an advocacy
that Hashem Yitbarach will conduct Himself towards us with His
Chessed, as I wrote above in the 3rd perek.
Moreover, it (Chessed) advocates for man in his time of distress
to save him from sorrows, as related in the 1st perek of Gemara
Avodah Zarah (17b) Our rabbis have taught: When Rebbe
Elazar ben Partah and Rebbe Chaninah ben Tradyon were seized
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by the Romans, Rebbe Elazar ben Partah said to Rebbe Chaninah

ben Tradyon - How fortunate you are, that you were arrested on
on one charge, woe unto me that I was arrested on five charges.
Rebbe Chaninah resonded back to Rebbe Elazar ben Partah
How fortunate are you, that you were arrested on five charges and
you will be saved. Woe unto me that I was arrested on one charge
and I will not be saved; because you occupied yourself with Torah
and doing Chessed, while I was occupied only with Torah alone.
This is as Rav Hunah, that Rav Hunah said Whoever occupies
himself exclusively with Torah is like on who has no G-d, as the
pasuk states (Divrei HaYamim II, 15:3) Many days passed by
for Israel without a true G-d, meaning, those who were occupied
with Torah exclusively they are comparable to one who has no
G-d who will protect them (as per Rashis explanation in Gemara
Avodah Zarah, 17b); please see that Gemara, that he (Rebbe
Chaninah ben Tradyon) was occupied with extending kindness
to others and he was also the administrator of the charity fund,
however, he did not do as much as he was capable of doing.
Regarding this statement of the Gemara, it seems to me to
explain it based on the text of Midrash Ruth Rabbah (perasha
4:5) Come and see the strength of those who give Tzedakah and
do Chessed, that they are not under the refuge of the shade of
Shachar \ Dawn, and not the shade of the wings of Earth, and
not the shade of the wings of the sun, and not under the shade
of the holy Chayot and not under the shade of the wings of the
Keruvim, and not under the shade of the wings of the Seraphim
Rather, they take refuge under the shade of The One Who Spoke
and the Universe Came into Being, as the pasuk states (Tehilim
36:8) How precious is Your kindness, Hashem, the children of
man take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. The intent is as
follows: It is well known that when the Heavenly tribunal judges
a case, even though many angels of mercy are part of the tribunal
(they are the majority of the Heavenly Sanhedrin, who stand to
the right of Hashems Throne of Glory to advocate merit of the
defendant, and they are called benefactors \ Nedivim, as this
is written in sefer Shaarei Orah) still, within the tribunal are
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angels of strict (unmerciful) law. But that is not the case when
HaKadosh Baruch Hu alone judges, it is with very great mercy.
In this regard the text states (Tehilim 118:9) better to take refuge
under Hashem than to place ones trust in the Nedivim. But
when is it that HaKadosh Baruch Hu Himself is the judge in this
matter? When the man (being judged) himself does Chessed,
and in so doing arouses On High the source of Chessed. In
reciprocating this kindness, HaKadosh Baruch Hu Himself is
the judge of this man. This is the intent of the Midrash cited
above: Come and see the strength of those who are distributors
of Tzedakah and who do acts of kindness, as the text states How
precious is Your Chessed, Elokim, meaning, how precious it
is when mankind arouses Your Chessed. By virtue of this they
merit refuge in the shadow of Your wings and not under the shade
of anyone else.
This concept is also expressed in the text (Tehilim 17:2) From
before You let my judgment come forth, let Your eyes behold
(my) uprightness, meaning, from before You alone and not in
combination with the Heavenly Tribunal, as related in the text
(Melachim 1, 22:19) I saw Hashem sitting on His throne, and
all of the legions of Heaven were standing to His right and left,
meaning, to His right to advocate, and to His left to prosecute,
as Chazal have said this (in the Yerushalmi, at the beginning of
Sanhedrin). Then what practical difference is there between the
two? Thus the pasuk concludes with let Your eyes behold (my)
uprightness, meaning, when HaKadosh Baruch Hu Himself
looks at the deeds \ actions of those who are straight and at those
things that are crooked, He will look for merit perhaps there
was a reason that caused this man to commit this sin (please
see the following Hagahah). But that is not the case when the
Heavenly Beit Din judges this man with absolute certainty he
will not leave his trial acquitted.
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Hagahah
With this we can understand the meaning of the pasuk and to
You, Hashem, is Chessed, because You will repay man according
to his deeds. Many people wonder Why is this Chessed when
HaKadosh Baruch Hu pays man according to his deeds?! Ive
since explained this by way of a parable: A young boy apprenticed
himself to a craftsman for a period of five years, and in return the
craftsman would feed and clothe him and teach him the trade, and
so he gave him twenty five silver rubles, but he made a condition
with the boy that starting in the fifth year when he was competent
in the craft like others, he would pay the boy each week a half
silver ruble. Over the course of years the craftsmans workload
increased and he was forced to job out some of his work to other
craftsmen who would help him. One day in the fifth year, when
the boy was as qualified as the other craftsmen, and he was being
paid one-half ruble each week, as this was the arrangement
between them, the boy saw the craftsman paying the other men
for their work at a rate of four rubles per week. The boy said to
the craftsman You tricked me in this business arrangement. I
am an expert just like all those craftsmen and I can do all of the
work properly, why do I take only a half-ruble and they take four
rubles? The craftsman responded to him You fool! How can
you compare yourself to those other craftsmen? I did not work
hard with them in order for them to become craftsmen; they dont
eat my food and the cost of their clothes is not my responsibility.
Also, they dont use my tools of the trade because they all have
their own tools. But that is not the case with you; I made you into
an expert craftsman, you ate my food and you used my tools to
do your work. It is more than enough that I pay you a half silverruble each week.
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So too in our discussion. When man thinks carefully about the

mitzvah that he does, for example, Tefillin the hand on which
he wears the Tefillin, and the knowledge how to put on the
Tefillin, and the strength to do this, and the money for this, all of
this comes from HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and the only discretion
man has is the power to choose, that he has license to do as he
wants, nevertheless, HaKadosh Baruch Hu pays him as though
the entire deed was done by him. That is the intent of the pasuk
(Tehilim 62:13) and to You, Hashem, is Chessed, because You
will repay man according to his deeds.
This is how I explained it some time ago, and based on our words
within we can also explain the text in another straightforward
way, namely, in asking further What is the reason for writing the
word You, since the word repay also specifically identifies
the subject. But based on this, everything is well understood,
that the intent of the pasuk is that when HaKadosh Baruch Hu
Himself is the judge of this man, to pay him back according to his
deeds, then necessarily in the end the Din \ strict judgment
will fall apart and inevitably it will be interlaced with much
Chessed since truthfully His mercy is very great. But that is
not the case when the Heavenly tribunal conducts this mans
trial. This is what the text has stated: and to You, Hashem, is
Chessed because You will repay man according to his deeds,
meaning, when HaKadosh Baruch Hu Himself presides over
this mans judgment very much Chessed is intermingled into the
proceedings.
One can further say this is the intent of the text (Tehilim 145:15)
Everyones eyes look to You with hope, and You give them
their food in its proper time, that this pasuk specifically uses
the word You in a personal one-on-one sense, and is not like
the pasuk that preceded it which is not expressed in a personal
sense. Rather, the subject matter follows from what Chazal have
said (Gemara Taanit, 2a) Three keys were not handed over to
an administrator (i.e., to a ministering Angel). One of them is the
key to a livelihood, and the reason for this is as follows: If the
keys to livelihood were left to an agent, with absolute certainty
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there would be many men with no sustenance, as the pasuk

states (Shemot 23:20-21) Behold, I am sending an angel before
youwho will not tolerate your sins. But that is not the case
when HaKadosh Baruch Hu Himself sustains and supports, as
the pasuk relates (Tehilim 136:25) He gives bread (sustains) all
living things (lit. all flesh) because His Chessed is everlasting.
Now the above pasuk is also well understood (Tehilim 145:15)
Everyones eyes look expectantly to You, and You give them
bread at its appropriate time, meaning You Yourself are the One
who sustains them by giving everyone their need at the right
time. This is what is written after that (145:17) You Open Your
hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing, meaning, since
He Himself is providing the sustenance, He satiates all living
things. But that would not be the case if the keys to sustenance
were given to an agent to administer. For that reason the very
next pasuk states (145:q7) G-d is just in all of His ways and
benevolent in all of His deeds, meaning, because He is righteous
and pious He deals with them at the level of Chessed and He
satiates everything that is living.
For this same reason He did not hand over to an agent the keys to
birth (life) and the keys to the returning the dead back to life, as
Chazal have said; therefore we say in our Tefilah (Amidah) You
are mightyYou bring back life to the dead. Now, superficially
the second use of the word You is superfluous, but based on
what weve said it is well understood. The intent is not through
an intermediary agent, because Hashem Yitbarach Himself is
great to save in mercy \ compassion and kindliness, and sustains
life in His Chessed; with great mercy He gives back life to the
dead. But that would not be the case if that ability was delegated
to an agent; many people would not have sustenance (because
their deeds at face value would not warrant being sustained by
Heaven) and many people would not have sufficient merit to be
brought back to life after they died.
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Also, each day when man goes to sleep for the night, he entrusts
his soul for safekeeping into the hands of HaKadosh Baruch Hu
and not into the hand of an angel. The difference is if this man
was guilty of violating some serious law, HaKadosh Baruch Hu
redeems him \ saves him from death and returns his soul back
to him. The pasuk expresses this concept as (Tehilim 31:6)
I have entrusted my soul to Your hand, You have redeemed
me, and Hashem exchanges it instead for something of small
consequence, as Chazal have said (Gemara Pesachim, 118a) A
wealthy man with his lamb (Korban \ sacrificial offering) and a
poor man with (the loss of) his chicken. So too is this brought
down in Tanna DeVei Eliyahu (Rabbah, 2nd perek) Each day
man is sold and each day man is redeemed, as it states: I have
entrusted my soul to You, You have redeemed me (sold is an
expression of handing over, as the pasuk states (Shoftim 4:9)
Hashem will hand over Sisera to the hand of a woman. The
intent is that this soul is handed over to the Forces of Strict Law
because of his actions, and when his soul ascends each night On
High, his deeds \ actions testify against him, but Hashem in His
mercy redeems him). This concept is expressed in the Tefilah
we say each day: We will acknowledge You and will say Your
praisesfor our souls which are entrusted to Youthe One who
is good, that Your mercy is endless, meaning, because if You
handed us over to the authority of an agent there would be many
men, G-d forbid, that would not get up from their beds. But
because Your mercy is never ending, You redeem us.
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Now we can understand the cited statement of Chazal, that if one

is involved in Torah and kindness, by virtue of that involvement
the Attribute of Chessed \ Kindness is aroused On High. And
so when this man is confronted by a time of sorrow, G-d forbid,
HaKadosh Baruch Hu, Himself, is his judge in this matter and
He will lead him with His kindness and most certainly he will be
saved. But that would not be the case if he only involved himself
in Torah but did not involve himself appropriately in kindliness,
then the Attribute of Kindness will also not be appropriately
aroused On High. And if this man should later be confronted
by some sorrow, G-d forbid, and one can assume there is a case
pending against him On High, he will not be able to be completely
saved from being dominated by the Forces of Strict Law. That is
the intent of the statement (Gemara Avodah Zara 17b) Whoever
occupies himself exclusively with Torah and not with Chessed
is comparable to one who has no G-d, meaning, he loses the
benefit - that Hashem Yitbarach Himself will protect him in His
compassion and kindness from those Forces and not let them
dominate him, since this man discarded (lit, threw behind his
back) these holy attributes.
So too is this brought down in Gemara Babba Kamma (17a)
according to one opinion, anyone who toils in Torah and
kindliness, their enemies will fall before them, just as by Yosef,
as the pasuk states (Devarim 33:17) with them (the horns of the
Reem) he will gore together nations to the end of the land, and
he will merit understanding \ insight like (the tribe of) Yissachar,
as the pasuk states (Divrei HaYamim I 12:32) and from the sons
of Yissachar who had understanding, meaning, in the merit of
learning Torah one will merit understanding like Yissachar,
who toiled in Torah and as a result merited understanding. And
in the merit of doing kindness one will merit that his enemies will
fall before him, like Yosef, because Yosef had this very great merit
of kindness. At the time of the great famine he was involved in
feeding (the peoples of) all countries, and in particular the entire
household of Yaakov, his father. Also, in his involvement with
the burial of his father, this too is included in Chessed, as the
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pasuk states (Beresheet 47:29) and do kindness and truth with

me. From all of this, every man should think deeply about the
enormity of this character trait of kindliness, and to bond to that
trait. In so doing he will be saved from all sorrow both in this
world and in the World to Come.
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5th chapter
An explanation of several aspects of the enormous
reward for those who bond to this character trait.
(Emphatically) How so very much must a man attach himself to
this character trait of kindness, since it helps to arouse Hashems
mercy and kindness to Israel, even after the merit of our forefathers
has been used up, as Chazal have said (Yerushalmi, Sanhedrin,
10th perek, 1st halacha): Rebbe Youdan bar Chanan said in the
name of Rebbe Berachya: HaKadosh Baruch Hu said to Israel:
My children, if you see the merit of the fathers and the merit of
the mothers has dwindled, go and attach yourselves to Chessed.
What was the reason for that? (Yeshaya 54:10) Because the
mountains may be moved, and the hills may falter; because
the mountains may be moved is a reference to the merit of the
Fathers, and the hills may falter is a reference to the Mothers.
But from that time on My mercy will not be moved from you
said the One who shows you mercy, Hashem.
The subject matter is as follows: Abraham Aveinu, with all of
his good deeds, that he was exclusively good to the entire world
as evident in perashat VaYerah, and so too other Fathers (i.e.,
Yitzchak Aveinu and Yaakov Aveinu) who followed in that same
way, as the pasuk states (Beresheet 18:19) because I love him
he will instruct his children and their descendants, and they
will guard the path of Hashem (i.e., mitzvot) and will dispense
Tzedakah and judgment, (he Abraham) shined the Chessed
of HaKadosh Baruch Hu over all of Creation. Before the
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appearance of our Fathers, the Shehchinah was in the 7th Heaven,

and by virtue of their holy deeds they began to infuse the glory
of Hashem into the world, and the world linked up (to Hashem)
because of them, as the Midrash relates (Beresheet Rabbah, 19:7)
Abraham appeared and brought the Shehchinah down to the 6th
Heaven, Yitzchak appeared and brought down the Shehchinah to
the 5th leveluntil the time of the receiving of the Torah when
the Shehchinah descended down to the Earth. However, it is
well known that that since man is limited by time and space, so
too is there a limit to how far his merit will reach. Therefore,
the text advises us that when we see their merit dwindling, we
ourselves should arouse the Attributes of Goodness and Kindness
of HaKadosh Baruch Hu towards us by linking our actions to the
Attribute of Chessed, and thus measure-for-measure His Chessed
will attach to us and will never leave us at all. (never leave,
meaning, that it would never move even the slightest amount, as
the pasuk relates (Shemot 13:22) The Pillar of Cloud did not
depart); (please see the following Hagahah).
Hagahah
Nowadays, that the Attribute of Strict Law (i.e., merciless
justice) has very much come to dominate the world, and there
is no strategy for rescuing ourselves from the hand of sufferings
that renew themselves each day. How so very appropriate it is to
strengthen ourselves in this character trait of Chessed, since in so
doing the Attribute of Chessed will be aroused On High and the
blessing of the pasuk will be realized by us (Hoshea 2:21) and
you will be betrothed to Me foreverand you will be betrothed
to Me with righteousness, with justice, with kindness and with
mercy. Chazal have said (something comparable to this in
Beresheet Rabbah, 33:3): HaKadosh Baruch Hu said by a
simple logical deduction, if these Creations who themselves are
in need of Chessed and yet they do Chessed to each other, I
Who Am filled with kindness and mercy, how much even more
so must I extend kindness to My Creations. It seems to me that
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this idea is brought down in Tanna DeVei Eliyahu Rabbah at the

end of the 23rd perek: When Israel was enslaved in Egypt they
assembled and convened together, and they formed a common
union and bonded together with a covenant that they would do
Chessed with each other, and they would guard in their hearts \
they would remain faithful to the covenant of Abraham, Yitzchak
and Yaakov, and serve exclusively their Father in Heaven and
not forsake the language of the House of Yaakov, their father,
and not learn the language of the Egyptians. Please see that
reference. And what was this binding covenant to do kindness
with each other? Rather, the subject is as follows: When they
saw that there was no other strategy to save themselves from
the decrees of Pharaoh, and that the enslavement was becoming
more oppressive with each passing day, what did they do? They
gathered together into a single union and laid out strategies for what
to do, and they agreed among themselves to follow exclusively
the path of Hashem, and not change their names or the language.
They also formed a binding covenant to do Chessed with each
other, and on that basis the Chessed of Hashem Yitbarach was
aroused in Heaven and automatically as a consequence of that
covenant the decrees of Pharaoh would ultimately be quashed,
and in reality that is precisely what happened in the end. That
covenant of Chessed was the reason for their Redemption, as the
pasuk states (Shemot 15:13) With Your kindness You guided
this nation that You redeemed, with Your might You led The
Pesiktah (quoted in Yalkut Shimoni, perashat Bshalach, remez
# 251) relates With Your kindness You guided is a reference
to extending kindness to others; with Your might You led is a
reference to Torah, since in reality the Torah was also in Egypt.
This concept is brought down in Gemara Yoma (28b) Even
though Israel was in Egypt, their learning (Torah) together did
not stop (even though the Torah was not yet given, there, in Egypt
they learned all of the details of the mitzvot that they received
from the Fathers). It seems that this is what the pasuk is relating
(Yirmiyah 2:2) This is what Hashem said: I remembered for
you the kindliness of your youth, the love of your marriage, your
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following Me \ your faithfulness to Me in the desert in a desolate

land. Here it is important to note the pasuk lists three things
in sequence: The kindliness of your youth is addressing the
kindness they did in their youth while in Egypt; the love of your
marriage is their subsequent receiving of the Torah, and after
that your following Me \ your faithfulness to Me in the desert in
a desolate land (Please see more on this topic futher on at the
end of the 14th chapter).
This mitzvah also helps to redeem the Jewish Nation from the
other nations of the world, as related in Gemara Berachot (8a).
Also, the value of this mitzvah is worth more than the Korbanot, as
brought down in Yalkut Hoshea (Remez #522) in commentary on
the pasuk (Hoshea 6:6) for I desired kindness and not offerings
as follows: Hashem said The kindness you do one to another is
more beloved to me than all of offerings that Shelomo HaMelech
brought before me (Kings I 3:4) One thousand offerings were
brought by Shelomo. Moreover, we find in the Yerushalmi
Pehah (1:1) that charity and Chessed are equal to all of the other
mitzvot in the Torah. It is brought down in the Midrash Ruth
Rabbah (2:14) Rebbe Zeira said This megilah (Megilat Ruth)
has no halacot of (i.e., does not teach) purity or impurity, nor
teachings of foods that are forbidden or permitted; so then why
was it written? It was written to teach us how much merit there
is for those who do kindness. This was said regarding Boaz
who (because of the kindness he extended to Ruth) merited that
David HaMelech would descend from him, and a covenant of
monarchy was created for him forever for all of the generations
that would follow. More than this Rain comes down to the
world in the merit of the kindness people do, as we see in the
Yerushalmi Taanit (3:3). Also, by virtue of the kindness one
does, one merits to be saved from death, even if G-d forbid
he was sentenced by Heaven to die, as brought down in Midrash
Tanchumah, perashat Kedoshim (paragraph #13).
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It (doing Chessed) is also a strategy for man to save himself

from the Yetzer Hara, as related in Gemara Avodah Zara (5b)
Praiseworthy is Israel, that at the time they are busy toiling in
Torah and extending kindness to others their Evil Inclination is
placed under their control, and they are not placed under control
of their Evil Inclination, as it states... In explanation of this
one can say that their evil nature can overwhelm a person in two
aspects: First, it can dominate his intellect and fill his mind with
all kinds of nonsense. Second, it can dominate his physical limbs
and habituate them to everything that is contrary to the Will of
Hashem Yitbarach. But one who toils in Torah and kindness
merits that he will dominate his Inclination in all aspects. By
virtue of Torah, when he toils in the words of The Living G-d
his intellect becomes sanctified, and by virtue of the kindness
he does he sanctifies the limbs of his body since they are busy
doing the work of the King of the Universe. The pasuk expresses
this as (Devarim 10:12) to go in all of His ways, and it states
(Shemot 18:20) and You will make known to them the path in
which they will walk, and the word all is a reference to all of
the good and kindness of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, as Chazal
have said (Gemara Babba Metziah, 30b). Thus, he will merit that
by virtue of this (Torah and Chessed) his Evil Inclination will no
longer seduce him to do just the opposite of this.
One who continually accustoms himself to do this mitzvah will
merit having children who are masters of wisdom, masters of
wealth, masters of Agadah, as Chazal have said (in Gemara
Babba Batra, 9b) Rebbe Yehoshuah ben Levi says Everyone
who is accustomed to giving Tzedakah (please see the following
Hagahah) will merit sons who are masters of wisdom, masters
of wealth and masters of Agadah: Masters of wisdom as the
text relates (Mishle 21:21) One who runs after Tzedakah and
kindness will find life: (regarding wisdom, it is written for one
who finds Me finds life Rashi); Masters of wealth as it is
written (Mishle 21:21) Tzedakah; Masters of Agadah as it
is written (Mishle 21:21) and honor. Moreover, it is written
(Mishle 3:35) the wise inherit honor (namely, because they
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are lecturers [expounding on Torah] they attract the hearts of

people and everyone honors them. This is how Rashi explains
it: And Rebbe Yehoshuah (ben Levi) expressed this in terms of
Tzedakah, but it applies equally to Chessed, given that the text
states one who runs after Tzedakah and Chessed and that the
reason he mentioned only one of these two traits, i.e., Tzedakah,
was to teach us that the end of the pasuk will find life, Tzedakah
and honor applies even if only one of these things Tzedakah or
Chessed is done, and not only if he does both.
Hagahah (will merit sons):
The intent is If up until now he had no sons, in the merit of the
Tzedakah he gave and the Chessed he did sons will be born to
him who are masters of wisdom, and he brings a proof to this, as
it is written (Mishle 21:21) run afterwill find life, namely,
that if they were not wise in Torah, it would not be appropriate \
relevant to say life, that regarding Torah it is written (Mishle
8:35) Whoever finds Me finds life. And if you were to say
that if the intent of the pasuk is that he himself will merit to
become wise in Torah because of this and where is the source
that teaches he will merit children one may answer: If he does
not have children he is considered as being dead, as Chazal have
expressed this (Gemara Nedarim, 64b), and so necessarily the
intent of the pasuk is Children will be born to him in order
that he can be described as living, and necessarily they will be
masters of Torah; and only then can one say that he found life.
It is astonishing to me that people search for all kinds of amulets
and charms \ (Hebrew - segulot)3 in order to have children,
and they spend very many silver rubles to acquire them. Among
them, some will spend hundreds and thousands of rubles each
3. A segulah (plural, segulot) is something by which a person can
merit to have his request fulfilled. The literal translation of the word is a
treasure, but it is broadly used for anything which brings salvation to a
person. Charms and amulets are also called Segulot. (DH)
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according to his level of wealth. It would be much better if

they would acquire the segulot found in the words of Chazal,
namely, to continually busy themselves in the character trait of
Tzedakah to help the poor as much as they can, and to be among
those who cause others to do good whose merit is greater than
the one who actually did the good (Gemara Babba Batra, 9a)
(both in regard to supporting their livelihood, and in regard to
helping the poor raise their children and bring them to learn Torah,
that in so doing he will merit children who are masters of Torah
(Torah Scholars) as will be explained) or establish a permanent
Gmach (with their own money \ or by encouraging others to
help them to establish a Gmach) and to continually busy
themselves with it, because the main mitzvah is the continuous
effort that a man accustoms himself to do in this regard. This
is just as the pasuk instructs us (Mishle 21:21) to run after \
to do Tzedakah, and in this merit Hashem Yitbarach will also
conduct Himself towards them with the attributes of Tzedakah
and Chessed and will satisfy their desire for this, as Chazal have
expressed this (Gemara Babba Batra, 9b), that because of this he
will merit children, etc.; nowadays many people have done this
and were successful.
And even if, G-d forbid, Heaven shuts the door on them in this
regard (meaning, that he has reached old age without ever having
children, because if that was not the case there would be no proof,
since there are some prayers that are immediately answered, and
other Tefilot that are answered only after many years as Chazal
have said (Devarim Rabbah 2:17) in commentary on Devarim
4:7). Nevertheless, the mitzvot that he did will not be lost, not
them and not the many outcomes of those mitzvot. Chazal
have expressed this concept as (Beresheet Rabbah 30:6) The
descendants of Tzadikim are their good deeds since they are the
offspring of his Nefesh. But that would not be the case if he
spends his money pointlessly on amulets and charms that do not
help him and do not cause him to be successful; he is consuming
all of his strength on nothing. One who is wise will consider all
of this and that Heaven will help anyone who has compassion for
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Creation \ mankind (Gemara Shabbat 151b). Please study Gemara

Niddah (70b) where they said regarding this that one should pray
to the One to whom the children belong. The teaching of Chazal
is well known (Midrash Shocher Tov, mizmor #65) that one who
dispenses kindness will have his prayers accepted.
Moreover, all of the blessings said in the Torah apply only in
this framework (of doing Chessed) as brought down in Tanna
DeVei Eliyahu Rabbah at the end of the 26th perek (Devarim
28:2) all of these blessings will come true and will overtake
you if you listen to the voice of Hashem your G-d. In what
context will these blessings appear? If you listen to the voice of
Hashem your G-d and you go in His ways which are the ways
of Heaven. Moreover, and what are the ways of Heaven? Just as
He is merciful and has mercy even on Reshaim and takes them
back with their sincere Teshuvah, and He feeds and sustains the
entire Creation so too must you be merciful \ compassionate to
each other by giving each other the means to earn a living, and to
be patient to each other in goodness. Alternatively, what are the
ways of Heaven? That He is compassionate and distributes gifts
freely to those who know Him and to those who dont know Him.
So too must you give freely (without expectations of reciprocity)
one to another. Additionally, what are the ways of Heaven? That
He abounds in Chessed and tilts the scales of justice towards
Chessed, so too must you act favorably towards one to another,
and look for ways to do Chessed one to another. From all this,
man must think deeply about the enormity of this character trait
of Chessed. Praiseworthy is the one who bonds to this trait
appropriately, as he earns merit for all of his descendants.
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6th chapter
More on the subject of the enormous reward for
those who bond to this character trait of Chessed.
Come and see more of the great reward for one who does Chessed
to his fellow Jew in any regard, as Heaven credits him for all of
the subsequent events that evolve from it as though he did all that
Chessed himself. This subject includes many topics and we will
be briefly explain some of them in order that man will see the
great importance of kindliness.
(1) Regarding this man (recipient) specifically, if one gave
Tzedakah and did Chessed to a downtrodden person who had
become ill, and as a result his health was restored, Heaven does
not repay him in proportion to the money he gave, rather, Heaven
considers it as though he literally brought this person back to
life. And the proof to this is contained in the words of Chazal
(Midrash Tanchumah, perashat Mishpatim, 15th notation): Rebbe
Tanchumah began to expound as follows (Mishle 19:17) One
who is gracious to the poor has lent to Hashem, and He will repay
him his reward. One who is gracious to the poor has lent to
Hashem; it is as if he lent to Hashem, and He will pay him
his reward. Rebbe Pinchas HaCohen the son of Chamah said
quoting Rebbe Reuven: What is meant by He will repay him his
reward? Would I ever think that if he gave a small coin (lit., a
Perutah) to a poor man, HaKadosh Baruch Hu will pay him back
only a Perutah?! Rather, HaKadosh Baruch Hu said: The life of
this poor man was writhing on the point of leaving his body in
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starvation and you gave him a livelihood and revived his life, by
your life (an oath) I will return to you a life in measure for a life.
Tomorrow your son or your daughter will become sick to the
point of dying, and at that point I will remember the mitzvah you
did with this poor person, and I will save them from death. That
is He will repay him his reward, i.e., a life for a life.
The text also includes within this context something very
important, namely, that it often happens that this man too will be
in need of some favor or Chessed, and Hashem will repay him
according to his own actions. If this mans nature was to have
mercy on people and show them compassion, then this person
will be surrounded with a spirit of grace, and people will extend
good to him. But in an opposite sense, G-d forbid, he will also
be repaid accordingly; that is the meaning of the pasuk One who
is gracious to the poor has lent to Hashem, and He will repay him
his reward.
(2) Regarding all of the good that subsequently results from
these acts of Chessed to others, that merit will also accrue to him,
meaning, it will be accounted for him just as the initial act of
Chessed. For example, someone whose wealth was diminished
and someone else lent him a sum of money, and with that money
he was able to do business and support himself and his household,
and now there was enough water and food for the other workers
who were later employed by him; this example and anything
comparable to it, Heaven accounts the initial lender as though
he gave life to that man and to his entire household, and to all
of the people who subsequently received a benefit from that act
of kindness, since all of this happened as a result of that first act
(i.e., lending him money).
We found this same concept among the words of Chazal (Gemara
Babba Kamma, 119a) Rebbe Yochanan said Whoever steals
value even as little as a Perutah from his fellow Jew is as if he is
taking out his soul, as it states (Mishle 1:19) This is the way of
anyone who steals, he steals the soul of the victim. And if you
were to ask Granted, he stole the victims soul, but he did not
75
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steal the souls of his sons and daughters Then come and listen
(Yirmiyah 5:17) They will consume your harvest and your
bread, they will consume your sons and your daughters. And
if you were to say All of this is if he physically did it himself,
but if he merely did something to cause it, then he would not be
culpable, then come and listen: (Shemuel 21:1) Hashem said
Because of Shaul and his murderous household who killed
out all of the Givonim. But where do we find that Shaul killed
the Givonim? Rather, since Shaul killed the population of Nov
the city of Kohanim, and this population sustained the Givonim
with water and food (since the Givonim were the wood cutters
and water carriers who supplied these necessities to the Kohanim
for the Mizbeyach) the text accounts it as though he literally
killed the Givonim. From this we can see Heavens conduct
of strict law is awesomely great, that they take into account all
of the consequences of mans actions, even an indirect result
that his actions caused even an indirect harm to his fellow Jew,
even if that harm was not literally done as a consequence of an
incidental physical act, rather because of him a fellow Jew was
prevented from providing a third pary with a profit by which he
could do business and support his household, Heaven accounts
it as though he literally killed this man and his entire family, and
this man will be severely punished because of it. It is well known
that the Attribute of Good extends much farther than the Attribute
of Punishment (that the Attribute of Punishment [in response
to an evil action if that evil action is repeated by subsequent
generations] will persist up to three or four generations, but
regarding the Attribute of Good, it states (Shemot 20:6) Who
does kindness for thousands of generations, as Chazal have
said (in Tosefta Sotah 4:1). Therefore, how much even more
so that when someone does good in some way to his fellow
Jew and by virtue of that action a subsequent good will accrue
to his household and to other people, in any way that good
will materialize from that initial act of Chessed, the person who
first initiated that good will also receive reward for each and
every subsequent good that comes as a result of that first act of
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Chessed. When man ponders all this, he will strengthen himself

with all of his might to do good to others in any way that he can.
Man should also ponder How does one have the temerity to
face HaKadosh Baruch Hu and request from him (in the daily
Amidah) Grant peace, goodness and blessingupon us if he
himself does not want to extend compassion and kindness to his
fellow Jew. Truthfully, also regarding all of the requests that man
prays to HaKadosh Baruch Hu to extend good and kindness
to him if he himself does not follow in the path of Chessed;
it will be very difficult for his prayers to be answered before
Hashem Yitbarach, and in particular his prayers for livelihood
which man constantly requests before Hashem Yitbarach. It is
very well known that this is solely dependent of the kindness of
HaKadosh Baruch Hu, as we say in our Tefilah (Amidah) He
sustains life in His kindness. But that would not be the case if
he continually accustomed himself in this good character trait
of kindness, with absolute certainty his prayers will be accepted
before Hashem Yitbarach and He will grant his request. Chazal
have expressed this as follows: (Midrash Shocher Tov, mizmor
#65) Ben Azai and Rebbe Akivah One of them said One who
extends kindness will be informed that his prayers are heard, as
the pasuk relates (Hoshea 10:12) Plant for yourselves Tzedakah
and you will harvest based on Chessed. What is written after
that, Set a time to seek Hashem; He prays to HaKadosh Baruch
Hu and he will be answered, and he will be informed that his
prayers are heard. Someone else explained: I am not disputing
the words of my rebbe, rather, I am adding to his words (Tehilim
5:8) In Your great Kindness, I will come to Your House and
after that it states (Tehilim 69:14) answer me with the truth of
Your salvation.
Everything that weve said applies even if the kindness was
extended to an ordinary Jew, and all the more so if it is extended
to a Torah Scholar, by lending him any sum of money by which
he is able to have a livelihood his merit is very great, since
because of him the scholar can later toil in Hashems Torah, as we
wrote above, and Heaven credits the results of all of his actions
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to him. Because of those results he will merit in the Coming

Future to sit among the Chachamim in the Heavenly Yeshiva On
High. Chazal have expressed this as (Gemara Pesachim 53b)
Rebbe Yochanan said - Whoever puts merchandise into the
pockets of Talmidei Chachamim will merit to sit in the Heavenly
Yeshiva, as it states (Kohelet 7:12) to sit in the shelter of wisdom
is to sit in the shelter of money. (puts merchandise he
gives merchandise (i.e., the means) to Talmidei Chachamim
with which to do business; shelter of wisdom this rich man
will enter into the domain in Heaven (lit., life) of the Chacham
since he used his money to benefit him Rashi) and not only does
this specifically apply to merchandise, rather this applies to all
matters through which the Talmid Chacham will be supported by
him, except that in the earlier generations the custom was they
used to give merchandise at cost price to a Talmid Chacham so
that he could sell it and earn a living.
The text of Gemara Ketubot (111b) comments on the pasuk
(Devarim 4:4) and you who cling to Hashem your G-d, all of
you today are alive. Is it possible to cling to the Shehchinah,
given the pasuk states (Devarim 4:20) since Hashem your G-d
is a consuming fire?! Rather, the meaning is Whoever marries
off his daughter to a Talmid Chacham and conducts business for
the benefit of Talmidei Chachamim (meaning, one who invests
with the money of a Talmid Chacham in order to earn profit
for him so that he will be free to toil in Torah Rashi) and one
who uses his wealth to benefit a Talmid Chacham, the text (i.e.,
Heaven) considers it as though he is bonded to the Shehchinah.
Please see further on in the 20th perek (4th notation) where we
quoted there many of the words of Chazal that speak about the
great reward for this.
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7th chapter
An explanation of the great ruination invoked
on the man who holds himself back from giving
Tzedakah or extending kindness.
In these prior chapters we explained the enormity of the topic of
this holy character trait (of giving Tzedakah and doing Chessed),
now we will explain the topic of the evil of this man who distances
himself and closes his eyes to this. The Gemara Ketubot states
the following (68a): Whoever shuts his eyes to giving Tzedakah
is considered as though he is worshipping an idol god. The text
here states (Devarim 15:9) Guard yourself not to allow a criminal
thought to come into your mind, saying the Sabbatical Year is
approaching and it further states (Devarim 13:14) Criminal
men have emerged from your midst and they have caused the
population of their city to go astray. It is well known that this
pasuk (Devaro, 15:9) is also addressing the subject of restraining
oneself from giving a loan, as stated in Gemara Gittin (36a) and
Gemara Sotah (47b). Man should ponder that if someone else
called him criminal how much anger would he have towards
that person because of this. Even if the comment was made
privately between him and this person, and he would experience
no humiliation that being so, how so very much should a man
be embittered with himself when he himself causes the Torah to
call him by this name. How much shame and humiliation will he
endure in the end, Above, because of this.
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Also, he should be very fearful that this destitute person will cry
out to Hashem because of him, as is written (Devarim 15:9)
and you will give nothing to him, and he will cry out to Hashem
about you (because of you) and you will have caused a sin. It
is possible that because of this his (the person who would not
lend) situation in life will be completely reversed, G-d forbid.
Chazal have expressed this idea in Gemara Temurah (16a) At
the time a poor man goes to an owner and says to him: Support
me (meaning, put me back on my feet either with a gift or with
a loan, so that I can support myself). In a comparable sense, this
is also brought down in Gemara Beitzah (32b); please see that
reference). If he supports him, good and well, and if not then
(Mishle 22:2) The wealthy and the poor meet; all of them are
made by Hashem. (Please see the following Hagahah); the One
who made this one rich, He will make him poor, and the one who
was made poor will be made rich.
Hagahah
This is similarly brought down in Midrash Shemot Rabbah (31)
Praiseworthy is the man who withstands his test, as there is no
man that HaKadosh Baruch Hu does not test. He tests the rich if
their hand is opened to the poor. He tests the poor if he is able to
accept sufferings and does so without getting angry, as the pasuk
states (Yeshaya 58:7) destitute people bring home. If the rich
man stood up to his test and dispensed various Tzedakot, he will
consume his money (i.e., live his lifestyle) in this world while
his principal reward will be reserved for him in Olam Haba,
and HaKadosh Baruch Hu will save him from the judgment of
Gehinnom, as the pasuk states (Tehilim 41:2) Praiseworthy is
the one who contemplates the needs of the poor, on his day of
bad \ evil (i.e., judgment) Hashem will protect him. And if
the poor man stood up to his test and did not complain he will
receive a double portion in the Coming Future, as the pasuk states
(Tehilim 18:28) because You save a destitute people. But a
wealthy man who is miserly, both he and his money will depart
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from this world, as the pasuk relates (Kohelet 5:13) and he will
lose his wealth in some bad way since he has a jaundiced eye (is
uncooperative) with the charity collectors. Why? Because the
world turns; the one who is rich today will not be rich tomorrow,
and the one who is poor today will not be poor tomorrow. This
one He will take down and this one He will raise up. The pasuk
expresses this concept as (Tehilim 75:8) For Elokim is the
judge, this one He will take down and this one He will raise
up. Something similar to this is also brought down in Midrash
Mishle, in the 11th chapter, in commentary on the pasuk (Mishle
11:24) One who holds back from doing what is proper will
suffer a loss: Rebbe Shemuel the son of Nachmani said Rebbe
Yonatan said If you see a man who holds himself back from
doing Chessed, know conclusively that he is losing his wealth, as
the pasuk states (Mishle 11:24) one who holds back from doing
what is proper will suffer a loss.
So too is this inferred from the words of Chazal in many references,

that by virtue of the sin of withholding Tzedakah and Chessed
from Israel, in the end he causes the loss of his money at the
hand of the gentiles, to the point where he is naked and penniless.
This concept is brought down in Tanna DeVei Eliyahu Zutah
(16th perek) in commentary on the pasuk (Devarim 28:47-48)
All because you did not serve Hashem your G-d with a sense
of happiness and contentment, for all of the good He did for you
in giving you wealth. And so you will serve your enemies who
G-d will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and
without anything In what context is starvation meant? At
a time when a poor man asks a rich man for a drop of beer to
drink or a drop of vinegar, and the rich man will not take it out
to the poor man and give it to him. Then, non-Jews later come
to him, they ask him for the countrys best wine \ his best wine;
in nakedness and without anything, when is this, when a poor
man asks a rich man for a linen or woolen shirt to wear and the
rich man will not take it out to give to him. Then non-Jews come
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in Jerusalem. He asked her what happened to her fathers money? She
replied, This came and consumed this, meaning that money obtained
illegally (because not enough of it was given to Tzedakah - Rashi) became
intermingled with her father in laws money obtained legally (her Ketubah
money) and both were consumed.
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to him later on and ask him for his finest silk clothes. So too in
the context of Chessed \ kindness. Because he does not want to
serve Hashem with happiness and to extend kindness to Jews to
the extent of his resources, and in so doing he would fulfill the
Torahs proactive mitzvah of (Shemot 22:24) When you lend
money which we are commanded to do, and that his money
would be returned to him; then a redoubled amount of his money
will irrevocably go to the hand of the gentiles, and there will be
no recourse to recover it from their hand. Even if he does give
some slight Tzedakah or does some Chessed with his money, but
not to the extent that he can afford, it is also very likely that his
money will be completely depleted from him. So overwhelming
is the degree of the curse in the assets of this man who does not
want to give Tzedakah and charity proportional to his means,
that if other peoples money is mingled with his that money will
also be lost because of this. [This idea is also brought down
in Gemara Ketubot (66b) regarding the money belonging to the
daughter of Nakdimon ben Gurion which was lost because of
this; please see that reference].4
By virtue of holding back Tzedakah and Chessed, he is also
compelled to be among those who descend into Hell, G-d forbid,
as brought down in Gemara Beitzah (32b): Rav said The elite
of Bavel (the wealthiest, most prestigious people in Bavels high
society) are among those who descended into Gehinnom, because
they did not want to do charity or kindness, as the Gemara there
relates. Additionally, it is brought down in Vayikrah Rabbah
(34:11) Rebbe Yehudah and Rebbe Simaun in the name of Rebbe
Yehoshua Ben Levi The mitzvah of (helping) a poor man
4. Quoting from the Mazal Elul English translation of the Chafetz Chayims
ZTL Kuntres Sfat Tamim (produced by the Mazal Elul Congregation,
published by the Mazal Press and distributed by Feldheim Publishers, 5770,
page 53): The Gemara there relates that while traveling with his students,
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai saw a girl (who was so impoverished that
she was) picking out grains of barley from the dung of animals belonging
to the Arabs. He asked her who she was and she answered that she was
the daughter of Nakdimon ben Gurion, who was one of the wealthiest men
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should never be taken lightly, because the ensuing loss is twentyfour curses, but the gain (in attending to the needs of a poor man)
is the reward of twenty-four blessings. What is the source for
twenty-four curses? The pasuk states (Tehilim 109:6) Appoint
an evil man over him, and all of the other things discussed in that
pasuk (mizmor). And why so many? (Tehilim 109:16) Because
he did not remember to do kindness. And what is the source for
the reward of twenty-four blessings? (Yeshaya 58:7, 14) Extend
your bread to (take care of the needs of) the hungryand then
you will delight in Hashem (and all of the other things discussed
in that mizmor).
Also, the withholding of Tzedakah and Chessed causes HaKadosh
Baruch Hu to gather back (i.e., to withhold) His peace from Israel,
as this is brought down in Gemara Babba Batra (10a) The
pasuk explicitly states (Yirmiyah 16:5) Do not go to a house of
mourning (i.e., do not grieve) and do not eulogize or shake your
head for them, for I have gathered back My peace and Chessed \
kindness and Rachamim \ mercy from this nation the word of
Hashem. Chessed this is doing kindness; Rachamim this is
Tzedakah (meaning, They used to do these things but now they
dont do them; this is how Rashi explains the pasuk).
Moreover, it is brought down in Vayikrah Rabbah (34:8) in
commentary on what is written in the pasuk (Devarim 23:5)
because they did not greet you with bread and water: Rebbe
Simaun said in the name of Rebbe Eliezer Did Israel need these
things? Throughout the forty years Israel was in the desert the
Mannah came down for them (i.e., they had plenty of food) and
the well produced water (they had plenty of water) and the Slav
was found among them (meat was available) and the Clouds of
Glory surrounded them (i.e., gave them shade and cooling in
the daytime and heating at night) and the Pillar preceded them
(and cleared a path for them to follow). Rather, it was a matter
of hospitality \ the humane thing to do. Someone who emerges
from a trek through the desert, one greets them with food and
drink (and the men of Moav and Amon would not do this basic,
human gesture). How did HaKadosh Baruch Hu respond too
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them \ pay them back? (Devarim 23:4) The men of Amon and
Moav may never come into the Jewish nation! Now, it is a basic
logical deduction If this is how He repaid people who did not
extend Chessed to those who were not in need of Chessed, and
see what was paid to them in return, then one who does not do
Chessed to someone who is in need of it, how much ever more so
will he be punished!
Come and see more of the enormous degradation of this man,
that Chazal suspect this person of descending from the Mixed
Multitude of people who left Egypt during the Exodus, as
brought down in Gemara Beitzah (32b): Shabbtai, the son of
Rebbe Merenos went to Bavel. He asked them for a Zuz with
which to do business (in a partnership arrangement) and they
did not give it to him. He asked for food, and also they would not
give it to him. He said, These people must be descendants of
the Mixed Multitude, as the pasuk states (Devarim 13:18) and
He will give you mercy and be merciful to you. Whoever has
compassion for humanity is known (with certainty) to descend
from the seed of Abraham Aveinu, and whoever does not have
compassion for people is known as not descending from Abraham
Aveinu. Chazal have said (Gemara Yevamot 79a): This nation is
distinguished by three characteristics: They are modest \ bashful,
they are compassionate \ merciful and they extend kindness to
others, and it is inappropriate to associate with anyone who does
not have these characteristics.
Truthfully, there are many other statements of Chazal, and many
explicit pesukim dealing with this subject, but I wish to be brief
and I will quote only one statement that encompasses all of
this. See how much Chazal spoke extensively on the enormity
of the ruination of the man who holds himself back from doing
kindness, to the point of saying (Kohelet Rabbah 7:4) Whoever
rejects doing kindness is as if he rejects the existence of G-d,
meaning, given that Hashem Yitbarach is the source of all good
and kindness, and entirety of nature that He created is only for the
purpose of giving merit to mankind, so that ultimately He can do
good and kindness with them, and for this purpose He gave the
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Torah and mitzvot, as written in the pasuk (Devarim 6:24) and

Hashem commanded us to do all of these statutesfor our own
good all of the days. Therefore, this man who rejects all aspects
of this character trait of kindness and says What do I gain by
doing kindness, is considered by Chazal as repudiating G-d,
G-d forbid. Therefore man should see to it to distance himself
completely from this bad thought, and instead see to it to cling
to the path of Hashem Yitbarach and do only good and kindness,
and it will be good for him here in this world and in Olam Haba.
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8th chapter
An explanation of the reasons why people are
weak in this mitzvah, and a refutation of these
reasons.
In the previous chapters we explained the great reward of one
who grasps this holy trait. Now we will begin to analyze and
ponder the reason why people weaken themselves in this mitzvah;
we will also elaborate on refuting their arguments, perhaps in so
doing this fault will be somewhat corrected. I will say and state
that there are five reasons which cause the neglect of this mitzvah
of doing kindness, and the acronym for them is:
Yehi PetZah Atzel [Yehi It should be; PetZah crippled;
Atzel lazy]
Y = Yirah \ fright;
hi = Hehlem Yediah \ does not want to know;
P = Patur \ no obligation;
Z = Tzar Ayin \ Jaundiced Eye Miserly;
A = Atzel \ Lazy;
meaning, one who is lazy (physically \ intellectually \ emotionally)
is crippled and is defective in all of the organs of his soul by
virtue of his miserly inclination, that not one of his limbs is whole
\ perfect, as we will say above, and we will explain them all one
by one with the help of Hashem Yitbarach.
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There are some who avoid this mitzvah \ who are weak regarding
this mitzvah because of fright, meaning, the recipient of the
loan (the Chessed) is not creditworthy in his opinion and he is
afraid that perhaps he wont pay him back, and this lender does
not want to take a security which would guarantee the loan.
Truthfully, one has to ponder this idea very carefully before
excusing himself from giving out a loan:
(1.) If it is a small sum that he was obliged to give to this person
because of the mitzvah of Tzedakah or because of the mitzvah
of (Vayikrah 25:35) if his hand should weaken you shall
strengthen him, then one must extend a loan to him even if there
is a suspicion that it wont be repaid. What of it if his loan would
not be repaid nevertheless, he is obliged to give him because of
these reasons - and even if these reasons are not relevant here, for
example, that the loan amount exceeded the Tzedakah that he is
obligated to give to this man, and the mitzvah of and you shall
strengthen him is also not relevant in this instance, still, since
the borrower is ready to give him a security which would remove
the risk involved, (please see the following Hagahah) the lender
cannot now excuse himself from lending to him because he is
too lazy to take that security (unless the borrower is a strong \
tough person who could come later on and by force take back his
security [and the lender would have no recourse to recover his
money] but we are not talking about this kind of man).
Hagahah
If he does not take a security from him for whatever reason, and
he cant decide conclusively if this person is reliable, then it
seems to me he should think about the following: If he himself
were to profit specifically from this loan, for example, a man like
this one came to him to borrow money from him for some joint
business venture, if he would lend him (or give him on credit
merchandise with which to transact business), then here too he
would have to lend him because of the chance of earning profit
of a few coins, with absolute certainty he would not put all of his
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money at risk of losing it, and so obviously he must have trusted

this man. But here in this case where there is no physical profit
his Yetzer Hara puts in his heart to deny the loan because of some
remote suspicion; and therefore he cannot exempt himself from
extending this loan. It seems to me that the main point in these
matters is that everything is based on the particular circumstances
of the moment if there is a real chance of the capital being lost,
or merely a remote possibility, and so one should not rush to
a decision, rather one should first think carefully about this.
Please see the Introduction to this sefer (in the 1st saeif) in the
Laveen what we wrote in quoting the Chinuch and Rabbeinu
Yonah (in the Netiv HaChessed 1st notation) regarding not to
hold oneself back from extending a loan out of concern that the
Sabbatical year would cancel it even though it is possible that
he would incur a loss because of that. Please examine carefully
the language of the Chinuch and Rabbeinu Yonah, even though
it is possible that one cannot use that as an example which can
be extended to other suspicions \ concerns, since in that case
Hashem Yitbarach guaranteed us that in fulfilling this mitzvah
of Shemitah one will not suffer any loss. Nevertheless, if the
suspicion is remote, then it seems certain that merely because of
that remote suspicion one certainly cannot exempt himself from
this mitzvah of When you lend to My people, and especially if
the borrower is a poor man. Please see above, what we wrote in
the Introduction, in the Netiv HaChessed (1st notation) regarding
the Lav of (Devarim 15:9) Guard yourself, lest there comes into
your mind a criminal thought
(2.) There is yet a second reason why people withhold Chessed

(a loan) and that is also out of a sense of fear, namely that he is
afraid a situation might arise where he himself needs that money
immediately. Now, even though there is a basis for this concern,
that if he needs this money for himself or to provide for the
benefit of his household, certainly he comes first; his life (needs)
comes before the life (needs) of his fellow Jew, but that only
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happens if at the time of the request some opportunity \ business

presents itself, or if the period of the requested loan is long and
it is likely that within that period his own need will arise. But
it is illogical to say that one should withhold a Chessed (a loan)
of short duration at a time when his money is discretionary (i.e.,
available to lend) because of a possibility that perhaps a business
opportunity will arise and he will need this money, unless he is
anticipating a deal to go through which he intends to implement
immediately, and without this money he would not be able to
transact that business.
Understand clearly that all this applies to a man who is not
especially wealthy, and if a business opportunity arises he would
need that money to profit and use those proceeds to support the
needs of his family. But regarding a man who is very wealthy who
has available idle money, and certain men who are creditworthy
or who offer solid securities approach him for a loan, then he is
certainly obliged to lend them. This is true even if it is possible
that he will be presented with more business ventures and he will
need this money for those investments, and by lending to those
people he will not be able to participate in those many business
deals, and it is commonly known that the positive mitzvah of
When you lend is conditional on whether or not he can afford
to give a loan, as is written in Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah #68)
and this man can afford it (please see above in the first section of
this sefer, in the 1st perek, in the 4th saeif) and in the context
of this wealthy man the rule of your life comes first before the
life of your friend is not applicable since that money requested
as a loan would only serve to make him wealthier. But in regard
to other people (prospective borrowers) that sum of money
requested as a loan is depended upon as a source of support for
their family, because if that was not true there is no limit to the
amount of money one could say he needs for himself, as he will
always undertake new business ventures, and all of the money
that he has would not be enough for all of the ventures he could
invest in, and so he would be forever exempt from this mitzvah
of When you lend to My people.
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(3.) There is yet a third reason that would cause a man to hold
himself back from this mitzvah of extending kindness, and that
is out of a sense of fear the fear that by virtue of doing that
Chessed (extending a loan) he will be publicized throughout the
city as being rich, and he will be pressured to pay for the needs of
the city (taxes-community obligations such as yeshivot, mikvehs,
etc.). That argument is nonsense; merely because of this concern
do you think he can withhold himself from the Torahs mitzvah of
giving Tzedakah?! That argument is no better that the argument
of one who holds himself back from the mitzvah of Tzedakah out
of fear that in the end it will impoverish him, and nevertheless,
it is commonly known from many of our Authorities and
statements of Chazal that in so doing his sin is very great and
his punishment in this world is that in the end his money will
disappear because of that attitude, as related in Gemara Ketubot
(66b). The Derech Eretz Zutah relates the following (in the 4th
perek): If you gave Tzedakah, you will merit money. And if you
merited money, use it to give Tzedakah; while it is still in your
hand use it to acquire this world and you will inherit Olam Haba,
because if you dont use it to give Tzedakah, it (your money) will
suddenly depart from you, as the pasuk states (Mishle 23:5) in
the blink of an eye it is gone. Quoted up until this point.
Rather, he should put his trust in Hashem Yitbarach, that by
fulfilling His Will with his money he will not encounter any
bad \ evil. In fact to the contrary, there will be an increase
in the blessings of his material possessions, as the pasuk relates
(Devarim 15:10) You shall surely give him, and do not let your
heart feel bad when you give him because in return for this
deed Hashem your G-d will bless you in all your actions and
in your every venture. So too is this true regarding Tzedakah
and Chessed; as we wrote above in the preceding chapters.
Therefore, even if in so doing he becomes publicized in the city
as a rich man, and a few extra dollars are assessed against him
every year (i.e., his taxes are increased), he should not pay any
attention to it because with absolute certainty HaKadosh Baruch
Hu will repay back to a person whatever losses he may have
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incurred as a result of doing His mitzvot. Apart from this, take

hold of yourself and think rationally about this, if a man had a
business in which he profited many thousands of dollars each
year, and by virtue of that his reputation spread as being wealthy
and he was now assessed (taxed) a few dollars for the upkeep of
the city and the like, do you think he would withdraw from his
business because of that in order to diminish his wealth so that he
would no longer have to give money for the needs of the city?!
And if that is what he did everyone would think he was a fool.
So too literally in our case. Is that a reason to forego eternal life
[where he gains by a proactive mitzvah from the Torah each and
every time he lends to his fellow Jew, that reward for mitzvot is
immeasurable \ limitless, and that in so doing he will also merit
to come under the shade of the wings of HaKadosh Baruch
Hu, as Chazal have said (Midrash Ruth Rabbah, 5:4)] because
of a concern that as a result of giving Tzedakah \ Chessed he
will lose a few coins?! Also, this argument of the Yetzer Hara
can be defused in another way He should deposit money for
safekeeping with another man who is trustworthy and that man
will discretely use it to dispense Chessed; this is an important
topic, as we will explain with Hashems help further on in the
14th chapter.
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Refuting the arguments of the Yetzer Hara that
stem from ignorance, or from the mistaken belief
that one is exempt from this mitzvah.
There are men who are weak in the mitzvah of Chessed because
of a lack of knowledge, meaning, the enormity of the imperative
to do Chessed and its great reward is obscured from them. They
believe that Chessed is merely the right thing to do and a nice
character trait (meaning, that it is optional and not mandatory)
and they dont know that Chessed is a proactive mitzvah of the
Torah, like Sukah, Lulav and Tefillin.
My brother, see how much we are lacking in this mitzvah. How
much effort does a Jew expend to build a Sukah or buy an Etrog
or the like, in perfectly implementing any of the mitzvot. G-d
forbid, he is not despondent at all over his invested effort. In fact
to the contrary, he is joyful that Hashem merited him to do that
work in fulfilling the mitzvot of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and that
he merited to achieve that mitzvah. (Truthfully, that is a correct
attitude. As one thinks carefully that man who is but a small
creation and his allotted lifetime is limited, and in the end he will
be dirt yet he stands in this world and merits to serve Hashem,
the G-d of Heaven, just as the Heavenly legions of ministering
angels). Yet when it comes to this mitzvah of doing Chessed, how
poorly we think of it, that because of the slight effort involved in
doing this mitzvah we push it away, and even if we occasionally
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do this mitzvah, it is done under duress and sadness, and is not at

all done in a state of happiness.
I will illustrate one detail and from this example one who is
intelligent can extend it to anything else that is comparable to
it. For example, if one of his friends approaches him in the
street and says to him My brother, lend me some money for a
specific period of time even if he believes he is trustworthy,
on occasion he will respond with one hundred reasons to push
him off: One time he will tell him Im too lazy to go back
to my house, you should have been more punctual and come to
my house while I was there. Another time he will tell him I
only have a ten-ruble bill and I dont want to break it. Another
time he says to him Go to Mr. so-and-so, and excuses like that.
Even if the requestor is destitute and begs him for the loan, and he
does return home or breaks the bill into smaller denominations,
he does it grudgingly and without any joy at all. Instead his face
frowns because he was bothered to do it.
My brother, think very carefully, if someone meets you in the
street with an established reputation as a truthful man, and he
says to you: My brother, quickly go back to your house and I will
tell you about a fantastic business deal by which you will profit
greatly, with Hashems help. You dont need to put up much
money for this deal since the investment is just a few rubles, and
also you can give me a small sum (a fee) after the deal is done.
Would you ever tell him I am too lazy to go back home, or to
break the large denomination coin that I have, or go to so-andso and they will take this deal. Rather, you would immediately
return back to your house in great happiness to think of ways
of acquiring this deal. And if the deal turns out well, how much
gratitude would you show to the man who advised you of this
deal. So too literally in our case. When someone comes to you
and offers you an opportunity to do Chessed (egs, to extend a
loan to him), from the perspective of the borrower who is the
recipient of the Chessed, this is a small business deal by which
he profits by only a few coins. But to you the lender who does
the Chessed he is offering you a very big business deal, which
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is the proactive mitzvah of the Torah whose reward is limitless,

you should be happy and welcome his offer with a glowing face,
and run after this mitzvah, if Hashem Yitbarach helped you and
you have the means with which to do this Chessed. The pasuk
expresses this concept as (Mishle 21:21) One who runs after
Tzedakah and Chessed will find life. (A similar idea is brought
down in the words of Chazal [Midrash Ruth Rabbah, 5:9] More
than what a benefactor does for a poor man, the poor man does
for the benefactor). Because of our many sins, this is nothing
more than the Yetzer Hara belittling this mitzvah very much in
our esteem, and it presents Chessed to us as merely a nice thing
to do (as if to say It is a nice thing to do but certainly is not
obligatory). Therefore, a very practical advice in countering
this argument (please see the following Hagahah) is to study the
obligation of this mitzvah in the writings of our Authorities who
have explained this mitzvah of Chessed, and continually ponder
the Agadot of Chazal who have explained to us the enormity of
this topic and its reward. In so doing one will neutralize the
Yetzer Hara.
Hagahah
Also, against this advice itself there is an argument of the Yetzer
Hara as it seduces someone by saying to him: Why do you
have to know the enormity of the obligation of this mitzvah of
doing kindness (and in a similar sense we encounter this
argument regarding the enormity of the esur of Lashon Hara and
Rechilut) and then violate it, it is much better if you dont learn
these laws and remain ignorant of them and therefore you will not
be culpable. However I heard in the name of one of our great
sages that this is comparable to someone walking along a path
and men advised him to protect himself and not walk along path
such-and-such since it was filled with many deep pits \ holes.
The man responded back and said I have a strategy to deal with
this; bring me a kerchief! They asked him What will you do
with a kerchief? Can you fill up the pits with it? He answered
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I will use it to cover my eyes, and when I fall I will not be a

laughingstock since my eyes were covered and I did not see the
pit. They answered him You fool That would make you
into the biggest laughingstock; Why would you want to cover
your eyes and fall? You are a man with eyes to see! So too here
in our topic. The Yetzer Hara seduces a man to cover his eyes
and not see at all in the Torah the enormity of the obligation to do
Chessed and all of its details of how to implement this mitzvah
(and in a similar sense many other things that are routinely found
to be violated, because of our many sins) so that when he does
violate this mitzvah he will have an excuse: My eyes were
closed to it; I did not see at all the enormity of this obligation.
But this argument itself will be used against him! Why were
his eyes closed to it?! Chazal only said (Gemara Beitzah 30b)
Better to be ignorant offenders concerning a case of rebuking
ones friend, and only in a case that is not an explicit prohibition
of the Torah, as this law is codified in Shulchan Aruch, section
#608, 2nd saeif, in the Hagahah. However, regarding a persons
obligation to learn the laws of the Torah (i.e., the laws of Chessed)
the rule of better to be ignorant is completely inapplicable since
these laws are all explicit in the Torah. This is the intent of what
Chazal said in Gemara Babba Metziah, 33b) an unintentional
ignorance of Talmud (Torah) is counted as being premeditated \
intentional.
There are some men who weaken themselves in this mitzvah

claiming they are exempt meaning, they think to themselves
Am I the only one in this city?! He should go to so-and-so who
is richer than I am! Truthfully this argument is nonsense: Who
knows if they want to do this favor. The Radbaz has already
written in a Responsa regarding Tzedakah Even one who has
wealthy relatives, but they dont want to help him, the obligation
to support this man then falls upon the other men of the city, that
merely because these relatives have completely departed from
this law of Hashem this poor man has to die of starvation because
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of that. Moreover, since he can afford to do this Chessed for

this man he does not become exempt from the obligation to do
this mitzvah merely because there are people in the city who are
wealthier than he is. Also, based on what we said above (My
brother, think very carefully) it is clear that this argument is
logically baseless.
Sometimes he will exempt himself from this proactive mitzvah
by rationalizing that he once lent someone money and it was
never repaid (lit., the money was lost, and he wont lend again).
This argument is also completely baseless. Just because this
other man is validated as (Tehilim 37:21) an evil borrower
who does not repay, are all other Jews similarly validated?!
Rather, as long as he knows this person as being trustworthy his
obligation is not cancelled since he can still afford to give this
loan, and all the more so if the borrower wants to give him a
security for the loan. Now, regarding the man who did not repay
the loan, this matter is conditional. If the reason he did not repay
the loan is because he is a tough guy (a gangster) who does not
want to pay back the loan (and the lender has no recourse to
recover his money) it is possible that the lender is exempt from
lending him even if he gives him a security, lest he accuse him of
some accusation later on. And if the reason was because of some
circumstance beyond his control, for example, he became poor
the lender is not excused from lending him if he brings a security.
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10th chapter
An explanation of the terrible character trait of
miserliness.
There are men whose reason for withholding Chessed is because
of the character trait they possess of miserliness (meaning, their
eyes are jaundiced and they cannot let themselves see anyone
else being helped with their money). Regarding this, Chazal have
since said in Gemara Sotah (47b) When there were increases in
the number of men who were miserly and who preyed on people,
there was a corresponding increase in cold hearted people who
closed their hands to giving Tzedakah and they violated the
words written in the Torah (Devarim 15:9) Beware not to allow
a criminal thought to come into your mind, saying the Sabbatical
Year is approaching, and this is a very bad personality trait
which will bring a man to the point of withholding Tzedakah and
Chessed, and as a consequence, will also cause him to withhold
himself from extending compassion and mercy, and he will close
his ears to the cries of the impoverished.
On occasion it will bring him to murder, as Chazal have said
(Gemara Sotah 38b) Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi said An Eglah
Arufah is brought only because of a jaundiced eye (miserliness)
as the pasuk states (Devarim 21:7) and they answer and say our
hands did not shed this blood and our eyes did not see Would
you ever have even thought to say that the sages of the Beit Din
are murderers?! Rather, they are saying that this person did not
come to us (i.e., we were completely unaware of him) and that we
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sent him away without food (meaning, the case addressed by the
Torah was - he (this wayfarer) was starving and he saw someone
carrying food. He came and tried to forcibly snatch it because
he was driven by hunger, and this man resisted him and killed
him Rashi). We see that if a man came asking support from his
fellow Jew to do him a Chessed in some manner and because
of this fellows bad character stinginess he did not help him
and as a result the man dies the Torah calls this fellow a
murderer. Chazal criticized this evil character trait very, very
much and said (Gemara Sotah 38b) Whoever benefits \ gains
from his own miserliness violates a prohibitive mitzvah of the
Torah, as the pasuk relates (Mishle 23:6-7) Dont eat the bread
of the miserly and dont lust for his delicacies, because this will
be bitter to his soul: He will tell you eat and drink, but his heart
will not be with you.
Generally speaking, one who is miserly is factually running away
completely from the character trait of mercy and all of his efforts
are focused on increasing his own wealth to keep for himself, and
he will not lend an article of his to anyone. And all the more so
he will not lend money to anyone unless in some way he himself
will gain from the loan. Occasionally, because of his extreme
miserliness and passion for money, he will be uncaring about the
nature of the gain he will realize as a result of lending money,
even if that gain is forbidden interest. Regarding this kind of
man the text states (Mishle 28:22) One who is very eager for
wealth has an evil eye, he does not know that this will cause
him loss. The Chinuch has since written in his sefer (Mitzvah
#480) that character trait of miserliness is an iron wall separating
him from blessings. He also causes Heavens mercy to depart
from himself, as Chazal have said in Gemara Shabbat (151b) in
commentary on the pasuk (Devarim 13:18) He will give you
mercy and be merciful to you: Whoever has mercy on Creation
\ mankind, Heaven will reciprocate mercy to him, and whoever
does not have compassion for humanity, Heaven will not have
compassion on him.
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Chazal have also said (Gemara Arachin 16a) Negaim \

Lesions come onto a person for any one of seven reasons, one
of them being miserliness (his eye is jaundiced towards others and
he will not allow any of his possessions to benefit a neighbor who
asks to borrow an article Rashi) as the pasuk states (Vayikrah
14:35) and the homeowner comes to the Kohein and says to
him Seemingly, there is the appearance of lesions on (the
walls of) my house. The yeshiva of Rebbe Yishmael taught
the following: Whoever exclusively retains his house (meaning,
he does not let others benefit from anything that belongs to him
Rashi) and it is well known that because of those Negaim
the house will ultimately have to be razed, as the pasuk states
(Vayikrah 14:45) and the house will be disassembled, the stones
and the wood So too in our days, even though Hashem
Yitbarach in His compassion does not want to send Negaim to
a house, nevertheless, He will send a curse to his belongings and
they will be totally lost to him because of this, as stated in the
Midrash quoted above. The reason for this is that he is punished
measure for measure. Since this man is miserly and does
not want to extend any kindness and mercy \ compassion to his
friend, and allow him to benefit from his possessions, so too a
Force of Absolute Strict Law without any mercy whatsoever will
prevail over his possessions, and necessarily his house will be
destroyed because of that, given that it is well known that the
world could not continue to exist solely on the Attibute of Strict
Law.
It is related in the Pesiktah (Rabbati DeRav Kahanah, 26th
perasha, piskah tithe a tenth, 2nd notation) There was an
incident where someone had many possessions, the man had an
evil personality and never in his life did he give Tzedakah. It
happened that he became insane and he burned down his house.
He took his money and gold and threw them into the ocean. He
took an ax and broke barrels containing his drinks. What was
the cause of all of this? It was because he did not honor Hashem
who graced him with those possessions. Many similar things
will happen to misers who do not extend kindness and Tzedakah
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with their money. Additionally, it is brought down in Yalkut

Shimoni, perashat Reeh (notation #898) (which we quoted
above) Be very careful not to withhold mercy, because everyone
who holds back extending mercy is equated to an idol worshipper,
and he throws off of himself the sovereignty of Heaven, as the
pasuk states (Devarim 15:9) criminal,5 meaning, that his trust
is entirely founded on his trust of his money and not on Hashem.
The Torah warns us about this by using a hint, and states (Shemot
20:20) Do not make for yourselves a god of silver and a god of
gold.
Moreover, this man specifically is committing a profound sin,
as he does not have compassion and mercy for a person who is
pressured and overwhelmed in his period of poverty. See what
is specifically written in Sefer Shemuel II (12:3-10) when Natan
(the prophet) came to David and told him about an indigent man
who had only one small calf, and in his poverty he raised up
this animal, he fed it his own bread and from his cup he gave
it to drink. Someone came along and slaughtered it. David
immediately pronounced a verdict and said (Shemuel II 2:5-6)
as Hashem is alive, the person who did this is a dead man since
he did not extend kindness to the indigent. One who studies
the text carefully will see that the main reason for the verdict
to punish him by death was because he had no mercy on that
indigent man (because for the theft itself he was fined four-fold;
please see that reference).
Hagahah
(Emphatically) how so very much are we obliged to constantly
ponder this text, because actions like these holding back
compassion are commonly found, because of our many sins, in
5. (Devarim 15:9) Beware not to allow a criminal thought to come into your
mind, saying the Sabbatical Year is approaching.
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many thousands of instances, and this text pierces and descends

down into the depths,
On occasion it happens that one who cannot part with money \ one
who is miserly and has a jaundiced eye, apart from the fact that
he cannot bring himself to take pity on a needy man, additionally
he also will influence others to not help this needy man so that he
wont be embarrassed that he is the only one who is not helping
this indigent, and he hates and denigrates anyone who contradicts
him (i.e., anyone who does give Tzedakah). Through this man
the words of Pirkei Avot come true (5:13) He does not give, and
he does not want others to give he is a Rasha.
On occasion this sense of miserliness is so overwhelming to the
point where he cannot bring himself to spend money and benefit
himself. Regarding this type of person, the text of Kohelet states
(5:12) There is an evil sickness and (Kohelet 6:2) A man to
whom G-d has given riches, wealth and honor, he lacks nothing
that the heart could desire, yet G-d did not give him the ability
to enjoy it. Regarding this kind of man, he is dominated by
the spirit of the Other Side, as brought down in the holy Zohar
in perashat Bshalach: Rebbe Abba began his lecture and said:
There is an evil sickness (Rhetorically) But is there an evil
that is sickness and an alternate evil that is not sickness? Thus
it must be that there certainly is an evil that is sickness, as
it has been taught: From the Left Side there can emerge many
indictments that fly in the air, and when they want to emerge they
go and are swallowed up into the Great Hole of the depths, after
which they emerge and join together and fly in the air and soar
through the world and they approach close to man. Each one of
them is called evil, as the text relates (Tehilim 91:10) No evil
should approach us. What is the meaning of they shouldnt
approach, since they do come with indictments against man.
Evil Sickness why is it called an evil sickness? (Answer)
When it settles onto man it makes them tightfisted with their
money \ miserly. When the collectors of Tzedakah come to him,
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this Force blocks him and tells him Dont take out anything at
all from your possessions. Poor people approach him and this
Force blocks his hand. He himself comes to eat from his own
money - his hand is blocked in order to safeguard his money
from others. And from the day this Force settles onto man, he
becomes ill (with the sickness of miserliness) just as one has to
lay down from the oppression of his sickness, and he is not able
to eat or drink; that is why is called an evil sickness.
Shelomo HaMelech in his wisdom protested vigorously against
this and said (Kohelet 6:2) A man to whom G-d has given
wealth and possessions and honor (nothing is missing from his
life in anything that he wants) and Elokim will not allow him
to eat from it because he believes in this Evil Force and grasps
onto it, thus he himself was the cause of it, HaKadosh Baruch Hu
will not allow him to extricate himself from its dominance since
he himself wants it and grabs onto that miserly lifestyle (because
initially when this Evil Force came to him with an indictment
and seduced him to deal with his fellow Jew in an evil way, and
he did not extend good to him; that approach appealed to him,
and he adopted that lifestyle and accepted it, therefore HaKadosh
Baruch Hu will not give him the strength to break that habit)
and his lifestyle is like one who is dying from his sickness and
he does not eat and he does not drink, he does not come near to
his money and he does not spend any of it. He guards it up until
the time he departs from this world - and then someone else will
come along and assume ownership of it.
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Shelomo HaMelech protests and says (Kohelet 5:12) Wealth

is stored away for its owner to his detriment. Who is its
owner? It is that other person who inherited him. And why
did that other person come to merit to become the owner of that
wealth? Because this one believed in the lifestyle he adopted for
himself and accepted it, and attached himself to it. Therefore
some other person who did not bond to this evil then merited to
become the owner of that wealth. That is the meaning of the text
to his detriment, meaning, because of the evil that he initially
bonded to, this other man subsequently benefited; please see that
reference. (Please see the following Hagahah).
Hagahah
It is also written in our holy books that a man should be attentive
to the following: If after his passing Heaven were to place in
his hand a proper sefer Torah as this is the procedure when
they question him about the details of every mitzvah, and with
absolute certainty they would also ask him about this important
mitzvah, namely (Vayikrah 25:35) If your brother becomes
impoverished with you and his livelihood fails in your midst,
you shall strengthen him, the convert or the righteous gentile,
and more so (Vayikrah 25:36) and let your brother live in your
society (lit., live with you). Did he fulfill this mitzvah as the law
requires? What will he answer? At that time the Heavenly Beit
Din will have the Book of Remembrance opened and will say
to him Do you remember that time, on that day of that month,
when you were sitting comfortably in your house in happiness,
then at night this poor man who once was a man of means came
to you with his requests and supplications to lend him money
which was guaranteed by a security, and without hesitating for
a moment you answered him Im not able to lend you, and
he left you dejected and forlorn, and you paid no attention \ you
were unfeeling that this poor man first consulted with his wife
over a period of days whether or not to go to you, because the
veil of shame was all over his face, and he was ashamed to go
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to you in the daytime, and so he came to you at night. He also

thought about which security to give you as a collateral for the
loan which you would accept, and he determined which hour
would be an appropriate time to come to you when you would
be available \ unoccupied and you, without any hesitancy and
without giving it a second thought, in one moment you pushed
him away with both of your hands, saying Im not able to
lend you, and this man was now brokenhearted, like a piece
of shattered pottery, and he returned home in humiliation and
shame. Before he reaches his house his children and wife were
anticipating \ longing when will our father come back to us,
perhaps there is yet some hope for us. But when he returned
home from you empty-handed, his family all sat down to cry and
said What will become of us? What will be our end? We will
all die of starvation. And because of their cries which reached up
to the Heavens, the Attribute of Strict (unmerciful) Justice gained
greatly in strength throughout the world. And ultimately because
he had nothing with which to sustain his family, they weakened
more out of starvation with each passing day to the point where
the weak ones became sick and the other members of the family
became wanderers begging for food, and his family fell apart
completely. Now you stand up in judgment and acknowledge
what you did, and see what you caused in the absence of your
compassion towards these destitute and embittered people. In
so doing, how much suffering did you cause On High to Hashem
Yitbarach at the time their cries ascended to the Heavens, and
as a result how much power was given to Strict Law because of
what you did, how many decrees were then promulgated because
of this. Just as you had no compassion for this poor man, so
too will there be no compassion for you; and his verdict was
pronounced and the punishment meted out proportional to the
consequences of his actions resulting from his refusal to extend
compassion.
The Midrash Vayikrah Rabbah relates the following (perasha
34:9): Rebbe Aveen said This poor man who was standing
at your doorway, and HaKadosh Baruch Hu was standing at his
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right side, as it is written (Tehilim 109:31) For I will stand at the

right side of the indigent. If he gave him understand clearly
that the One who is standing by his right side will pay you your
reward. And if you did not give him - understand clearly that the
One who is standing at his right side will exact payment from
you, as it sates (109:31) to save him from those who judge his
soul. Therefore one should think wisely and continually ponder
\ be sensitive to the suffering of the indigent, and in so doing the
words of Tehilim will be realized (41:2) Praiseworthy is the one
who contemplates the needs of the poor, on his day of bad \ evil
(i.e., judgment) Hashem will protect him.
Therefore, man should stay far away from the character trait of
miserliness and accustom himself throughout this life to be a
good person who does good to his fellow man, and not make
a defect in his character trait of compassion, in order that they
(i.e., Heaven) will also have compassion for him and do good
to him. The pasuk expresses this as (Tehilim 125:4) Do good,
Hashem, to those who are good people. He should constantly
ponder that the money given to him by Hashem Yitbarach was
not given to him only for himself, rather he should use his money
also for Tzedakah and Chessed, as we will demonstrate further
on from the writings and teachings of Chazal, and then it will be
good for him both here in this world and there in Olam Haba.
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An explanation refuting the argument of being
too lazy, and several other topics relating to the
enthusiasm of the service to Hashem Yitbarach.
There are men whose reason for holding back the mitzvah of
extending kindness is not because they have pity on their own
money (50 rubles or 100 rubles, each one based on his worth)
that it will remain idle and not used for earning profit, rather only
because he is too lazy to trouble himself and make an effort to
lend someone money, and then go back and dun him until he
comes and repays him. Truthfully, as one ponders this attitude,
this is the most common reason among all of the arguments that
hold a man back from his service to Hashem Yitbarach. By
virtue of this attitude man remains bare of Torah and mitzvot
and Teshuvah, because it is the nature of a lazy person to push
off everything to tomorrow or another day. (Please see the first
following Hagahah). Regarding this attitude Shelomo HaMelech
in his wisdom has since said (Mishle 24:30-31) I wandered by
the field belonging to a lazy man and the vineyard belonging to
an inattentive person and they were completely overgrown by
weeds and the ground was covered with thistles and thorns, and
the stone wall surrounding it had toppled over. (Please see the
second following Hagahah).
1st Hagahah
It is my opinion that this is the intent of the Midrash Rabbah
(Beresheet 21:6). The words and now are a specific reference
to Teshuvah, as the pasuk relates (Devarim 10:12) and now,
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Israel, what does Hashem your G-d ask of you, only that you fear
Hashem your G-d. Ostensibly, how is Teshuvah alluded to in
the words and now? The expression to fear Hashem one may
say that it alludes to Teshuvah, but not from the words and
now?! [In response] We may say that the intent is as we have
written, that the main power of the Yetzer Hara is in tricking man,
saying Today you dont have time to learn or toil in mitzvot or
to ponder carefully how to fulfill the Torah. Tomorrow or the day
after you can do all that since that is when you will be free from
all of your concerns. And so too this is repeated the next day it
pushes him off to the next day, and then too again the day after
that, and this is repeated every day of his life using this same
reason. This is what is written in Mishle (3:28) Do not say to
your friend - Go away for now and come back later, and tomorrow
I will give it to you - when it is already by you. Your friend
alludes to your Yetzer HaTov, mans closest lifetime companion
who constantly advises him for his own good, forever, but the
Yetzer Hara continually pushes him off to do it tomorrow. This is
also alluded to in the Torah in perashat Tavoh, where it is written
(Devarim 26:16) On this day Hashem your G-d commands you
to perform these decrees and statutes, and you will observe and
perform them with all of your hearts and with all of your souls.
So too have Chazal said (Gemara Shabbat 153a) Do Teshuvah \
Return today, for perhaps tomorrow you will die.
I heard one great sage as having said that man must assess to the
core of his soul three things: (1) That he has only one more day
left to live; also, (2) he has only one chapter of Mishnayot or
one page of Gemara, the one he is busy with now; also, (3) he is
the one Jew that HaKadosh Baruch Hu has commanded to fulfill
the Torah, and the continued existence of the world is dependent
solely on him. By keeping these things in mind thinking that
he has only one more day left to live, he will do everything in his
power to do Teshuvah and good deeds, and not leave anything for
tomorrow. Also, in thinking that he has only a little bit more
to learn, necessarily he will not be lazy in contrast to the Yetzer
Hara who distances the thought from his heart and tells him: How
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much longer (i.e., how many more Mishnayot) will you have to
toil \ struggle over a long period of time in order to complete
this Order of Mishnayot or this Masechet Gemara, and by doing
this it weakens his resolve. Also, in thinking to himself that the
continued existence of the world is dependent on him, he will be
especially careful in contrast to the Yetzer Hara that tricks him
into a mistake, and says to him With absolute certainty one
can find other other men who fulfill the Torah appropriately and
the world will be preserved because of them! (In refuting this
mindset) Truthfully, Chazal have since said (Gemara Sanhedrin
37a) Man is obliged to say The universe was created only for
me. Also, on occasion to say The world is half innocent and
half guilty, and if I add merely one more sin, in so doing I will
tilt the entire world to the side of guilty. In my opinion all of
this is alluded to in the holy Torah in the perasha of the Kriyat
Shemah (Devarim 6:5) and you will love Hashem your G-d with
all of your heart and all of your soul. What should one do to
achieve that? [Answer] (Devarim 6:6) and these things should
be, meaning, that little bit that he is learning now; that I
am commanding you, meaning, to think in his heart that there is
nothing else in the entire world except HaKadosh Baruch Hu and
himself; today meaning, he has only this one day; on your
heart, meaning, these three things should always be on his heart.
Now, with all of this we will explain with the help of Hashem
the Midrash referenced above. The intent of the pasuk (Devarim
10:12) and now, Israel, is a warning to man not to follow after
the mistakes of the Yetzer Hara that pushes him away from
his learning and pondering the fulfillment of the Torah until
sometime tomorrow. In response to this the text comes and says
(Devarim 10:12) and now, Israel, what does Hashem your G-d
ask of you; and now specifically, meaning, to continually
think about what Hashem wants from him now. Truthfully,
this is a very awesome concept that is relevant to man throughout
his entire life. For example, when he gets up early in the morning
and thinks to himself What should I do? Should I go to the
Beit Midrash and pray, or go to work? Relevant to this is what
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the pasuk stated: and now, Israel, what does Hashem your G-d
ask of you with absolute certainty He asks of you to go and
pray and not first get involved with business, as Chazal have
said (Gemara Berachot 14a). And after he finishes praying he
thinks to himself, what to do now; to learn or to go to his house.
With absolute certainty, as a first choice the mitzvah is to learn
immediately after Tefilah, as codified in Orach Chayim, section
#155 (1st paragraph) unless he is a man who is physically weak
and needs to go home and eat in order to regain his strength.
And after he learns and considers what to do next, with absolute
certainty now Hashem Yitbarach asks from him that he should
go and eat, in fulfillment of the mitzvah (Devarim 4:15) and
you should guard your souls (your life) exceedingly well. And
after he eats it is a mitzvah to go and involve himself a little
in earning a livelihood, as Chazal have said there (in Gemara
Berachot 32b). And after he worked, and he asks what more to
do now, most certainly Hashem Yitbarach asks of him to return
to his learning since he now has free time. The rule to follow is
this topic of now is relevant to every man at every moment
of his life, each man according to his unique circumstances. That
is what is written in the text (Devarim 10: 12-13) asks of you,
meaning, it is for this reason that Hashem Yitbarach asks of him,
now to go and learn Torah; it is for this reason that He asks man
to go and extend kindness to Mr. So-and-So since this mitzvah
has presented itself to him now and cannot be performed by
anyone else except him (now) (please reference Gemara Moed
Katan 9a). So too in many other circumstances. And when he
does go in this way, he will serve to Hashem Yitbarach all the
days of his life in the framework of Torah. This is the intent of
the pasuk (Mishle 6:22) as you walk it will accompany you.
This will arouse man to overcome his Yetzer Hara and return
back to Hashem (i.e., to do Teshuvah); and this is the intent of the
referenced Midrash.
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2nd Hagahah
The explanation of this pasuk in Mishle (30:31) is as follows:
The main purpose of a field is to plow it and seed it so that it will
yield produce. A wall is built around it to keep out domesticated
animals and the wild animals of the forest that would otherwise
ravage everything in it. But when he is too lazy to plow and seed
it, the field itself will sprout thorns and weeds, and ultimately
the wall itself will also be breached, and even if he later wants to
pull out the thorns and weeds and seed the field appropriately, it
will not do any good until the wall is rebuilt. So too must man
be enthusiastic for Torah, to study it daily with all of his strength,
and at the same time to urge himself on to constantly do Teshuvah
and acts of kindness with all of his might, and in so doing his
Nefesh will bring forth all of his capabilities, both in the realm of
increasing more and more the power of its sanctity and wisdom,
and (also in the realm of) surrounding it (his soul) with all good
character traits. All this is because Hashem Yitbarach implanted
within the holy Neshamah which He place inside a person the
ability to grow, just as a seed planted in the earth has the ability
to grow much more than it was initially. However, just as there
the power of rain and dew must first take effect on the seeds and
only then whatever was planted could sprout and mature, so too
the Nefesh must first be infused with the light of the wisdom
of Torah and its sanctity and proportional to the extent of the
effort, so too will evolve its wisdom and sanctity. That is the
underlying meaning of the pasuk (Devarim 32:2) My teachings
will drop like rain, My words will flow like the dew. Thus
on the basis of Teshuvah and good deeds that one continually
does, he will create discipline in his personality to do only those
things which are good. But if this man is too lazy to make this
effort he will be just like the unattended field, and not only will
nothing grow, but as time goes on it will become overgrown with
weeds and thorns. So too is the soul of a man without Torah.
Apart from not enhancing \ increasing his sanctity, he will be
overwhelmed with thorns that will stifle the power of his sanctity
and wisdom which were implanted within him at the time of his
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inception, and as each day goes by it will be further eroded until

he is left barren of any sanctity and any wisdom. He will merely
be filled with thorns imposed by the might of the defilement
that dominated \ infiltrated throughout his Nefesh by virtue of the
sin of neglecting Torah which is paramount over all other sins.
So too with the absence of Teshuvah and good deeds in which he
accustomed his soul to be completely barren just as a field will
very likely be ruined, and before anything else could be done the
fence must first be built anew, and only then will the seeding be
effective once the thorns and weeds are removed, so too in our
topic, one must build fences \ limits one must first implement
a discipline in his life not to follow his old ways and more than
that he must implement what is written in the text (Yirmiyah 4:3)
plow for yourselves furrows and dont plant thorns, meaning,
one must do Teshuvah for his past, and then it will be good for
him.
Chazal have said (Gemara Berachot 32b) Four things require
encouragement, as follows: Torah, good deeds, prayer and
livelihood (lit., the way of the world). Thus we see that good
deeds need encouragement, to constantly accustom oneself to
perform them. And if one weakens himself in this regard, G-d
forbid, regarding this man Chazal have said (Gemara Berachot
63a) in the name of Shemuel, that he will not have the strength
to stand up on his day of suffering, meaning, at the time when
the Power of Strict Justice overwhelms him) as the pasuk relates
(Mishle 24:10) if you were weak in someone elses6 day of
suffering, your strength will become weakened, as the pasuk
states (Mishle 2:4-5) if you would desire it as you would desire
silver and if you would search for it as you would search for
hidden treasure, then you would understand the fear of G-d.
6. If you are lax in helping others in their time of need, you will become too
weak to help yourself.
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Therefore man must conduct himself in matters of Torah and

mitzvot as he conducts himself in matters of his business, that
when he is a store owner or something comparable - he is not
too lazy to sit even in the cold and attend to his first customer and
then go back and attend to his second customer, and then a third,
even though from each of them he was left with only the most
meager amount of profit, and he sits and waits for the time when
customers will come to him - and when they do come, because
of his great happiness, he does not feel the cold. All of this is
because he thinks this is all necessary to sustain his life, even
though it is only temporary. And how much even more so in
matters of Torah and mitzvot which are eternal. (Emphatically)
How much must man run after them and catch them, as the pasuk
states (Hoshea 6:3) Let us know, let us strive to know Hashem
with the same certainty that we know dawn will always emerge,
and the effort will not be burdensome on him.
Therefore, even if it should happen that the borrower himself
does not return the loan (lit., the Chessed that was done for him)
and the lender has to remind him once or twice to pay him back,
nevertheless, that should not be the cause for him to weaken in
this mitzvah of doing kindness \ lending money, as this is
comparable to a store owner that merely because he has to
work to collect the debts owed to him, do you think he wont
support his own business?! Moreover, it is common knowledge
that there is no business that does not extend credit, and there is
also no business without an occasional loss. And if you were to
say the proprietor profits from this; he profits from this only in
a temporal sense. But you my brother profit from this and live
an eternal life, and in so doing your soul will be bound up in the
Fabric of Life with Hashem your G-d. Also, as a consequence
of his effort (i.e., the store owner) in working to collect the
debts owed to him, even if he had to work a lot in this regard,
he would not be paid anything more than what was owed to him.
But regarding our subject, the greater the effort he exerts in the
mitzvot of Hashem Yitbarach, he will be paid (i.e., rewarded)
yet even more and more, as it is well known (Avot 5:23) the
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reward is proportional to the effort. Moreover, the repayment

of a loan allows him to lend again. (All of this is alluded to in
the Torah, where it is written (Shemot 22:25) If you take your
fellows (Jews) garment as a (loan) security following the
pasuk of (22:24) When you lend money. The Mechiltah relates
(Mishpatim, 19th perek) that this expression teaches us a proper
conduct for life, to lend to him and then to come and collect
back from him (meaning, with the permission of the Beit Din,
as brought down in Gemara Babba Metziah (113b), that if one
does so without the permission of the Beit Din he violates what
is written in the Torah (Devarim 24:10) Do not enter into his
house to collect your debt. Even in the street it is forbidden to
snatch it from him, as brought down in Choshen Mishpat, section
#97 (6th paragraph) please see that reference). This all comes
to refute the mistake people make, as they should not think It
is better if I write off that money as a loss and I will not have to
be bothered again to extend a loan. In response to this wrong
thinking, the Torah teaches us just the opposite that it is better
to demand the repayment of the loan until it is paid, and then later
go back and lend it out again.
Now, in this chapter I have illustrated only some aspects of
laziness which the Yetzer Hara imposes on a person, but in fact
there are many other comparable resasons driving a person to be
lazy in regard to this mitzvah. This man needs only to take advice
from the aggressive pursuit of the world in their businesses, and
do the same when it comes to the business of eternity. And
when a man accustoms himself to do this, in so doing he will
fulfill what is written in the pasuk (Mishle 2:5) then you will
understand the meaning of a fear of Heaven and you will find
knowledge of Elokim.
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12th chapter
An explanation that man should run after this
mitzvah every day.
And now following the previous chapters where we explained
the enormity of this topic of extending kindness to others, which
helps a person to have his life extended, and also causes his sins
to be atoned, and stands to rescue him from all bad mishaps, and
in do doing he takes refuge exclusively in the shadow of Hashem
Yitbarach, and not in the shadow of the wings of Keruvim, and
he reaps the benefit of this mitzvah in this world (lit., he eats
the fruit of that mitzvah) while the principal reward is reserved
for him in Olam Haba, and he merits to have children who are
masters of wealth, masters of wisdom also, by virtue of this
he merits to be exonerated in his judgment, all this and many
other profoundly good things, as mentioned above. Therefore
(emphatically) how much must man bond to this holy character
trait, to love it with a passionate love, as related in the pasuk
(Micha 6:8) and what does Hashem ask of you, only that you do
justice and love kindness, because this mitzvah advocates for a
man throughout all subsequent generations, as mentioned above
in the 4th perek.
A man must be extra careful not to be delinquent in this mitzvah
even only one day in his life just as a Jew must be careful in
establishing set times each day to learn Torah. I found this same
concept expressed in Sefer Shaar HaKedushah written by our
master, the sage Rabbi Chayim Vitale, where he writes that man
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must lament every day and say Woe unto me, that I let the day go
by without any Torah and without doing any kindness to others.
The relevance is that the power of holiness becomes perfected \
becomes whole on the basis of three foundations; Torah, service
to Hashem and extending kindness to others. But because of our
many sins, now as this third foundation of Service is missing from
among us since the time of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash
and all we have left are two foundations, then we have to apply
ourselves to the utmost in their implementation, and in so doing
our sins will be forgiven, as the pasuk states (Mishle 16:6)
With Chessed and truth sins will be atoned. Chazal have said
(Gemara Berachot 5a) Chessed is kindness (extending acts
of kindness to others) as the pasuk states (Mishle 21:21) Run to
do Tzedakah and Chessed; truth is Torah, as it states (Mishle
23:23) acquire truth and do not sell it) as Rebbe Yochanan
ben Zakai responded back to Rebbe Yehoshuah ben Chananiah
(Avot DeRebbe Natan 4:5) when they were standing next to
the Temple Mount, as he lamented Woe unto us that this place
which atoned our sins has been destroyed. He answered him
and said My son, dont be afraid, we still have an equivalent
means for atonement; and what is that means Kindness, as it
states (Hoshea 6:6) because it is kindliness that I want, and not
sacrifices. Therefore, since acts of kindness atone for sins just
as the Korbanot, man is obligated to continually bond to that trait
because sins are made continually. Kindness must be continually
dispensed just as the Mizbeyach was continually used and was
not left idle of Korbanot even for one day.
Everything we are saying that today we have no Beit Mikdash
or sacrificial offerings, and because of our many sins violations
of halacha are routinly committed, man has an even greater
obligation to adopt this holy character trait in order that his sins
will be atoned. However, truthfully, even at a time when the
Beit HaMikdash was existent, man had the same obligation
throughout every day of his life to continually bond to these holy
character traits of doing good to others and extending kindliness
to them. The text of the Torah is filled with references to this
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the Nefesh \ soul of man with great goodness to the point of satiation, and it
shines. The Chafetz Chayim ZTL expressed this same idea in his Sefer
Shemirat HaLashon (Volume 1, Shaar HaTevunah, 14th chapter page
343 in the Mazal Elul translated edition) All of us have been sent from
the World Above to this world, each of us to remedy (to carry out our lifes
mission) and perfect our souls and make them shine in accodance with the
wisdom that HaKadosh Baruch Hu endowed us when He created us.
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(Devarim 11:22) If you will carefully observe and practice this

entire mitzvah that I am commanding you (Devarim 19:9) to
love Hashem your G-d and walk in His ways all of your days.
We have already explained in quoting the Sifri (perashat Eikev,
piskah #49) that walk in His ways means to emulate the
character traits of Hashem Yitbarach, which are exclusively (to
do) good and kindness.
The reason for all this is known from the holy Zohar (perashat
Vaychi) that each of mans days throughout the time he is alive
in this world are all alive and eternally existent, meaning, that
every single day of a mans life creates a holy, spiritual being,
and in the Coming Future at the time when he must depart
this world, all of his days accompany him On High and testify
about him before the Master of All. Therefore every man must
take care that every single one of his days are completely holy,
meaning, learning Torah every day, that in so doing he will
come to love Hashem Yitbarach. This concept is expressed in
the Sifri (perashat Vaetchanan, piskah #33) in commentary on
the pasuk (Devarim 6:5) and you shall love Hashem; please
see that reference. He will also come to fulfill the mitzvot, as
Chazal have said (Gemara Kedushin 40b) Learning Torah is
great since it brings one to implement the mitzvot. He should
also see to it to constantly bond with all of his strength to the
Attributes of Hashem Yitbarach, which are exclusively good
and kindness. In so doing he will merit that Hashem will shine
His countenance on him as the pasuk relates (Yeshaya 58:10)
[Chazon Yeshaya - In addition to providing him with his basic
needs for food, clothing and shelter, add even more to that with
a full and glad heart] Give to the hungry one from your very
soul, then (58:8) Then your radiance will burst forth like the
dawn, and (58:11) and satiate his soul with splendor.7
7. literally, to satiate him with the shine of his Nefesh.
Explaining this by way of a metaphor, imagine blowing up a balloon until
it expands more and more to the limit of its expansion, at that point the
skin of the balloon is so distended that it shines. Hashem desires to fill
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This subject is found in many references of Chazal One who

is occupied in Torah and acts of kindness, and they did not say
Anyone who learned Torah and extended kindness to teach
us that man must constantly be familiar with this pursuit and
involved in it. The Gemara (Babba Batra 9b) expresses this idea
as Everyone who is accustomed to giving Tzedakah and
brings proof to this from what is written in Mishle (21:21) One
who runs to do Tzedakah and Chessed: Thus we see that One
who runs to do Tzedakah and Chessed means he constantly
is running to emulate this holy attribute. We have elaborated
on all of this to dispel the mistake that many men make, that
they think after having done an act of kindness once to some
person they are now exempt from any further obligation to do
kindness for a period of several weeks even though they have
the ability \ resources to extend acts of kindness to other men.
Rather, every single day of a mans life, whenever an opportunity
presents itself to do this mitzvah, he is obligated to do it if he
has that ability, and to do it even many times in a single day, just
as we wrote above in the first part of this sefer in the Laws of
Extending Loans in the 1st perek, in the 7th saeif; please see
that reference. Now based on these words, as man thinks about
the days of his life that have passed he will realize that most of
them were lacking in this holy character trait, and on occasion
they were also lacking in Torah. Therefore, man should see to it
to strengthen himself in the remaining days of his life to sanctify
those days, and not wonder How can one fulfill the mitzvah of
doing Chessed on the day of Shabbat? since truthfully there are
many aspects of Chessed besides extending loans, as mentioned
above in the Introduction.
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We can appreciate (lit., see) the importance of these two

attributes of Torah and Chessed since Hashem Yitbarach alluded
to them in the beginning of the alphabet (lit., Aleph Beit) in order
to demonstrate to us that these two qualities are the foremost
imperatives in the service of Hashem Yitbarach. This is what
Chazal have said in Gemara Shabbat (104a) They said to Rebbe
Yehoshuah ben Levi: The children today come to the Beit Midrash
and say things that have not been said since the days of Yehoshua
Ben Nun: Aleph, Beit; Aleph - Binah meaning, Learn
Wisdom (learn Torah). Gimel, Dalet; Gmol Dalim,
meaning Do kindness to the lowly impoverished (meaning,
extend kindness to the needy \ impoverished. Even though
extending kindness can be done to people who are themselves
wealthy, as brought down in Gemara Sukah (49b),8 nevertheless,
it is a greater mitzvah when that Chessed is extended to the poor
man, as stated in Gemara Babba Metziah (71a) A poor man and
a rich man, the poor man takes precedence). What is the reason
the leg of the letter Gimel extends towards the letter Dalet? To
instruct us that this is the routine for doing Chessed \ Kindness:
to run after those who are indigent. Please see further on in
that reference. (The letters) Heh and Vav these are the
letters of the Name of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. It is my opinion
to explain this based on what Chazal have said in Gemara Babba
Batra (75b): In the Future the Tzadikim will be called by the
Name of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, as the pasuk states (Yeshaya
43:7) Whoever is called by My Name, for My honor, I have
created. This is the intent: Alef Binah \ Learn Wisdom,
Gemol Dalim \ Do kindness to the indigent, meaning, Torah
and Chessed; Heh Vav, this is the Name of HaKadosh Baruch
Hu meaning, that only then will you merit that in the Coming
Future they will call you by the Name of HaKadosh Baruch Hu
(because HaKadosh Baruch Hu also learns Torah every day, as
this is brought down in Gemara Avodah Zara (3b) and He feeds
8. Gemara Suka, 49a: The reward for Tzedakah is paid based only on the
Chessed that accompanied it.
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and sustains everything in Creation in His kindness and goodness.

David HaMelech relates this in Tehilim as it is written (136:25)
He gives food to all flesh, for His kindness is everlasting. This
concept is also brought down in Tanna DeVei Eliyahu Rabbah,
in the 13th perek, that HaKadosh Baruch Hu says to man: My
son, why didnt you learn from your Father in Heaven, that He
sits on His Throne of Glory one-third of the day and reads and
learns, a third of the day He judges and administers the law, and
a third of the day He dispenses Tzedakah and feeds and sustains
and nourishes everything in the universe and all of His creations
in the world. And if man were to say to HaKadosh Baruch Hu
I learned Torah from age thirteen onward, HaKadosh Baruch
Hu responds back to him and says What Torah did you do (i.e.,
did you acquire) (meaning, for man to recite to HaKadosh Baruch
Hu what he read and learned as this is related in Tanna DeVei
Eliyahu Rabbah (1st perek)) What good deeds did you acquire?
You were busy with pointless conversation and words that were
inappropriate and improper, as it states (Amos 4:13) Behold,
He forms mountains and creates winds, and tells man all of his
conversations. Please study that reference further.
See yet even more of the enormity of the reward for learning
Torah and doing Chessed, that the Gemara there expounds on
all of the letters of the alphabet in their correct sequence. The
Gemara there relates (Gemara Shabbat 104a) regarding the
letters Zayin, Chet, Tet, Yud, Kaf and Lamed
If you do this, (If you internalize these letters, meaning the
attributes implied by each of the letters of the alphabet, Aleph
Beit and so on) HaKadosh Baruch Hu will feed you (Zayin
Zan feed) and impart grace to you (Chet Chayn
grace) and do good to you (Tet Tov good) and will
give you an inheritance (Yud Yerushah inheritance
meaning, a portion of Hashem) (all this meaning as related in
Gemara Babba Kamma, 17a. Anyone who toils in Torah and
good deeds will merit the Inheritance of Yissachar (i.e., Torah)
(please see that reference) and will tie you with a crown (Kaf
Keter crown) in Olam Haba. (Lamed LeOlam
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Haba to Olam Haba). The intent of all of this is that man

should not think that in giving Tzedakah and Chessed his wealth
will diminish and necessarily he will have less food, and so too if
he occupies himself with Torah, where will his livelihood come
from? Therefore it states HaKadosh Baruch Hu sustains you,
meaning, contrary to what you might think, by giving Tzedakah
and doing Chessed this mans possessions will be blessed (as
Chazal have said [Gemara Taanit, 9a] give a tenth [Hebrew
Aser] in order to become enriched [Hebrew Asher]). So
too in regard to Chessed, as we wrote above in the 8th perek). So
too in regard to learning Torah, when a man learns continually
Heaven forbid that he will not experience any loss. Chazal said
(Yalkut Shimoni, perashat Bshalach, remez #261) that it was for
this reason (i.e., in order to teach this lesson) HaKadosh Baruch
Hu commanded that a vial of Mannah be kept stored away to
display to the coming generations. This is what the prophet
Yirmiyah demonstrated to Israel, that HaKadosh Baruch Hu is
able to sustain the entire nation while they are toiling in Torah
even without any natural means of support, just like in those
earlier days, as Rashi explains there (Shemot 16:32); please see
that reference. That is the explanation of his precise language
HaKadosh Baruch Hu sustains you, meaning, your livelihood
will be given to you in a supernormal way.
And that which was stated (Gemara Shabbat 104a) and will
tie upon you a crown for Olam Haba, means that HaKadosh
Baruch Hu, in His glory will as if to say crown him with a
crown, just as a father who loves his only son will personally do
things to beautify him. That is the intent of the pasuk (Shemuel
I 2:30) I will honor those who honor Me (Meaning as if to
say HaKadosh Baruch Hu Himself, and not through the agency
of a messenger, will give this person honor), and those who
disdain Me will be shamed, (meaning, that HaKadosh Baruch
Hu Himself will not shame them but He will merely remove His
Providence from them, and automatically they will be humiliated
and shamed) because the attribute of goodness is much more
prevalent than the attribute of retribution.
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9. Rabbi Yehudah Davis ZTL, as quoted by his son in law, Rabbi Shlomo
Diamond, Shlitah, identifies ones Yetzer Hara as (an aspect of) his human
nature.
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An explanation of how great is this subject of
setting aside a portion of ones money to do acts
of kindness.
Now, after having explained the truthfulness of these concepts
that we explained in the preceding chapter the enormity of this
attribute \ character trait of Chessed and its imperative at all times
as the opportunity presents itself, and we have also demonstrated
to everyone the rebuttal to the argument of the Yetzer Hara who
wants to prevent us from doing this mitzvah, how correct and
appropriate it is for a man who was blessed by Hashem in his
business to set aside a portion of his money (100 silver rubles,
or 200 silver rubles if he is wealthy every man based on what
he can afford) into a permanent fund in his house to be used for
Chessed (egs., giving out loans). This strategy will yield great
benefits from many different aspects: One it is well known
that the Yetzer Hara comes to a man with many complaints
and excuses, in order to pevent him from this mitzvah, as we
explained in the prior chapters, and it is very hard for a man
to continually overcome his human nature.9 And even if he
himself wanted to do Chessed to others, his family will not let
him, and they will cast doubt on everyone who approaches him
to borrow money. But that would not be the case if he had set
aside money specifically to be used for this purpose, in order to
continually fulfill the mitzvah of extending kindness. In so doing
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it will be easy for him to constantly observe this mitzvah as the

law requires.
I know the reader will think to himself Why should I set aside
money for Chessed and lend out small amounts as the Gmachs
\ Free Loan Associations do in all cities? It is much better if I
will lend to the extent that I can afford a single large amount to
a single businessman since this is also a mitzvah, as we know
very well that doing kindness (namely, giving out loans) applies
equally to the poor and to the rich. But truthfully thinking this
way is a big mistake! First, it is a greater mitzvah to lend to a poor
person than to lend to a rich person, as Chazal have said (Gemara
Babba Metziah 71a) in commentary on the pasuk (Shemot 22:24)
When you lend money to My nation, to the poor among you,
poor and rich the poor take precedence. And now since this
man can only afford to set aside 100 rubles of his money for
lending out, if he lends this 100-ruble loan to someone rich he
will not have anything left to lend to the poor. Moreover, the
text has since related (Mishle 2:4-5) If you search for it as you
would search for silver \ money, then you will understand a fear
of Hashem, and it is well known in business practices that an
investment of 100 rubles which is diversified into many ventures
will return a much greater profit than a single investment of
100-rubles in one venture. So too in our case. When one extends
Chessed \ loans from this fund and he lends a small amount to
everyone as this is the custom - with this money he can fulfill
many, many hundreds of proactive mitzvot every year. But that
would not be the case if he lent a single large amount to one
person; over the passage of time he would only realize the gain
of only a few mitzvot.
Also, the statement of the Tanna in Avot (3:15) is also well known
The world is judged with goodness (referring to the Attibute
of Mercy) and the judgment is proportional to the scope and
magnitude of mans deeds; everything depends on a majority of
his deeds (meaning, the world is judged on the basis of a majority
of their deeds, if they were for a good purpose they will emerge
innocent in their judgment). The Rambam has written there is his
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commentary on the Mishnah The text is not written as based on

the greatness of their deeds because it is much more appropriate
that a man work towards a majority of his deeds being good,
even though each individual deed by itself is a small thing, rather
than if he should do a single great deed. By way of an example
If one man distributed Tzedakah to many poor people, each one
was given a small amount until the total reached one silver ruble,
and the second man overcame his Yetzer Hara and gave the poor
man one entire silver ruble which man accomplished the better
mitzvah - even though this second man did fulfill the mitzvah
as the law required since the borrower was in need of an entire
silver ruble, nevertheless, the merit of the first man is very much
greater because when a man does many good deeds, as he was
commanded by Hashem Yitbarach, the soul of this man becomes
elevated because he acquired for his soul a good acquisition.
Also, by virtue of this he becomes sanctified, as the text states
(Bamidbar 15:40) In order that you will remember and do all of
My mitzvot and become sanctified to your G-d. This first man
trained himself to do good by the frequent repetition of that
deed (Chessed) and he achieved a strong acquisition for his soul
many times greater than that second man who did not overcome
his human nature except for that one time. Therefore, On High,
Heaven accounts for him only one single mitzvah. So too in our
discussion; as one sets aside a sum for the mitzvah of Chessed
giving out loans - in small amounts to many borrowers, in
so doing with the passage of time he will have accrued many
hundreds of mitzvot; but that would not be the case if he only
lent money once (viz., a single large sum) to important people.
Please see the following Hagahah.
Hagahah
I know that it is in the nature of man to prefer to lend money
primarily to rich people because he is less likely to suffer a loss
(i.e., it is more likely that the lender will be repaid) whereas in
an instance where money is lent to a poor person someone who
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)10. will suffer a loss - if the loan is not assigned to the Beit Din (Pruzbol
or if no collateral was given to the lender to hold as a security for the
repayment of the loan.
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is under lifes pressures, even though up until now he has been

creditworthy, or the lender will take a security from this poor
man for the loan, nevertheless, as time goes by it could happen
that the value of the security will diminish and the lender will
lose the value of his guarantee. But notwithstanding that, as one
ponders this argument, this too is a false argument, and it was
for this very reason the Torah found it necessary to warn us (as
brought down in Gemara Babba Metziah 71a) A poor man and a
rich man, the poor man takes precedence. Truthfully regarding
these and other comparable arguments, the Torah states (Devarim
15:9) Beware not to allow a criminal thought to come into your
mind, saying the Sabbatical Year is approaching, the year in
which there is no planting, and you will look with contempt at
your fellow Jew who is impoverished and you will give nothing
to him and he will cry out to Hashem about you (because of you)
and you will have caused a sin, meaning, we are warned by the
Torah specifically because he is indigent and the loan will be
extended until the Shemitah year, and it is likely that the lender
will suffer a loss.10 Regarding this the Torah concludes (Devarim
15:10) you shall assuredly give him because in the merit of
doing so - of giving this poor man a loan at a time that is close to
the Shemitah Year, Hashem your G-d will bless you in everything
that you do.
Also, by virtue of having money set aside for this purpose it will
be possible for this mitzvah to be continually carried out by the
members of his family, even at a time when he is occupied with
his business while traveling on the road or while he is asleep.
Also, others will learn from his example and they will do the
same thing, and in so doing he will be favored before Hashem
since he brought them to do this. This is the reason for the
statement in Avot (4:12): Rebbe Shimon says There are three
crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood (the service
of the Beit HaMikdash) and the crown of monarchy, but the
crown of a good name is superior to them all, since by virtue of
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the good name which is publicly ascribed to this man because of

his good deeds, everyone wants to run to bond \ to emulate those
deeds and in so doing the Name of Hashem is sanctified. It is
my opinion that that is what Chazal have said (Gemara Shabbat
153a) Who is the person who has a share in Olam Haba?
(He said to them) (Yeshaya 30:21) And your ears will listen
to a word spoken from behind you, saying Go on this road \
path. The Midrash Mishle (22nd perasha) relates the following
in commentary on the pasuk (Mishle 22:1) A good reputation is
preferred to wealth. Come and see just how great is the value
of a good reputation, that even if a person has a thousand golden
Dinars and has not acquired a good name, he has not acquired
anything. In all likelihood the reason why he has not acquired
a good name is because he did not give Tzedakah, or use his
money to do Chessed \ to extend loans. That being so, what is the
value of all of his wealth, especially since he will have to give a
reckoning and an accounting for not using his money in the way
intended by The One who gave it to him.
In reality, all of a persons money over and above his basic needs
is merely a trust given to him by the Master of the Universe,
who designated this man as the executor of that money for the
purpose of being merciful to the downtrodden, and to extend
Chessed \ to give out loans to those in need, as the Alshich wrote
as follows in commentary on the pasuk (Shemot 22:24) When
you lend money to My people, to the poor among you: This is
comparable to someone who assigns his money to his son to act
as his executor in the distribution of that money, with the obvious
intent not to leave his other children penniless. The result is that
the portion of money intended for each of his children is merely
left with this one particular son for safekeeping. So too in this
regard. When Hashem enriched this one person, is it plausible
that He would leave the rest of His children penniless?! They
are also His children! Rather, He designated this man as His
executor to distribute that money to the indigent, and any money
above his own basic needs is intended for the poor. The Alshich
is quoted up until this point. This is what the text is stating
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The poor among you, meaning, the money allocated for the
basic needs of the poor man is left in the custody of this man for
his benefit; therefore he may not withhold it from him.
Even if it should happen that by continually performing this
mitzvah (of doing Chessed, i.e., of lending money) he will
occasionally suffer a loss of several silver rubles, that should
not cause him to become sad, since everyone knows that there
is no business venture in the entire world - a store or some other
venture, either big or small that will not experience a loss
whenever credit is extended, since the number of ventures that
are completely assured of no losses will routinely make only very
little profit and still the entire world deals in business day and
night. It is not necessary to look at every detail of every business
transaction; instead one must look at the broad picture of that
enterprise and see if it is a good business. So too in our topic.
One need not agonize over the details of a particular loan, since
generally speaking this11 is a good venture. It is appropriate \
good for a person to resolve to do this holy mitzvah every year
and set aside four or five silver rubles for this purpose and a
man who is wealthy should set aside even more money for this
mitzvah in proportion to his wealth. And then even if it should
happen that on occasion he will experience a loss in doing this
mitzvah, he should not become saddened by that, since he has
already conceded that possibility as an acceptable risk, just as he
will not be saddened by spending money to buy the mitzvah of
Tefillin. (Please see the following Hagahah).
Hagahah
Also, everyone knows that because of our sins nowadays
Heaven does not grant wealth to a man for a long period of time;
only for a period of a few years (and on occasion, G-d forbid,
only for a period of a few months). The Wheel of the Worlds
11. Meaning, doing Chessed \ extending loans.
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Destiny is speeding up because of our many sins - and it is

virtually impossible to find a rich man who will live out his entire
life in a state of wealth. The reason for this was explained by us
elsewhere,12 and so it is appropriate for anyone who is wise and
understands this reality, that for as long as Heaven designates him
as an executor of the money given over to his custody he must
see to it to use it for Tzedakah and Chessed, and it is very likely
to benefit him so that he will not lose this trust \ money given
to him, and he will remain wealthy since he is using that wealth
properly. And even if G-d forbid a sin of his should cause
this money to be taken away from him in his lifetime, just as it
happened that it was taken away from his friend, nevertheless,
whatever he grabbed for Tzedakah and Chessed those mitzvot
will remain with him.
The statement of Chazal is also well known (Gemara Babba Batra
10a) Just as a persons sustenance (the income from which he
will earn his livelihood in the coming year Rashi) is determined
for him on Rosh Hashanah, so too are a mans losses (the losses
he will sustain in the coming year) determined for him on Rosh
Hashanah. If he merited it (Yeshaya 58:7) Extend your bread
to (take care of the needs of) your fellow Jew, and if he did not
merit it (58:7) bring the abject poor into your home (meaning,
that this man himself will become a pauper in his own house as
a consequence of his money being taken away by other people).
This happened to the sons of the sister of Rebbe Yochanan ben
Zakai. He saw in a dream that they were destined to lose seven
hundred Dinars in the coming year. He prodded them and took
from them (i.e., they gave him) money for Tzedakah until all
that was left over from the 700 Dinar sum was seventeen Dinars
which they did not give to Tzedakah. On the eve of Yom Kippur
12. Regarding this subject, please see the Mazal Elul English translation of the
Chafetz Chayims ZTL Kuntres Sfat Tamim (produced by the Mazal Elul
Congregation, published by the Mazal Press and distributed by Feldheim
Publishers 5769).
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the soldiers of the Caesar seized from them seventeen Dinars.

Rebbe Yochanan ben Zakai said to his nephews Dont be afraid,
because they wont take any more money away from you. Those
seventeen Dinars of yours were destined to be taken by them, and
those have now been taken away. They will not take any more
away from you. They asked him How do you know this?
He responded to them I saw it in a dream. They said to him
Why didnt you tell us what you dreamt so that we would have
given that amount to Tzedakah? He answered them: (I said
nothing to you about the dream) in order that all of the Tzedakah
you gave throughout the year would be for the sake of doing the
mitzvah.
Now to explain this statement of the Gemara: What is the meaning
of the use of the expression the losses he will sustain? Does a
person always have to suffer losses to his wealth?! Let Hashem
Yitbarach not give him wealth and dont cause him to sustain
losses! However, in reality the matter is as follows: Truthfully
no man alive is a perfect Tzadik, and he must be cleansed of his
sins and endure sufferings because of them. However, HaKadosh
Baruch Hu in His kindness exchanges those sufferings for some
losses to his wealth. This concept is brought down in Tanna
DeVei Eliyahu (Rabbah, at the beginning of the second perek,
as follows) Each and every day man is sold off and each and
every day he is redeemed \ bought back, as the pasuk relates
(Tehilim 31:6) I have entrusted my soul to You, redeem me.
The intent is as we wrote above: Every day, as the soul ascends
On High and validates everything this person did on that day, his
sins have caused him to be handed over to demonic punishing
forces (sold off is an expression of being handed over, as the
pasuk states (Shoftim 4:9) Because he was sold into the hand
of a woman). But HaKadosh Baruch Hu in His mercy redeems
this man \ this soul from a terrible punishment, and exchanges it
for a difficult suffering or for a loss to his possessions. One who
merits it will have his possessions diminished by some mitzvah
(instead of suffering a business loss or government seizure), for
example, Tzedakah and Chessed, and the like. This kind of a loss
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is preferred for several reasons: He gained a proactive mitzvah of

the Torah and he exchanged wheat chaff for precious gems. Also,
a mitzvah for which he spent money is at a much higher level
than a mitzvah acquired for free. This concept is expressed in the
holy Zohar in perashat Terumah. Also, the loss he experiences
by doing the mitzvah is only temporary, because in the end with
absolute certainty (please see the following Hagahah) HaKadosh
Baruch Hu will repay him double the loss he sustained, as the
pasuk relates (Devarim 15:10) and your heart should not be
displeased in giving him (Tzedakah) since it is because of this
that Hashem your G-d will bless you in all of your endeavors.
Hagahah
The general rule that a man must know is that in fulfilling the
mitzvot of Hashem Yitbarach as the law requires, with absolute
certainty no bad will come from this. And even if it seems to him
that he suffered a loss he should be confident that with absolute
certainty HaKadosh Baruch Hu will repay him double from some
other place. The main thing is that man must be careful not to
cause something bad to happen to himself because of a vile thing
that he did and bring upon himself a loss and poverty, since
there are many things that can bring a man to poverty. Chazal
have expressed this idea in Gemara Sukah (29b) For any one
of four different reasons the wealth of a breadwinner can fall
to oblivion please see that reference. However, by virtue of
fulfilling the mitzvot of Hashem Yitbarach, most certainly he will
not become destitute, G-d forbid. Regarding this I said there is
a nice hint to this in the Torah, by what is written in perashat
Reeh (Devarim 15:2-5) (This is the law of the Shemitah: Every
creditor shall relinquish the debt owed to him by his fellow Jew;
he shall not pressure his fellow Jew nor his brother for what is
owed to him because it is called a relinquishing for Hashem).
The gentile shall be pressured but the debt owed to you by your
brother shall be relinquished. However, (in so doing) there will
not be any poor among you because G-d will bless you in the
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land that Hashem your G-d is giving you to occupy. But this
will only be true if you obey the word of Hashem your G-d.
The expression However has no place in the flow of the pasuk
based on its simple meaning, and what relevance does it have to
the preceding pasuk? Rashi explains that this word However
is referring to the pasuk that follows it, specifically, When will
there be no poor among you because G-d blessed you in the land
only if you listen and obey.
In my humble opinion it seems to me to explain this at its
straightforward meaning by way of an example: Reuven agreed
to marry off his child to the daughter of Shimon. Reuven
promised to give his son a thousand gold pieces and so too did
Shimon promise the same amount to his daughter. They set the
date of the wedding on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, and one month
prior to the wedding in Adar they would deposit the money with
someone for safekeeping. Several days later before that time
Reuven met Shimon in the street and said to him I heard
about you that the thousand gold pieces you were to deposit for
safekeeping was invested in some business venture; do you want
to break the wedding agreement? Shimon responded and said
G-d forbid, there will be no reason from my side to cancel
the wedding and your fears are without any basis. Come with
me to my house and I will show you that the money is tied up
in sacks inside a chest, and they are ready to be handed over on
Rosh Chodesh Adar just as we agreed. My dear in-law, the most
important thing I ask of you is that there should be no basis for
cancelling the wedding from your side, because it has been made
known to me that with certainty that you want to invest all of
your money on some business venture; but from my side there
will be no reason to cancel the wedding.
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So too here. The Torah begins this topic in the prior pesukim
(Devarim 14:22-23) You shall tithe the entire crop of your
plantingand you shall eat before Hashem your G-d the tithe of
your grain Please see Rashi, that the pasuk is addressing two
tithes: the First Tithe and the Second Tithe. Then begins the
perasha (Devarim 26:12) When you are done tithing every tithe
of your produce which is addressing the Tithe for the poor
which is given in the third year of the Sabbatical cycle instead
of the Second tithe as Rashi explains there. Thus each year
one must set aside one fifth of his fields produce, and it is well
known that based on the way the world conducts itself that this
fifth is the bulk of the profit, while the remaining four fifths
are used to pay for the planting \ seeding and feeding workers,
as is evident from the text of the Torah in perashat Vayigash
(Beresheet 47:24) and you shall give a fifth (of your produce)
to Pharaoh; please see that reference. Following that (later on
in the Torah) the perasha begins with (Devarim 15:1) at the end
of (the cycle of) seven years you shall make a Shemitah, the
result being that one-seventh of the lands produce is taken out
of production apart from the two tithes. That being so, nearly a
third of the lands output is diminished. And now if one were
to say G-d forbid that in fulfilling the mitzvot of the Torah
it is impossible to do any business involving agriculture, and
that one can only do business by lending money with interest,
and subsequent to that the Torah explains the law regarding the
relinquishing of a monetary debt and states (Devarim 15:2-3)
This is the law of Shemitah ; every creditor will relinquish the
debt owed to him by his fellow Jewbut if you have a claim
against your brother you must relinquish it. And if you were to
say, G-d forbid, that in fulfilling the mitzvot of the Torah a man
must remain impoverished since he has lost a third of his land,
and if he invests in other ventures the Shemitah will negate them,
the Torah therefore concludes immediately, stating (Devarim
15:4) G-d will then bless you in the Landand there will not
be any more poor among you, meaning be careful that you
yourself should not be the reason why you became impoverished,
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him all of the elements he needs for his business, so that things will fall into
place in a way that is not literally normal, and because of this his business
succeeds greatly. Even if his business is focused on one specialty item
which is needed by only a few people, nevertheless, all of these people will
happen to approach him at the appropriate time to make his businesss
flourish and this man will become successful and wealthy. Thus we find
that by virtue of three things Beracha will appear in a mans house: By
Torah observance, as the pasuk states (Devarim 11:27) and the Beracha,
if you will listen; and on the character trait of ones trust; and by giving
back to Hashem a tenth of ones wealth. One who strengthens himself in
these three things with absolute certainty he is praiseworthy and it will
be good for him in this world and in the World to Come.
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because there are many things that man does which can cause
him to become impoverished, as we said above. But from Me
(i.e., from Hashem) you will not become impoverished because
most assuredly Hashem will bless you in all of your endeavors
meaning, I will give you blessings \ bounty13 and will pay
you back everything. But that is only if you will listen to the
Voice (Devarim 15:5) meaning; My blessing you is specifically
contingent on your fulfillment of the Torah.
And in a comparable sense, the Torah explained for us in perashat
Bhar (Vayikrah 25:20-21) and said and if you were to ask
What will we eat in the seventh year since there is no planting
and no harvesting of crops I will command My blessing onto
you (I will make the crops of the sixth year so bountiful that they
will last you for three years) in the sixth year and you will have
grain for three years. And so too in all aspects of life, man must
know that by virtue of fulfilling the mitzvot he will never suffer
G-d forbid anything bad. And if in his opinion he believes
that he suffered a loss in a certain place because he did fulfill
the Torah, know that with certainty some good will come to
him from some other place. We can infer this from the words
13. Regarding this topic, please see the Mazal Elul English Translation of the
Chafetz Chayims Sefer Shem Olam \ Kuntres Nefutzot Yisrael, produced by
the Mazal Elul Congregation, printed by the Mazal Press and distributed
by Feldheim Publishers, 5771: Chafetz Chayim Kuntres Nefutzot Yisrael
8th chapter

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An explanation of the ways by which HaKadosh Baruch Hu manages His

world:
Moreover there is yet something else you must understand; that there are
three methods by which HaKadosh Baruch Hu manages His world..
Three: There is yet another level of conduct that is balanced in between
miraculous and natural, namely, at the level of Beracha \ Bounty. A
miracle is something that is completely ouside of the ordinary (lit., new),
but this level of conduct is not entirely miraculous, rather, this bounty is
sent via the efforts of ones hands and this bounty increases greatly out of
proportion to the effort put into it (as Chazal have said [Gemara Babba
Metziah 42a] as one counts out a tithe, one must say May it be Your
Will to send great bounty to this pile of wheat) or Heaven arranges for
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of Chazal (Gemara Sanhedrin 99b) in commentary on the pasuk

(Mishle 16:26) a soul toils (exclusively) for its own benefit;
you toiled in Torah in this place, and the Torah will toil for you
in another place.
Now, we have elaborated on all of these topics in order for man
to understand what is ahead of him, since in the end every man is
necessarily going to experience some kind of property loss and
a loss of money in order that he will be cleansed of his sins,
and he will not have to G-d forbid endure the punishment
of Gehinnom or other severe punishments. Therefore, how
important it is for a man not to have his hand closed to Tzedakah
and Chessed, since then G-d forbid he himself will bring
abject poverty into his home, or he will have to go to doctors,
as Chazal have said (Midrash Shir HaShirim Rabbah 6:11) A
house that is not open to the poor will be open to doctors. It is
much better for man to behave with some intelligence from the
outset and keep his house open to the poor, and also set aside
money with which to do Chessed; then it will be good for him in
all circumstances.
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14th chapter
A continuation of the subject begun in the
preceding chapter.
Now we will return to the subject of extending kindness to others,
as mentioned above. Now, I know we have not completely
crossed over this hurdle since the Yetzer Hara still comes with
other various stratagems and says: Why should I be the most
pious and righteous person over everyone else? Now So and So
are much richer than I am and they are not concerned at all about
this subject of running to do Tzedakah and Chessed. Rather,
everyone is accumulating wealth to bequeath to their children.
I will be just like them and only on occasion will I also extend
kindness to people. Addressing this argument I will say to you
If two men came over to you and offered you an opportunity
to buy a nice courtyard, and they promised you that as time went
on the property would increase substantially in value very much,
and these men are known throughout the world as honest men
and very expert in matters of big real estate ventures, and you
yourself know that based on what they are saying you will not
lose any money (lit., not a stone will fall to the ground). In the
meantime, another man came along who is the biggest real estate
developer in the entire world, and he praised the property very,
very much You would hurry very fast with great impetus to
acquire that property even though you would now have to spend
many thousands of silver rubles, and you would not think for
even one moment that this business deal is more appropriate
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only for the wealthiest of people since they are the ones who
are successful in these kinds of deals, and not me since I am
merely a small person. Rather, just the opposite, you would be
happy and pleased that Hashem Yitbarach presented you with
this opportunity by which you would become elevated in society
and acquire an important reputation comparable to the most
prestigious people in the country.
So too my brother in this matter. This venture which is the
business of running to do Chessed with all of your might was
already impressed upon us by the two greatest men in the world,
men who are world renowned as trustworthy and very expert in
all aspects of wisdom and these two men are Abraham Aveinu
AH and Shelomo HaMelech AH - and they praised to us very,
very much this venture of running to give Tzedakah and doing
Chessed. They revealed to us that in so doing we would be
elevated to the highest level of success. The first man in this
regard was Abraham Aveinu AH who strengthened himself in
this character trait with all of his might to do good to mankind
both in matters of spirituality, as he taught people to know
Hashem, and in matters of hospitality eating and drinking and
he invited them to his house with great respect and service (lit.,
subordination) to them. He also planted trees for them for shade
(Hebrew ESHEL \ are an acronym Aleph - Eating \
, Shin - Drinking \ , Lamed escorting \) .
All this comes from the trait of doing Chessed and goodness.
Abraham also commanded his children in subsequent generations
to also follow in this path in life, and they would be very successful
because of this, since in so doing all of the blessings that Hashem
blessed him with would be realized by his descendants. So
too Shelomo HaMelech AH said to us that whoever runs to
do Tzedakah and Chessed will himself find life, Tzedakah and
honor \ respect (Mishle 21:21) (and if he doesnt do this mitzvah
routinely, but only does it occasionally, he cannot receive these
blessings because to do so only occasionally is not what the
pasuk is referring to when it says to run after Tzedakah). More
than this, HaKadosh Baruch Hu, who is the supreme All-Seeing,
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Who is elevated above all, He confirms that this occupation is

very good, as related in the pasuk (Beresheet 18:17-19) Hashem
said Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham, and
Abraham will grow to be a nation that is great and mightysince
I love him because he will instruct \ command his children and
the descendants who follow after him, and they will guard the
pathway of Hashem and will do Tzedakah and justice, in order
that I will bring onto Abraham From this pasuk the Gemara
Yevamot (79a) learns this subject of doing kindness \ extending
kindness to others, since Tzedakah and Chessed are one and the
same in doing good to others and what more is there to say
about this subject.
So too has the text revealed to us that acquiring this merchandise
(i.e., internalizing the character traits of giving Tzedakah and
doing Chessed) is also good (i.e., lasting) to bequeath that merit
to his children who follow after him forever in all subsequent
generations until the end of time. The pasuk (Tehilim 103:17)
relates this as Hashems Chessed will be extended to those
who fear Him forever and ever which is addressing those who
strengthen themselves \ internalize the character trait of Chessed,
as brought down in the Yerushalmi in Masechet Pehah (1:1).
This acquisition is unlike the purchase of a mere piece of property
which transfers from hand to hand even within his lifetime, and
all the more so after he passes away.
Now please come and see what is written in Masechet Kallah (1st
perek): They say about Rebbe Tarfon that he was phenomenally
wealthy and he did not distribute gifts to the indigent (meaning,
he did not give Tzedakah to the poor as appropriate to his wealth).
Once, Rebbe Akivah met him and he asked him Rebbe, would
you like me to buy one or two cities for you? He (Rebbe
Tarfon) answered, Yes! Immediately Rebbe Tarfon got up
and gave him four thousand gold pieces. Rebbe Akivah took
them and distributed them to the poor. Some time later Rebbe
Tarfon found him and said to him Where are those cities that
you bought for me? Rebbe Akivah held him by the arm and
brought him to the Beit Midrash. He brought over a sefer of
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Tehilim and placed it in front of them and they began to read

from it until they came to the pasuk (112:9) One who distributes
charity to the poor will have that merit stand for him forever.
Rebbe Akivah said to Rebbe Tarfon This is the city I bought
for you. Rebbe Tarfon stood up and kissed him, and said to
him My Rebbe, my teacher; My Rebbe in wisdom, and
my teacher in the proper way to live life; and then he gave him
even more money to distribute to the poor. Now, Rebbe Akivah
from the outset did not G-d forbid lie to Rebbe Tarfon in
saying that he would buy some cities for him. His intent was that
the angels and supernal Chambers \ Heichalot (places that are
built by the mitzvot done by this person during his life, where a
persons Neshama will exist forever) that are created by this holy
mitzvah that will exist for all eternity (they are also called by
the name city, as related by the Midrash (Mishle, 21st perasha)
in commentary on the pasuk (Mishle 21:22) A city of strong
warriors, a Chacham went up. A city of strong warriors this
is a city of the ministering angels; a Chacham went up is
a reference to Moshe Rabbeinu - please see that reference).
The extent of the honor with which a man is respected there (in
Olam Haba) in doing this mitzvah also lasts forever. This is
the meaning of the pasuk (Tehilim 112:9) His righteousness \
Tzedakah Chessed will stand for him forever, his honor will
be greatly elevated, and Rebbe Tarfon understood this in the
end. Moreover, he did not harbor any animosity against Rebbe
Akivah, G-d forbid, and in fact to the contrary, it was reason for
him to increase his affection even more for Rebbe Akivah and
he kissed him on his head because in distributing his money
to various Tzedakot he exchanged temporary courtyards for
Chambers \ Heichalot which are everlasting. Given this is so,
how appropriate and correct is it for every man to see to it to
build for himself while he is still alive a house for his soul that
will last eternally, and that is the house \ Heichal of Chessed.
What is now left for us to deal with is only the argument by
which the Yetzer Hara seduces man to believe that he must
preserve his wealth in order to bequeath it to his children who
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follow after him. That too is a false argument. Do you think that
just because he loves his children he must be cruel to himself?!
He has an obligation as well to take pity on himself! Stop and
think! If they sentenced someone who rebelled against the king
to a punishment of intense and bitter suffering, that they would
stand him on a bed of burning charcoals or they would punish
him with a monetary fine, would there be any doubt in a persons
mind that it would be better to suffer the tortures of earth and
not give up his money because he was being merciful to his
children?! He would give every single thing that he possessed
for the sake of saving his life. Even if the punishment was to give
up everything he had, and obviously if the punishment was to
give only half or a third of his wealth, with absolute certainty he
would be joyful to do that in order to save himself form terrible
sufferings. He would not give any thought at all that in giving up
all of his money to save himself there would be nothing left for
his children. And if someone were to advise him to do just the
opposite, he would think that man was a fool and an idiot.
And you, mortal man, understand clearly what lies before you!
It is well known the punishment of Gehinnom is extraordinarily
severe and bitter, and that everyone who passes into it cries tears
like a cascading river, as Chazal have said (Gemara Eruvin 19a);
so too the other judgments that are decreed against a person after
his death which are also exceedingly harsh. And yet a man during
his lifetime has the option to redeem his soul and protect himself
from all this, and that option is to use his mind to constantly think
of ways to be good to the poor, with Tzedakah and Chessed. The
text expresses this as (Tehilim 41:2) Praiseworthy is the one
who contemplates the needs of the poor, on his day of bad \ evil
(i.e., judgment) Hashem will protect him, and evil specifically
means Gehinnom, as the pasuk states (Mishle 16:4) also the
Rasha on the day of retribution. How is it possible that a man
will not take pity on himself to save himself from Gehinnom
and from other comparably severe punishments?! Tanna DeVei
Eliyahu (Rabbah, 27th perek) explains the pasuk (Yeshaya 58:7)
Dont hide yourself from the needs of your relatives as meaning
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dont hide yourself \ ignore doing good and having mercy

and compassion on oneself. (Please see the following Hagahah).
All this is intended to reflect on the words that we have written,
and in so doing - with the help of Hashem we have refuted all of
the arguments into which one would fall.
Hagahah
I am going to quote here what was written in the Hagahot \
footnotes to the sefer Yesh Nochalim (which was written by
the sage the Shlah HaKadosh who was the son of the author
of Yesh Nochalim). There is a horrible sickness that I saw
in the world and it is rampant throughout mankind. A man who
was given riches and possessions by Elokim, and yet his soul
is not satisfied by the good in Olam Haba, meaning, that at
the time of his death even though he leaves all of his possession
to his survivors and will take nothing with him. Despite this,
even at this time his money is more precious to him than his own
impoverished and pitiful soul, and he pays no attention to what
he is deficient in, namely, that he does not distribute his money
as gifts to Tzedakot as appropriate to his wealth, in order that in
so doing the merit of his righteousness will proceed before him
on this road to protect him from all of the groups of annihilating
angels and from the armies of angels of fury and wrath and
annihilation that fill the entire void from the earth to the Heavens.
His soul will necessarily be forced to pass through all of these
armies and forces of defilement who will approach him and
impede his passage along this road, and they will inflict all kinds
of tortures and sufferings onto him G-d should save us from
this. Then at that time he will need righteousness to walk before
him to protect him along this road and bring him to the place that
he prepared for himself. Many men dont pay attention to this
while they are alive, and in their death when they are detached
from life What a fool! What an ignoramus! Think back for
whom you were working and toiling for throughout your life, it
was for a world that was not yours. And even now at this moment
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when your soul is leaving since you are dying, and yet you can
still acquire your world in one moment, and very great reward
will be given to you by virtue of your money Still, you cannot
give it up, even though someone alien to you will consume it,
and against your will your money will be given to someone who
did not toil for it, and you will take absolutely nothing in your
hand. Is there anything more bizzare and incomprehensible than
this in the entire world?! And if you were to say to yourself
that you did give Tzedakah during your life forget about that
argument! Because the value of what you did would not even fill
a thimble, and with absolute certainty that would not be sufficient
to walk the length of the vast road that lies ahead of you. Chazal
have already described in Gemara Ketubot (67b) the holiness
of Mar Ukvah AH, that after doing many great acts of charity
during his life, he said at the moment of his passing on: I have
to journey along a very long road, and the provisions that are
prepared are meager. He distributed his money and gave away
half of all of his wealth to charity. And what Chazal have said
(Gemara Ketubot 67b) One who gives away his money should
not give away more than one-fifth of it, the Gemara there says
- That statement applies only during his life, but after (i.e., at
the time of) his death it can be completely given away. This
Chacham Mar Ukvah AH - did not have the same mindset of
these ignoramuses and fools who take no pity on the life of their
souls, and they leave everything they have to their inheritors. A
man is closest to his own soul and who will have mercy on his
meager soul except for himself. Now, Mar Ukvah, who was one
of the great Cedars of Lebanon, a mighty pillar of Torah said and
did this, what should we say we, who are as fragile as moss
clinging to a wall.
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Therefore, it is appropriate for anyone with intelligence to set

aside for himself and give a generous portion to these Tzedakot,
as our perfect sages have said (Gemara Babba Metziah 62a) Your
life comes first. What can be done or what more perfection to
ones destitute soul can come from leaving to his children the
efforts of all of his work and all of his money, and he will have
been thrown into a lowly grave and into the dirt which was his
source, and all of his glory will be turned over to the annihilator.
They will sit in their big, sumptuous and opulent homes with the
sound of music and pleasure, and he is sitting by himself and
wailing and groaning. His head will be lowered into the earth in
anguish, and the sound of crying as he is laid out among the briars
and thorns. They are using his money to eat gourmet foods, and
dirt and bitter clusters are his bread; bitter, unripe grapes are his
lot, the venom of snakes and serpents. They will be nursed on
red garments purchased with his money, and he will embrace
piles of waste infested with worms and maggots. That being so,
what gain is there for his destitute soul from all of his money, as
they lower him into his grave. Therefore, anyone who was given
wisdom and understanding by Elokim should keep this in mind:
If he is not for himself who will be for him?! And if not now
then when?! There is no doing in the depths of Sheol where
he is going. Thus one should not put aside his soul for the sake of
another soul, meaning, his soul takes precedence over the souls
of his family as he leaves everything to his inheritors. It is proper
to seize (internalize) this eventuality and during his lifetime not
rest his hand, since one who is in fear of Elokim will satisfy both
parties and give out a very great portion of his money to Tzedakot,
and the balance leave for his children all this so that he will also
take pleasure from his money and will take along with him to his
final resting place the food to sustain his means, since the road
he will be traveling is very long. Therefore, during his life his
soul should be blessed to take with him the provisions it will
need throughout the journey along the long road, and deal kindly
with the lowly souls and give Tzedakah to the poor. The merit of
giving this Tzedakah will stand for him for all generations. He
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will enjoy the incidental outcome of these mitzvot in this world,

while the principal reward will remain intact for him in Olam
Haba. (Please see further on in the third section of this sefer, in
the 4th perek, what more we wrote in quoting his name regarding
how to behave in this way).
And if Hashem blessed him with great wealth and he has no time
to personally involve himself in acts of Chessed on a regular
basis (because if he does have time the mitzvah is much greater
when he is personally involved than if he appointed an agent
to do this, as brought down in Gemara Kedushin 41a) then he
should conduct himself in this regard as he conducts himself in
matters of his business and appoint people under his management
who will carry out his orders since he cant involve himself in
everything so too this is what he should do here. The rule to
follow is that this venture which will last him for all eternity
why should it be any less important than any of his other limited
ventures that are insignificant and will eventually expire?! And
if he cant afford to hire someone to do this, he should search for
a trustworthy person in his city who is G-d fearing, who wants to
work in this mitzvah, and give him control of this money to be
used for this mitzvah.
This entire subject is not specifically limited to someone who
is rich; rather every man should do this. Even someone who is
not rich (please see the following Hagahah) should save himself
slowly over the course of time and set aside some money from
whatever profits he earns, as we will explain further on with
Hashems help. He should use this money to establish a small,
regular free-loan fund (a Gmach) in his house with a fund of ten
silver rubles or twenty silver rubles; every man based on what
he can afford. Even if he lends money to poor people from his
small Gmach, one or two gold coins for a week, or the like,
in so doing he is also fulfilling the Torahs mitzvah of (Shemot
22:24) When you lend money to My people and it makes no
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difference if it is done in a big way or in a small way as long as

his intention is sincerely for the sake of Heaven.
Hagahah
Even though from the perspective of law this man is exempt from
this mitzvah because he cant make ends meet, nevertheless, we
see that every single Jew buys a Talit for himself even though
he has no money, and in this circumstance all Authorities are
unanimous in ruling this man is exempt from buying a Talit.
Still, everyone urges himself on with all of his might (to acquire
a Talit) since it is the desire of every single Jew to put himself
into a position where he is obligated to fulfill this mitzvah, in
order that in so doing he will fulfill the Will of Hashem Yitbarach.
And so too in this matter, if a man will set aside a small amount
of money for this purpose and lend it to Jews he is fulfilling a
proactive mitzvah of the Torah. It is proper and appropriate for
everyone who recognizes the enormity of this character trait to
cause himself to become involved in this obligation.
And how wonderful it would be if this idea would spread

throughout our people, a holy nation, if everyone would exert an
effort to do this mitzvah. As a consequence of this the entire world
would be filled with this quality of kindness, then necessarily all of
the worlds travails \ problems and suffering would be cancelled.
In my opinion, this is the intent of the statement in Tanna DeVei
Eliyahu (Rabbah, 23rd perek) When Israel was subjugated in
Egypt, they all gathered togetherand forged a mutual covenant
to do kindness to each other. And the expression theyforged
a mutual covenant means the entire nation, even the richest
and poorest among them they all did the most Chessed that
they could possibly do with each other. This character trait of
the kindness they shared with each other was one of the reasons
that caused the redemption of Israel. This idea is as I expressed
it above (in the 5th perek, in the Hagahah) quoting the pesiktah
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(as brought down in Yalkut Shimoni, perashat BShalach, remez

#251). G-d in His great mercy should strengthen us in this holy
attribute, and in practicing this character trait we should merit
everything that is good both here in this world and there in Olam
Haba.
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15th chapter
In this chapter we will explain that doing Chessed
atones sins just as a Korban on the Mizbeyach. We
will explain several important topics that relate to
lending money with a Heter Iskah (a loan that
has a business investment aspect attached to it).
Now even though we have counseled - with the help of Hashem
good advice in order to strengthen this attribute of kindness in
the world, still, in order that the reader should not think this is all
strange, that I am urging this on each and every person, whether
he is rich or he is not rich that he should see to it to establish a
free-loan service in his home. Regarding this I will answer you
back, my dear brother, and say If the Beit HaMikdash existed
in our times and the Mizbeyach was functioning, every single
person would be enthusiastic to make it a point of being in Eretz
Yisrael at least occasionally, or at the very least once in his life,
and offer up a sacrifice - a Guilt Offering or a Burnt Offering
on the Mizbeyach, each person based what he needed in order
to affect an atonement for his soul. This journey to and from
Eretz Yisrael would obviously cost him a lot of money and yet
it would not be strange at all to him or to anyone else that he
would spend all of this money. In fact to the contrary, he would
be happy at the fact that he merited to offer up a Korban for of
his sins before The King, Hashem. Truthfully this is something
every man should see to do throughout his life, to fix the wrong
done by his sins, and he should not be bent crooked before
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the King of Glory, before whose eyes everything that is bad is

alien. Thus, so too in our topic, that we believe that when a
man involves himself appropriately in this task his sins will be
atoned, just as in the past they would be atoned by offering up
sacrifices, and even more so than by bringing Korbanot. This
idea is expressed in Avot DeRebbe Natan (4:5) as follows: Once
Rebbe Yochanan ben Zakai was traveling out of Yerushalayim
and Rebbe Yehoshua was walking behind him and he saw the
Beit HaMikdash destroyed. Rebbe Yehoshua said Woe unto us
because of this, this place which atoned the sins of Israel lays
destroyed! Rebbe Yochanan ben Zakai answered him My son,
dont let it upset you, we have a means of atonement just like the
Beit HaMikdash. And what is that means? It is the merit of doing
kindness, as the pasuk states (Hoshea 6:6) because it is kindness
that I desire and not sacrifices. With absolute certainty, whoever
Hashem has given understanding to should see to it not to be lax
in doing Chessed, and create an established Gmach in his home,
each man based on his means; and this will stand for him as an
atonement just as bringing a Korban on the Mizbeyach.
Now, we have elaborated extensively on all of this in order to
dispel the mindset created by the Yetzer Hara which has spread
throughout many places because of our many sins to do just
the opposite, namely, immediately as someone comes into some
money ten silver rubles or more the Yetzer Hara persuades him
not to lend this money to anyone, even to the most trustworthy
person. Instead, he takes this money to a moneylender in the
city who will lend out this money with interest, in order that this
mans money will return a profit back to him. Because of our
many sins great damage has occurred because of this. First,
many of these men are simple people who know nothing about
this subject of lending money using a Heter Iskah. When this
man goes to the moneylender, he says to him: Take this money
and let it return a profit of X percent, and he is not at all
careful to enter into a business contract with the borrower (i.e.,
to write a Heter Iskah), and he takes a signed document from
the borrower guaranteeing his investment, as per the law of the
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profit or loss was generated. The parties agree that in lieu of an oath he
can pay an agreed percent of the investment half of the money and thus
)buy out his obligation to swear an oath. (DH
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government; a contract whereby the borrower agrees to repay

the loan with interest. This is absolutely forbidden since the
lender has no knowledge of what constitutes a Heter Iskah. 14
It is commonly known that lending money with interest affects
a person returning back to life after his death. Second, even
if a Heter Iskah was written to conform to the detail of law,
nevertheless it is the cause of extensively diminishing the level
of Chessed in the world. It has been written in our books One
of the reasons why the Torah forbid lending with interest was in
order to strengthen the attribute of kindness in the world, and in
so doing Hashem Yitbarach would also act with kindness to the
world in His great mercy.
In earlier years this evil behavior was not so widespread and
existed only among those who had a lot of money, or, at least
someone who was lending one hundred or two hundred silver
rubles (which would return a sizeable profit) and needed the
profit \ the income of that money to live on, as we cant expect
someone to lend out all of his money as an act of Chessed.
(However, he has to be careful that the Heter Iskah he uses is
written correctly as the law requires. Regarding this, please
study carefully the Chochmat Adam in the 132nd section).
But nowadays because of our many sins this mindset has
become so widespread in many places that even someone who
has only a few silver rubles which could only generate at most
the smallest amount of profit will nevertheless immediately run
to the money lender to give him those few rubles to lend out at
interest, and it is as if the very foundation of this holy character
trait of Chessed has been rendered obsolete because of our very
14. A Heter Iskah in its proper form is a loan comprised of two parts:
Half the money lent is a pure loan and must be completely repaid by the
borrower at its due date. The second half of the money is structured as
a business investment. If the investment makes money, that money is
divided between the lender and the borrower according to the terms of
their agreement. If this investment portion loses money or is completely
lost, both men share the loss based on the terms of their agreement. The
borrower is obligated to swear when he returns the money as to how much
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many sins because there is not a single silver ruble to be found

that can be lent out except with those known moneylenders
who lend with interest.
My brothers and friends this is not the means (lit., the city) and
this is not the way chosen by Hashem! Even if these lending
contracts contained no forbidden interest, still, if a person
has the ability to lend money to a man who is widely known
to be trustworthy, or to take a loan security of good value in a
framework where he wont be aggravated later on when he tries
to collect back the money he lent he is obligated to lend him
to the best of his ability, as explained above (in the first part of
this sefer) in the laws of lending money, in the 1st perek. Rather,
man must put his trust in Hashem and believe that by virtue of
bonding to this character trait of Chessed, Hashem Yitbarach will
correspondingly act with him in exchange with the same quality
of Chessed, and because of this He will send him blessings in
all of his ventures. But people do just the opposite. Apart from
weakening the character trait of Chessed, they are given to taste
the fruit \ the reward of their deeds in this world, as many
of them will lose their money, and in the end they are not even
left with their principal money. In so doing they are fulfilling
what Chazal have said in Gemara Babba Metziah (71a) One
who lends with interest in the end his wealth will perish. So
too these people, even if they lend with a Heter Iskah, they are
comparable to those who lend with interest in one aspect since
they are weakening the character trait of Chessed. The Gemara
in Ketubot (66b) relates The preservation of wealth Lessen
it (meaning, lessen wealth in order to preserve it). Others say
Chessed, meaning, that one should lessen his worth by giving
it to Tzedakah and doing acts of Chessed, and in so doing his
wealth \ money will remain intact, and if not, it will be like
unsalted meat which will eventually spoil by itself. [This is one
of the things that cause poverty among Jews because of our
many sins that in times past most of the loans extended were in
the framework of routine kindness \ Chessed, and so HaKadosh
Baruch Hu conducted Himself with us with this same trait of
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Chessed; these were years of commerce and prosperity, which is

not the case today because of our many sins].
Now we will speak briefly on the topic of specifically lending
money in order to return a profit. First and foremost the Heter
Iskah must be structured to conform to the law in order that
he should not violate the esur of charging interest G-d forbid
because if that werent so, in the end all of his wealth would
diminish and would be completely consumed, as Chazal have
said in the Gemara (Babba Metziah 71a). This is in addition
to the extreme punishment associated with lending at interest
which would prevent his coming back to life after dying (as
Chazal have said [Yalkut Shimoni, Yechezkel, remez #375] that
at the time Yechezkel brought back to life those people who died
in the Valley of Dura, all of them came alive and stood up on their
feet; a great army arose as related in the text (Yechezkel 37:10)
except for one person who remained buried in the dirt because of
the esur of taking interest). Doing so is as if this person writes
about himself and validates the statement that he rejects the G-d
of Israel, as Chazal have said in Gemara Babba Metziah (71a)
please study that reference carefully. This is not the place to
explain the enormity of the devastation found in this subject
because of our many sins to the point where some men think of
this forbidden behavior as being perfectly permissible, and they
dont know that the are affecting the life of their very souls.
Therefore, the obligation on the person who extends these kinds
of loans for profit, as mentioned above, at the very least, is to
learn the applicable laws in Yoreh DeAh (the Laws of Interest,
section #159 - #177) or in Chochmat Adam (Kelallim #130
- #143). He should also know that he is not exempt from the
proactive mitzvah of When you lend money to My people
(meaning, extending loans at no interest) to the extent that he
can afford to do so. He should not mistakenly think to himself
that since this is his occupation (lending money as a source of
livelihood) and the needs of his life come first, because it is not
our intent that he not lend money for profit to anybody, but rather
he should only lend money for free in a framework of Chessed.
In fact, though, our intent is that this man is also obligated in
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this mitzvah of lending money as Chessed to the extent that he

can afford it. Moreover, a storekeeper who lends money as his
livelihood is also obligated in this mitzvah to the extent that he
can afford it, even though if he wanted to he could lend out all
of his money for profit and not have even one silver ruble left for
Chessed. Still, if he is able to ration his money, to the extent that
he can, and set aside a small amount of money for lending for
free, then he is obligated to do so, as we discussed above (in part
1 of this sefer) in the 2nd chapter, in the 3rd saeif.
But in reality (lit., truthfully speaking) regarding this kind of man
who is constantly approached by people who want to borrow for
profit (i.e., to borrow, and pay interest), it is very hard for him
to overcome his human nature and lend someone money in the
Torahs framework of Chessed (i.e., for free). Therefore (please
see the following Hagahah) the best practical advice here is to
do as we wrote above (in the 13th perek) namely, to set aside a
sum of money to do this mitzvah of Chessed to the extent that
he can afford, and in so doing it wont be hard for him to lend
for free from this fund since he set it aside for this purpose and
it is as if that money does not belong to him. With the money of
this fund he should continually toil in this mitzvah of Chessed
just as he toils in his occupation of lending money, and in so
doing this attribute of kindness is strengthened. Moreover, this
will serve to slightly rectify the problem (i.e., the blemish to his
Neshamah) caused by lending the majority of his money for
profit by which he minimizes the trait of Chessed, as mentioned
above. Furthermore, he should strengthen himself very much
in other facets of Chessed, as explained further on in this sefer,
as Chazal have said (Midrash Tanchumah, perashat Bshalach,
notation #24). Righteous people, with the vehicle that they
sinned, that same vehicle should be used to fix what they ruined.
Hagahah
Since we are on this subject, I thought to mention here yet
another important topic. There are men who want to build an
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everlasting monument in memory of their parents and they

make an expensive headstone of onyx over their parents graves
and inscribe them with gold letters and designs and flowers.
Among these people are men who additionally plant at graveside
beautiful shrubs and the like that are visually pleasing, and they
squander large sums of money on these monuments thinking
that they are giving great pleasure to the soul of the deceased.
(Emphatically) How big is the mistake these people make by
thinking in this way, since truthfully a soul that departs after the
death of a person in this world recognizes in the world of Truth
the supreme value of Torah and mitzvot, because he sees that
this is the precious merchandise which is prevelant throughout
all of the Heavens (lit., worlds) and by virtue of them man takes
pleasure in the radiance of life. At that point he understands that
the value of the simplest of the mitzvot that he did in this world
is more precious to him than pure gold, and he is enormously
embittered at himself for squandering away his life (lit., his
days) pursuing the pleasures of vanity and honor and the like,
for which he now has to give an accounting and reckoning. That
being so, what pleasure does he derive when he sees his children,
having expended all of his energies on them throughout his life,
and he thought that they would save him from judgment with
their pleasing and honest deeds (i.e., mitzvot), and in the end they
do yet more things that are entirely vain, such as these things. It
would be much better if they had erected a headstone that was no
so expensive, with simple (engraved) letters that were not gilded,
without designs and flowers, and without shrubs [noting the
main reason for the headstone is for the needs of the soul of this
dead person, as Chazal have said in Masechet Shekalim (2:5)]
and the leftover money should have been used to buy Gemarot
\ Shas and given to the Beit Midrash, and inside those sefarim
the children should write a dedication in memory of the souls of
their fathers. Alternatively, this leftover money could be used
to start an established Gmach \ free-loan service in memory of
their departed fathers, and in so doing their souls would be very
greatly elevated. Each and every loan issued fulfills a proactive
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wicked Jew. There was not a single abomination in the world that I did not
do. Rebbe Zemiraah asked him- What is your name? The man answeredI dont know, those who are punished in Gehinnom cannot remember their
names. He asked him- What is the name of the town that you came from?
The man answered- I came from the Upper Galilee and I was a butcher and
because of the despicable things I did there, they judge me three times each
morning and three times each evening. Rebbe Zemiraah asked him- Did
you leave any sons behind? And the man answered- Yes. Rebbe Zemiraah
got up and traveled to the Upper Galilee. There he heard the voice of a
child reciting Mishle (2:4) if you would desire me as you would desire
silver and if you would search for me as you would search for hidden
treasure, then you would understand the fear of G-d. Rebbe Zemiraah
then went to another Beit Midrash and heard the voice of another small
child saying (Tzephania 2:3) seek justice, seek humility, perhaps you will
be hidden on the day of Hashems anger. He began inquiring about the
background of that evil man and asked a young child about him. The
child answered him- Rebbe! Such-and-such terrible things are going to
happen to that man because there was not one single bad thing or sin in
the world that he did not do. These terrible things will happen to him and
to the woman who nursed him. Rebbe Zemiraah asked this child- Did
he leave a son behind in this world? The child answered- Yes, he left
one son who is as evil and wicked as his father was and he hangs out in
the slaughter houses. Rebbe Zemiraah searched for this son, found him
and took him (out of that environment) and taught him Torah to the point
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mitzvah of the Torah and necessarily, in so doing the merit of

their fathers would be greatly increased, as written in Sefer Yesh
Nochalin, that the merits and mitzvot a son does after his father
passes away is an atonement for the fathers soul, even if he did
them for his own sake (meaning, without intending to elevate the
soul of his father).
The son of the author of Sefer Yesh Nochalin, the Shlah
HaKadosh, wrote on this same subject, quoted as follows: This
alone is not the only thing that is accomplished, that he saves his
father from Gehinnom and exonerates him from sufferings, but
even more it even brings him into Gan Eden and places him in
the company of Tzadikim. This concept is brought down by the
Zohar at the end of perashat Bchukotai,15 quoting the prophet
15. Quoting from the Chafetz Chayims ZTL Sefer Shemirat HaLashon, in
English translation entitled Mazal Elul volume 1 page 475 (produced by
the Mazal Elul Congregation, published by the Mazal Press and dietributed
by Feldheim Publishers, 5766) : Also, because of his sons learning Torah,
he will merit to be saved from Gehinnom, as Chazal teach us in Tanna
DeVei Eliyahu Zutah (12th perek) ignorant people who value Torah and
pay to have their children educated, these children will rescue their fathers
from the shame and the humiliation and the disgrace of facing Judgment
in Gehinnom.
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Because of his support of his childrens Torah education, there are

occasions when he will be chosen to be (seated in Gan Eden) among the
righteous, as is brought down in The Hidden Midrash of Ruth (2nd perek):
Rebbe Zemiraah went to the village of Kfar Ono. He saw in the valley
of Kardonitah (located in the Arrarat mountain range) a volcano hole with
flames erupting from it. He put his ear to the hole and heard voices coming
out of it. An Arab went over to him and said- Come with me and I will show
you wondrous things that are kept hidden from mankind. So he went with
him behind a boulder and he saw fire coming out of several other volcano
holes and he heard other voices. The Arab told him- Listen here! So he put
his ear to the hole and he heard a voice crying- Woe unto me, woe to me!
Rebbe Zemiraah said- this must be one of the gateways to Gehinnom. The
Arab left him and he remained alone. After awhile he crawled to another
spot and saw a man shouting out loud. They took that man and lowered
him into another deep flaming hole and the man was engulfed by flames
and disappeared. Rebbe Zemiraah then fell asleep. In his sleep he dreamt
he saw that man. He asked him- Who are you? The man answered- I am a
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called upon him to recite in yeshiva, they completely removed me from all
of the punishment of Gehinnom. When my son became learned and wise,
they prepared for me a seat of honor among the righteous of Gan Eden.
Each day that my son developed a new, novel insight into the Torah and it
was repeated over in his name, they crowned me with yet another superb
crown, the same as the ones used to crown the righteous. All of this honor
came to me because of you. Praiseworthy is the person who educates a
child to toil in Torah in this world. (Quoted up until this point).
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Malachi (1:6) A son honors his father, even though the father
has passed away the son is obligated to honor him even more, as
stated in the pasuk (Shemot 20:12) Honor your father. If this
son lives a lifestyle that is evil and destructive, with absolute
certainty he is humiliating his father. But if the son lives his life
in the path that is faithful to Torah and is good, and his deeds are
pleasant, then in so doing with absolute certainty he is honoring
his father in the presence of people in this world, and is honoring
him in Olam Haba in the presence of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and
HaKadosh Baruch Hu will take pity on this father and draw him
to the Throne of Glory. The holy Zohar is quoted up until here.
If a son has the ability to accomplish all of this great honor for
his father and to bring him into Gan Eden, it is a simple, logical
conclusion that the sons efforts are able to cause his father not to
be judged in Gehinnom, and not endure any sufferings. And that
which is written in Sefer Chasidim (section #605), that prayers
and charity \ Tzedakah have no affect when they are done for the
sake of a person who was evil in his lifetime, is addressing a
stranger who is not his son; but a persons son who is an extension
of his father, with absolute certainty it can help (his father). The
Shlah is quoted up until this point.
Man should imagine to himself that if he himself was, G-d
forbid, thrown into fire or some other extreme suffering, how so
very great would be his desire and longing that his sons would
where this son knew Tanach and knew how to pray and say Kriyat Shemah.
He continued this boys education and taught him Mishnah and Gemara,
laws and aggadatah and the son became learned and very wise. That son
became Rebbe Nachum HaPakuli. Now why did they call him HaPakuli?
As the pasuk says (Yeshayah 28:7) pulled out a criminal, that he was
able to pull his father out of the judgment (punishment) of Olam Haba.
Many sages of that generation descended from him and are called Pakuli.
That man (the butcher) came back to Rebbe Zemiraah in a dream and
said to him- Rebbe, just as you gave me solace and a sense of tranquility,
so too should HaKadosh Baruch Hu bless you with tranquility. Because
from the day my son came to know his first sentence of Torah, they removed
me from judgment and when my son began to recite Kriyat Shemah they
excused me from being judged day and night. Once, when my sons rabbi
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step in to intercede for him with whatever stratagems that they

could do to save him from this awesome punishment. And so on
in a similar sense (emphatically) how much ever more so should
he himself do this for the sake of the souls of his father and
mother, since they worked with all of their might to nurture him
continually until he matured \ they made him into a man and
this son now should save them with the power of his good deeds
from the bitter punishment of their sins, given that with certainty
(Kohelet 7:20) No man is perfectly righteous in his lifetime.
Especially during the week of Shiva and the first 30 days of his
passing when the power of Strict Judgment is dominating, as this
is something that is well known. During this period in particular,
for the sake of his parents this son should see to it to increase his
level of Torah, Tzedakah and Chessed to his best ability, that in
so doing he will save them from the Judgment of Gehinnom and
bring them to eternal life. A person should consider all of this
carefully while he is still alive, and in the way he responds that
is how they (Heaven) will respond to him (Gemara Sanhedrin
100a). All of these concepts I have understood from his (the
Shlahs) holy words.
Now truthfully, every single mitzvah done by the son helps the
soul of the deceased, as this concept is brought down in Sefer
Yesh Nochalim in quoting our Early Authorities. All the more
so, by virtue of this mitzvah of Chessed there will be aroused
On High the Attribute of Chessed, as we wrote in the beginning
chapters (2-5) quoting Chazal. How so very much will this help
the soul of the deceased, that Hashem Yitbarach will conduct
Himself towards this soul in all matters with the Attribute of
Chessed. Moreover, in so doing his deceased fathers name
will be remembered for good by everyone, who will then say
Praiseworthy is the one whose son this is, praiseworthy is
the one who raised him, and so automatically there will also
be aroused On High for their benefit the merit of mercy. Please
study further the words of the cited Shlah who brought down
many other statements of Chazal. He concludes there as follows:
One who gives Tzedakah for the benefit of the deceased (even
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if he is not a relative, as long as he is not a Rasha and all the

more so if he is the son, or the daughter, or the brother or sister
of the deceased) with absolute certainty he is affecting a great
rescue of this soul and brings it pleasure \ satisfaction; please
see that reference. This main point is also brought down as law
in Shulchan Aruch Yoreh DeAh, section #249 at the end of that
section; please see that reference.
Therefore, if it should happen, G-d forbid, that one of his children
died in his lifetime, and this child did not leave behind children
of his own, it is appropriate to establish for this persons soul a
remembrance that will last for generations, as stated above (in
the Introduction) if he has that ability, and then forever he will be
remembered as a Tzadik. And even if he does not have the ability
\ resources, then at the very least for the sake of the deceased he
should donate some sefarim that are needed by the public to learn
from, and he should inscribe the name of the deceased in those
sefarim, and then every time someone learns from that sefer it
will give pleasure to the soul of the deceased; and so I have seen
many people behaving in this way. May it be the Will of Hashem
Yitbarach that the words of the Navi will come true quickly in
our days (Yeshaya 25:8) He will eliminate death forever, and
Hashem Elokim will wipe away the tears from all our faces.
(Translators note: May it please Hashem Yitbarach that the
translation of this holy sefer and learning it - should be a zechut
for the Iluy Neshamah of our dear, precious daughter, Mazal
.)
Since we are on the subject, we will speak briefly about the
consequences of this terrible mindset (lit., stumbling block) that
has spread and is now pervasive throughout the world because
of our many sins, and that is the esur of taking interest, which
because of our many sins has become so routine as though it is
perfectly permissible; and people contractually lend money to
return interest to the lender without writing any kind of Heter
Iskah. It is well known that there are many explicit Laveen
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in the Torah forbidding this, as Chazal have said in Gemara

Babba Metziah (75b) that one who lends with interest violates
the prohibitive mitzvot of (Vayikrah 25:37) Do not make him
pay advanced interest, and (Vayikrah 25:36) Do not take from
him advance interest or accrued interest, and (Shemot 22:24)
Do not press him for payment, and (Shemot 22:24) Do not
stipulate interest payment at the time of the loan, and (Vayikrah
19:14) Do not put a stumbling block in front of a blind person
(since the lender causes the borrower himself to fall into the sin
of borrowing with interest) and the lender is an absolute Rasha,
and is disqualified from giving witness testimony and taking an
oath. What will this person answer on his Day of Judgment when
they (the Heavenly court of strict justice) ask him How could
you have so contemptuously repudiated the words of Hashem
Yitbarach, the G-d of Heaven and the G-d of Earth, who formed
you and created you, and nurtured you and sustained you every
day of your life - you and your entire family?! How many
times did He rescue you, in His great compassion, from terrible
sicknesses and from the turbulent oppressions of our times. You
did not pay attention to your meager service of Him. Is this how
you pay Him back for all of the good things that He did for you?!
Regarding this the text stated (Devarim 32:6) Is this the way
you repay G-d, you ungrateful and unwise nation. Isnt He your
father, your master, didnt He create you and establish you.
Chazal have already said in the Midrash Tehilim Whoever
intentionally decides contemptuously to repeatedly commit a sin
will never be forgiven, meaning, that even at a time when the
mercy of HaKadosh Baruch Hu dominates the world and searches
for ways to find merit for those who unintentionally sinned
(meaning, this applies only to those people who) occasionally
sinned against the word of Hashem, but this forgiveness will not
apply to one who shamed His words and utterly trivialized them
as being worthless. The Tanna DeVei Eliyahu (Rabbah) relates
the following (in the 29th chapter) When Moshe ascended to the
Heavens he found HaKadosh Baruch Hu writing in the Torah
(Shemot 34:6) G-d of longsuffering patience. He said to Him
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remains in place. The Yeshuot Yaakov explains this as meaning I
have forgiven them but only temporarily, so that the gentiles will not say
But I will also do as you first said that Reshaim will be annihilated.
)(MC
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That is fine for Tzadikim, but why should that also apply to
Reshaim? He responded back By your life (an oath) you will
need this. During the period of the spies Moshe began to pray
(lit., request) (Bamidbar 14:17-18) And now, O G-d, is the time
for You to exercise even more restraint. You once said G-d
has longsuffering patience (meaning, He remains patient even
towards Reshaim). It is written (Bamidbar 14:20) Hashem
said I have forgiven them just as you said, meaning I have
forgiven them, but the extent of that forgiveness is limited to what
you said.16 From this Chazal have said (Tanna DeVei Eliyahu)
Whoever understands (lit., recognizes) the words of Torah and
nevertheless violates them, this person is an absolute Rasha.
His words are quoted up until this point. Now, regarding the
topic of the esur of taking interest, even young children who read
Chumash know and understand that taking interest is an explicit
esur of the Torah, and how could this person with utter contempt
be so brazen as to repudiate the words of Hashem Yitbarach, and
be called absolutely evil for all of eternity?!
Now regarding this topic, apart from his violating many
prohibitive mitzvot, this person demonstrates that he has no
trust in the Providence of Hashem Yitbarach, and he believes
that anything (any wealth) a man grabs, either in a way that is
permissible or in a way that is not permissible will remain
with him always. Because if he believed that Hashem Yitbarach
controls every aspect of the world, and that He sustains all of
His creations as the pasuk states (Devarim 8:18) for Hashem
is the One who gives strength to make wealth, and it also says
(Tehilim 136:25) He gives sustenance (lit., bread) to all flesh,
and if not for His Will man could not become enriched then
he would not involve himself in this venture at all. Man must
believe that it is not impossible (lit., astounding) that Hashem
can find a way to enrich someone in any occupation but he may
not engage in this occupation (i.e., lending with interest). In fact,
16. What is the meaning of just as you said? HaKadosh Baruch Hu said to
Moshe - Even though I have forgiven them, still, the decree against them
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just the opposite will happen, when he works to profit by lending

money with interest, and in so doing he is negating the Will of
Hashem Yitbarach, even though he is profiting at this moment he
has to know clearly that in the end he will have no money left, as
the text relates (Yirmiyah 17:11) One who accumulates wealth
illegally, at the half point of his life it will depart from him,
meaning, his money will leave him, or he will depart from his
money at mid-life and he will leave this world. The text further
states (Mishle 21:5) anything done in haste will be for naught,
and the Midrash relates that this pasuk is referring to one who
lends money with interest. In reality, at the moment he utterly
debases himself (to the point of being worthless) and resolutely
commits this sin, and repeats it over and over again, this sin
makes his soul very unclean to the point where he completely
obliterates his belief in Hashem Yitbarach, his belief in Hashems
Providence, his belief in Torah as Chazal have said in Gemara
Babba Metziah (71a) Come and see how blind is the person who
lends with interest. If someone were to call his peer Rasha
\ Evil he would go down fighting him to the end to take his
life. But these people bring witnesses and paper to write on, and
pens and ink, and they write down and validate that this man (the
lender himself) utterly repudiates the G-d of Israel.
[I am greatly disturbed by the evil that certain merchants do, that
when they sell \ rent out something on credit and part of the debt
remains outstanding, as its repayment is delayed the merchant
will then annotate his account receivables ledger and add an
additional fee to the amount of the outstanding receivable (and
each month an additional fee is added to the balance for as long
as the debt remains unpaid). This practice is an absolute esur
from the Torah, even if the borrower consents to the charge, since
at the time of sale \ rental the payment amount was fixed. The
initial debt that remained outstanding is merely a loan, and it is
forbidden by the Torah to take any additional money over and
above that initial fixed sum in compensation for maintaining that
debt beyond the repayment date].
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This matter has great repercussions in the restoration of someone

back to life after they die, as Chazal have said (Yalkut Shimoni,
Yechezkel, remez # 375) regarding the prophet Yechezkel
(18:13): At the time when he was bringing back to life those
people who died on the plains of Dura, he saw that they all got
up on their feet, but one stayed buried in the earth, and he was
astonished by that. Hashem Yitbarach answered him: That
man lent money with advanced interest and took money with the
interest that was owed, he will not come back to life; this is
measure for measure. It is written in the Torah (Vayikrah 25:3536) and if your fellow Jew becomes impoverished and his hand
falters, you shall strengthen him, the convert or one who resides
with you and he shall live with you in your society. Do not take
from him advanced interest or accrued interest, and you shall fear
your G-d, and your brother shall live with you. This man did
not want him to live with him, therefore it was decreed against
him measure for measure that he too will not live. And now how
so very much embarrassment and shame and terrible sufferings
will come to this man forever when all of those people stand
up and awaken from their graves, and merit eternal life in great
pleasure and happiness, and in front of everyone he will remain
forever laying in his grave and covered with earth. All of this in
exchange for that little benefit from the forbidden interest that his
animalistic Nefesh enjoyed while he was in this world. Regarding
this the Tanna said in Avot (2:1) Calculate the (fleeting) loss
experienced in doing the mitzvah versus its (eternal) reward, and
the (temporary) gain of the sin versus its (eternal) loss.
Additionally one must clearly understand that even one who
borrows with interest even though the punishment of not being
restored back to life while others are getting up was not said in the
context of the borrower, however, he is also absolutely forbidden
from paying interest to the lender and he will also be called a
Rasha. In so doing the borrower is disqualified from giving
witness testimony, as Chazal have said in Gemara Sanhedrin
(25a) One who borrows with interest is disqualified from giving
testimony (meaning, he cannot be trusted).
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Truthfully, even if there was no vehicle \ no strategy to take profit

from lending money, still, man is still obligated to observe the
words of the Torah that relate to this, in order to fulfill the Will
of Hashem Yitbarach who forms and creates everything, and to
protect his Nefesh from an eternal loss, as mentioned above.
But especially in our times, when our great Torah sages have
formulated the Heter Iskah17 with absolute certainty there is
a great obligation on one who lends money to write the Heter
Iskah contract as the halacha requires and not be lazy in this
regard. In so doing he will protect his Nefesh from many types
of Gehinnom both the lender and the borrower must be careful
in this respect.
17. The European censor forced the addition of these words: Also, one may
not write a Heter Iskah unless it conforms to secular law.
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holy associations, that it is even more beautiful than the simple mitzvah of
extending kindness by one individual, for several reasons: (1) the mitzvah
of many people participating together in a mitzvah is greater than the
efforts of only a few people organizing to do that same mitzvah, as Chazal
have taught us (Sifra, Bchukautai 2:4). Even though many people are
participating in this free loan society and your contribution to the charity
fund is not enough to cover this mans entire loan, still its obvious that
HaKadosh Baruch Hu considers each of these participants as though you
alone extended that kindness since if not for the small amount you gave to
the loan fund, a poor man could not have obtained any loan at all.
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16th chapter
In this chapter we explain the obligation to
maintain an established Gmach in every city.18
Even though in the prior chapters we elaborated on the enormity
of the obligation to observe this mitzvah of doing Chessed (i.e.,
of extending loans), that everyone should see to it to establish
a permanent Gmach in his home, whether it is substantial or
minimal, nevertheless it is well known that even for this (mitzvah)
not everyone can afford it, and also there are men who dont have
the time to involve themselves in this great mitzvah. Therefore,
a very practical advice for each of those men who dont have
the individual ability to establish a fixed Gmach is at the very
least to join together and form a free loan society (please see
the following Hagahah) and lend money to people in their time
of need. And truthfully this is the custom of Jews throughout
all of the places where they have been disbursed that there is a
free loan society in virtually every single city where Jews have
settled.
18. Quoting from the Mazal Elul English translation of the Chafetz Chayims
ZTL Sefer Shemirat HaLashon, volume 1, 7th perek of the Epilogue
page 577 (produced by the Mazal Elul Congregation, published by the
Mazal Press and distributed by Feldheim Publishers, 5766). Therefore,
because of the enormity of this mitzvah, Jews throughout all of history,
wherever they lived, established associations and networks that would
extend kindness and lend money (without interest) to those people who
were in need of a loan. Truthfully how wonderful is the power of these
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Hagahah
Now, to write here the protocol and bylaws that govern the
workings of this free loan society, regarding just how much
money to lend out and what should be the time period of the
loan is unnecessary as this is dependent on the circumstances
of that Gmach, how much money there is in the free loan fund
and the creditworthiness of those petitioners who are knocking
on the doors of the Gmach. However, I have seen this in many
localities, that the society will lend only on a surety (collateral)
even if the borrower is very creditworthy, in order not to make
any distinctions between borrowers (i.e., exceptions in the rules
by which the societys money is lent out). And truthfully it is
appropriate to do so and to write this down in the bylaws of the
society, because if this is not done, then G-d forbid, as time goes
by the society will erode and fall apart completely. Even though
a single individual who sets aside money to be used continually
for the mitzvah of doing Chessed (i.e., lending money) can
change the rules of lending depending on the circumstances,
nevertheless, when a group is lending money there must be in
place a fixed protocol governing the issuance of loans (please see
further on in the 21st chapter regarding the support of an indigent
and in that case the rules do change). The most important thing
to do is for the society to appoint men who will be attentive to
running the organization and who will make sure there is always
money available to lend to those in need. Understand clearly
that in the operation of these Gmachs, since it is customary
that the borrower gives a security at the time of the loan there
is no mitzvah incumbent on the society to return that security
back to the borrower each night and also the Lav of (Devarim
24:6) Do not take (as a security) an upper millstone or a lower
millstone is not applicable, since this refers to those utensils that
are essential to prepare food. Also, the Lav of Dont take as a
security the garment of a widow, is similarly not applicable (to a
Gmach) since this is the express wish of the borrower at the time
he took the loan. But if it happened that the borrower brought to
him (to the Gmach) a security not at the time of the loan, there
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are many laws governing this situation that everyone who owns
a Gmach must know; please see the Shulchan Aruch Choshen
Mishpat, section # 97, and please see above the laws of extending
a loan in the 8th chapter where we explained them with the help
of Hashem Yitbarach.
Now to elaborate here on the enormity of the mitzvah that is
incumbent on the residents of a city to see to it that there is a
functioning free loan society in their locale is repetitive, given
that it is now well known after we have explained this in the
Introduction and in several of the previous chapters the profound
sin that is committed by the one who closes his hand and does
not lend out money, and the great reward earned by the person
who fulfills this mitzvah. Consequently with absolute certainty
whoever has a brain in his head must not rest or keep quiet
until he sees to it that there is - at the very least a functioning
Gmach in the city, that will lend money to those who are in
need. In so doing he will remove both from himself and from all
of the citizens of the city the profound sin of not lending to those
who are in need, since on occasion it can happen that a poor man
will take his security to several men and each of these men will
give him an excuse why they cannot lend him, and the poor man
returns back to his home depressed and crying and complaining
before Hashem over his bad luck \ over the poverty of his life.
The statement of the text is well known (Devarim 15:9) Beware
not to allow a criminal thought to come into your mind, saying
the Sabbatical Year is approaching, the year in which there is no
planting, and you will look with contempt at your fellow Jew
who is impoverished and you will give nothing to him and he
will cry out to Hashem about you (because of you) and you will
have caused a sin. The guilt is hanging over everyones neck
(meaning, the blame is on everyone), because things like this are
constantly happening, and they must fix this (problem) in order
not to come to this point.
I will now proceed to demonstrate before everyone how
wonderful is the power of this holy (joint effort) society, and that
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for several reasons it is even better than the routine mitzvah of a

single individual occasionally disbursing personal loans:
[1] The (joint) mitzvot done by a few people is not at all
comparable to the (joint) mitzvot done by a large number of
people, as Chazal have said (Sifra, perashat BChukotai, 2nd
perek, and Rashi Vayikrah 26:8), and since there are many
people participating in the Gmach, even though individually
everyones contribution to the Gmach is a fraction of the entire
sum lent out, nevertheless, it is obvious to me that HaKadosh
Baruch Hu will consider each individual member of the Gmach
as doing Chessed \ extending this entire loan, since without the
small amount of money each member contributes to the Gmach
the poor man would not be able to borrow what he needs. (Please
see the following Hagahah).
Hagahah
This is comparable to what is brought down in Gemara Shabbat
(3a) One who performs the entire (forbidden) labor and not
merely a part of it (is culpable), and even so, if each one could
not carry the load by himself (and so the load is carried jointly
by the two men which is a labor that is forbidden on Shabbat),
the Mishnah rules (92b) that they are both culpable. The reason
being that this is not called (performing) a partial labor, since
without his active involvement the entire labor could not have
been performed, thus it is as though each individual alone did the
entire labor.
[2] It is a mitzvah that demands a person spend his own money,
and the mitzvah cannot be performed for free (i.e., at no expense
to this person), and because this mitzvah costs him money its
reward is much greater. The holy Zohar addresses this concept
in commentary on the pasuk (Shemot 25:2) and let them take
for Me a portion as follows: Any person who wants to join
in a mitzvah and partner together with HaKadosh Baruch Hu
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must not partner empty-handed and without responsibility,

rather, man must participate in a way that is appropriate to his
abilities (this concept has been reiterated in many places, and
so it is appropriate for a person to accept this responsibility of
working together with HaKadosh Baruch Hu) as the pasuk states
(Devarim 16:17) each man according to his means based on the
blessing that Hashem your G-d has given to you. And if you
were to say \ (if you were to challenge this argument by citing)
(Yeshaya 55:1) Go and drink without paying, go and buy wine
without any money (lit., with no money referring to the words
of Torah which can be acquired without money. Yet the drasha
[mitzvah] demands that one pay out money for Torah and mitzvot.
The answer to this contradiction is) that in regard to the effort
made in acquiring Torah anyone who wants to acquire it can
do so without paying money. Moreover, in regard to connecting
to Hashem, to know Him by virtue of learning Torah, one can
do so without paying money. However, in regard to connecting
to Hashem through ones physical deeds, it is forbidden to do so
for free without paying out any money, the reason being that the
only way to merit drawing onto oneself the spirit of holiness of
this mitzvah is in the merit of having paid for it (based on ones
ability). The holy Zohar is quoted up until this point; please see
the following Hagahah.
Hagahah
This is an open warning to those men who are in the habit at
the time when aliyot are being sold in the Beit Knesset or Beit
Midrash in order to pay for their maintenance, to buy wood and
candles and the like they walk out and form their own private
minyan in order to avoid paying for any part of those expenses,
and these man are quite content thinking that the wood and lights
were acquired by these places for free. How great is the mistake
of these men, that they dont know that the main mitzvah comes
from spending money for these things, since those who buy the
aliyot, apart from acquiring the aliyah itself, with their money
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they buy wood (fuel) for the Beit Midrash and how great is their
reward for so doing since that act is also within the realm of
supporting Torah. Furthermore, one who organizes the formation
of another (external) minyan is not doing the right thing at all,
since in so doing he is diminishing the number of men who will
come into the Beit Midrash. And if later on the wood or lights
for the Beit Midrash are depleted, then the blame will be put on
to him, G-d forbid; therefore one who wants to guard his Nefesh
will stay far away from this.
[3] Moreover, this mitzvah can continue to be fulfilled even at a
time when he is occupied with his business or while he is asleep.
Apart from all of this, the text of Midrash Kohelet is well known
(Midrash Kohelet Rabbah, 5:8) that if a person greatly desires to
do mitzvot, but is not in possession of a mitzvah that will remain
with him for generations what pleasure does he have?! But one
who does participate in a communal mitzvah, for example this
mitzvah that weve spoken about, or someone who leaves money
to support yeshivot that teach Torah, even if he is sitting in Gan
Eden they (Heaven) will continually increase pleasure and light
onto his soul by virtue of the fulfillment of the mitzvot that are
constantly being done, because he donated his money specifically
for this purpose.
Everyone who participates in this matter, meaning, those who
are trustees and so too those who go out and collect money
that was pledged by others to this fund their reward is very,
very great, as all of these men are collectively included in the
category of (Mishle 21:21) one who runs to give Tzedakah and
do Chessed will find life and Tzedakah and honor, since the
trustees are included in the category of charity administrators.
The Midrash Tanchumah relates the following (Midrash Rabbah
Vayikrah, 25th perasha, 1st paragraph) If someone sinned and is
now liable for execution by Heaven, what should he do in order
to live? If he was accustomed to learning one perek, he should
now learn two perakim; if one page, then he should now learn
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two pages. And if he was not accustomed to learn, he should

go and become a charity administrator and thereby live, as the
pasuk states one who runs to give Tzedakah and do Chessed will
find life and Tzedakah and honor. One who toils in collecting
money (meaning) he is encouraging his fellow Jew to do a
mitzvah, as the statement of Chazal in perek Chelek is well
known (Gemara Sanhedrin, 99b) Rebbe Abahu said Anyone
who causes others to do a mitzvah, (meaning, exhorts them and
encourages them) the text (i.e., Heaven) considers it as though
he did the mitzvah himself, as related in the pasuk (Shemot 17:5)
and with the staff that you used to strike the river but did
Moshe hit the river Aharon hit the river! Rather, the text comes
to teach you that anyone who causes his friend to do a mitzvah
is considered by Heaven as having done that mitzvah himself.
Now, based on this, see the great extent of the zechut this man
has for every single Perutah he collects for this free loan fund,
and Above (in Heaven) this mitzvah is identified with his name.
Apart from this, this man is also among those who cause merit
to be bestowed on the public, that because of him, Israel (Jews)
fulfill many hundreds of mitzvot during the year. Regarding this,
the text of Avot is very well known (5:18) Whoever brings merit
to the public will not fall into committing sin.
Chazal have also said in Gemara Babba Batra (9a) Rebbe Elazar
said One who causes an action (i.e., a mitzvah) to be done
is greater than the one who did the action, as the pasuk states
(Yeshaya 32:17) and the act of Tzedakah is Shalom \ peace; the
outcome of righteousness is tranquility and security forever.
It is well known that Tzedakah (charity \ righteousness) and
Chessed (kindness) are two aspects of the same quality, and this
collection (i.e., collecting money to distribute to the needy) is
similar to money given to Tzedakah, where that money collected
(and distributed as gifts) will not be returned to the donor. It is
my opinion that it is for this reason that one who causes someone
else to do an action is better than one who does the action; it
is known that there is Tzedakah or Chessed that one does with
their money, and there is Chessed that one does with his physical
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efforts, as we explained above in the Introduction. This man who

causes money to be given to Tzedakah or causes Chessed to be
done it is commonly known that routinely before he receives
money for this purpose he first had to exert himself to approach
many men and speak to them individually about this cause and
for each person he approaches he fulfills the mitzvah of doing
Chessed with his physical efforts. The result is proportional
to the number of men who he spoke to, he earns proportionately
more mitzvot, whereas those donors themselves each of them
individually receives only one mitzvah for giving Tzedakah or
doing Chessed with their money.
Even if the man himself does not have the resources to give to
Tzedakah or to do Chessed (i.e., extending loans to others) but
he encourages others to do so he also receives blessings from
Hashem for doing this, as this concept is related in the Tosefta
of Pehah, in the 4th perek (in the 17th halacha): He pledged to
give, and he gave, they (Heaven) give him reward (please see
the following Hagahah) both for pledging and reward for the
act of giving. He said to them that he will give, and he was
not able to give, he nevertheless gets reward for pledging,
equivalent to the reward for the act of giving. He didnt say
he would give but he told others to give, they give him
appropriate reward, as the pasuk states (Devarim 15:10) since
in return for this matter (i.e., giving Tzedakah), Hashem your G-d
will bless you, and all the more so if he also gave. The text
Avot is commonly known (5:13) There are four levels of giving
Tzedakah: He who gives and others give because of his urging,
he is a Chasid.
Hagahah
From this we see that the pledge made by a Jew, whereby
he promised to give Tzedakah and to do Chessed, and this is
comparably true for all other mitzvot causing a holiness On
High, and merely for that act itself he receives reward; please
reference Gemara Nedarim (8b). There are men who have a
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habit that when many Jews are approached to give Tzedakah and
do Chessed for any reason, they will not pledge anything at all,
but they will say (privately) that they will give but without
committing themselves to an amount. From the Tosefta we see
that this behavior (lit., the words they would not \ did not say) is
not appropriate, because the act of simply verbalizing a pledge
is also a mitzvah, and by not committing to a pledge amount
other people will do the same thing, and we find G-d forbid
that the mitzvah will be neutralized. And for those people who
think \ who are afraid that a pledge is a vow, let them specifically
verbalize that their pledge is being made without any intent of a
vow.
The text there in Gemara Babba Batra (9a) further relates Rava
said to the residents of the city of Mechuza Go and mutually
obligate and cajole your friends to give Tzedakah so that there
will be tranquility \ peace between you and the government,
because if you dont give Tzedakah to the poor, HaKadosh
Baruch Hu will impose the government on you, meaning by
virtue of that cajoling \ pressuring of one on the other for the
purpose of a mitzvah, in that merit they will be relieved of
the imposition of other pressures, because Hashem will give
them tranquility \ peace with the government, as the text states
(Yeshaya 32:17) and the outcome of Tzedakah is peace. This
concept is expressed in that referenced Gemara in the context of
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai who pressured his nephews to give
Tzedakah, and the last remaining amount which they did not give
to Tzedakah was forcibly taken from them by the government, as
related in the 13th perek.
And even if the man who is urging others to give has to work
hard at this, he should not slack off, because the reward is
proportional to the effort. And even if there are men who belittle
him because of this, he should pay no attention to this at all,
and he should know that by virtue of this his reward will be
even greater since he endured humiliation \ abuse for the sake
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of the honor of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Similarly, this is brought

down in Yoreh DeAh, sections #257, 7th paragraph, regarding
the administrators of the community charity fund If poor
people curse him, he should pay no attention to them since his
merit is increased, and that is the law in our case as well. (I
said there was a good hint to this in the text that one should
cajole others to give - as it states [in perashat Reeh] [Devarim
15:11] Therefore I Am commanding you saying, open up your
hand, meaning (i.e., the word saying \ [Hebrew Lmor]
means to instruct others) that you should instruct and encourage
others to open their hands to give Tzedakah). I elaborated on all
of this to demonstrate before everyone the enormity of this topic
of encouraging others to give Tzedakah. All of this is included
within the topic of the character trait of Chessed. Yet there are
men whose character is to constantly excuse themselves from
encouraging others to do an act of performing a mitzvah, even if
the issue is very serious, and because of this the mitzvah is put
aside and what they are doing is not good at all.
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17th chapter
The enormity of this topic of Tzedakah.
Up until now we have explained the enormity of the topic of the
character trait of Chessed. Now we will explain an aspect of the
topic of Tzedakah. Chazal have said in Gemara Sukah (49b) Our
rabbis taught Doing Chessed is greater than giving Tzedakah
in three ways: Tzedakah is done with ones money, whereas
Chessed is done with ones money or with ones physical efforts.
(He does Chessed with his money: He lends out his money or he
lends out his utensils or animals; He does Chessed either with his
physical efforts or with his money: For example, he eulogizes
the deceased, he carries the coffin, he buries the body, he makes
a groom and bride happy at their wedding, he escorts his guest
from his house onto his way Rashi). Tzedakah is for the poor,
doing Chessed is both for the poor and the rich. Tzedakah is
for the living, doing Chessed is both for the living and for those
who have passed on. Nevertheless, man must understand (lit.,
know) that in several regards Tzedakah is superior to Chessed.
Tzedakah is disbursed permanently, whereas Chessed (i.e.,
extending a loan) is given for only a set period of time, after
which the loan must be repaid. Apart from this, giving away
Tzedakah requires a person to overcome his human nature more
than doing Chessed, since the donor is diminishing his wealth,
which is not the case when one does Chessed and ones reward
is proportional to the effort. Regarding the statement of Chazal
in Gemara Shabbat (63a) Lending money to a poor man is
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greater than giving it to him that is only in a framework of the

recipient having lost his wealth and is unable to support himself;
in that case one must strengthen him \ support him with a loan
so that he can re-establish himself. Therefore a loan is superior
to a gift since the recipient will not be embarrassed to take a
loan. But one who is completely destitute and is accustomed to
receiving charity, in this regard a gift is superior to a loan.
In this context we can understand the statement in Pirkei
DeRebbe Eliezer, in the 15th perek, in commentary on the pasuk
(Devarim 30:15) See I have placed before you today (the
choice between) life and good, and death and bad: HaKadosh
Baruch Hu said These two things I have given to Israel, one of
good, and one of bad. The good is life, and the bad is
death. There are two paths in the context of good one of
Tzedakah and the other of Chessed. The prophet Eliyahu takes
the median path between them. When a man comes to enter
(Gan Eden) Eliyahu announces and says (Yeshaya 26:2) Open
up gates, and give entry to a righteous nation who guards their
faith. The prophet Shemuel stands between these two paths and
says Which one should I walk along? If I choose the path of
Chessed, Tzedakah is superior to it; and if I choose Tzedakah,
Chessed is superior to it. Rather, I testify by Heaven and Earth
(an oath) that I will not leave either of them, and I will take them
both for myself. HaKadosh Baruch Hu said Shemuel, you
stood astride both of these pathways; By your life (an oath) I will
give you three good gifts to teach you that anyone who wants
to give both charity and kindness, and does so will inherit these
three gifts: Life, Tzedakah and honor, as the pasuk states (Mishle
21:21): One who runs to do Tzedakah and Chessed will find life,
Tzedakah and honor, please see that reference. Now you have
before you everything we have written (please see the following
Hagahah). Therefore man must also strengthen himself very
much in this character trait of Tzedakah.
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Hagahah
A new mode of behavior has recently manifested itself, that
people are stopping the poor from coming to household doors
(to solicit Tzedakah) and these people are not at all concerned
to support them so that they will not starve. Their answer is that
their intentions are only for the good, since because there are so
many poor people doing this there is a danger to the less affluent
households of the city who themselves are tenuous meaning,
heads of the citys households who are falling (who themselves
are not able to adequately support themselves) and they dont
have the resources to help these poor men. Therefore, these
people completely stop poor people from coming to their homes,
and in so doing they limit the other homeowners (by arguing that
they are doing this only) for the sake of those heads of households
of the city who themselves are tenuous, as described above.
Truthfully this is a great mistake, that merely because there are
some men whose livelihoods are tenuous that is not a license to
completely stop all Tzedakah to the poor of the city! Given this
situation one need not give a big donation to the poor who are
knocking on doors, but one should give them at least something
minimal, since everyone is obligated to give them, as stated in
the Gemara (Babba Batra 9a) and in Yoreh DeAh, section #250
(paragraph #3), but G-d forbid not to completely close the door
on them and cut off their sustenance (please study carefully
the Gemara Babba Batra, 7b, where the Gemara rules that it is
forbidden to build a gate-house leading to a common courtyard
since in so doing the voice of poor people crying out in the streets
wont be heard). Even to the poor of other towns it would be
forbidden to do so. (Please study carefully the commentary of
the Mordechi in the first perek of Gemara Babba Batra (paragraph
#491) that even in regard to the poor of other places, the Lav of
Do not withhold applies in a case where giving them Tzedakah
is obligatory) and all the more so in instituting this rule they are
also withholding charity from the poor of this (i.e., the local) city,
to widows and to orphans. Who empowered them to do this?!!
In the (Torah) laws of Gleanings, Overlooked, and the Field
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Corner we find that it is forbidden for the owner of the field to

set aside these Gleanings specifically for a particular poor man,
since in so doing he is diminishing the Gleanings for others
(i.e., other poor) (as this concept is proven in Gemara Babba
Metziah, 10a). So too in our subject. And even if they wanted to
institute a rule to give only a small amount of charity to the poor
of other towns from the local charity fund, this too is not a good
custom to maintain, since there are many poor who go around
collecting, and they are not collecting for themselves but rather
they are collecting for the children in their households who are
dependent on them, and in circulating through neighborhoods he
is left with a little bit by which he can feed his wife and children
so that they wont die of starvation. But when you lock the door
before him, you are risking the lives of his children who are
wrapped in starvation in their homes.
It is irrelevant to say The local poor, and the poor of another
city, your local poor come first - because that is only in the
context of a single individual who is deciding on how to allocate
his Tzedakah, and he knows in his heart-of-hearts that he only
has enough money to give to one person. In this scenario Chazal
said your poor come first. But to apply the balance scales
of judgment to an entire city (i.e., to generalize) and say that
collectively they only have the resources to distribute Tzedakah
to the local poor of their city, and in so doing shut the door to
the poor of other places this we do not find!! [The European
censor added this following sentence: Unless the leaders of the
community address the welfare of the poor of other towns and
provide all of their needs in a home dedicated to their welfare
as per the governments orders, which is definitely a good thing
to do]. Moreover, as one carefully examines this rule, it
becomes obvious that the majority of proponents who are urging
its implementation are composed exclusively of outstandingly
wealthy people who comfortably have the means to give
Tzedakah to both sets of poor (local and distant). Apart from
this, it is well known that this rule also slaps down poor of the
city, that it will not allow them to knock on peoples doors, and
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that set amount that is given to the poor (as defined by the rule)
is not enough to support even half of their survival needs, and
the only good this rule will do is benefit only certain (wealthy)
individuals.19
Now consider the damage \ ruination that is the outcome of this
rule:
(1) The Mishnah in Avot relates in the 3rd perek (15th Mishnah)
Everything follows from the majority of ones actions. This
is the language of the Rambam there in his commentary on
Mishnayot: A mans spiritual standing is not earned based on
the importance of his actions, but is based on the number of his
actions. A greater spiritual height is earned by the repetition
of his good deeds many times over, and with this repetition his
spiritual height will be firmly established. This is unlike doing
one important action among his good deeds, because in so doing
he will not achieve a strong acquisition of this spiritual height. By
way of an analogy Someone who gives a thousand gold pieces
to a single deserving person, and to another man he gives nothing
this one great deed will not earn for him a solid reputation as a
philanthropist as it would have if he gave a thousand gold pieces
individually a thousand times, and each individual gold piece
was given as Tzedakah, and because he repeated this action of
giving Tzedakah a thousand times he earned for himself a solid
acquisition of the character trait of generosity while the soul of
the other man was aoused only once to do a good deed, and then
he stopped! So too in matters of Torah. One cannot compare the
reward of one who spent a hundred Dinars to redeem someone
who was locked up, or someone who gave a hundred Dinars
Tzedakah to a poor man which is enough to satisfy his needs,
to someone who redeemed ten jailed men or who subsidized the
needs of ten poor men, each man with ten Dinars. The Rambam
19. Regarding this, please refer back to the ending paragraphs of the
immediately prior chapter text beginning with the words: The text there
in Gemara Babba Batra (9a) further relates Rava said to the residents of
the city of Mechuza.
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is quoted up until this point. What evolves from his words is that
the extent of the greatness of a mans spiritual standing is earned
by virtue of the number of repetitions of his deeds and not by the
importance of what he did. Now to return to our subject This
rule - that everyone must contribute only one time a (small)
sum each week and not more than that sum (emphatically) How
many thousands of good deeds each one of which is a proactive
mitzvah from the Torah are lost from the city every single
day because of this rule?! Because prior to the rule each
household in giving a few coins to the poor each individual
coin distributed was a good deed. Now, when one calculates
these actions over the course of a full year, they will find that
because of this rule many tens of thousands of good deeds are
missing, deeds which had the collective power to tilt the Jewish
nation to the side of merit. If one would only think about this
that would be enough to stop this problem (i.e., to stop the rule
from being implemented).
(2) Also, the actual amount of Tzedakah distributed in the city
would be very substantially decreased, because when a poor
man goes out collecting by himself sometimes the homeowner
will give him Tzedakah as is his obligation, sometimes out of a
sense of compassion he will give him more than the minimum
obligatory amount of Tzedakah, sometimes he will give him
food, sometimes he will give him money, sometimes he will give
him old clothes, sometimes the home owner himself will give it
to him, sometimes his wife or family member will give it to him.
But if the rule is implemented and the homeowner gives only
the amount specified by the rule, the amount will only total to
a third or a quarter of that (of what he would have donated to the
poor who knocked on his door) and the homeowner derives no
benefit from this rule since it is commonly known that a man does
not become poor by giving Tzedakah. This concept is expressed
in Midrash Mishle 11th perek: Rebbe Abahu said If you see a
man distributing his money to charity, you should know (clearly)
that he is increasing his wealth, as stated in the pasuk (Mishle
11:24) Some distribute and gain even more; please see that
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reference. Tzedakah is considered as planting, as is written

(Hoshea 10:12) Plant for yourselves Tzedakah, and the more
he plants, the more he harvests. It says in the Gemara Babba
Batra (9b) Anyone who runs after (to do) Tzedakah, HaKadosh
Baruch Hu will make money available to him, and with it he will
give Tzedakah.
(3) The implementation of this rule will result in a great loss to
the citys households that are not well off, because if a poor man
personally goes (to collect Tzedakah) everyone would give him a
piece of bread depending on their means, and in so doing they
fulfill the mitzvah of Tzedakah every day. But that would not
be the case if the rule was implemented, that prevented these
poor men from soliciting Tzedakah by knocking on doors. The
rule would only allow them a specified sum, and the mitzvah
of giving Tzedakah would be lacking from a large segment of the
citys inhabitants. Please see Yoreh DeAh, section #334, 43rd
paragraph, were it is clear that one who prevents the public from
doing a mitzvah is committing a very gravely profound sin.
(4) It is evident from Gemara Ketubot (67b) regarding the
incident involving Mar Ukvah that it is a greater mitzvah to
give food to the poor than to distribute money to them, because
in giving them food, the benefit to the poor comes more quickly
which is not the case if one gives them money, and they now
first have to go and bother themselves and buy it (even though on
occasion the situation changes, for example, the poor man has a
greater need for money in order to attend to his other needs, or
he only recently lost his money and is ashamed to accept food).
But based on this rule which would stop the distribution of
food, this advantage of giving the poor something from they they
can benefit immediately is completely gone. Even though it is a
great mitzvah to create a fund to support the heads of households
who are financially troubled, and to allocate money to them in
an honorable way to the extent possible, but Heaven forbid to do
this by invoking a rule which would abolish food distribution
from the remaining poor in the city, as described above.
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(5) Stopping the support of the poor (lit., nailing the door shut
in the face of the poor) See what is written in Avot DeRebbe
Natan, 7th perek, 1st paragraph: Rebbe Yosef ben Yochanan, a
man of Yerushalayim says to teach that a mans house should
be open wide to the South, and North, and East, and West, in
order that the poor will not be troubled to circle around the entire
house (before reaching the front door). One who arrives from
the North will enter right away; one who arrives from the South
will enter immediately, and so on from all directions. It was for
this reason that Eyov had four doors leading into his house. Now
even though we dont have the ability to do this, since it is a lofty
concept which is not within our ability, but G-d forbid to shut
the door closed and not allow the poor to come in is a profound
sin. It is brought down in Masechet Derech Eretz Zutah, in the
9th perek: Be careful with the doors of your house that they are
not locked at the time when you are sitting to eat and drink, since
the doors of your house can bring you to poverty. The Gemara
Taanit (20b) relates: Rav Hunah when he sat down to eat his
meal would open the gates to his house and say: Whoever needs
to, should come in and eat.
See yet even more of what Chazal said in Gemara Sanhedrin
(103b) Rebbe Yochanan said quoting Rebbe Yossi ben Kismah
How great it is to give food to guests, that two families are
forever barred from becoming Jewish (Ammon and Moav) that
because they did not greet Israel with bread (food) and water, it is
written (in the Torah) that they will not come into the assembly.
(i.e., they will never be allowed to convert to Judaism) as it states
(Devarim 23:5) Because of the incident that they did not greet
you with bread and water (after having traveled 40 years in
the desert). The Midrash Vayikrah Rabba states (perashat Bhar
34:8) Do you think Israel needed them? Throughout those
forty years that Israel traveled in the desert they had the Manna
which fell from Heaven for them, and the Well of Water, and the
quail, were all found there, and the Clouds of Glory surrounded
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20. Israel was in no need whatsoever of food or drink or any of lifes comforts,
as these were all miraculously provided to them by G-d while the Clouds
of Glory preceded them.
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them, and a Pillar of Cloud traveled before them.20 Rather, the

issue was one of a simple courtesy One who arrives at the end
of a trip is greeted with the common hospitality of food and drink.
With what did HaKadosh Baruch Hu repay them? Because of
their behavior (inherent evil nature) (Devarim 23:4) An Amoni
or a Moavi may never enter into the congregation of Hashem.
By simple logical deduction, if they could not extend Chessed to
one who was not in need of Chessed see what their punishment
was, then to one who is in need of Chessed and it is denied, how
much even more so will they receive punishment. That being so,
then in this case where the pauper goes from city to city until his
legs are sore while trying to collect food to survive, how much
ever more so is the sin even greater for one who causes a door to
be locked behind him and in so doing withholds from the poor
man even that meager food. Regarding this Chazal have said
(Gemara Shabbat 63a) Whoever raises a bad dog in his house
is as though he is withholding Chessed from being done in his
house, as the pasuk states meaning, because the dog does not
allow the poor to approach the doorway to the house, as Rashi
explains there. (Logically) just as there in the case of the dog
whose owner has no specific intent to keep the poor away from
his door, and yet that is precisely what happens, how much even
more so here in our case of the implementation of the rule
where he does specifically intend to chase away the poor from
the city, how despicable and lowly is this.
(6) Over the passage of time the implementation of the rule
will also result in diminishing within him the character trait
of kindness, since this attribute (meaning, since the ability to
continually extend kindness) only becomes part of a persons
nature by repeatedly doing acts of kindness and in particular,
by withholding kindness he will cause it to become decreased in
the personalities of the generations that follow after him; they
dont sense at all that they are totally oblivious to people who
are enduring hardship. Moreover, withholding kindness will also
result in this man not acknowledging and thanking Hashem for
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the good position in life that He gave him, because he does not
see \ he is totally insensitive to people who are embittered and
destitute.
(7) The statement of Chazal is well known (Gemara Baba Batra,
9b) One who speaks kindly (lit., one who appeases) a poor man
with words is blessed with eleven blessings, as it states and by
this behavior (i.e., by implementing the rule) he demonstrates
that he has no compassion for the poor (lit., he does not see the
poor with his eyes), meaning, he cannot even greet them with
kind words which would then allow him to receive these extra
blessings.
(8) In the composite of all this, one sin will provoke yet another
sin that by virtue of the rule one will inevitably commit the
esur and becoming an informer and will cause the poor to be
handed over to strangers who will hit them and degrade them.
(Emphatically) Who can assess the enormity of this sin, and the
damage that is inherent in this rule?! The text itself testifies
to us and states (Devarim 15:9) Beware not to allow a criminal
thought to come into your mind, saying the Sabbatical Year is
approaching, the year in which there is no planting, and you will
look with contempt at your fellow Jew who is impoverished
and you will give nothing to him and he will cry out to Hashem
about you (because of you) and you will have caused a sin; and
how much even more so against this person (informer) who was
the direct cause of this poor man being hit and degraded. It is
well known from our holy Torah what happened to those four
fertile \ bountiful lands (Sedom, Amorah, etc.) who behaved in
this good [the word is being used sarcastically] way towards
the poor, and what happened to them (that these cities and all
of their inhabitants were utterly annihilated) G-d should save
us from their punishment. Also, often, among these poor are
widows and orphans; one must exercise extreme caution from
their cries, as explained in the Torah (Shemot 22:22). This is
the language used by the Rambam in Hilchot DeAut (6th perek,
10th halacha) Man must be careful with widows and orphans
how to behave towards them to only speak softly to them and
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to treat them only with the utmost respect. One may not pain
their bodies with work, and not oppress their hearts with harsh
words, and be careful with their money more than with ones own
money. Whoever has a confrontation with them, or angers them,
or aggrevates them, or lords himself over them, or loses their
money (assets) violates a Lav of the Torah, and all the more so
one who hits them or curses them. Even though one is not lashed
for violating the Lav, still, its punishment is explicit in the Torah
(Shemot 22:23) My anger will be aroused and I will kill you
with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children
orphans, a binding covenant and oath spoken by The One Who
Spoke and the Universe Came Into Being, that whenever they
cry out because of extortion (deprivation) they will be answered,
as the pasuk states (Shemot 22:22) because if they cry up to
Me; please see that reference. Also, Rabbeinu Yonah
addressed this subject and wrote in Shaare Teshuvah (3rd shaar,
section #24) Whoever torments and (or) aggrieves a widow and
orphan, either by stealing or extortion, or by embarrassment, or
any kind of torment is liable to death at the hands of Heaven.
Please see Sefer Chinuch in mitzvah # 65 where he writes this
concept explicitly, that even in ordinary conversation if one
aggrieves them, he also violates this Lav. It is incredible to me
how those men who are involved and support this new rule are
not frightened and fearful to the core of their souls of everything
written explicitly in the Torah regarding the torment of widows
and orphans, that the warning of the Torah applies even if the
widow and orphans are wealthy as explained by the Rambam
(in the 6th perek of Hilchot DeAut, in the 10th halacha) and all
the more so here where they are poor and despondent and
they endure hardship and shame and disgrace in their lifetime
(emphatically) How great is the punishment of the one who
imposes one more sorrow on top of their sorrows, and diminishes
their livelihood, and runs them out of the city.
Man should constantly ponder and be in dread and frightened
of the cries of the poor and the destitute, as the pasuk states
(Mishle 21:13) One who shuts closed his ear from the cries of
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the indigent; he also will cry out and will not be answered. He
should understand clearly that they have an outstanding advocate
who stands at their right side, Who is unequalled throughout the
entire universe, and He is Hashem Yitbarach Himself, as it is
written (Tehilim 109:31) Since He stands at the right side of
the impoverished to rescue them from those who would judge
his soul. Who could touch the men who are close friends of a
mortal king to do bad to them and remain unharmed \ and be
acquitted, and all the more so those who are close to The King
of all kings, HaKadosh Baruch Hu, these are the downtrodden
and the poverty-stricken who are broken hearted, as it is written
(Tehilim 34:19) Adonai is close to the broken hearted.
The Midrash Vayikrah Rabbah states (Bhar, 34th perasha, 9th
paragraph) Rebbe Abene said: This poor man is standing at the
threshold of your door, and HaKadosh Baruch Hu is standing
at his right side, as it is written (Tehilim 109:31) He stands at
the right side of the impoverished; if you gave him Tzedakah,
know that He who is standing at his right side will give you your
reward (lit., your pay). And if you did not give him know that
He who is standing at his right side will collect back from you,
as it is written (109:31) to rescue them from those who would
judge his soul.
Ive elaborated on all of this in order to remove this stumbling
block from the Jewish people and I know of the great sages
who are the leaders of the Jewish people that they have protested
loudly against the rule, (preventing the poor from knocking on
doors asking for charity) {The following sentence was added by
the European censor: Unless they see to it to take care of the
poor by building housing for them and giving them welfare as
this is the wish of the government}. The fundamental idea is
for man to thoroughly internalize that by this mitzvah of giving
Tzedakah he will not lose any of his wealth, as this concept is
related in Midrash Shemot Rabbah (Tehtzaveh 36:3). Often
the thought will come to mind to do a mitzvah and the Yetzer
Hara within him says Why should you involve yourself in
this mitzvah and cause yourself to lose money, before you give
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your money to others, give it first to your own children. At the

same time the Yetzer HaTov tells him Give away your money
for the sake of doing the mitzvah. See what is written in Mishle
(6:23) because a small light (lit., a candle) is a mitzvah. Just
as thousands of other lights can be lit from one candle, and the
candles light remains undiminished, so too when one gives to
this mitzvah, he will not lose his wealth.
Now, as we come to write down all of the statements made

regarding this subject of Tzedakah, they are endless and so I
will write down here only a few of them. The following is related
in Tanna DeVei Eliyahu Zutah, in the 1st perek. They said in
the name of Eliyahu: Tzedakah is great, that from the time the
universe was created until now the world stands on Tzedakah,
and whoever gives a lot of Tzedakah is praiseworthy and protects
himself from the judgment of Gehinnom, as it says (Kohelet
11:10) Take away anger from our heart and remove evil from
your flesh. Moreover, it states (Tehilim 41:2) Praiseworthy
is the one who contemplates the needs of the poor, on his day of
bad \ evil (i.e., judgment) Hashem will protect him and bad
\ evil means, his day of judgment for Gehinnom, as it states
(Mishle 16:4) and the evildoer on the day evil will be done to
him, and it says (Tehilim 106:3) Praiseworthy are those who
preserve justice, who do Tzedakah at each moment.
Why did our forefathers merit the wealth of this world, and
the days of the son of David (i.e., Mashiach) and the World
to Come? Because they trained themselves \ because they
conducted themselves with Tzedakah; Abraham, Yitzchak and
Yaakov, Moshe Aharon, David and his son Shelomo, and they
were praised only for their Tzedakah. Where do you find this by
Abraham? As the pasuk relates (Beresheet 18:19) For I love him
because he will instruct his children and his household after him
that they keep the ways of Hashem, doing Tzedakah and justice.
Where do you find this by Yitzchak? Yitzchak was only praised
for his Tzedakah, as it states (Beresheet 26:12) Yitzchak planted
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in that land, and planting is a synonym for Tzedakah, as the

pasuk relates (Hoshea 10:12) Plant for yourselves Tzedakah,
(meaning, just as a man yearns to plant his field, even though at
the time he is planting he is throwing away grain into the earth
(meaning, he is losing some of his grain \ wealth) nevertheless, he
is certain that eventually in so doing there will sprout a hundred
times more produce. So too should man yearn to give Tzedakah,
and he should know that with absolute certainty Hashem will
bless him for this mitzvah and He will increase his wealth
doubled and redoubled more because of this small amount that
is now diminished from his wealth. The pasuk expresses this as
(Devarim 15:10) you shall actively give him since it is for this
reason Hashem will bless you). Where do you find this trait by
Yaakov? [Answer] as it states (Beresheet 32:10) I have become
small from all of the kindness and I have become small is
an expression of a small amount, and a small amount is a
reference to Tzedakah, as it states (Mishle 16:8) a small amount
of Tzedakah is good; (Yaakov said) I am small \ insignificant
in my acts of Tzedakah in comparison to all of the kindnesses
You did for your servant). Where is the source of this for Moshe
and Aharon? As it states (Malachi 2:6) The Torah of truth was
in his mouth, and emet \ truth is a synonym for Tzedakah,
as the pasuk states (Tehilim 85:12) Truth will spout from the
ground, and righteousness will look down from Heaven. Where
is the source for this by David? As the pasuk states (Shemuel II
8:15) and David implemented justice with Tzedakah. Where
is the source for Shelomo? As it states (Tehilim 72:1) and the
righteousness You extended to the kings son. Even HaKadosh
Baruch Hu is praised for His Tzedakah, as the pasuk states
(Yeshaya 5:16) The G-d of holiness is sanctified with Tzedakah.
And even the Throne of Glory is praised with Tzedakah, as it
says (Tehilim 89:16) Righteousness and judgment is the abode
of Your throne.
Tzedakah is great, that it rescues man from the pathway to death,
as it states (Mishle 10:2) Tzedakah rescues from death. Come
and see that in the way he behaves towards others, Heaven
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in the home. With a sense of happiness Marvin said to me People live
longer because they are here. Marvins memory should be a zechut for
his family, for our community and for the entire Jewish people, as his place
in Olam Haba is exceedingly great.
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behaves with him in that very same way. Man gives Tzedakah
in this world (please see the following Hagahah) and in so doing
his intent is to preserve the life of a poor man so that he wont
die, so to HaKadosh Baruch Hu intends that everyone who gives
Tzedakah will not die. And where is the source that teaches that
anyone who has the resources to give Tzedakah and doesnt to
save lives and yet he doesnt save them he actively brings death
onto himself, as the pasuk states (Shemuel I 25:10-11) And
Naval answeredshould I take from my bread and my water
and give them to men who I dont know and immediately he was
punished, as it states (Shemuel I 25:38) and Hashem punished
Naval with a stroke and he died.
Hagahah
Recently in several cities there have been established old age
homes (meaning, people who are old and weak and can no longer
work to support themselves gather together in one place and
there they are sustained with all of their needs until they live out
their lives). This is a very important and holy undertaking, that
even though the straightforward mitzvah of extending hospitality
and opening up ones home to others evokes a very great reward,
as mentioned above in the 3rd section of this sefer, in the 2nd
paragraph please see that reference yet even more so is the
reward for this even greater, since the lives of these old people
are literally being sustained21 (i.e., that their lives are extended)
and that in places where old age homes dont exist we see with
our own eyes that many old and weak people when they are
poor become weaker and weaker, and their lives are shortened.
Chazal have already said (Gemara Sanhedrin 37a) Whoever
21. Translators note: Noting this Hagahah of the Chafetz Chayim ZTL, I
am obliged to express my thanks to Mr. Marvin Azrak AH for his tireless
efforts to maintain the Syrian Communitys (Brooklyn, NY) Ahi Ezer
Senior Citizens homes. About four years ago I met Marvin in the Ahi
Ezer residence and thanked him for making my parents so comfortable
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preserves the life of a single Jew is as though he sustained an

entire world, and how much more so here where the lives of
many people are being sustained. Praiseworthy is the portion of
those who work to do this.
Tzedakah is great, that it extends the days and years of a person,
as it states (Devarim 30:20) for it is your life and the lengthening
of your days, and the text relates (Mishle 3:18) It is The Tree
of Life for those who grasp onto it. Moreover, by a simple
logical deduction given that for the simplest and easiest of
mitzvot of the Torah (i.e., sending away a mother bird before
taking her eggs \ chicks) what does the Torah state: in order that
it will be good for you and you will have your life lengthened
(Devarim 22:7). Logically how much even more so will he be
rewarded with long life for giving Tzedakah, which is one of the
most stringent mitzvot of the Torah.
Tzedakah is great, that it brings a person to an everlasting life in
Olam Haba, as stated in the pasuk (Tehilim 1:1) Praiseworthy
is the man who did not walk in the counsel of Reshaim, as
it (further) states (Tehilim 106:3) Praiseworthy are those who
preserve justice, who do righteousness at all times. The word
praiseworthy (lit., Hebrew Ashrei) is said in the context of
Torah and is said in the context of Tzedakah. Just as Ashrei
which is said in the context of Torah designates this man as
meriting a place in Olam Haba, so too does Ashrei in the
context of Tzedakah designate this man as meriting a place in
Olam Haba.
Tzedakah is great, that it is equivalent to Torah, as it states
(Vayikrah 26:3) if you will go in My statutes, and regarding
Tzedakah it says (Mishle 8:22) Hashem acquired me first,
before and regarding Torah (i.e., learning) it states (Vayikrah
26:6) and I will impose peace on the Land and you will sleep
without any fear, I will rid the Land of dangerous animals, and
the sword will not pass through your Land, and in regard to
Tzedakah it states (Yeshaya) 32:17-18) The outcome of
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Tzedakah is peace, and the act of Tzedakah is tranquility and

security forever. My people will live in a state of peace, and in
secure dwellings, and in tranquil resting places.
Tzedakah is great, that the Torah is compared to Tzedakah and is
equated to it, but since there is no good quality that was created
by HaKadosh Baruch Hu in his world which is greater than
Torah, as it states (Mishle 4:8-9) Caress it and it will uplift you,
embrace it and it will honor you. It will be as an adornment of
grace on your head, it will bestow on you a crown of splendor.
So too is the Torah not compared to anything except to Tzedakah
as it states (Devarim 6:25) It will be as a merit for us.
Tzedakah is great, that it expedites the arrival of the son of David
and the Days of Geulah, as it states (Yeshaya 56:1) uphold
justice and do righteousness, because My redemption is coming
closer and My righteousness will come to be revealed.
Tzedakah is great, that it elevates the soul and places it under the
Throne of Glory, as it states (Yeshaya 33:15-17) One who walks
with righteousness and speaks with truthfulnessHe will dwell
in the heights, his stronghold is in the fortresses of rock, his bread
is given and his water assured. Your eyes will see the King in His
splendor; the Tanna DeVei Eliyahu is quoted up until this point.
It is written in Avot DeRebbe Natan (3:9) There was an
incident involving a pious man who was accustomed to giving
Tzedakah. Once, he went and traveled on a boat. A wind came
along and capsized the boat into the waters of the ocean. Rebbe
Akivah witnessed this and went to appear before the Beit Din to
testify that his wife was free to re-marry (i.e., that her husband
drowned). Before he had a chance to appear before the court that
very same man came and stood before them. He (Rebbe Akivah)
said to him: Are you the one who drowned in the ocean? He
said to him Yes. Who pulled you out of the ocean? He said
to him: The Tzedakah that I gave, that is what raised me up from
the ocean (i.e., saved me). He said to him: How do you know
that? He said to him: When I descended down to the depths of
the sea I heard a loud voice from the waves of the ocean, that one
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was telling the other, and the other was telling the other Hurry,
and raise up that man from the ocean, that he gave Tzedakah all
of his life. At that moment Rebbe Akivah began to expound
and said Blessed is Almighty G-d, the G-d of Israel, who chose
the words of Torah and chose the words of Chachamim, that the
words of Torah and the words of Chachamim are existent forever
and ever, as the pasuk states (Kohelet 11:1) Send you bread onto
the surface of the water, and it states (Mishle 10:2) Tzedakah
will rescue from death.
Also, in the merit of Tzedakah, blessings will come into the home
of a man, as it states (Devarim 15:10) You shall decidedly give
to him, and your heart should not resent it as you give him (please
see the following Hagahah), since because of this, Hashem your
G-d blesses you. Therefore, man should constantly strengthen
himself in this mitzvah and bring blessing into his house, apart
from the reward hidden away from him for his future in eternity.
Hagahah
It is my opinion that the statement of the pasuk (Devarim 15:10)
as you give him means that it is in the nature of man that he
only wants to give Tzedakah once to a poor man, but if he is forced
to give Tzedakah to this poor man time after time for example,
one hundred times even though he is giving him because the
mitzvah obligates him to do so, his heart is really resisting it at
the time he is giving him. It is only after he has already given
away his money - that he no longer has the money in his hand
then he can rationalize to himself and say Whats the point
now of resenting it and diminishing the mitzvah because of that
reluctance?! Addressing this attitude, the pasuk states (15:10)
You shall decidedly give him, meaning, that you are obligated
to give him even one hundred times (as Rashi explains) and you
should not resent it as you give him, meaning even at the moment
of giving him, since because of this, meaning truthfully, the
money all belongs to HaKadosh Baruch Hu and we are giving
him from what is His (as the Tanna stated (Avot 3:7) Give
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Him what is His). And the blessing of HaKadosh Baruch Hu

to this man because of this giving is fundamentally contingent
on the degree of giving willingly, which came at the moment
when he had to decide whether or not to do the Will of Hashem.
Therefore if he is clear thinking at the time he is specifically
doing this mitzvah, and that he has complete free choice in this
matter, and he overcomes his natural inclination in order to fulfill
the Will of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, then with absolute certainty
he will receive blessing from HaKadosh Baruch Hu in this world
as well. The text expresses this concept as (Devarim 15:10)
Hashem your G-d will bless you in everything that you do, but
that would not be the case if at the time he was doing the mitzvah
he resented it, and it was only after giving, that he no longer
had the money he (grudgingly) wanted it (the mitzvah). I dont
mean to imply that in such a case he has no mitzvah at all, rather,
with this attitude he diminishes the mitzvah.22
22. As Chazal have taught in Gemara Sukah 49b, Tzedakah is rewarded only
on the basis of the Chessed \ the attitude with which it was given.
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18th chapter
A detailed explanation of tithing money.
(1) Now we will come to explain the vehicle by which man can
continually satisfy his obligation to this mitzvah of Chessed. In
the prior chapters we explained that it was good for man to set
aside money and have it available for this mitzvah. However, in
order not to belabor people, it is better if he accustoms himself
to set aside a tenth of everything designated for him by Hashem
from the profit of his business and from this tithed amount he
should distribute two-thirds to Tzedakah, since there are more
commonly found poor people who are in need of Tzedakah (lit.,
gifts), and the balance one-third should be set aside by him for
the purpose of Chessed (i.e., of giving out loans) (please see the
following Hagahah). And when he accumulates a significant
amount of money and he assesses that any more than that amount
is not necessary to be held aside for purposes of giving out loans
in his city, beyond that, all of the money for his tithing from the
bounty which Hashem blessed him should be used exclusively
for Tzedakah.
Hagahah
Even though the main reason for tithing is to give that money
to the poor, still, supporting someone who is impoverished with
a needed loan is also considered as Tzedakah, as explained by
the Rambam in the Laws of Gifts to the Poor (10th perek, 7th
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halacha) and in his Sefer HaMitzvot, in his commentary on

the 195th proactive mitzvah, please see that reference, and in
Yoreh DeAh, section #249, 6th paragraph, that based on these
references it is likely that even if the donor explicitly said this
money is earmarked for Tzedakah he would still be able to
use that money as a loan to a poor man even if another poor
man was standing there to whom the money could be given as
an outright gift. However, this position is problematic, given
that in Yoreh DeAh section #259, paragraph #1 it states that
if someone says this money is earmarked for Tzedakah, as
long as it has not yet reached the hand of the charity \ Tzedakah
distributor, it can be used to extend a loan whether to himself
(for his own personal use) or to another and eventually the loan
will be paid with other money. (All this is in the framework of
no poor person being presently available to whom the Tzedakah
can be given, since if there was a poor man there it would be
forbidden to give that money out as a loan to someone else, and
he (the donor) would be culpable for violating the Lav of Do
not delay, as is written in section #257, paragraph #3. Thus the
Shulchan Aruch concludes (in section #259) and replace that
money with other money in its place, meaning, eventually when
he encountered a poor man). But according to what we said
above, the Shulchan Aruch should have made a distinction and
said it is permitted to lend it to a poor man (rather than to give
it to a poor person as an outright gift) since this is also included
in the concept of Tzedakah, and one would not have to pay (i.e.,
give Tzedakah to) someone else in its place, since lending is
specifically an aspect of Tzedakah, and if the poor man repaid
the loan it would be permitted to lend it out to some other poor
man, and so on indefinitely. So too the subsequent ruling of the
Shulchan Aruch in section #259 that once the money intended
for Tzedakah reaches the hand of the charity administrator it
would be forbidden to use it to give it out as a loan, the Shulchan
Aruch should have made a distinction and say that it is permitted
to lend it out to a poor man since this too is specifically a facet of
Tzedakah (meaning, even according to other halachic Authorities
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[see the Chochmat Adam, section # 148:12], who say that it is

forbidden to divert Tzedakah money to the purpose of any other
mitzvah) (to answer this question) perhaps you can say that
even if from the perspective of Torah lending money to a poor
man is also called Tzedakah, in any event, in matters of oaths,
one follows the dictates of the common understanding of the
oath, and in the common vernacular Tzedakah \ charity does
not mean extending a loan, but rather it means giving an outright
gift. This concept is comparably expressed in the writing of the
MaHarik (7th Shoresh) in the context of ransoming back a captive
person that this is in no way included in the meaning of the
word Tzedakah. (This ruling of the MaHarik is brought down
by the Turei Zahav in section #256, paragraph #4. Please
see the Nekudot HaKesef (in section #252, paragraph #1, in
the Hagahah) where he agrees with the MaHarik). But in the
framework of our subject regarding the matter of tithing where
the donor expressed himself merely as saying he would tithe
his money, it would seem with absolute certainty that he can
assign that money (as a loan) to those men who are financially
faltering or to the poor just like any ordinary Gmach, and the
loans fall under the category of Tzedakah. And even if you were
to take a stringent position, in any event in our case where
the donor has intent at the outset when he accepted upon himself
this mitzvah (Tzedakah) for this purpose (i.e., to use that money
to extend loans) then it is permitted.
Putting aside tithed money is a great thing, as stated in Gemara

Taanit (9a) in commentary on the pasuk (Devarim 14:22) You
shall decidedly give: Tithe, i.e., put aside a minimum of ten
percent of your money (Hebrew: Aser) in order that you will
become rich (Hebrew -Ashir). Although in all matters of life
it is forbidden (as if to say) to put Hashem to the test, here in
this case of tithing it is permitted, the reason being the text
states (Malachi 3:10) Bring all of the tithes into the storage
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23. Bring all of the tithes into the storage house that was made for this
purpose in the Beit HaMikdash. (Metzudat David).
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house,23 and let it be as a sustenance in My House; test Me in

this regard the word of Hashem Tzevaaut and see that (in
return) I will open up all of Heavens windows and pour out
onto you unlimited blessings. So too is this the ruling of the
Shulchan Aruch Yoreh DeAh in section #247, paragraph #4 (in
the Hagahah) that when it comes to tithing it is permitted to test
Hashem Yitbarach. (Please see the following Hagahah).
Hagahah
So too is this the implication of the Tosafot in Gemara Taanit
(9a) and in Sefer Ohr Zaruah (in the Laws of Tzedakah, section
#13) as that which was stated in the citation tithe (Aser), in order
to become wealthy (Ashir) is not only specifically addressing
tithing ones (grain) produce, but also tithing ones money, and
in this context the Gemara there states one is permitted to test
Hashem. Now, the Pitchei Teshuvah there in Yoreh DeAh
(section #247, paragraph #2) cites several Authorities who argue
with the Shulchan Aruch and hold that even though it is true that
giving Tzedakah, and even more so giving Maaser will enrich a
person (as brought down in Midrash Mishle, in the 11th perek, in
commentary on the pasuk [Mishle 11:24] There are those who
freely disburse their money and are enriched. Rebbe Abahu
says If you see a man giving away his money to Tzedakah, you
can be certain that he will gain, as it states There are those who
disburse freely and are enriched even more) nevertheless, to test
Hashem Yitbarach in this regard is forbidden. And that which
they did permit to test Hashem was specifically in the context
of tithing grain, but not regarding the tithing of money which is
only within the category of Tzedakah.
In my opinion there is a proof that the law is as stated in the
Shulchan Aruch, that if one were to say (this applies) specifically
by tithing grain one thereby fulfills the proactive mitzvah of the
Torah, which is the mitzvah of tithing, then how could Rebbe
Yochanan have said to the sons of Resh Lakish Go and test!
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24. Terumot Up to two percent of farm produce given to a Kohein.
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if it was forbidden to test Hashem in tithing money?! And dont

attempt to answer this question by saying that Rebbe Yochanans
statement was made in the context of tithing grain, and that
he was expressing his own opinion in Gemara Yevamot (82a)
where he holds that within Eretz Yisrael tithing grain is a current
obligation from the Torah - (dont say all of this, because) a proof
was brought to this (that one can test Hashem by tithing money)
directly from the text (Malachi 3:10) Bring all of the tithes;
test Me in this regard which was said by the prophet Malachi
during the beginning of the epoch of the second Beit HaMikdash,
and it is commonly known that Malachi is Ezra (Gemara Megilah
15a) and according to the colleagues of (who disagree with)
Rebbe Yossi there in that citation in Gemara Yevamot (82a),
Terumot24 and tithing even in the days of Ezra were rabbinical
mitzvot, since all of Israel did not return \ emigrate back to Eretz
Yisrael, as codified into law in Yoreh DeAh, section # 331, 2nd
paragraph; and in the context of this mitzvah (i.e., tithing grain)
how could it be permitted to test Hashem Yitbarach, since in their
opinion this mitzvah is not an obligation from the Torah? And it
would be dauchak \ it would by virtually contrived to [resolve
this question by answering that one can] make a distinction in the
context of a Lav from the Torah (i.e., the Lav of Do not put to the
test that is the referenced citation in Gemara Taanit) between a
law which is at least a Rabbinic obligation pertaining to tithing,
and specifically tithing money. Rather, with absolute certainty
it must be that the reason the text permitted putting Hashem to
the test is not because he is fulfilling the proactive mitzvah of
tithing grain, but rather because in so doing he is supporting the
livelihood of Kohanim and Leviim and there will be food in the
house of Hashem, and by virtue of this they in turn will have
the ability to strengthen Hashems Torah. Because of this the
text states (Malachi 3:10) and let it be as a sustenance in My
House; test Me in this regard the word of Hashem Tzevaaut
and see that (in return) I will open up all of Heavens windows
and pour out onto you unlimited blessings; in the merit of their
giving food, Heavens never-ending blessings will be invoked on
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them. In this regard, the Gemara Chulin (130b) says one does
not give gifts, (i.e., the parts of the animal that are obligatory
gifts belonging to the Kohanim) to an unlearned Kohein, as the
pasuk relates (Divrei HaYamim 31:4) to give the gifts belonging
to the Kohanim and Leviim, in order that they will strengthen
Hashems Torah; please see the cited Gemara (Chulin 130b).
That being so, then it also applies in our times to tithing money,
that the main reason is to support those who toil in Torah. This
concept is related as follows in Midrash Tanchumah, perashat
Reeh (18th paragraph): You shall surely tithe, Tithe in order
to become enriched, Tithe - in order that you will not be lacking
is a hint to (lit., those who travel overseas \ businessmen) to tithe
one-tenth for those who toil in Torah here too it is permitted
to put Hashem Yitbarach to the test. Thus we learn from the
referenced Midrash that the main reason it was instituted was
to support the livelihood of those who toil in Torah. Please see
what I wrote above at the end of the 19th perek in the 1st saeif.
The protocol for tithing is One must first take one-tenth

of his principal, and later on when Hashem makes this man
prosperous to give a tenth of his profit. Now there are many
men who are scrupulous to give a tenth, but they are only careful
to only give a tenth of their profit but not a tenth of their principal.
But truthfully that is not the right thing to do, and they are not
fulfilling their obligation to Heaven, as brought down by our
Authorities (Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 249:1); rather,
one must first tithe his principal.
Notwithstanding this because of our many sins since mans
(evil) inclination overwhelms him and does not allow him to give
away his money, it is my opinion that a very practical advice is
to set aside a tenth of his principal money and establish a free
loan society \ Gmach for the poor, and this man as well can
also borrow from it on an as-needed basis, on condition that
if someone who is hard pressed approaches the Gmach for a
loan, one should see to it to borrow from some other source and
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extend a loan for the same amount that he himself borrowed from
his own Gmach for his own needs. In so doing he will fulfill
his obligation to tithe his money since this too is categorized
as Tzedakah, as mentioned above; (please see the following
Hagahah at the end of the following paragraph).
However, all of this is true according to the opinion of the
RambaM (Laws of Gifts to the Poor, 10th perek, 7th halacha) and
the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh DeAh, section #249, paragraph #6)
who identify supporting the livelihood of a poor man who is now
indigent with a loan as the mitzvah of Tzedakah. However, the
RambaN in his Sefer HaMitzvot (mitzvah #16) does not phrase
this as Tzedakah, merely that it is a stand-alone independent
mitzvah, we have no proof to say that in so doing he is fulfilling
the mitzvah of tithing, since eventually this money (given out
as a loan) will come back to him and his heirs. But (in contrast
to that) when he permanently sets aside money in a fund for the
purpose of giving out free loans, according to the opinions of
the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch this is certainly permitted if
this is how he accepted upon himself this mitzvah from the very
outset, as explained here in the Hagahah. And even according
to the opinion of the RambaN, it would seem that one could be
lenient here. (Meaning, based on what the Shach wrote there (in
paragraph #3) quoting our Authorities, that tithed money could
even be used for the purposes of other mitzvot, for example, to
buy sefarim and lend them out to others and comparably so
on. Nevertheless, since there are those Authorities who are strict
in this regard and forbid the use of this money for other mitzvot
(please study carefully the commentary of the Pitchei Teshuvah
[2nd paragraph] in the referenced Yoreh DeAh (section #249)
who quotes the Chatam Sofer), then according to the Ramban
if one has not already made a condition specifying the use of
tithed money for the purpose of other mitzvot, it is proper and
correct to be stringent and not use this tithed money for any other
purpose except Tzedakah, and even according to the Rambam
this matter needs to be studied more carefully, as I explained this
in the Hagahah.
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Hagahah
(And this money [that he sets aside to lend to poor people] has
the halachic status of his own money [as opposed to the money
he set aside for maaser use]), the practical difference being in
matters of inheritance in several regards, however in so doing he
obligates himself to this mitzvah as long as he has the resources
to lend money to the poor in their time of need, up to one-tenth
of all of his possessions. Nevertheless, the subject matter is not
entirely clear, that even though in the context of Tzedakah, in so
doing he does fulfill this proactive mitzvah, it is possible that in
the context of tithing as brought down in Gemara Taanit (9a) in
the Tosafot quoting the Sifri, based on the text (Devarim 14:22)
You shall tithe your entire crop of your planting, the produce of
your field, year by year. I only know that ones planted grain
is obligatorily tithed, how do I know this extends to all other
kinds of profit \ gain (for example, interest charged to a gentile),
business profit, and all other kinds of profit Where do I learn
that tithing applies to these things as well? [Answer] The text
states (Devarim 14:22) [You shall tithe] your entire crop to
include interest income, charged interest and anything that earns
profit (end quote) - and it is more stringent, as it is comparable
to other kinds of tithes that are not in the framework of loans (i.e.,
that one may not lend from those monies and still fulfill ones
obligation to those mitzvot). However, since they (the Taz, and
the Shach at the beginning of section #249) permit taking tithed
money and using it to buy sefarim and to lend them out to others
even though in that case he is only giving him (the sefer) as a lent
object which must subsequently be returned to him, the inference
is that he was correct in what he did. But one can deflect this idea
by arguing that there he is permanently setting aside that tithed
money, but in our case whereby ultimately that money will come
back to him and to his heirs, we have no proof that in so doing he
fulfills his obligation. However, in any event, we can learn from
this that if he permanently sets aside money for use by the Gmach,
meaning that in reality that money will not belong to him, in so
doing he is fulfilling his obligation to give a tenth of his wealth
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to Tzedakah. That is not any worse than what was written by the
Taz and the Shach (at the beginning of section #249) and in the
writings of other Authorities who hold that one can take tithed
money and use it to pay for a wedding or to pay the cost of a Brit
Milah please see that reference. And even if we act stringently,
as written by the Chatam Sofer (in his response, section #231)
brought down in the Pitchei Teshuvah cited in the Yoreh DeAh,
2nd paragraph) that according to the MaHaril and the ReMa
in a place where from the outset, on three separate occasions,
one separated out tithed money specifically to give to the poor,
one may not use that money for any other mitzvah. Now, he
wrote there that when a person initially specifies a condition to
behave \ to act in this way it is permissible. So too in our case.
Even if one wants to act stringently there in all cases (specifically
stating he will use it for a wedding, or Brit, etc.) and say tithed
money must be used exclusively for Tzedakah to the poor,
however in our case that the purpose of a free loan society is to
strengthen the hand of those who are falling, that according to the
Rambam (Laws of Gifts to the Poor, 10th perek, 7th halacha) and
the Shulchan Aruch (section #249, paragraph #6) that money is
included in the category of absolute Tzedakah, with certainty one
may not be stringent in this regard. It is possible that one might
be lenient in this regard, even if initially he made no precondition
to behave in this way please see Shulchan Aruch section #253,
in the 9th paragraph, and (in conclusion) in a practical sense how
one should conduct himself requires more thought and analysis.
Now, everything weve written on this subject is in the framework

where one wants to use his tithed money exclusively for loans and
not as outright gifts to the poor. But if he wants to lend money
for a period of time from the tithed money he already set aside
to a rich man, and all the more so to someone who is faltering,
or to someone who is abject poor, and to pay into that fund from
elsewhere when he is approached by a poor man to give him
as an outright gift then there is no reason to be strict, even
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according to the opinion of the Ramban, and as written in the

Shulchan Aruch, in section #259, 1st paragraph. Subsequently,
with the help of Hashem, I found in sefer Eliyah Rabbah, section
#156 (2nd paragraph) who explicitly wrote as we wrote here, that
even regarding a rich man it is permitted to lend to him through
the Gmach money that was tithed. It is my opinion that the
Eliyah Rabbahs intent was only for a period of time until he
is presented with a poor man, at which time he is obliged to give
him.
(2) Now we will go back and explain briefly the behavior he
must follow in disbursing his tithed money, and from the outset
(when he accepts upon himself this mitzvah) he should say that it
is on condition that he will act in this way, and in so doing he will
remove from himself all (halachic) uncertainties: [1] First before
anything else, it is good that from the outset when he is commits
himself to this mitzvah, he should say that he is doing this with
no intent that this should be a binding oath in order that he will
not fall, G-d forbid, into the sin of violating an oath by virtue of
any circumstance that might present itself. He should also make
sure he has a journal ledger that is specific to this money, and he
writes down in it all of the profit endowed to him by Hashem, after
deducting the cost of all of his business expenses. [2] He should
conduct an audit accounting every half year, or at the very least
every year, and if it should happen G-d forbid that he suffered
a loss in this period, he should deduct that loss from his profit, and
the remaining profit will be the appropriate amount from which
ten-percent will be set aside for Tzedakah. [3] Throughout this
period of time he should record in his accounting ledger all of
the donations that were given to Tzedakah, and he can include in
that journal all of the money he gave to the poor at the doorway
of his house even if it is only a few cents, and deduct all of this
from his total tithing. [4] If at the time of his accounting he sees
a surplus remaining from his tithed money, he should see to it to
immediately disburse that surplus. And if the circumstances did
not present themselves at this time to disburse his tithed money
to those men whom he intended to give Tzedakah, he is permitted
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to retain with him that surplus of tithed money until such time
that circumstances develop whereby he can give that money to
those men, and he is not required to immediately disburse that
money to others. During this period he is allowed to use that
surplus money for his own purposes, however, when the men to
whom he normally disburses his money appear, he is obligated to
borrow money in order to give them that money. [5] If he finds
that he disbursed to Tzedakah an amount more than the money
he tithed, there are authorities who hold that he is permitted to
deduct that excess amount from the coming years tithe, but there
are other Authorities who are strict in this matter (please see the
Pitchei Teshuvah, section #249, 1st paragraph). Therefore, it is
good to behave as we wrote above (in the 2nd saeif), meaning, he
should state an explicit condition at the time he is committing to
this mitzvah of tithing, that he should be able to give money to
Tzedakah on condition that he can collect back that deficit from
his tithed money at any time, as circumstances allow him that
opportunity to do so.
(3) All of this is applicable if this man has a business of his own
where the profitability of each item given to him by Hashem can
be recorded. But if he is a storekeeper, it is virtually impossible to
record an entry each time a little profit accrues to him. Therefore,
the advice in this case is that each year he should make a general
accounting of all his businesses, and an accounting of his store
ledger and calculate what profit he gained from his store. He
should also figure into this calculation the cost of his household
expenses, food and clothing, that he incurred during this period.
Against that he should total all of his Tzedakah disbursements,
and also all facets of Tzedakah that the members of his household
are accustomed to routinely give to the poor. He should stipulate
all of this from the very outset, at the time he is committing to
this mitzvah, that he retains the right to estimate these entries
to the best of his knowledge without having to be rigorously
precise. Also, he is obliged to give a tenth of money received
as an inheritance (Eliyahu Rabbah, section #156, 2nd paragraph).
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19th chapter
The laws of disbursing tithed (10%) money, and
the laws of disbursing Chomesh \ a fifth (20%)
of ones money.
(1) Now we will come to explain the protocol for disbursing
tithed money. It is well known in society that the main reason
for tithing money is for Tzedakah, to distribute money to the
poor, and his poor relatives take precedence in this regard
before anyone else. (Regarding the law of precedence given
specifically to ones relatives, please see Yoreh DeAh, section
#251, 3rd paragraph (in the Hagahah). Even this mans adult
children whom he is not obligated to support, he can give
them his tithed money, that since they have nothing of their own,
that is (i.e., the act of giving them is) absolute Tzedakah, even
if he has the resources to support them from some other place.
Regarding even his father and mother, it is permitted to give his
tithed money to them if he is poor. However, if he is able to
support them in some other way (from other money), Chazal have
said (Gemara Kedushin, 32a) A curse upon one who sustains
his parents with his Tzedakah money (if he has other sources
that can provide them with support). (Please see Shulchan Aruch
Yoreh DeAh, section #240, 5th paragraph (in the Hagahah) and
section #249, 1st paragraph, in the Shach).
And if his relatives (please see the 1st following Hagahah) are not
poor and he distributes his money to others who are poor, it is
appropriate and proper to disburse his money first to those who
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toil in Torah, in order that they will be strengthened in Hashems

Torah, since the inference from the Midrash is that the main reason
that tithing was instituted was in order to support those who toil
in Torah. This is the language used by the Midrash Tanchumah
in perished Reeh (paragraph #18) You will decidedly give onetenth (Devarim 14:22); Give one-tenth \ tithe (Aser) in order to
become enriched (Ashir) (please see the 2nd following Hagahah;
Give one-tenth (please see the following Hagahah) in order not
to be lacking, this is a hint to ocean travelers, (meaning, those
people who are busy with their businesses) to set aside one-tenth
of their money for those who toil in Torah. Also, by virtue of
this, the text of the Torah promises that blessings will come into
his house, as stated in the pasuk (Malachi 3:10) Bring all of the
tithes into the storage house, and let it be as a sustenance in My
House; test Me in this regard the word of Hashem Tzevaaut,
meaning, by virtue of there being food in My House, the Kohanim
and Leviim will be able to toil in the Torah of Hashem, and
because of this I will shower upon you Bracha without limit,
because prosperity is in close proximity to a Talmid Chacham,
as Chazal have said in Gemara Berachot (42a) (and similarly as
Chazal have said in Gemara Chulin (30b) One may not give the
obligatory gifts due Kohanim to a Kohein who is ignorant, as the
pasuk relates (Divrei HaYamim II 31:4) to give the portions
of the Kohanim and Leviim in order that they can strengthen
themselves in the Torah of Hashem. And if he is not able to
distribute all of it to those who toil in Torah, then he should see
to it to distribute to them at least a majority of that money or half
that money. I found this same idea expressed in sefer Knesset
HaGedolahs commentary on Yoreh DeAh in section #249 (1st
paragraph) please see that reference. This is also evident from
the Shetah Mekubetzets commentary on Gemara Ketubot
(50a) in the name of Rav Meili, that the tenth of ones money
given to Tzedakah is likened to the tenth of ones produce given
to the Kohanim and Leviim in order that they be supported in
Hashems Torah (please see further on, at the end of the 2nd saeif
of this perek).
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1st following Hagahah

However, poor people take precedence over those who toil in
Torah, as the Shach wrote in section #250, paragraph #17. And
there is no contradiction here in respect to what I wrote further on
in the 20th perek, paragraph # 4 regarding Rebbe Meir; please see
that reference, as we can say that their intent in saying what will
you do for your children means What did you leave for your
children after your death. But in his lifetime he supported them
with the single Selah that he himself was support with. Even
though the implication of the Midrash (Tanchumah, perashat
Reeh, section #18) [(Devarim 14:22) Give one-tenth \ tithe
(Aser) in order to become enriched (Ashir)] is that tithing was
instituted primarily for the benefit of those who toil in Torah,
nevertheless, nowadays by virtue of his giving a tenth of his
money, he fulfills his obligation to give Tzedakah, and in the
context of Tzedakah the Torah places more emphasis on ones
relatives. Still, more thought and analysis is required regarding
a man who cannot afford to give a tenth of his money, that from
the perspective of law he is not required to give a tenth, but only
that he wants the merit of doing the mitzvot if he is required also
to give it to his relatives or if he is able to give it to those who
toil in Torah.
2nd following Hagahah
Now, if giving one-tenth of ones income (i.e., maaser) helps
to become enriched, then by a simple logical deduction it will
certainly help not to lose wealth! However it is well known that
there are many things that can reduce a man to poverty, as listed
in Gemara Sukah (29b), that for any one of four different reasons
the wealth of a breadwinner will diminish to oblivion (please see
the 1st perek above in the reference beginning with the words
so too). Therefore the Midrash hints to us that even if he does
something that would nominally cause poverty (i.e., a business
financial loss) if this is offset by the mitzvah of tithing the merit
of that mitzvah will help in any event to prevent that financial
loss.
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(2) Understand clearly that our Later Authorities (the Shach in

Shulchan Aruch, section #249, 3rd paragraph) wrote that one can
pay the wedding expenses of a groom and bride with maaser
money if this was the only way that he could do this mitzvah. So
too regarding paying the expenses of a Brit Milah can come from
ones maaser, or that money can be used to buy sefarim and then
lend them out to others and he can also use them to learn from
them but only on condition that he will write on them that they
were bought with maaser money, in order that his children not
take them for themselves after he passes on. But there are those
Authorities who dispute all of this. Regarding this, please see
the Pitchei Teshuvah (in section #249, paragraph #2, quoting the
opinion of the Chatam Sofer) who wrote that according to the
MaHaril and the ReMa, maaser can only be used for the poor
and not for any other mitzvah at all. It is my opinion that if this
man (who is giving maaser) is a participant in the Brit Milah
(the Mohel or the Sandak, etc.) he is doing a favor to the babys
father who is financially hard pressed and cannot pay the expenses
of the Brit, and similarly regarding paying wedding expenses if
the groom and bride are poor, and comparably in the context of
buying sefarim and lending them to others who themselves are
too poor to buy these sefarim themselves One does not have to
be strict at all, as this is specifically like Tzedakah. (Now) to buy
the privilege to be called up to stand at the reading of the Torah
using maaser money if that money will be disbursed to the
poor, also, one should not be strict, according to all Authorities.
However, to use maaser money to pay for the education of ones
children is forbidden according to all Authorities since this is a
mitzvah that is incumbent \ obligatory on this man, to educate
his children, or to hire someone to teach them, and one may
not satisfy this obligation with his maaser money. However,
it is permitted to use this money to pay for the education of the
children of the poor, and in fact this is a great mitzvah.
(3) Understand clearly yet something else, the disbursement of
one-tenth of ones income to Tzedakah as maaser is a standard
average. However, if one wants to act generously he should
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set aside one-fifth of his income. Chazal learn an inference to

this concept from the text (Beresheet 28:22) (spoken by Yaakov
Aveinu) and from everything You give me, I will give a tenth and
a tenth (please see the following Hagahah) two times maaser
(i.e., maaser, and again maaser) amounts to one-fifth. And the
protocol for disbursing twice maaser is the same as described
above: One time only from the principal, and thereafter from
the profit that is sent to him. The appropriate \ correct protocol
for disbursement of this one-fifth should be as follows: It is
best to divide it into two parts; the first maaser (i.e., half of this
one-fifth) should go to those who toil in Torah because it is
comparable to the first maaser given to the Kohanim and Leviim,
in order that they be strengthened in the Torah of Hashem, as
written in the pasuk (Divrei HaYamim II 31:4), and the second
maaser (i.e., the second half of this one-fifth) should go to the
needs of other mitzvot. I found something similar to this concept
in the Shetah MeKubetzet on Gemara Ketubot (50a) in the name
of Rav Meili ZL please see that reference.
Hagahah
And since the text did not hint to give one-fifth all at one
time, the implication is that it is much better to disburse onetenth each of two times, because the concept of maaser
hints to a profound secret, as written in our books, and so it is
more appropriate not to mix these two topics. Later on I found
this same idea written by the Birkei Yosef (section #249, 1st
paragraph). (In any event, one who wants to give more than
one-tenth but is unable to give one-fifth also has that option.
Please study carefully the Pitchei Teshuvah. It is better to set
aside for disbursement exactly one-tenth, since it is written in
our books that one thousand one hundred heavens are nourished
in the merit of maaser, and the excess beyond one tenth should
be disbursed as ordinary Tzedakah). I also found in books (in
the Shetah MeKubetzet on Gemara Ketubot (50a) quoting in the
name of Rav Meili) that this is a remembrance of the harvested
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grain Israel set aside two maasers each year; In the first two
years of the Shemitah cycle, the two one-tenths were disbursed
as the First Maaser, and the Second Maaser, and in the
third year of the Shemitah cycle it was disbursed as the First
Maaser and the Maaser for the Poor. And even though there,
the second Maaser or the Maaser for the Poor was slightly
less than the First Maaser, as brought down in Gemara Babba
Kammah (69b), that being so, then the two maasers together
dont amount to one-fifth That is not so! since they also
set aside the Large Terumah (up to 2%) of their grain harvest,
which is one one-fiftieth, and so the total of the Large Terumah,
the First Maaser and the Second Maaser (or the Maaser for
the Poor) amounted to slightly more than one-fifth.
(4) Now we will explain a detail that is very relevant in respect

to Tzedakah (please see the following extensive Hagahah).
There are those Authorities who say that giving one-fifth is a
nice thing to do (although it is not obligatory), that is specifically
in context where this man did not know there were poor people in
the city who are starving for food, or virtually naked and needed
to be clothed. But when he knows that in the city there are
widows and orphans and the like, and comparably other people
who are in great distress, and they dont have the resources to
survive on their own, the law then obligates one to set aside onefifth of his income. This obligation is also evident from the
words of the Gra (in his holy letter, Aleem LeTerufah) where
this is his stated opinion. All this is in context where the giver
can afford to give this amount. However, he is not obliged to
put himself under pressure (i.e., to take out loans himself) for
this purpose rather, it is only a mitzvah to do so, as mentioned
above. Please study carefully the following Hagahah where we
elaborated extensively on this subject.
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Hagahah: [There are those Authorities who say]

This evolves from the Rambams commentary on Mishnayot, in
the 1st perek of Pehah, quoted here as follows That which was
said on this subject extending Chessed to others has no set
upper limit means to help someone with ones physical effort.
However, to help someone with ones own money does have an
upper limit namely one-fifth of his income, but he has no
obligation to give more than one-fifth of his money except if
he wants to do this as a righteous gesture. Regarding this, they
(Chazal) said (in the Yerushalmi, in the 1st perek of Pehah but
publishers mistakenly cited this reference as being in Gemara
Ketubot, 50a): Our sages (in the times of the Mishnah convened
in the city) of Ushah and electively decided that a man should set
aside one-fifth of his assets for this mitzvah. My understanding
of the practical application of this halacha is as follows: If a man
sees Jewish captives being held for ransom, and he is required
to redeem them as commanded to us by HaKadosh Baruch Hu,
or people who are hungry (starving) or without clothes, and he
is required to feed them until they are satisfied, and cover their
nakedness, as the pasuk states (Devarim 15:8) sufficient for their
needs for which they are lacking, meaning, to fill their needs in
what they are lacking, or to give whatever is necessary to redeem
them (but at a level that is) less than one-fifth of his money, or
up to one-fifth. But if he has to give more than one fifth he
should only give one fifth and not more than that, and he will
not incur any sin in refraining from paying out for everything that
they need because their needs amount to more than one-fifth
of his money. But if he did not encounter any of these situations
that we described, he should disburse his one-fifth from his
profit and not from his principal, and disburse that for the needs
of Tzedakah. The words of the Rambam are quoted up until
this point. Now, ostensibly, in our Gemara, it is evident that
Chazal decreed not to give more than one-fifth; please see that
reference (Gemara Ketubot 50a), and on page (67b) in the body
of the Gemaras question on Mar Ukvah, but the Rambam stated
that in so doing one is demonstrating a trait of piety. Also the
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inference from our Gemara is that it is merely a good thing to do,

and that it is a mitzvah for the one who is disbursing his money
to give up to one-fifth, while the Rambam himself held that it is
an obligatory mitzvah (and not merely a pious gesture) and that
one would incur a sin if he held himself back from disbursing
one-fifth. Additionally, we need to know where the Rambam
gleaned his novel insight from, that the one-fifth has to come
from his income and not from his principal, given that the (cited)
Yerushalmi explicitly states that in the first year of Shemitah that
money has to come from his principal.
Now, truthfully, this is all consistent, that the Rambam in his
commentary on Mishnah is of the opinion that the language
of the Yerushalmi, that the sages of Ushah electively decided
that a man is obligated to set aside a fifth of his possessions
for mitzvah implies that the obligation to set aside a fifth is
imposed by law and is not merely a general mitzvah. However,
in the Shas Bavli it says one who disburses, which implies that
this act is merely a good gesture (but is not obligatory). Also
nowhere does the Bavli mention that this fifth has to come from
this mans principal, and it is the style of the Bavli to elaborate
more on a subject (meaning - and yet the Bavli did not mention
taking a fifth from his principal). Therefore he (the Rambam)
made a distinction between one subject and the other subject,
namely, that the Bavli is addressing a situation where there are no
poor people, and this man is distributing his money and is looking
for poor people and for other mitzvot to which he can give his
money. In this framework a fifth is merely a good gesture,
and it can come only from his profit (and the other Authorities
did not mention that this only applies to his profit, implying that
they dont agree with him in this regard) (i.e., they disagree with
the Rambam, and there is no difference between principal and
profit). But the Yerushalmi is addressing a situation where there
are poor people, and so it said that one is required by law to set
aside a fifth if he can afford it, in order to fulfill the proactive
mitzvah of to provide him with the things that he is lacking.
And the statement they electively decided means (the Chazal
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of Ushah) agreed among themselves that when the Torah says to

provide him with all of his needs it specifically means only up to
a fifth of his possessions and not more. Please study carefully
that reference in the Yerushalmi, that originally they had this as
a tradition passed down through the generations from Moshe
Rabbeinu at Har Sinai, and then they subsequently forgot this
law, and so they convened and they were successful in arriving at
the same intent in the halacha as when the halacha was originally
given to Moshe Rabbeinu by Hashem at Har Sinai. (And later
the Yerushalmi there questions How far does this apply?
(What is the extent to which one is required to give?) One
(Tanna) said to the extent that one gives Terumah, meaning,
what is the lower limit meaning, if one does not give at least as
much as this lower limit it is as though he did not do this mitzvah
at all. This is in fact comparable to what is said in the Bavli
(Gemara Babba Batra, 9a) and codified as law (Shulchan Aruch
Yoreh DeAh, section #249, paragraph #2) that one who gives
anything less that a third of a Shekel to Tzedakah over the course
of a year has not fulfilled the mitzvah of giving Tzedakah at all.
The opinion of the Rambam (cited above in his commentary on
Mishnah) is that in the context where one is in a place where
there are poor people, the rabbis did not at all decree that one
should not disburse more than a-fifth, and if he wanted to, he
could disburse even more as an expression of piety. The Rambam
deduced this law from the case described in Gemara Taanit (24a)
regarding Eliezer from Bartotah, that the charity administrators
would hide from him, as everything he had he would give to
them. But that would be more than a-fifth, and how can one
give more than a-fifth given the Ushah decree?! Rather, you
are forced to say that the charity administrators were collecting
on behalf of poor people, and that this man was behaving as he
did (in giving them more than one-fifth of his income) out of a
sense of piety. With this approach we have answered the question
of the rabbi who authored sefer Gevurot Ari; please see that
reference. However, in any event, it is forbidden to distribute all
of his assets, given that the pasuk states (Vayikrah 27:28) from
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25. Gemara Arachin (28a) Regarding the Gemaras statement from that
which you have, and not all that you have, Rebbe Elazar ben Azariah
adds that if to Heaven one cannot sanctify all of ones possessions, all
the more so is one obligated to have mercy on his own possessions. And
if the Gemara there was discussing a case where there are needy people
in the city, this conclusion of Rebbe Elazar would not be sound, because,
perhaps one can have no mercy on ones own possessions in order to
)benefit someone else. (EL
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that which you have and not all that you have in a case where
one vows to sanctify his possessions to Heaven, and obviously if
he may not sanctify all his possessions to Heaven, all the more so
he may not give give it all to poor people (lit., non-holy people),
as stated in Gemara Arachin (28a) (even if there is an argument
to be made that when poor people are standing in front of him
it is a greater obligation to give them than to give to Heaven, as
there, that case in the Gemara was one in which he was under
no obligation at all to sanctify his wealth to Heaven, rather, he
simply waned to donate a gift to Heaven. But thats not the
case here where the Torah requires one to give them something,
nevertheless, he may not disburse all of his wealth, in which case
he in turn would become impoverished; with absolute certainty
that would be forbidden because of the rule - Your life comes
before the life of someone else). Therefore concerning this, it is
impossible (for the Mishnah) to write it has no set amount, just
as it does not say regarding Terumah that it has no set amount,
since it is forbidden to set aside his entire field for Terumah, as
taught there in the Yerushalmi. And with this approach weve
answered the second question of the sefer Gevurot Ari on the
Rambam; please see that reference. And regarding the rabbinic
decree it is forbidden to disburse more than one-fifth of ones
wealth, that is in context where he himself is disbursing his
money (in a place where there are no needy people), which is
comparable to one who sanctifies a portion of his sheep or cattle,
as described there in Gemara Arachin, where he was not at all
commanded to do so. But if the context of that Gemara was
a case where there were poor people, the simple conclusion of
Rebbe Elazar ben Azariah there is not logically25 sound. Please
see that reference.
Now to return to our subject. In a framework where there are
poor people, it is the opinion of the Rambam that the halacha
requires giving up to one-fifth of ones possessions, and with
this approach I have reconciled what the Gra wrote in his holy
letter Aleem LeTerufah where he wrote to the members of his
household, quoted as follows: (Emphatically) For the sake of
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Heaven, set aside one-fifth as I instructed you, and dont give

less that that, as I warned you, because in giving less than that,
every moment one violates many Laveen and Aseen (namely,
the Laveen of Devarim 15:7-8) Do not harden your heart,
and Do not shut your hand and the Aseen of You shall open
your hand to give him, You shall decidedly give him (Vayikrah
25:35-36) and if you brother will become impoverished
and let your brother live in your society [lit., live with you])
and it considers it as though he repudiated the holy Torah, G-d
forbid; Aleem LeTerufah is quoted up until this point. (Chazal
have said the same thing: It is as though he is worshipping idol
gods, and this person is classified as without restraint [i.e.,
irreligious]). Now, superficially, this statement is contrary to the
Gemara, that from the Gemara Ketubot, 50a, the implication is
that from the perspective of halacha he is not required to give
one-fifth, but rather, if he is going to disburse his money (to
Tzedakah) he should not disburse more than one-fifth, and
that being so, one is forced to say the Gra was addressing a case
where poor people were present, and thus the Gra holds like the
Rambam, that in an instance where there are poor people one is
required by law to disburse up to one-fifth of his possessions.
However, from the words of Rambam in the Laws of Gifts to the
Poor, in the 7th perek, 5th halacha, where he writes as follows:
If a poor man came and askedup until one-fifth is an
exemplary mitzvah; (meaning, it is a nice thing to do, but it
is not a requirement of the mitzvah); please see that reference.
Here, the implication is that he (the Rambam) holds that even
in a place where there are poor people, one is not required by
the halacha to set aside one-fifth of his possessions, but
merely that it is an extra credit mitzvah. In so doing, he (the
Rambam) is contradicting his own explanation (as it appears
in his commentary on Mishnayot That giving one-fifth is
mandatory). And the reason the Rambam did not mention the
ruling of Chazal, not to disburse more than one-fifth, is because
he follows his own opinion, that in a scenario where there are poor
people present it is permitted to disburse more than one-fifth,
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and in so doing there is also an aspect of piety. However, the

question raised above still stands, that he is plainly contradicting
himself. (In an attempt to reconcile his words) Perhaps one can
say that in his compendium (Yad HaChazakah) he is describing a
scenario where this man cannot easily afford to give one-fifth
of his assets, and so for this man to pressure himself to disburse
one-fifth is (i.e., non-obligatory) an act of going beyond the
requirements of the mitzvah. But that would not be the case if
he could afford to do this. Granted that he cannot completely
satisfy the needs of the poor where that need exceeds one-fifth
of his assets, but whatever he can give, why shouldnt he give
it?! Nevertheless, this matter is still somewhat problematic, that
from the language of the Rambam in his Yad HaChazakah (in
the 7th perek of the Laws of Gifts to the Poor, 1st halacha) and in
the Shulchan Aruch (section #249, paragraph #1) the ostensible
implication is that if he can afford it, he would give the poor man
enough to satisfy his need, even if it is more than one-fifth, as
the Yafeh Enayim wrote there in the Yerushalmi. But from
the commentary of the Rambam on Mishnayot, the implication
is that he is not required to give more than one-fifth. It was
in this regard that Chazal in Ushah voted and ruled one should
not disburse more than one-fifth, implying, even if he could
afford it, because if this wasnt so (i.e., in a case where he could
not afford it) he would not be required to give even one-fifth;
this matter requires more thought and analysis. Now, regarding
that which the Rambam wrote (in his commentary on Mishnayot,
as cited in the prior Hagahah) regarding the ransoming back of
captives, please see what I wrote above in the Introduction (in the
3rd saeif). Now to return to our subject, in context where there
are poor people present, the Rambam rules that one is required
by law to set aside up to one-fifth of his assets, and this also
is the opinion of the Gra. This is how the subject matter clearly
appears to me in my humble opinion, with the help of Hashem.
Subsequently I found much of what I said, with Hashems help,
in sefer Birkei Yosef (at the beginning of section #249) and
he also wrote that the Rambam was of the opinion that there is
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a difference in the halacha between a scenario where there are

poor people and one where there are no poor people present ,
as I wrote above. However, he (the Birkei Yosef) remains with
a question evolving from the words of the Rambam in the Yad
HaChazakah, just as we ourselves asked above, and he (the
Birkei Yosef) wrote that the Rambam retracted this opinion when
he wrote his compendium. But based on what we are saying, all
this is not necessary.
Having said all this, one must still give thought and analysis to
the practical outcome and application of the law, given that the
Shulchan Aruch does not at all allude to this distinction (i.e.,
poor people are not present) and codified the law in a broad \
general sense, implying that in all situations one need not make
a distinction (that up to one-fifth is not a requirement, rather
it is an act of piety, and more than that is not even considered
as being an act of piety). However, one can argue completely
opposite to this, that in fact the Mechaber Shulchan Aruch did
not have to state this in section #249 because it was patently
obvious, since the Mechaber based his ruling on if the donor
could not afford to give enough money to cover all of the needs
of the poor - meaning by inference, if he could afford to give only
twenty percent he is required in any event to give twenty percent.
And that which the Shulchan Aruch wrote (section #249) that
giving twenty percent is an enhancement of the mitzvah
(meaning, it is not a requirement of the halacha) is addressing
a circumstance where he cannot easily give twenty percent,
except if he were to pressure himself to do so (as an action that
enhances the mitzvah). Understand clearly that if we dont say
this \ if we dont use this approach, but rather we say that even if
he could afford to give twenty percent, since he cannot afford to
satisfy all of the needs of the poor, then giving twenty percent is
categorized as merely an enhancement of the mitzvah. In this
regard the language of the Rambam is more precise, as he wrote
and if he cannot afford it so much. But if that is so, we remain
with a significant question: Why did the Mechaber write If he
gives less that ten percent to his maaser he is miserly implying,
only miserly and nothing more (meaning, he does not incur a
sin) it would have been better if he wrote He violates the Lav
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of Do not harden your heart and the Lav of Do not shut your
hand which were said in the context of Tzedakah which is
addressing one who gives less that the minimum amount which
is appropriate for him to give, as he (the Mechaber) writes in
section #248, 1st paragraph, since he can afford to give twenty
percent and he is too miserly to give even ten percent. And what
of the Torahs command to give sufficient to his needs? Just
because he cannot completely satisfy the need of the poor he
should not fulfill this mitzvah at all?! Rather, one is forced to say
that the donor cannot easily afford to give maaser and twenty
percent (and not that he cannot afford to give at all, because if
he could not afford to give at all, it would not be called
miserly). Thus he is not in violation of the Laveen of Do not
harden your heart and Do not shut your hand, and the Aseh
of sufficient for his needs he is only categorized as miserly
because he does not strengthen himself in this regard.
However, from the words of Rabbeinu Yerucham who wrote
that even for a time-limited mitzvah one is not required by
the halacha to set aside only ten percent of his money, and
that it is merely an enhancement of the mitzvah to give
twenty percent, (his words are quoted by the Shulchan
Aruch Orach Chayim, in section #656, in the Magen Avraham,
in the 7th sub-paragraph please see that reference) implying
superficially the opposite of what we said given that a passing
mitzvah is comparable to poor people being present - in the
context of the mitzvah of Tzedakah. However, truthfully, even
this is not a proof since our Authorities have compared this to
the mitzvah of Tzedakah, and it is possible to say that there too it
is addressing a case where the donor cannot easily afford it, given
his income, to give twenty percent of his assets therefore he is
not required to do so; but if he can easily afford to do so from
his income, then the halacha requires him to do so. The matter
requires very much thought and analysis how to practically apply
this law. However, the opinion of the Rambam in his explanation
of Mishnayot, and as brought by the Gra, is clearly to be stringent,
and on that basis we expressed ourselves as stated here in this
chapter.
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20th chapter
The law pertaining to the protocol for disbursing
Tzedakah.
(1). The Gemara Ketubot (50a) states (please see the following
Hagahah) Chazal in Ushah instituted a rule that One who
disburses Tzedakah should not disburse more than twenty
percent, lest he fall to public welfare. If he is extraordinarily
wealthy the inference from our Authorities is that this decree
does not apply to him. (Please see Gemara Babba Kamma (9b)
in the Tosafot, citation beginning with the words If you choose
to say, and in Sefer Chochmat Adam the Laws of Tzedakah
(Kelal #144, paragraph #10) and also to make this disbursement
(i.e., more than one-fifth) before ones death, since once he
has passed away he will not fall to requiring public welfare,
then at that time it is permitted to disburse a lot (i.e., more than
twenty percent) (the Shulchan Aruch Yoreh DeAh, section #249,
1st paragraph, in the Hagahah, ruled that one may distribute as
much as one wants before ones demise. Please see that Later
Authorities [in the annotations of Rebbe Akiva Eiger in that
reference] where they cited (other) opinions who ruled that one
may disburse a third or one half of ones wealth, but not more)
as stated in Gemara Ketubot (67b) regarding Mar Ukvah who
said just prior to his passing When he thought carefully about
the Tzedakah he gave throughout his life he said The journey is
long and the provisions are meager, and he distributed all of his
wealth to Tzedakah.
355
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Hagahah
The Gemara Arachin states in the Mishnah (28a): A man may
renounce (his ownership of an item and sanctify it to the benefit
of Heaven \ Hekdesh) from among his sheep and from his
cattle, from among his slaves and his maidservants, from among
his familys generational fields, etc. (meaning, a portion of these
things and not all of these things). Rebbe Elazar ben Azariah
said And if in regard to renouncing ones possessions to the
Benefit of Heaven one is not permitted to renounce all of his
possessions, how much even more so should one be concerned
(lit., take pity on) his possessions (and not disburse everything
he has to a private person Rashi); please study that Gemara
carefully. Even to give only one of these items in its entirety sheep or cattle, or one slave or female slave, or one family field,
or any non-fixed asset that he has also he may not do this,
since it is written in the pasuk (Vayikrah 27:28) from (among)
the things he has and not everything he has, from man
(meaning, his slaves) and not every man, from among his
familys generational fields and not from all of his familys
generational fields. (And he has only one sheep or one familial
field, the understanding from the Gemara Sanhedrin (64b), in the
Tosafot in the citation beginning with the word He will transfer
that one (of these items) is also called all, and ostensibly that is
also the law in our topic. It is also appropriate to study carefully
the exposition of the Gemara Chulin (84a) that the Torah is
teaching conduct for life, not to sacrificially offer up all of ones
cattle or sheep, as it is written (Devarim 12:21) and you will
offer up from among your cattle and your sheep [which seems to
allow one to sacrifice all of his sheep, or all of his cattle as long
as it is not all of his cattle and sheep- DH]). It is obvious that
even if all of these things (i.e., one-of-a-kind possessions) sum up
to less than twenty percent or ten percent of his assets, also he is
not permitted to do this (to relinquish them to Heaven) given that
the pasuk does not make any distinction in this regard. And now,
based on what was said by Rebbe Elazar ben Azariah, that one
should demonstrate restraint when it comes to his possessions
357
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(lit., should take pity on his possessions), meaning, even if he is

giving them to Tzedakah, as understood from the reference in
Gemara Arachin, that the Gemara there is talking in the context
of the decree promulgated in Ushah, as mentioned above please
see that reference, and all the more so not to renounce and give
away one type of possession as a gift to someone who is not
impoverished, as Rabbeinu Gershom the Light of the Exile writes
this explicitly. That being so, ostensibly based on what Rebbe
Elazar ben Azariah learned a straightforward logical deduction
from renunciation to Tzedakah, then from the perspective of
law one must be careful not to disburse to Tzedakah the entirety
of one item that he has his only sheep or his only family-field,
even if its value is less that twenty percent ( )or ten percent
( )however, this is a novel idea which if true should have
been cited by our rabbis.
Therefore, in my opinion a distinction should be made, that we
cannot compare disbursing Tzedakah in a context where there are
poor people present, in which case the Torah requires us to give
them their basic needs, to the subject of renouncing in favor
of Hekdesh \ for the Benefit of Heaven or sanctifying the
item that he owns (that the law is one and the same in this regard
both for renouncing and for sanctifying, as inferred from
the Toseftah), as in the first place one is not obligated at all to
renounce or to sanctify, as the Rambam writes at the end of
the Laws of Assessing Value, that even if one does renounce or
sanctify he earns a mitzvah, nevertheless, as a first choice he is
not required to do so. Given this, it is possible that in this context
the imperative to give Tzedakah is greater than sanctifying,
and if he has only one of those items (sheep, cattle, fields, etc.)
and he doesnt need it he can give it to the poor as long as its
value does not exceed the upper limit of his obligatory Tzedakah.
And regarding the straightforward logical deduction made by
Rebbe Elazar ben Azariah, that is in regard to disbursing all of his
assets, that he is not commanded to do this at all even if there are
standing in from of him poor people who are starving and thirsty
since your own life takes precedence over the life of your
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26. and one who preempts the poor man and snatches it away from him is
called a Rasha. Therefore it was permissible for Rebbe Abba to give it to
)him even though he had no other fields. (DH
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friend and in this sense the straightforward logical deduction

is completely appropriate, that he has no authority to go and do
this. This concept is also an outcome of the precise wording of
the Mishnah, that the logical deduction relates to not disbursing
all of ones assets. Now, even though it is implied there in that
Gemara that according to Rebbe Elazar ben Azariah one may
not even disburse more than twenty percent that is not because
of the reason of the logical deduction, since we dont see that
this rule at all in relation to the laws of Arachin, only since it
says man should be considerate of his money (lit. take pity on his
money) and not disburse more, they understood that one should
not distribute his assets excessively which is just like the Ushah
decree. Alternatively, the use of the expression one who disburses
... is not addressing a scenario where poor people are standing in
front of him asking for Tzedakah, but rather he himself is going
out looking for instances of mitzvot and Tzedakah to which he
can contribute his money \ assets which is not obligatory and
in this framework Chazal decreed (Gemara Ketubot 50a) that
he is not permitted to disburse any more than twenty percent.
However, if poor people are standing before him, in any event
there is still in play the option of piety \ (going beyond what the
law requires) according to the explanation of the Rambam, as
mentioned above. In this context where he goes out seeking to
support the needs of mitzvot and Tzedakah, we can say that the
law is that he is not permitted to disburse all of a one-of-a-kind
item that he owns (i.e., he has only one sheep, or one cow, or one
inherited familial field), as this is comparable to renouncing or
sanctifying. Please see the Gemara Kedushin (59a) regarding
Gidal Bar Minyomi, where Rebbe Abba wanted to give him his
field as a gift even though he did not have any other fields that
he had acquired, as implied there in that Gemara. Perhaps that
was because Gidal Bar Minyomi was first rummaging through
\ showing interest in that property with an eye towards buying
it.26 One may also say that it is possible he had other fields that
were coming to him as an inheritance from his fathers. All of this
requires more thought and analysis.
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(2). There are those Authorities who have ruled that the Ushah
decree Do not disburse more than twenty percent is in the
context of this man going out looking for poor people to whom he
can give Tzedakah, but if poor people come to him and they are
hungry or without clothes, where he is required to fill their need
and satiate them, and cover their nakedness, as the Torah tells
us (Devarim 15:8) fill the need that he is lacking, or if he sees
captives, that he is obligated to redeem them as commanded by
Hashem Yitbarach, and this man wants to give more than twenty
percent, he may do so, and it is an act of piety (Rambam in his
commentary on Mishnah, in the 1st perek of Pehah, in the 1st
Mishnah). Please also see the Hagahah above in the 19th perek,
paragraph beginning with the words However, based on the
words of the Rambam) it is my opinion that this is addressing a
scenario (please see the first following Hagahah) where there is
no literal issue of a threat to life but if there is a literal threat
to life for example the captive is about to die or is hungry to
the point where his starvation is life-threatening then this upper
limit of twenty percent does not apply. The statement in Gemara
Babba Metziah (62a) (please see the second following Hagahah)
was said specifically in the context of your life coming before \
taking precedence over the life of someone else, but nowhere do
we find that ones own wealth takes precedence over the life of
someone else.
1st following Hagahah
Even though it says in Gemara Babba Batra (8b) Captivity
(by definition) encompasses all punishments (at the hand of his
oppressors, which seems to include death) still, we find in many
places instances where the captive is not in a life threatening
situation, but merely that his captives want him as a slave or
something comparable. (Please see Masechet Horayot (13a):
In this Gemara, a man and his father and his Rebbe were all
in captivity. His redemption take precedence over his Rebbes
redemption, and his Rebbes redemption takes precedence
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over his fathers redemption, and his mothers redemption

takes precedence over everyone, meaning, even over this man
himself because she is vulnerable to being violated. Please see
Yoreh DeAh, section #252, in the Shach, sub-paragraph #10,
who explains this in the context of no danger to life, because
if that wasnt so, this man himself would take precedence over
everyone). Based on what weve said we understand well the
Gemara Babba Batra (11a) regarding the incident involving
Binyamin the Tzadik, that only after that woman said to him If
you dont support \ feed me, a woman and her seven children will
die he stood up and supported her with his personal funds, but
not from the initial meeting with her since it was a lot more than
the amount he was required to give to Tzedakah (i.e., her needs
exceeded twenty percent of his money).
2nd following Hagahah
His life taking precedence over someone elses life: This is the
language of the Gemara there (Babba Metziah 62a): Two men
were walking along the road one of them was holding a canteen
of water. If both drank the water, both would die (there was not
enough water in the canteen to sustain alive both of them). If
(only) one of them drank, he would be able to reach a settlement.
Regarding this, Rebbe Akivah expounded on the pasuk (Vayikrah
25:36) and your brother will live with you Your life (in a
life-threatening situation) takes precedence over the life of your
friend.
(3). Understand clearly, that which Chazal decreed in Ushah not

to disburse more than twenty percent appears to be specifically
in context when he is disbursing the assets of his household (i.e.,
his money, etc.) by this distribution, as this is implied from the
use of the word disburse (please see the following Hagahah).
But if the amount is small, for example, he does some work or
he has an established business by which he earns enough to live
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on throughout the week, with a little bit of money left over, he is

allowed to disburse that small extra amount even though in value
it might be more than twenty percent.
Hagahah
Here I will elaborate somewhat and in so doing I will explain
with the help of Hashem several other topics that are relevant
to the halacha. Analysis is required here in regard to the essence
of the law, whether the (Ushah) decree applies to a small amount
\ (a small disbursement), that it is possible that this decree
was promulgated only for large asset disbursements, which
is intimated by the word disburse, and in this regard Chazal
decreed not to exceed twenty percent so that the man himself
would not in the end fall to the point of public welfare. But if
he is a man who has an income throughout the week by virtue of
some work, or he has a business that supports his (basic) needs
with a small amount left over, can we (presume to) say that it
is forbidden for him to give this small amount to Tzedakah if
that small sum amounts to more than twenty percent, on the
possibility that he might fall to public assistance (dont think
to say that, because) he has (an income from) his established
business or work from which he is supported. And if we were
to say that maybe his business will no longer be able to provide
for his basic needs what good would this small amount do for
him so that he would not fall to public welfare?! However, it is
possible to deflect this supposition by arguing that perhaps this
small amount is like someone elses substantial wealth. One
cannot bring a proof from Midrash Kohelet, mentioned above in
the 4th saeif, that Rebbe Meir would give a third of his profit to
support the Chachamim; thus we see that one who has a business
with an established (regular) income is permitted to disburse
that extra income even if it amounts to a third of his income,
and we dont say that that small amount is considered as being
substantial that it is possible that there Rebbe Meir was lenient
because he supported the rabbis with the (small) amount left over
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from (the expenses of) his basic needs, as we wrote there in the
4th saeif quoting from the Shetah MeKubetzet, that when it
comes to supporting Torah there is no specified amount (i.e., the
limiting decree of Ushah is not applicable).
Truthfully, the relevance of this unresolved issue of halacha is
not limited to this topic, that this same law applies to what the
Tosafot wrote (citation beginning with the word Perhaps) and
what the Rosh wrote (in the 7th paragraph) in the 1st perek of
Babba Kamma (9a), that one is not required to disburse more
than twenty percent of his possessions \ assets even for a mitzvah
that is passing by (transient) (the mitzvah presents itself now, and
then passes him right by and is gone), like the topic of our subject
of Tzedakah. What is the law regarding the man mentioned
above whom we described? Perhaps the Ushah decree was not
intended to apply to a small amount of money, or (perhaps) for
this kind of a man this small sum of his is considered as someone
elses substantial amount and he does not have to spend it on
the mitzvah. I searched and I found that the Magen Avraham in
section #606, in paragraph #7 quoted the Nimukei Yosef in the
1st perek of Gemara Babba Kamma who writes in the name of the
RaMa that one who is financially hard pressed nevertheless must
add additionally - from his toiling - up to a third more to enhance
the mitzvah in order to beautify it. However, the Yam Shel
Shelomo disagrees with this and writes that this is not necessary.
He further writes that it is possible that this kind of a man does
not even have to spend any money on this mitzvah (i.e., his
poverty excuses him from the mitzvah) and so this issue remains
in dispute (i.e., its halachic status is not resolved). In my humble
opinion the straightforward likelihood is that the law follows the
opinions of the Nimukei Yosef and the RaMa. First we cannot
dismiss what was obvious to these two great sages because of
the uncertainty of the Yam Shel Shelomo. Moreover, the
understanding of their words is as implied by the Yerushalmi in
the 1st perek of Masechet Pehah. There it states (3b) One may
not go around knocking on doors for Tzitzit or Tefillin, which is
not the case when it comes to honoring ones father and mother
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please see that reference. (Please study carefully the commentary

of the Rosh in the 1st perek of Gemara Kedushin (50th paragraph,
regarding honoring ones parents). However, if he can ration
some of the money from his earnings in order to buy them (those
mitzvot) and by this method he will not be forced to go knocking
on doors, then he is obligated to buy them using this method. We
see a further proof to this from the Gemara Kedushin (29a) that
it says there explicitly that even if he has only five selaim he
is required (to spend them) to redeem his son from the Kohein
(i.e., Pidyon HaBen), and it is not possible to say that there the
five selaim is twenty percent of his possessions, because if that
was so the words of Rebbe Yehudah would not be understood
(lit., would not be good). Please see the conclusion of Rebbe
Yirmiyah in that reference. Therefore it is my opinion that the
halacha is as ruled by the RaMa and the Nimukei Yosef (and not
like the Yam Shel Shelomo), and based on this I wrote as stated
above.
(4). Something else you must know clearly, that the main thrust
of the Ushah decree was directed to ordinary Tzedakah, but when
the issue is the support of Torah, the Shetah MeKubetzet on
Gemara Ketubot (50a) inclines that this decree does not apply at
all, and this is logical since in consideration of the support he gives
Torah he has a share in the reward of the Torah that was learned
by the man he supported, as we find in the relationship between
Yissachar and Zevulun, that the tribe of Zevulun supported the
tribe of Yissachar, and in return they received reward for their
part of Yissachars Torah. The Midrash Rabbah expressed this
concept in perashat Naso (13:17) by what merit did the head of
the tribe of Zevulun earn the privilege to be the third tribal leader
to bring gifts at the dedication of the Mishkan? Because the
tribe loved the Torah and they opened their hand generously to
disburse their money to the tribe of Yissachar so they would have
no worries over their livelihood, and consequently they would
not be forced to stop their learning Torah. Therefore Zevulun
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)27. (Bamidbar 7:24-25) On the third day (of the dedication of the Mishkan
the tribal leader of Zevulun, Eliav Ben Chelon: His offering One silver
bowl, its weight 130 (shekels) and one silver basin of 70 shekels, in the
sacred shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a meal
offering.
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merited to be a partner in the Torah, as he was a colleague of

Yissachar.
Translators note: At this point in the translation of Sefer Ahavat
Chessed my father Yaakov ben Leah ZL passed away on
Erev Shavuot 5770, on the 5th of Sivan, on the same day he was
born in the year 5680. My father AH was a lifelong partner in
support of Torah and worked hard at extending Chessed with a
pleasant concern for others.
Something additional in this regard (i.e., why Zevulun was the
third tribe to bring gifts to the dedication of the Mishkan):27
Kearah \ Bowl was a physical metaphor of the food Zevulun
fed to Yissachar. Mizrak \ Basin was a physical metaphor
for the wine that he fed him. Why were they made of silver?
Because he (Zevulun) also gave him (Yissachar) money (i.e.,
silver) with which to meet all of his needs. Both were filled
with fine flour, both of them earned their Torah jointly and
both were identically supported. Just as Zevulun had a share of
Yissachars Torah, so too did Yissachar have a share of Zevuluns
money. Please see that reference. The inference from all of this
is that their level of support was much more than twenty percent.
We find in the words of Chazal in many places a proof that the
relationship between Yissachar and Zevulun was a teaching
example for all subsequent generations, and so how can we say
in our generation that we should withhold this support. Rather,
with absolute certainty since by virtue of his support he has a
share in the reward of his Torah, the notion of a limit to that
support is irrelevant, and the more one adds to that support, so
too will his share of the reward of Torah be increased.
Hagahah
From the words of this Midrash, one who is insightful in his fear
of Hashem will understand how to conduct himself in partnering
with Torah, that when a ben Torah comes to him, he should greet
him graciously \ hospitably just as he would greet his business
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partner when he came to him, who earned for him a great profit.
Because of the warm, gracious welcome he extends to the ben
Torah, in the end he will also merit receiving in Olam Haba that
share of the portion of Torah which he sponsored, all in great
happiness. This is in contrast because of our many sins - to
the behavior of thoughtless people, whose support is laced with
insults \ with a belittling of the solicitor, with great stinginess
and with a frowning face. But in the way (this miserly man) acts
towards others, so too in the end in that same way they (Heaven)
will act towards him G-d forbid; therefore the wise person will
have the foresight to see the consequences of his actions.
The Midrash Kohelet Rabbah (2:22) in commentary on the pasuk

(Kohelet 2:18) And so I hated all of my achievements; Rebbe
Meir was a talented expert scribe who worked all week long and
earned three Selaim. He would eat and drink with one Sela, buy
clothes with one Sela, and with his third Sela he would support
Chachamim. His students said to him: Rebbe, what did you
leave (as an inheritance) for you sons? He answered them If
they will be Tzadikim, the words of David HaMelech will be
invoked on them, that David said (Tehilim 37:25) I never saw
a Tzadik who was abandoned and his descendants asking for
food. And if not should I be leaving my assets to an enemy
of G-d?!
The Midrash Kohelet Rabba further relates (7:23, and similarly
in Vayikrah Rabbah 25:1) Rebbe Acha said in the name of Rebbe
Tanchum: A man learned and taught and observed and fulfilled,
and he had sufficient means to support and he did not support
he is included in the category of (Devarim 27:26) Cursed is the
one who did not uphold the words of this Torah. If he did not
learn and did not teach and did not observe \ guard and did not
fulfill (meaning, if he weakened in his learning because of poverty
and lifes pressures since he was busy earning a livelihood,
as the Midrash concludes there, that he was unable to sustain
himself) and he was unable to sustain others and nevertheless he
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pray timely. Please see Rashis explanation there -(EL). [The relevance of
Rebbe Yochanas law to our subject is as follows: Since we do pause our
learning to pray because we do pause our learning for mundane matters,
so too if one spends more than a fifth of his money on things that are
vain and nonsense, so too can one spend more than a fifth on matters of
]Tzedakah. DH
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supported Torah, he is included in the pasuk Blessed is the one

who upholds, since every curse has a contravening blessing;
the Midrash is quoted up until this point. From all of this we can
learn the enormity of this topic of strengthening Torah at a time
when his own sustenance is meager, and because of this he will
be blessed, and all the more so he must strengthen himself in this
mitzvah at a time when he is prosperous.
(5). Now we will return to our topic mentioned above. From
the decree instituted by Chazal in Ushah we can think carefully
about how much man must have pity on his money (i.e., to be
sensitive to live within his means) and not squander it on empty
vanities. Among those things that stand at the heights of Heaven,
like the matter of Tzedakah and the needs of others - mitzvot
which constitute the life of a person - and rescue him from the
sufferings of this world and in the Coming World, we are warned
(by Chazal) to take pity on ones wealth and not to excessively
disburse it in order not to come himself to a state of poverty,
even though in so doing at times the mercy of Hashem Yitbarach
will be invoked on this person to perform for him acts that are
beyond the realm of natural occurrences, so then how much
ever more so should a man be careful not to disburse \ squander
his money on empty, vain things for the purpose of false honor
and the like (please see the following Hagahah)28 meaning, to
dress in expensive clothing, and to live in opulent homes with
large servant staffs, and with the most expensive furnishings
(lit., utensils) that all this will consume a mans wealth in a very
short period of time and bring him down to poverty and in
the end he will also resort to robbery, that other peoples money
is meaningless to him because of the extent of his pressure and
28. Regarding people like this, I dont know if the Ushah decree even applies to
them at all; please see the Gemara Shabbat (11a): Rebbe Yochanan says,
that which we said that somebody who is learning does not have to stop
to pray, that only applies to people like Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai and to
others whose Torah learning is comparable to his, but people like us, who
anyway stop learning to go to work must also stop learning in order to
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the depth of his poverty. Now I know very well the attitude of
the Yetzer Hara that first seduces man by telling him all this is
helpful \ necessary for his business, meaning, people will come
to believe that he is wealthy and they will trust him and extend
credit to him for large sums of money. But this is all nonsense,
because the whole world knows now who the deceivers \ crooks
are, and they inquire and research until the truth is disclosed to
them, and now whatever he excessively spent he squandered
his assets for nothing. Yet even more than this, that his sons and
daughters when they see the opulent lifestyle of his household,
they will sincerely believe their father is vastly wealthy, and on
that basis they will squander yet even more of his wealth on
things that are worthless vanity, until he is financially ruined, and
suddenly all of his liabilities are known to everyone to the point
where it becomes a matter of life or death for him and his family
from the enormity of the suffering and humiliation from all of
his creditors who are surrounding him on all sides for all of his
sins \ illegalities. Now, in place of the momentary happiness
that came from the faade by which he and his family initially
deceived everyone, they are painfully broken hearted for many,
many years. Therefore, one who is wise and has the foresight
not to consume his money on objects of vanity and emptiness
but only on those things that are necessities and on matters of
Tzedakah and Chessed, and then it will be good for him.
(6). Further to this I wanted to make known an additional point:
Those who accustom themselves to give a tenth (maaser) or a
fifth (chomesh) of whatever they profit, the merit of the Tzedakah
they give is substantially greater than the merit of those who give
routine Tzedakah, even if the sums are equal, because those
who just give Tzedakah (i.e., not as maaser) get reward only
for giving Tzedakah, but their businesses dont gain because of
this. But that is not the case regarding those who also make their
business into a partnership with Heaven \ On High that their
businesses literally derive a great benefit, since it is a business
that has an intrinsic mitzvah. In particular, if at the time he
accepts upon himself the mitzvah of giving a tenth or a fifth of
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his profit, his intention at that time was that a portion of all of
his ventures would be dedicated to Hashem,29 how great is his
reward.
29. In conclusion what emerges from the words of our master the Chafetz
Chayim ZTL is that there are six instances whereby one is permitted to
disburse more than a fifth of his income. (1) A wealthy man who has an
income appropriate to his station in life can give even more than a fifth; (2)
If he has a steady business or an occupation that provides a steady income
stream each month, he can disburse an amount in excess of his basic
needs, even if that amount is more than a fifth; (3) Poor people approach
him asking him for Tzedakah. And when there is a concern for a lifethreatening situation, he is obligated to give whatever he is able to give,
even if it amounts to considerably more than a fifth. Moreover, the Chafetz
Chayim ZTL in the 2nd saeif of the Introduction to this sefer, in the 5th
notation, rules as follows: Understand clearly that in our discussion it
seems obvious that even if he has no money of his own to lend, but he
himself can borrow from others, he is obligated to do this when in so
doing he can save his fellow Jew from mortal danger or loss; (4) Prior
to his passing on, he can disburse more than a fifth to the poor; (5) He can
disburse more than a fifth when he gives to support Torah and he wants
for himself a share of that Torah learning; (6) People who are (anyway)
squandering their money on luxuries are permitted to disburse more than
a fifth to Tzedakah. (MC)
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21st chapter
An explanation of the mitzvah to support someone
who is falling to the point of not being able to
support himself, in order that he will not fall
completely, G-d forbid.
(1). Up until now we spoke about routinely extending Chessed
and thereby benefiting a fellow Jew poor or rich. Now we will
explain yet another aspect of Chessed which is common to this
topic, namely, one who is monetarily hard pressed, and this loan
which you will extend to him can strengthen him so that he wont
fall to public welfare. This topic of Chessed is much greater than
routine kindness since the lender is additionally fulfilling what
is written in the pasuk (Vayikrah 25:35 - 36) If your brother
becomes impoverished with you and his livelihood fails in your
midst, you shall strengthen him, the convert or the righteous
gentile, and he will live in your society (lit., live with you).
(The language of the pasuk with you is explained by Chazals
exposition (Gemara Temurah, 16a) in commentary on the pasuk
(Mishle 22:2) the rich and the poor met, Hashem made them
all at the time a poor man comes to a businessman and says to
him: Sustain me. If he sustains him, good and well, and if not
Hashem made them all, the One who made this one rich will
make him poor Accordingly, when this kind of man comes
to you, imagine that you yourself were also as needy as this man,
since if you dont help him, it is possible that your station in life
will also dwindle down to nothing, G-d forbid. However, if you
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do help him and strengthen his hand so that he wont falter, both
of you will be alive and enduring. This is as written in the pasuk
(Vayikrah 25:35) the convert or the righteous gentile, he will
live with you [i.e., in your society]). And if Hashem will enrich
him by some amount and in so doing he will live both him
and his family Hashem will consider this lender as though he
brought to life this man and his entire family, as we wrote above
in the 6th perek (1st paragraph) quoting the Midrash (Tanchumah,
Mishpatim, paragraph # 15) (please see the following Hagahah).
Hagahah
Something else that you must know that even though within
the topic of the mitzvah of doing Chessed which is addressed
throughout the entire Torah, that is in the context of a lender
who does not profit from it at all. But within the context of this
mitzvah, when one must support someone so that he does not
fall, we find in the Gemara Shabbat (63a) that he invests money
in a venture with this man, half the money is a pure investment
(and the other half is a loan) which is greater than the routine
mitzvah of giving merely a loan, and the reason is because when
extending an ordinary loan it is not usual to give a large loan to
the point where one will use it to transact business, but rather
it will be used mainly to provide himself with a little support,
and when that money is spent on expenses and runs out he will
not be able to repay the loan and he will be ashamed to face
the lender. But someone giving him money to invest in some
venture will certainly put a lot of money in his hand, in order
that it would be possible for him to use it to conduct business
so that he could sustain himself, and the principal will remain in
order to repay the loan. (Maharsha, in the cited reference). This
is what the Rambam wrote (10th perek of the Laws of Giving
Gifts to the Poor) that if he partners with him in some business,
it is also included in this mitzvah of and your brother will
live (in your society) with you. But he has to understand that
this matter was far better in the times of the Gemara than it is
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)the borrower. (DH
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nowadays, since in those days if there was a loss in the business

belonging to these partners, they both sustained the loss equally,
and so too the profit was shared equally, apart from the cost of
labor. Whereas today, the way the Heter Iskah is structured, it is
very common to find that the borrower takes only the very least
amount of profit, and on occasion takes the entire loss. Therefore
it is very appropriate that one who lends and wants to follow the
halacha as it is intended by fulfilling the mitzvah of (Vayikrah
25:35) If your brother becomes impoverished with you and his
livelihood fails you shall strengthen him, he must think very
carefully that in the end, at the bottom line of this partnered
business, he sees to it that he does not profit any more than the
(his partnered) borrower30 in order not to be categorized by what
is described in the Zohar Chadash Midrash Ruth that the fourth
level of Gehinnom is the place of judgment of one who saw an
impoverished man who was struggling under pressure and he did
not lend him until the rich man asked for a profit from his loan.
(2). Additionally, if he sees he is able to secure for this man a

business or have him hired to do some form of service work by
which this man will have a livelihood, this too is within the scope
of the mitzvah, as brought down by the Rambam (in the 10th perek
of the Laws of Gifts to the Poor, in the 7th halacha). The general
rule concerning this mitzvah is One should work to a maximum
effort to support his fellow Jew in order that he will not fall in
his livelihood, each person relative to his respective livelihood,
since sometimes he can help these people by encourageing others
to help them in their fields of occupation.
Ive seen men who are G-d fearing, whose behavior is such that
when they lend a sum to these kinds of people as a straight loan,
they stipulate that the loan repayment should be in small weekly
increments. This is a great kindness that he is doing for these
destitute people, since on this basis they will have the ability to
repay the loan and they will retain their dignity. But that would
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not be the case when they are forced to pay back their loan in
one installment - they would revert back to their poverty as they
were before. We find this topic appears in Gemara Avodah Zara
(4a) When a man lends a thousand Zuz to his friend, someone
whom he likes, he collects it back from him slowly in small
amounts. One should take a lesson from those who lend out
with an Iskah who do this (and collect back their principal in
small increments) in order to lighten the repayment burden \
the financial burden of the borrower. In so doing they protect
their money (because their money will all be paid back) and
necessarily their profits will increase (since the loan is an Iskah
a business arrangement which will return an income stream).
So too should he behave in this same way with men who are
anguished, by routinely extending Chessed to them in order to
fulfill to perfection the Will of Hashem Yitbarach. By doing this,
in the Coming Future Hashem Yitbarach will crown this lender
with the Crown of a Good Name [as stated in Gemara Shabbat
104a: Alef Binah \ Learn Wisdom, Gemol Dalim \ Do
kindness to the indigent, and if you do this, HaKadosh Baruch
Hu will sustain you and tie a crown upon you for the Coming
Future. In my opinion that is what the Mishnah in Avot (4:12)
says: The Crown of a Good Name is superior to the other two
crowns and will be much more honorable than the honor a lender
gains in this world from the small profit he earns through the
loans he extends.
The lender who behaves in this way fulfills what is said in the
pasuk (Tehilim 41:2) Praiseworthy is the one who contemplates
the needs of the poor, on his day of bad \ evil (i.e., judgment)
Hashem will protect him, meaning, this man considered
carefully the sorrow of this indigent, and his lowliness, perhaps
in some way he can raise him up out of his poverty and pain.
This pasuk includes many concepts as we will explain further on
(in the 3rd section, in the 7th perek) with the help of Hashem, and
this subject is also included among them.
This wonderful mode of behavior that weve written about
is not limited to a specific single person, that how appropriate
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it would be if they are able to behave this way by extending

Chessed in this way publicly \ to many people. Truthfully,
Ive seen this mode of behavior in certain holy cities that have
recently organized holy groups of men who act in this way, and
they are called Supporters of the Fallen, that they support and
strengthen the hand of those who have fallen so that they wont
completely collapse into public welfare, G-d forbid. This is the
method by which they run the fund: They lend to them for a
specific period of time as stipulated in their bylaws and ease the
burden of repayment so that they can repay only a small amount
each week. Also, there is a specific person who is designated
either a volunteer or paid from this group (from the members
of the Free Loan Society) who goes around each week to gather
and collect from each person who borrowed, and in this way
it is virtually certain that the loan fund will never be depleted.
(Please see the following Hagahah). See another great virtue that
is inherent in this kind of behavior, that at the time the loan is
given, apart from fulfilling the mitzvah of and you shall support
him, and that this is the highest level of Tzedakah as explained
by the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch Yoreh DeAh (section #
249:6) he further implements this subject of Chessed at the
time of the loan repayment, when he extends kindness \ Chessed
to the borrower (by letting the borrower re-pay the loan in small
installment, and by going to the borrowers house himself to
pick up payments and not making the borrower come to him).
Regarding this, the statement of Chazal in Gemara Sukah (49b)
is well known: Rebbe Elazar said Tzedakah (i.e., the reward
for giving Tzedakah) is repaid based only on the Chessed that
went into it.
Hagahah
Also, in some places I saw an organization of men who are called
Supporters of Those Who Are Falling who characteristically
lend out money even without taking a security, but only on the
basis of bringing a letter from a businessman who has guaranteed
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the loan repayment, but not from an ordinary businessman,

rather, only from businessmen who are trustworthy and who
have a established reputations within that society as they have
already donated many rubles to the Gmach. And the society has
bylaws specifying the number of loans that can be extended using
a guarantor. Also, these bylaws will not permit a businessman
to simultaneously guarantee two loans, rather, as soon as a
lender completely pays off his loan this businessman can now
give another guarantee on another borrower whom he knows is
trustworthy to repay the debt. And if the borrower does not repay
the loan, the society will go after the guarantor (for repayment of
his loan to the borrower) and the borrower will be noted in the
records of that Gmach known as someone to whom they will not
lend again in this way (i.e., without a security). Regarding these
free loan societies, I saw and researched them, and concluded
that they do a great good, that they strengthen the hand of those
people who have fallen and they literally pick them up and put
them back on their feet. In any event, this kind of conduct
lending with a guarantor backing up the loan repayment - is not
something that everyone can do, that it is likely that in so doing
a lot of their money will be lost, unless it is a fund that has a
lot of money. Also, this is specifically relevant to societies of
Supporters of Those Who Have Fallen which are organized
from their inception to strengthen the hand of a breadwinner
who has fallen (who is ashamed to bring a security) and they
(the free loan society) are prepared to suffer some loses in this
way. The Rambam writes regarding this mitzvah (in the Laws
of Gifts to the Poor, 10:7) that strengthen means to support
this (financially) falling family with a gift or a loan, and those
who run the society support it by raising new donations\ grants
each day. But with other free loan societies it is not appropriate
to lend without taking a security, as mentioned above in the 16th
perek (in the first Hagahah of the perek).
(3). Something else you must know clearly, referencing Yoreh
DeAh (section #249, 6th paragraph) that if one gives a gift to
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someone who is falling and in so doing strengthens his hand, this

too is included in this mitzvah. Therefore, how so very careful
must one be that if some mishap happened to a man, for example,
the animal that he uses for his business died, or some other
comparable loss, and he cannot help him by himself, or a woman
became widowed and she can no longer support herself, and if they
were to give her some money she could use it to transact business
or do anything else that is comparable, it is a great mitzvah to help
them in this instance. This mitzvah causes one to live a longer
life, as brought down in the Midrash (Vayikrah Rabbah 34:2) in
commentary on the pasuk (Mishle 19:17) Hashem lends those
who have compassion for the indigent (please see the following
Hagahah). Similarly, this concept is brought down in Gemara
Babba Batra (11a) regarding the incident involving Binyamin the
Tzadik; please see that reference.
Hagahah (Similarly Binyamin the Tzadik:)
There was a situation when a woman came to him during the years
of famine and said to him: Rebbe, support me \ feed me. He
said to her I take an oath (lit., I swear by the Temple service)
that the charity fund is completely depleted. She said to him If
you dont sustain me, a mother and her seven children will die!
He went and supported her with his own money. Some time later
on he became ill the Heavenly angels said the righteous
Binyamin, who brought back to life a mother and her seven
sons, should he die at a young age after supporting this woman
and her family?! They extended his life by an additional twenty
two years.31 Ostensibly, the language of this Gemara needs to
be understood more rigorously; Why did she say support me,
she should have said support me and my children, as she
herself said later on, since the food that he would have given
31. In this context, please see above, in part 2 of this sefer, the 6th chapter,
in the second paragraph, beginning with the words Regarding this man
specifically.
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her for herself was certainly not enough to also feed her seven
sons, even if she was very frugal in parceling out the food. Also,
what is meant by He went and supported her? It should have
said: He went and supported her and all of her children, as the
Heavenly angels said: The righteous Binyamin brought back to
life a woman and her seven sons. However, the truth will show
the way. Her intent was not to receive routine Tzedakah, rather,
her request was for him to give her a sum of money by which she
could transact a business from which she could earn a livelihood,
and in so doing she and her children would remain alive. (And
he answered her by taking an oath: I swear by the Temple
service that the charity fund is depleted that supporting the
hand of the indigent by which they can transact some business is
also called Tzedakah according to the opinions of the Rambam
and the Shulchan Aruch cited there. And even if you were to
say it is not permitted to take money from the charity fund (and
give it to this man to invest in a business through which he could
earn a livelihood) since the intent of the donors to the fund is to
disburse it to charity (and not to invest it in a business) as we
wrote something similar to this in the first Hagahah of the 18th
perek please see that reference it is possible that the righteous
Binyamin thought that her intent was to receive routine Tzedakah)
and so she said: If you dont support me, a mother and her seven
sons will die. Therefore he went and sustained her, meaning,
that he strengthened her hand with an outright gift or some loan,
in order for her to transact business and live, both her and her
children. On High, when time comes to award merit, Heaven
considers it as though he saved the lives of all of them, as we
wrote above in the 6th perek, 2nd notation, citing a specific proof
from the Gemara Babba Kamma (119a). Therefore, the attending
angels said that he brought back to life a woman and her seven
sons. With this we can now understand why it was appropriate
to add twenty two years to his life, since from the perasha of
(Vayikrah 25:35) If your brother becomes impoverished you
shall strengthen him until the end of the following pasuk which
addresses this same subject, there are twenty two words. By way
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of a comparable example, they said in Gemara Sanhedrin (102b)

[Rebbe Yochanan said] What was the reason why Achav merited
to remain king for twenty two years? Because he gave honor to
the Torah which was given with twenty two letters.
(4). Something else that you must know clearly, that it is

understood from our Authorities that if he locates (for this poor
person) some work by which he could earn a livelihood, and this
same law applies in all comparable situations - that he helps him in
some way by which he can be supported - that help is categorized
as being within the scope of the mitzvah of (Vayikrah 25:35) and
you shall strengthen him. This is an open public admonishment
to those men whose habit it is that when they need the services of
a worker or a wagon \ car to transport them, they are not careful
to specifically hire a Jew for that job. People (workers) like these
are certainly not wealthy and are close to being impoverished
and regarding them the pasuk states (Vayikrah 25:35) If your
brother becomes impoverished you shall strengthen himand he
shall live with you. And more than this, even if he knows that
he is a rich person to whom the pasuk and you shall strengthen
him is not applicable, nevertheless, it is commonly known that
Jews take precedence over gentiles in the framework of buying
something from him specifically, or selling him something. This
concept is brought down in the Sifra (perashat BHar, 3:1) and
this same law applies in all comparable situations. Moreover, it
is clear from the response of the ReMa in section #10, that even
if there is a slight difference in the amount of money (i.e., even
if it costs slightly more to buy from a Jew, or the Jew will pay
slightly less than the gentile), a Jew still takes precedence over a
gentile, as I quoted his words above in the first part of this sefer,
in the 5th perek, in the 6th saeif please see that reference. All
this is true even if this recipient is like any other Jew, and even
more so if he is a poor workingman, that regarding this person
there is the mitzvah of and you shall strengthen his hand, as
mentioned above with absolute certainty the law is as stated
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here. Man should have trust in Hashem that by performing this

mitzvah of and you shall strengthen his hand, which is the first
and highest level of the mitzvah of Tzedakah, as brought down
in Shulchan Aruch Yoreh DeAh, sections #249, paragraph #6,
Hashem Yitbarach will give him (the donor) success in the house
that he is building, or in the journey he is traveling, all this apart
from the great reward that is prepared for him in Olam Haba
because of this.
Now, we have elaborated before our reader many topics within
this subject of strengthening the hand of those in need, and from
them, one who is insightful will extend this to all comparable
situations. You (my reader) should also know that it is not enough
to fulfill this mitzvah of strengthening only once, rather, each
time his hand falters (i.e., the needs of the poor man) you must
strengthen him so that he wont fall. This concept is expressed
in Torat Kohanim, in perashat BHar (parshatah 5:1) What is
the source that teaches even if you already supported him four
or five times, go back and do it again? [Answer] The text states
(Vayikrah 25:35) and you shall support him (it is similarly
brought down in Gemara Babba Metziah [31a] open up your
hand to him, implying even one hundred times).
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22nd chapter
An explanation of extending Chessed in the
context of lending out personal articles (lit.,
utensils), and several related topics.
(1). In the preceding chapters we explained the law of lending
out money, now we will explain the topic of lending out articles,
which is also a mitzvah evolving from this character trait of
Chessed. Regarding this topic, Chazal have said in Gemara
Sukah (49b) Tzedakah is done with ones money, extending
Chessed \ kindness is done either with ones physical efforts or
with ones money. Rashi explains To lend out ones money or
personal property (i.e., utensils) or his animals. Thus we see tht it
is a mitzvah to lend articles (and all the more so if by lending out
ones utensils or animal the borrower can earn a profit of a few
dollars in order to earn a livelihood, with absolute certainty this
is a very profound act since in so doing the lender fulfills what
is written in the text (Vayikrah 25:35) and if your fellow Jew
becomes impoverished and his means of support falters in your
presence, you shall support him). This aspect of Chessed can
be implemented by every man since it is relevant even to small
things, like lending out a sifter or a sieve or any other household
utensil, or the lending of a comb in a bathhouse, or anything
comparable.
Chazal have said (Gemara Menachot, 43b) The sin of White
(i.e., not lending out simple, common things) is more serious than
the sin of Purple (not lending out elegant, expensive things)
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since purple (Techelet) is costly and not every man can

afford it, whereas that is not so with White. So too in our
subject. Heaven is not going to inquire of a man who is hard
pressed to pay his expenses Why didnt he lend to his fellow
Jew one hundred Dinars which he needed for himself in order
to live, but they will question him over a small thing that was
within his ability to lend out to someone and benefit him, yet he
was too lazy to do it. So too in our discussion. These kinds of
simple things can be done by every man, to benefit his fellow
Jew (who is in need). Even a rich man who asks to borrow some
item, one must lend it to him because of this imperative of doing
Chessed, and even all the more so if the requestor is poor, with
absolute certainty the lender has a great obligation to lend it
to him, since at this moment perhaps he (the requestor) does not
have the means to buy it as we explained above in the 1st perek,
in the Laws of Lending, in the 3rd saeif. Please see that reference
in the Netiv HaChessed (in the 7th notation).
There are some men who hold themselves back from doing
Chessed even at a time when the article is idle and is not
being used by him, because they have a selfish personality,
meaning, they are too miserly and cannot tolerate anyone else
taking pleasure from something they own; (Emphatically) How
reprehensible is this character trait! Weve explained above in the
10th perek the enormity of the degradation of this character trait
and the enormity of its punishment please see that reference.
Even those men who by nature are not jaundiced eyed \
miserly but instead they hold themselves back from lending
their personal property to others simply because they are lazy
(for example, the article is in some other room [and he doesnt
want to bother himself to get up and get it]) or for some other
inconsequential reason even though they are not in the category
of jaundice eyed, nevertheless the light of Chessed still has not
shined on them and they are ignorant of its nature, because if
they understood the enormity of its worth they would not have let
anything stand in the way of internalizing this character trait of
Chessed \ kindliness in all of their dealings. They would have
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32. Regarding the topic of the sin of baseless hatred, its consequences,
and the imperative to love ones fellow Jew, please see the Mazal Elul
English translation of the Chafetz Chayims ZTL Kuntres Ahavat Yisrael,
produced, published and distributed free as a public service by the Mazal
Elul Congregation, summer 5769; 3rd printing summer 5771.
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been joyful whenever HaKadosh Baruch Hu presented them

with an opportunity to deal kindly with another Jew and extend
a kindness to him.
(2). Everything weve spoken about up until now has been in
regard to lending an article or some other favor, which is a favor
extended for only a set brief period of time. And all the more so
it is a mitzvah to lend a sefer to a fellow Jew from which he can
learn, that in so doing the goodness of that favor lasts eternally,
and its merit and righteousness will also accrue to him forever.
Chazal (Gemara Ketubot, 50a) have expressed this concept in
commentary on the pasuk (Tehilim 112:3) Wealth and riches are
in his house, and his righteousness will endure forever that it is
referring to one who writes sefarim and lends them out to others.
This act of lending a sefer is also an aspect of the mitzvah of
strengthening Torah, and for this act of implementing the mitzvah
of strengthening Torah he will receive \ earn the blessings of
Hashem Yitbarach, as Chazal have said(please see above, in
the 20th chapter, the 4th notation, paragraph beginning with the
words Something else you must know clearly).
(3). There are those who hold themselves back from lending to
others because of some minor hate they have for the requestor,
and this behavior is worse than the behavior of all of the abovementioned people, because in harboring hate this person further
violates the Torahs command (Vayikrah 19:18) Do not take
revenge and do not hold a grudge against the people of your
nation. We have already elaborated on this topic above, in the
first part of this sefer, in the 4th chapter please see that reference.32
Rather, one should continually think down to the core of his soul
about the number of times he antagonized HaKadosh Baruch Hu
with his words and actions, and that even so HaKadosh Baruch
Hu does not take revenge on him or hold a grudge against him,
and still does Chessed with him in everything that he does; so
too should he act towards his fellow Jew in the same way. We
can say that this is the intent of the pasuk (Vayikrah 19:18) Do
not take revenge and do not hold a grudge against the people of
your nation, and you shall love your friend as yourself \ who is
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like you, I Am G-d, meaning, act towards your fellow Jew as I

behave in fine character with you and with the entire world, that I
dont harbor hatred. The pasuk in Yirmiyah (3:12) expresses this
imperative as for I am the Righteous One and I will not bear a
grudge forever.
(4). Everything we have said is in the context of the lender,
now we will speak about the character trait of the borrower:
He must be careful not to deviate from any of the conditions
under which the lender allowed him to borrow that article, and
if he deviates from the conditions under which he borrowed that
article he is called a thief meaning, the borrower may not use
that article for anything other than what he represented to the
lender. Also, he many not retain that article any longer than the
time period consented to by the lender. Thus, someone who
takes his friends article and uses it without the knowledge of
its owner is called a thief, as brought down in Choshen Mishpat,
sections #341 and #359. The borrower must also be careful not
to lend out a borrowed article to anyone else during the time
period he had the use of that article, and all the more so after
that time period expired. The borrower must also be careful to
return the article to its owner after the borrowing period expired;
yet in our many sins they are not careful in this regard. They
are too lazy to go and return the article, and because of that the
lender forgets who borrowed it from him, and now he has to
go and search for it. It is also common to find that during the
extended time the article was used, the article breaks while in
the possession of the borrower because he does not take care of
it properly, and even if the borrower pays the lender the cost of a
replacement article, still, it is called a sin since that was not why
he lent out the article, and all the more so if he does not pay him
it is absolute theft, as brought down in Gemara Babba Metziah
(81a). Regarding one who borrows even after the period of the
loan has expired, he is responsible to safeguard the article as long
as it is with him, and obviously within the period of the loan
the borrower is always liable for the article, even if it breaks for
reasons beyond his control. Therefore, one who wants to protect
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his soul should conduct himself in the following way, that when
he borrows an article from his friend in order to use it for some
purpose, he should return it after he finishes using it and not keep
it with him any longer. (Please study the Shetah MeKubetzet on
Gemara Babba Metziah (81a) where he writes in the name of the
Ritvah that the borrower is obligated to return the article to the
possession of the owner after the period of the loan is over.
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23rd chapter
An explanation of the essence of this mitzvah
of lending.
(1). In the preceding chapters we explained the obligation to
extend a loan, given that the lender could afford it. Now we
will explain the essence of (i.e., how to do) the mitzvah
of lending. When extending a loan the lender must act in the
same way as when he gives Tzedakah, that one must be careful
to disburse it pleasantly and not grudgingly (lit. frowning), as
related in Avot DeRebbe Natan (13th chapter, 4th paragraph):
One should always interact pleasantly with people. How so? It
means that even if someone were to give his friend all of the gifts
in the world while his face is frowning (while he is demonstrating
in some way that the act of giving is being done grudgingly)
the text (i.e. Heaven) considers it as though he gave nothing at
all. This lesson is codified as law in Yoreh DeAh, section #249,
3rd paragraph, and so too regarding the law of how he should
act in extending a loan, that the lender must be careful not to act
disparagingly towards the borrower, G-d forbid, rather, he should
lend him with a pleasant face (please see above in the 9th perek
where we explained this thoroughly).
One should think to himself that if he needed some favor from
his friend how so very much would he want his friend to greet
him with a pleasant face; so too must he behave in that same way
towards his fellow Jew. This is how Rashi explains the subject
matter in Chumash, perashat Mishpatim in commentary on the
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pasuk (Shemot 22:24) When you lend to My people, the poor

among you quoted as follows: Another interpretation is - My
people, meaning, not to behave towards them with an attitude
of humiliation \ degradation as you lend to them since they are
My people; the poor among you, meaning, look at yourself
as though you were poor. In particular, if the borrower is poor,
and with this loan that he is lending him he strengthens his hand
so that he can now transact some business and not fall to public
assistance, that according to the Rambam (in the 10th perek of the
Laws of Gifts to the Poor, in the 7th halacha) and the Shulchan
Aruch (Yoreh DeAh, section # 249, 6th paragraph) this mitzvah
is included in the category of Tzedakah with absolute certainty
the lender must act pleasantly, just as he is obligated be pleasant
when he gives Tzedakah, as we wrote above. And because of this
obligation if he is unable to lend for any reason, still, he should
behave towards the borrower (requestor) just as he is required to
behave in a matter of Tzedakah (Shulchan Aruch Yoreh DeAh,
section #249), meaning, he should not scoff at him nor raise his
voice at him as people do who are jaundice eyed, that apart
from not doing him this favor, they are angry at the requestor for
knocking on his door asking to borrow money. Rather, he (the
lender) should speak to him softly and show him a good heart, that
he does want to lend him except that at this moment he is unable
to accommodate his request for some reason. The guideline to
follow is that in all ways that he would want his friend to behave
towards him if he was in need of something, so too must he act
towards his friend, as Rashi explained, as mentioned above. The
cited Avot DeRebbe Natan relates the following: One who greets
his friend with a pleasant countenance, even though he did not
give him anything, the text (i.e., Heaven) considers it as though
he gave him all of the worlds good gifts.
(2). Now we will talk about the topic of doing the mitzvah
purely for the sake of the mitzvah with no ulterior motive, as the
Torah has commanded us. Chazal have said (Gemara Pesachim,
8a) and in other places (Gemara Rosh Hashanah 4a, Gemara
Babba Batra 10b) that one who says he will give a coin \
money to Tzedakah in order that his (sick) son will live, or in
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order that he will have a portion of Olam Haba is an absolute

Tzadik) [Rashi meaning, in this regard] (please see the first
following Hagahah] and the law is the same in all comparable
cases whereby for the sake of doing the mitzvah he also wants
Heaven to reciprocate with a favor. The reason in all of these
instances is because basically he did fulfill the Will of his Creator
in saying this coin is for Tzedakah. Therefore, even though
his intent was also for a personal benefit the mitzvah was not
annulled. Moreover, it is obvious that this same concept \ this
same law applies to the topics of Chessed, that if he sets aside
money to do Chessed or lends a sum to his fellow Jew, and at
that time he thinks to himself that he is doing this mitzvah in
order that his children will live, or that his business will prosper,
or that in so doing he will merit a portion in Olam Haba still,
this is called an absolute mitzvah since truthfully his intent was
to do a mitzvah which is written in the Torah, even though he
also wants Hashem Yitbarach reciprocate with a favor for his
having done the mitzvah whether that favor is here in this
world or it is in Olam Haba; it is an absolute mitzvah. (In so
doing he does not contradict the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch
Orach Chayim in section #60, paragraph #4, that mitzvot require
specific intent, meaning, he is doing the mitzvah for the sake of
fulfilling the mitzvah as here too he is doing the mitzvah for
the sake of the mitzvah [please see the 2nd following Hagahah]
even though he also wants Hashem Yitbarach to reciprocate with
a favor because of his doing a mitzvah; therefore it is an absolute
mitzvah). It is better, though, if his intent in doing the mitzvah is
exclusively for the sake of Hashem who commanded us thus in
His Torah, because then as a result of the power of the holiness
of the mitzvah that he did in the most lofty manner, it very much
arouses On High the Attribute of Kindliness, and the Attribute
of Chessed is extended throughout the entire reality of Creation.
1st following Hagahah:
Superficially this reference is astonishing, that here this man
is called an absolute Tzadik, and on page (50b) in Gemara
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Pesachim, Rav Yehudah said that Rav said that a person should
always occupy himself with Torah and mitzvot, even if it is not
for the sake of fulfilling the mitzvah that in initially doing the
mitzvah not for its own sake, one will come to do the mitzvah
for the sake of the mitzvah itself, implying that although this
specifically is not a perfect mitzvah nevertheless it suffices as
a mitzvah. In this context, the Gemara Sotah (22b) relates that
Abaye and Rava said to the person who recited the Mishnayot
and Beraytot (regarding the Tanna who included in his list seven
types of people whose public acts of charity \ piety \ humility
were in fact sham) Do not include in your enumeration of
the Tannas list those people who act out of love or fear,
(love of the credit he will receive in Olam Haba, or fear of
punishment Rashi) given that Rav Yehudah said that Rav said
A person should always occupy himself with Please study
the explanation of Rashi there. The implication is that if he does
the mitzvah in order to earn a reward, that too is categorized as
not for the sake of the mitzvah. However, when we apply
ourselves to carefully studying Rashi in Gemara Pesachim (8a)
at the end of that page, in the text beginning with the words and
comparable, and on the following page (8b) in the text beginning
with the words this too, we will see that this is all reconciled,
that if his intent is to perform the mitzvah and he also intends to
do it in order to acquire a benefit to himself, then that is called a
perfect mitzvah. But if his intent is exclusively to benefit himself
here or in Olam Haba, and not at all for the sake of the mitzvah
itself, that is called not for the sake of doing the mitzvah as
this is codified as law in Orach Chayim, (section # 60, paragraph
#4) that mitzvot require intent specifically for the sake of doing
the mitzvah and if not, if there was specific non-intent to do the
mitzvah, he has not performed the mitzvah as the law requires.
(And dont say that when it comes to Tzedakah and Chessed,
since the poor man gained \ received that favor, the giver does
not at all need intent for the mitzvah and still his giving would be
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33. As the Chafetz Chayim ZTL brings down in the following third paragraph.
In this regard please also see the illustrative examples at the end of Sefer
Chafetz Chayim, the second illustration in the first example, quoted as
follows from the Mazal Elul English translation of the sefer, Volume 4,
page 369 (produced by the Mazal Elul Congregation, published by the
Mazal Press and distributed by Feldheim Publishers, 5769): the Torat
Kohanim brings down (in Diburah DeChataaut, the 12th parshatah, 13th
paragraph, in perashat Vayikrah) that even if someone loses money (in the
street, for example) and a poor person finds it, he is blessed for that, since
ultimately the poor person benefited from his money.
34. Namely, that they circumcised themselves exclusively for the sake of
becoming enriched. (EL)
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called an absolute mitzvah33 because if that were so the question

of the Gemara Pesachim (8a) would completely disappear \ fall
away: The question posed there and in comparable situations
that would not be a mitzvah?! Yet it was taught). Also, that
which was said in Gemara Sotah (22b) not to include those who
act out of love or fear (love of the credit he will receive
in Olam Haba, or fear of punishment Rashi) given that Rav
Yehudah said that Rav said A person should always occupy
himself with by force we will have to explain that this refers
to his doing the mitzvah only for the subsequent benefit that will
accrue to him, or because he was afraid of being punished for
committing a sin, and not at all for the sake of the mitzvah, and
(only) then it is called not for the sake of the mitzvah. So too if
his intent in doing the mitzvah is only for people to honor him,
this too is categorized as a mitzvah that was done not for the
sake of the mitzvah, as Rashi explains in Gemara Berachot (17a)
and so too did the Tosafot write this in that cited reference in
the paragraph beginning with the words One who does, and in
Gemara Taanit (7a). However the question I have is based on
what Rashi explained there in Gemara Sotah, in the paragraph
beginning with the words, the actions done by the residents of
the city of Shechem34 (one of the seven types of people listed by
the Tanna whose acts of piety are fake), meaning, in order that he
should be given honor (and not at all for the sake of the mitzvah);
please see that reference. If so, Abaye and Rava should have also
deleted from the Tannas list the actions done by the residents
of the city of Shechem being that those actions are within the
framework of what Rav Yehudah said, that Rav said A person
should always occupy himselfactions that are not done for
the sake of the mitzvah at all. Rather, with certainty it is the
opinion of Abaye and Rava that doing the action exclusively for
the sake of the honor it would bring this person is worse than a
mitzvah that was done not for the sake of the mitzvah, which
contradicts what Rashi said in Gemara Berachot referenced
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35. According to Rashi in Gemara Berachot, doing a mitzvah exclusively for

honor is considered not for the sake of the mitzvah, yet Rashi in Gemara
Sotah holds that doing a mitzvah only for its reward is considered not for
the sake of the mitzvah, and that a mitzvah done for the sake of gaining
personal honor is even worse than not for the sake of the mitzvah. (EL)
36. Regarding the statement in the referenced Gemara Pesachim that it is

permissible for someone to give charity on condition that his son should
live, the Tosafot poses a question from Avot (3:1) Do not be like slaves
who do their masters will only on condition to receive reward we see
from this Mishnah that one should not stipulate personal conditions into
ones mitzvot?! The Tosafot answers that the Mishnah is referring to a
case where the stipulation he made with Hashem was not fulfilled and now
he regrets having done the mitzvah. (EL)
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above35 (that doing something exclusively for honor is equivalent

to doing something not for the sake of the mitzvah). But in an
instance where he does have intention to fulfill the mitzvah, and
additionally in so doing he also wants people to honor him with
absolute certainty that is a mitzvah, and it is also possible that
it is categorized as having done the mitzvah for the sake of the
mitzvah). And dont challenge what I am saying by arguing:
If so, what is the question raised by the Tosafot there, in Gemara
Pesachim, cited above (8a) in the paragraph beginning with the
words To merit from the teaching in Avot (1:3) Do not be as
slaves who work in order to gain reward,36 since Tosafot
should have answered (but didnt) that the Mishnah in Avot was
discussing a case where his intent was only for the reward. In
responding to this argument, one can say that Tosafot answered
an even better answer, that at the time he was doing that action
(which was nominally a mitzvah) his intent was not exclusively
for the sake of reward (but also it was for the sake of the
mitzvah), nevertheless, since in the end, when he did not get the
expected reward he regrets that past action, then that action is
called not a mitzvah.
Something else you must understand clearly, that the Tosafot in
Gemara Sotah (22b) in the paragraph beginning with the word
Always holds that when the Gemara said if his intention
(in doing the mitzvah) is that he should have a share in Olam
Haba, he is an absolute Tzadik, nevertheless, that action is
still categorized as being done not for the sake of the mitzvah.
However, based on the opinion of Tosafot in Gemara Pesachim
mentioned above, and also from the Rashi there, that is not the
inference (rather, it is considered for the sake of the mitzvah),
and also from the simple languge of the Gemara that he is an
absolute Tzadik, that is not like the implication of the Tosafot
in Sotah (who says it is a mitzvah done not for the sake of the
mitzvah) as we mentioned in the beginning of this topic above.
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2nd following Hagahah [even though]

This is not a contradiction to what is written in the sefer Yesh
Nochalin, that the proper way to do a mitzvah is to do it for the
sake of Hashem who commanded us to do it, since his intention
(i.e.,Yesh Nochalin) there was that the mitzvah should be done
at the highest level of service in order to create an act of holiness
On High in all of the spiritual worlds. Therefore, one must have
intent while he is doing a mitzvah, that it is being done with the
best intentions at the highest level of spirituality. It is because
of this that I wrote above and it is better (doing the mitzvah
purely for the sake of the mitzvah).
(3). Something else you must know, that even if a man sees he
cannot inspire himself to think he is going to do the action for the
sake of the mitzvah, and his intent is only to benefit himself, (as
for example) in order that he will be successful in his business,
or in order that society will think of him as being an important
person (lit., a man among men) by reason of the Tzedakah he
gives and the Chessed he does, even so, he should not weaken
his observance of this mitzvah because of this, as stated in the
Gemara (Pesachim 50b) A man should constantly involve
himself in Torah and mitzvot even if his intentions are not for
the sake of the mitzvah, because in doing these mitzvot not for
their own sake he will come to the point of doing them for their
own sake [as Rashi and Tosafot explain in Gemara Berachot,
17a]. In so doing, the outcome will also be that the Chessed of
Hashem will extend to Creation, however not to the entirety of
Creation but only up until Heaven (and not to the Heavens above
it) as related by the Gemara Pesachim (50b): In one place
it is stated in the text (Tehilim 57:11) Your Chessed extends
up until Heaven, and it says in another place Your Chessed
extends beyond Heaven. This is not a contradiction, as here it
is where the mitzvah was done for its own sake, and there it was
done not for its own sake. The Gemara (Babba Batra 9a) proves
that this is factual, as stated there, nevertheless it is considered
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as being Tzedakah please see that reference. In any way that a

man does this, the text (i.e., Heaven) considers it as Tzedakah
and so too this is the law in regard to Chessed. Chazal have said
(Sifri, perashat Ki Tehtzeh, piskah #283), that even if he loses
a coin (meaning, even it he unknowingly lost money) and a poor
man found it, G-d counts it as a merit for him.
The Midrash Tadsheh (this is the Midrash of Rebbe Pinchas
ben Yair which can be found in the the second volume of
theAnthology of Midrashim \ Otzar HaMidrashim), in the
12th perek relates: The Korbanot fall into three categories: Olah
\ Burnt Offering; Shelamim \ Thanks Offering; and Chatat
| Sin Offering and there are three groups of Tzadikim:
Ahava \ Love; Bakasha \ Supplication; and Yirah \
Fear (of Heaven). The Burnt Offering mirrors Love; the
Thanks Offering mirrors Supplication and the Sin Offering
mirrors Fear. The Burnt Offering is sacrificed exclusively
for the honor of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, however, the Thanks
Offering and the Sin Offering are sacrificed for ourselves
(i.e., for our own specific benefit). Love is more precious than
Supplication, and Supplication is more precious than Fear.
What is the quality of Love? (Rather) there are Tzadikim who
serve Hashem out of a sense of Love, and give honor and glory
to His sovereignty since He alone is the cause of the continued
existence of everything. In His great goodness He created His
universe by mere utterance, with no effort. He is G-d, and father,
and King, and the Strong One, the Wise One, the Good One and
the Compassionate One. He patiently endures everything, and
fills everything, that which is Above and that which is Below.
He sustains everything in Creation and knows all of the worlds
secrets. He does good to those who are evil and to those who are
good. He patiently tolerates those who are evil for the sake of
their returning (i.e., their doing Teshuvah) so that they will live.
For all of this goodness, the Tzadikim love G-d and praise Him,
and extol Him for all of His great deeds; and for this a Burnt
Offering is brought.
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What is Supplication? (Rather) there are those who serve

G-d and pour out to Him their aspirations and supplications,
and ask of Him every goodness for their personal benefit For
example, wisdom, understanding \ insight and knowledge, long
life, good health, an intelligent wife, good children, success in
their ventures, wealth, and honor and possessions; these are
supplications \ requests, and for these things a Thanks Offering
is brought.
The protocol of Fear what is Fear? for there are those who
serve Hashem in great fear and extensive trepidation. These
are ones who pray to be saved from the curses that are written
regarding those who use mitzvot for their own purposes, who
violate the statutes of Hashem both in this world and in Olam
Haba. In this world (they pray to be saved) from sicknesses and
trauma and pain. (They pray) not to be dependent on mortal man
\ (to be self sufficient and) not to be dependent on society, and that
strangers wont dominate them, and they will not see the death or
anything bad happening to their sons or daughters, and in order
to live a full life in goodness and with blessing, and in Olam
Haba to be saved from punishment and from the annihilators, and
from the searing fire of Gehinnom that in the future will ignite
and burn the evil ones on the Great Day of Judgment That is
Fear, and for these requests a Sin Offering is brought.
Now, just as for these three things a Burnt Offering, a Sin
Offering, or a Thanks Offering they are offered up only in
one House (i.e., the Beit HaMikdash) by only one Kohein, in
service to only one G-d, and the three offerings are equivalent.
So too the Tzadikim, either because of their Love, or their
Supplications, or their Fear, they are all equivalent to each
other, that all of them take refuge in the shade of HaKadosh
Baruch Hu. The one who Loves he loves Him; the one who
Entreats he will make his requests of Him; the one who is
afraid he is afraid of Him. The Midrash is quoted up until
this point.
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You (the reader) have before you the concept that even though
each one has a unique status, and the character trait of love is
very precious, still, all of these character traits are very dear to
Hashem Yitbarach, that the Thanks Offering (Vayikrah 3:16)
and the Sin Offering (Vayikrah 4:31) are also called a sweet
savoring to Hashem.
From all this we can apply to our subject namely, Tzedakah and
Chessed, (please see the first following Hagahah at the end of
this perek) that in any way they are expressed it is beloved before
Hashem Yitbarach. But in this regard one must be careful not to
give the Tzedakah or do the Chessed in order to use it as a means
to glorify himself \ to lord over others, because in so doing he
will utterly ruin the mitzvah (please see Yoreh DeAh, in section
#249, paragraph #13, in the Hagahah, where it is written there
that man should not use the Tzedakah that he gives as a means
for self-aggrandizement, and if he does inflate his ego then it
is not enough that he does not receive reward please see the
Gra there (notation #17) who cites Gemara Babba Batra (10b):
Rabban Gamliel answered and said (Mishle 14:34) Tzedakah
will uplift a nation (meaning) all of the Tzedakah and Chessed
they do, they only do it for self-aggrandizement (in order to lord
over others). Now, even though the Gemara there is saying they
do this (Tzedakah) from the very outset specifically to inflate
themselves, the Poskim ruled that it is all one and the same law
(that because of a personal motivation and not for the sake of the
mitzvah they lose the mitzvah). However, in my humble opinion,
I dont know where their source is for their ruling, that we dont
find a man loses a mitzvah (lit., loses the goodness that he did)
unless he regrets having done that mitzvah. And even though
he now has a sin for giving Tzedakah for the sake of inflating
his self-image, and in so doing lording over others, still, he is
fundamentally not regretful for having done the mitzvah itself.
The Hagahah ends at this point). Rather, man should constantly
ponder that everything he has all of it belongs to HaKadosh
Baruch Hu, as it is written (Divrei HaYamim I, 29:14) Because
everything comes from You, and from You we give back to You.
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Hagahah
Even though we elaborated extensively on this topic, and we
proved from the Midrashim of Chazal, that for all of mans good
deeds he will be compensated (i.e., rewarded), as Chazal have
said (Gemara Babba Kamma 38b) HaKadosh Baruch Hu does
not hold back reward for anything (anything, even something as
seemingly innocuous as) a pleasant conversation. Nevertheless,
there is a big difference between one who does a mitzvah not
for the sake of the mitzvah, and one who does it for the sake
of the mitzvah itself, then the enormity of the remedy ()
accomplished by the mitzvah ascends beyond On High, as Chazal
have said (Gemara Pesachim 50b). Regarding this the pasuk
relates (Tehilim 108:5) Your Chessed is above Heaven the
reason being that the power of the remedy is directly proportional
to the manner in which the Chessed was done. If the mitzvah was
done only for materialistic reasons without any intent whatsoever
for the mitzvah, then there is not enough power in that effort to
allow the remedy to ascend On High to the spiritual realm, and as
a result the Chessed of Hashem spreads out only over this world,
which is the physical world of materialism; but that would not be
the case if the mitzvah was done for the sake of the mitzvah. In
doing the mitzvah for its own sake there is great holiness in its
power, and its holiness affects spiritual realms beyond On High.
The holy Zohar already explains the great extent of the arousal of
holiness that was accomplished in all of the universes by virtue
of doing this mitzvah perfectly.
Therefore, how good it is that one should accustom himself
that any time he does something that has its basis in Torah, for
example the mitzvah of extending a loan, in so doing he fulfills
the proactive mitzvah of the Torah of (Shemot 22:24) When
you lend money to My people, or he supports the hand of a poor
man by giving him work through which he can earn money, and
anything comparable, that in so doing he fulfills the mitzvah of
(Vayikrah 25:35) If your brother becomes impoverished with
you and his livelihood fails in your midst, you shall strengthen
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him, or he pays a salaried worker timely, and in so doing he

fulfills the mitzvah of (Devarim 24:15) You shall pay him on
that very same day, and everything comparable, routine things
that are stand at the very heights of the heavens as they are the
proactive mitzvot of the Torah how good it is if while he doing
the mitzvah he focuses on doing it for its own sake, as then at that
time the mitzvah will be done at the level of perfection.
Many times I have thought about what we say in the Vidduy
We have moved away from Your good mitzvot and statutes,
as we have not perceived their worth, meaning, we dont value
our service to Hashem Yitbarach as we value our own work \
businesses. Because if it was our business, if we are selling an
article, how hard do we work to beautify and enhance it in order
that it would be desired by the buyer, and we would profit a few
dollars from it. And even though in fact it wasnt all that good,
still, he works with all of his strength to make it appealing to the
buyer. And all the more so if this article is basically very good,
for example, he has to sell a beautiful and precious, radiant gem.
Would it ever occur to the mind of the seller to dress it over in
drab clothing and cover its brilliance?! In fact to the contrary,
he would work with all of his might to shine the gem in order to
demonstrate its precious worth to everyone.
But when it comes to mitzvot, upon which rests the entirety
of mans holiness and his everlasting life (as the pesukim state
[Bamidbar 15:40] in order that you shall remember and do all
of My mitzvot and become holy to your G-d and (Vayikrah
18:5) and you shall guard My statutes and judgments that man
will do them and live by them) there are many things that are
more precious and pleasing than refined gold, as these are the
proactive mitzvot of the Torah, like the ones mentioned above
and their like, which are relevant in all periods and at all times.
Yet we ourselves belittle this good and important (lit. chosen)
occupation (i.e., doing mitzvot) to the point where many times
a necessary detail of the mitzvah will be missing Also thinking
about the mitzvah that he doesnt think at all while he does it to do it for its own sake (i.e., doing it with specific intent for the
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mitzvah) even though his reward for the physical act of doing the
mitzvah will not be withheld, as mentioned above, nevertheless,
in so doing (i.e., in not specifically doing the mitzvah for its own
sake) he belittles the mitzvah very much, something that you
wont find happening when it comes to his own business matters
that he would belittle it, in fact to the contrary, he would expand
it \ enlarge it as much as he could. All of this because of our
many sins is because we dont think at all of Olam Haba as
being profitable, like a business. Therefore, praiseworthy is the
man who is insightful and sensible in his deeds to do them in
the context of perfection (i.e., doing the mitzvot for their own
sake) meaning, to do that good action because it is a mitzvah
that comes from Hashem, and in so doing he will be sanctified
to Hashem. That is what underlies the pasuk (Bamidbar 15:40)
in order that you shall remember and do all of My mitzvot and
become holy to your G-d, meaning, he is does them because
they are of the mitzvot of Hashem.
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24th chapter
An explanation of the great importance of
repaying a debt.
Up until now we explained the enormity of the obligation to
extend a loan. Now we will explain the enormity of the obligation
of the borrower to repay his debt. Chazal have said in Gemara
Ketubot (86a): The repayment of a loan is a mitzvah, and he may
not excuse himself from it just as he cannot excuse himself from
the mitzvah of Sukah, or Shofar, or Tefillin please see that cited
Gemara. Come and see how great is the power of this obligation,
that Chazal have said in Gemara Babba Metziah (113b) we (the
Beit Din) restructure the assets of a debtor to (in favor of) his
lender (meaning, one who does not pay back his debt of his own
accord, and his lender comes with the authority of the Beit Din
to collect the money owed to him) the court leaves the borrower
with food for thirty days, and clothing for twelve months and not
more, and also the tools of his trade which are necessary for his
work and all of the debtors other articles, and his sefarim, and
his real estate are all sold off to satisfy his debt, and they dont
leave him even food for his wife and children, that everything he
owns is subrogated to his debt.
One who has the money to pay back a loan and yet holds himself
back from repaying that debt because he is a tough character (lit,
because of the strength of his toughness) violates what is written
in the Torah (Vayikrah 19:13) Do not extort your fellow Jew,
as codified into law in Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat, section
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#359, paragraph #8: What is the definition of extortion? One

who receives money willingly from an owner, and when he
comes to demand back his money this man forcibly withholds it
and does not return it. For example, someone was owed money
for a loan he extended, or he was owed wages, and he demanded
his money, and was not able to extract that money from him
because he was very tough and hard. The Choshen Mishpat is
quoted up until this point.
Chazal have also said (Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah, perasha
18:12): Four are called Reshaim (wicked people) One of them
being a borrower who does not repay his debt, as the text states
(Tehilim 37:21) The wicked one borrows but does not repay.
How much must this man be ashamed of himself as it becomes
known that he could repay his debt and he intentionally does not
do so, and thus earns for himself a reputation for being a Rasha.
For if his friend called him a Rasha, even if privately, and no
degradation at all happened as a result, nevertheless he would
be very angry at him for this, and all the more so here where
he himself was the cause of being called Rasha (i.e., G-d calls
himRasha) because of what he did. How much shame and
humiliation will eventually attach itself to him in the Coming
Future when this title of his (i.e., Rasha) is publicized before
thousands and thousands of holy encampments of angels, as
written in our holy (Kabbalistic) books, that all of mans actions
are proclaimed and publicized On High before everyone. Even
though this man enhances his self-image (lit., he beautifies
himself justifying his actions) before the people in his society,
that he is not at fault in this matter but before Hashem the
enormity of his sin is revealed. This is the underlying intent of
the statement in Avot (2:13) Dont be a Rasha before yourself.
(And in particular if this man is a Talmid Chacham his sin
is very, very great, that in so doing he desecrates G-ds Name,
and sins even more apart from the sins mentioned above, as he
also violates the Lav of (Vayikrah 22:32) Do not profane the
holiness of My Name. And even greater than this, Chazal said
in Gemara Yoma (86a) What is the definition of a desecration
441
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38. The Gemara (Ketubot, 66b) relates that while traveling with his students,
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai saw a girl (who was so impoverished that
she was) picking out grains of barley from the dung of animals belonging
to the Arabs. He asked her who she was and she answered that she was
the daughter of Nakdimon ben Gurion, who was one of the wealthiest men
in Jerusalem. He asked her what happened to her fathers money? She
replied, This came and consumed this, meaning that money obtained
illegally (because not enough of it was given to Tzedakah - Rashi) became
intermingled with her father in laws money obtained legally and both were
consumed.
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of G-ds Name? For example, he acquired something on credit

and did not repay it timely,37 and all the more so here where he
does not repay at all). It is brought down in Choshen Mishpat
#97, paragraph #4, that it is forbidden for the borrower to take a
loan and then use that money unnecessarily and squander it away
(please see the following Hagahah) to the point where the lender
cannot find among all the assets of the borrower even enough
value to recover the loan he gave him. And if the borrower does
this he is called Rasha \ Evil, and even more so here where
the borrower does have the money to repay his loan and simply
does not want to pay it back how so very great is his sin.
Additionally one must clearly understand that this man, in
retaining other peoples money illegally, in the end he will
not succeed, as the pasuk states (Yirmiyah 17:11) One who
accumulates wealth illegally, at the half point of his life it will
leave him (will leave him alludes to two outcomes either
this mans wealth will leave him at the half point of his life, or
just the opposite [i.e., this man will leave his wealth and die at the
half point of his life]), and his illegal money will leave him and
take with it all of the other remaining money that he accumulated
legally.38 This concept is brought down in Masechet Derech
Eretz Zutah (3rd perek) If you take what is not yours, then what
is yours will be taken from you. This idea of being scrupulously
careful to protect the money belonging to other people is included
in the statement of the text (Micha 6:8) He has told you, man,
what is good, and what it is that Hashem requests of you, only
to do justice and walk modestly with Hashem your G-d, as all
of these laws are included in Hashems statutes and judgments,
that a man should be attentive and not commit a monetary crime
37. Regarding the topic of being careful not to desecrate the Name of Hashem,
please see the Chafetz Chayims ZTL Kuntres LKutei Amarim (the
Concise Lectures of the Chafetz Chayim) in English translation entitled
Mazal Elul (Produced by the Mazal Elul Congregation, printed by the
Mazal Press and distributed by Feldheim Publishers, 5772).
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5th chapter
(I) A high standard of living and in particular a standard of living beyond

ones means. Even those people who have the material means for a lavish
lifestyle must minimize luxuries for several reasons:
An explanation of the two primary reasons for theft and crime:
Because circumstances in life can turn around, especially in our times;
Because an opulent lifestyle inevitably produces arrogance and the

enticement of the Yetzer Hara;
It causes other people with lesser means to be envious of them and copy
their lifestyle, and in so doing (in living beyond their means) they will
resort to extortion \ cheating and stealing, and they will not pay their
debts;
It causes suffering and shame to impoverished families. (Please see the

following Hagahah).
(II) The second reason is a lack of a correct understanding of the laws of

theft, cheating, paying salaries, etc., Therefore in any case of uncertainty
in a monetary issue involving transactions with a fellow Jew one should
not assume any leniencies for himself but rather he must pose the question
to a Chacham to resolve.
In this chapter there will also be an explanation of the correct way to

transact the price of services for a contract worker, namely, to negotiate
the price for that service before the start of any work.
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\ sin against his fellow Jew. Please study above, in the 1st perek,
where I elaborated on this topic. One who disciplines himself
to be scrupulous in judgment, he is one of the ones who will
expedite Hashems redemption of Israel, as the pasuk states
(Yeshaya 56:1) Guard judgment and do Tzedakah, because My
redemption is at hand and My righteousness is to be revealed.
(Regarding this) Please see what we wrote in Kuntres Sfat
Tamim, in the 3rd, 4th and 5th chapters.39
Hagahah
Please study the commentary of the MeIrat Enayim (section
#97, paragraph #4, notation #5) and the Taz, where this topic is
thoroughly explained. From their words we learn that whoever
takes other peoples money for some venture must be careful not
to divert the use of that money for his own purposes, because
in so doing, later on he will not have the money to pay back the
39. Please see the Mazal Elul English translation of the Chafetz Chayims
ZTL Kuntres Sfat Tamim (produced by the Mazal Elul Congregation,
published by the Mazal Press and distributed by Feldheim Publishers,
5769). These three chapter descriptions are as follows:

An explanation of how deceit is a hybrid of theft and lies, and that

man will be forced to give an accounting even for remotely causing an
indirect loss to a fellow Jew. An explanation of the disgrace of a mitzvah
that is an outcome of a sin. An explanation that money awarded to a
person by a secular court (which he is not entitled to according to the law
of the Torah) is absolute theft, and an explanation of the punishment for
theft in this world.
4th chapter
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3rd chapter
An explanation of the profound punishments in Olam Haba for theft and

the terrible suffering this thief will endure in being reincarnated and
a dramatic illustrative parable. An explanation of his punishment not
merely for stealing money but also for the suffering he caused the victim
as a result of the theft. An explanation of the phenomenon that utterly
destitute people are robbed and hurt in ways that are cruel.
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446
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lender, since this was not the intended purpose of the loan. And
because of our many sins, there are men who treat other peoples
money with utter disdain - people who worked and toiled with
the sweat of their brow to earn that money and on occasion
it reaches a point of literally threatening their livelihood and
the welfare of their families, because these men will suddenly
be depleted of their belongings, their wealth and their honor.
Regarding these unfortunate people, we can say what was related
in the text (Kohelet 4:1) see the tears of the oppressed, with no
one to comfort them, and their oppressors have power but there is
no one to comfort them (please see what I wrote in Kuntres Sfat
Tamim, in the 4th perek). And these men who extort, their hearts
swell as large as banquet halls as they sit in their chambers with
honor, and they delight in the money of their fellow Jews, and
they dont know that in the end this will also happen to their souls
(Mishle 22:23) He (Hashem) will steal the soul of those who
would steal from them(i.e., from their fellow Jew). Hashem
should protect us from their intentions and plans (lit., ideas and
thoughts).
With this we have completed

the second part of Sefer Ahavat Chessed.
447
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Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

Chafetz Chayim Ahavat Chessed c part 2

Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

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The reason prophet expressed this in the pasuk as a love of

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life (flesh) for His kindness is everlasting. It is further written

Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

on the glory of His monarchy, Yitbarach, since there can be no

Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

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to comfort someone and take them out of their sorrow in order

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others which is completely opposite to the conduct of Hashem

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Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

and the other is with the Attribute of Chessed and Compassion.2

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a Rasha, G-d forbid. Even if he did Teshuvah for some sins,

Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

compassion for mankind, Heaven will have compassion \ mercy

Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

said During his lifetime if man bonded only to truth which

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Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

by the Romans, Rebbe Elazar ben Partah said to Rebbe Chaninah

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So too in our discussion. When man thinks carefully about the

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there would be many men with no sustenance, as the pasuk

Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

Now we can understand the cited statement of Chazal, that if one

Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

pasuk states (Beresheet 47:29) and do kindness and truth with

Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

Chafetz Chayim Ahavat Chessed c part 2

Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

appearance of our Fathers, the Shehchinah was in the 7th Heaven,

Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

this idea is brought down in Tanna DeVei Eliyahu Rabbah at the

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Chafetz Chayim - Ahavat Chessed

following Me \ your faithfulness to Me in the desert in a desolate

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are lecturers [expounding on Torah] they attract the hearts of

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according to his level of wealth. It would be much better if

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