Give Again and Again

Doing good for selfish reasons is acceptable if one’s primary interest is the welfare of others.

Tzedakah is Righteousness, Not Benevolence

Charity is the English word often used to translate the Hebrew word Tzedakah. It has been pointed out many times, however, that there is a fundamental difference between the two. Charity is an act of benevolence and generosity, Tzedakah (from the root: tzedek) means righteousness. It is the right, just and proper thing to give to those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

This week’s Torah portion highlights this crucial Mitzvah and sheds light on the Jewish perspective of Tzedakah.

When the Torah introduces this Mitzvah it uses a repetitive expression: “Nason titein- Give, you shall give.” There are many explanations as to why the Torah uses a redundant expression. Each one of them contributes to a better understanding of the unique Jewish perspective on Tzedakah.

The Talmud explains that the repetitive expression is to teach us that one should give even a hundred times. This means that there is no limit to the Mitzvah of Tzedakah. As long as there is a need and one has the means to do so, one is expected to give. If Tzedakah was no more than an opportunity to express our own generosity, giving once would have sufficed. But, Tzedakah is predicated, first and foremost, on the needs of others that must be filled and not on one’s own need to be generous.

Giving for Oneself and Giving for the Other

It is told of the Chassidic Master, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Riminov that when he saw an impoverished individual he would give him a handsome contribution. After the man had left, he would then pursue him and give him another donation. When his students queried him as to this unusual behavior, he responded:

“The first time I gave because I could not tolerate to see the misery and degradation of this human being. It was painful to watch this wretched human being in his pitiful sate. When I gave him Tzedakah the first time it was to assuage my pain and suffering. I felt uncomfortable and miserable to behold another human being’s suffering. The second time I gave, it was for him, for his sake.

“This,” Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Riminov stated” is the reason that the Torah repeats the expression of giving. The first word for giving implies that we must give, even if it is to allay our own pain and inability to see the suffering of others.

The second expression the Torah employs is to teach us that that type of giving does not suffice. Our giving should not just be motivated by the need to remove our own pain. We must give again because we recognize that it is our duty to help others.

Two Objectives of Tzedakah

There is an even more basic way to explain the repetition of the expression to give. There are two different objectives of Tzedakah. The primary objective is to help the needy. If there is a void in society, it is our responsibility to fill it.

There is also a secondary motive in the giving of Tzedakah. Each and every time we give Tzedakah it helps to refine us. Tzedakah is the medium through which we become sensitized and refined.

With this appreciation for the duality of Tzedakah — giving to refine ourselves and giving because it is our duty to help others — we can resolve an apparent contradiction with respect to the manner in which we give Tzedakah:

On the one hand, the Talmud extols the virtue of those who give anonymously. Yet the Rashba (one of the fourteenth’s century greatest Talmudists and Jewish leaders) encourages publicizing those who give to encourage more Tzedakah.

Both approaches are necessary. To refine ourselves it is important that we give anonymously. The less recognition we receive for our actions, the more altruistic we are in giving, the more spiritual the act of Tzedakah becomes and the more it refines us and edifies us.

Conversely, we have to never lose sight of the fact that Tzedakah is primarily intended for the benefit of others. Giving anonymously would not cause others to give. As a result, the needy will be denied the assistance they could have received if the donor would have become a role model of giving by giving publically.

It is wrong to be concerned about our selfish needs — even if they are lofty spiritual ones — when they might jeopardize the needs of others.

So which is it? Do we give openly or secretly?

To reconcile both demands — the demand of anonymity and publicizing of one’s philanthropy — the Rebbe suggested doing both: give publicly and then give more anonymously.

Preparing for Moshiach

Our sages link giving of Tzedakah with the Redemption. By extending ourselves selflessly, we generate G-d’s reciprocal response: He will extend Himself to us and bring the righteous Moshiach who will usher in an age concerning which it is said: that poverty will be banished forever.

However, just as there are two objectives of Tzedakah, there are two objectives in Geulah- Redemption.

The first objective is the material and spiritual benefits we will reap in the Messianic Age.

The second objective is the cessation of war, illness and suffering.

Which objective should we favor?

The answer is, both.

While our primary focus should be the selfless goal of bringing benefits to the entire world, we may also think of the way the Messianic Age will refine and elevate us.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Rei by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.