Jewish Giving
Tzedakah is the paradigm for all Mitzvos. Tzedakah is unique because it involves the totality of the person. Tzedekah liberates the world because it fulfills our very raison d’etre.
No Need for Translation
Tzedakah – one of the major themes of this week’s parsha – is one of the few words that does not have to be translated for most Jews. Even those Jews who have strayed so far from Jewish practices and have lost their Jewish language skills, have not forgotten to give tzedakah. Generosity and compassion, the Talmud reveals, is engrained within the psyche of every Jew. It is an inheritance from our Patriarch Abraham who epitomized kindness and love.
Brings Redemption
According to the Talmud, “The Jewish People will only be redeemed because of the Mitzvah of tzedakah.” What is it about this Mitzvah, that, more than any other Mitzvah, brings about our Redemption?
A simple explanation is that G-d rewards us “measure for measure.” When we give Tzedakah to sustain those who are in need, G-d performs His form of Tzedakah by sustaining us.
However, the obligation to give to the poor demands not only helping him survive but also to restore the needy person to his or her original financial status.
When applied to the Jewish people who languish in exile, it would not suffice for G-d to simply making it easier for us to survive in exile, which He did and for which we are grateful. G-d “must” also restore us to our original glory as it was in the days of King Solomon with our Bais Hamikdash intact. For that to happen, He must bring us the Final Redemption, otherwise He will not have adequately fulfilled the Mitzvah of Tzedakah.
Purpose of Creation
Chassidic thought provides several other explanations.
One explanation, based on the seminal work Tanya, relates to the premise articulated by our sages in the Midrash that G-d created the world because “He wanted a dwelling place in the lowliest realm.” When the world was first created, G-d ensured that there would be a separation between the Divine and the mundane. The world was utterly independent and obscured the G-dly forces of creation that were/are responsible for everything in existence.
Obviously, G-d’s intention was that this dichotomous and clouded existence should change. Ultimately, it was G-d’s plan, to have the entire world recognize G-d’s role in creation.
But, the question has been raised: If the Creator Himself made this “separation” how do we change that which G-d wrought?
The answer is Mitzvos. With the performance of a Mitzvah (translated as commandment, but, also [a G-dly] connection) we become more G-dly and some of the screen that obscures G-d’s presence is removed. Inasmuch as the Mitzvah is a divinely ordained physical act, it instills divinity into the physical realm.
Moreover, not only does the Mitzvah change the person’s nature, but also the object with which the Mitzvah was performed becomes more G-dly. By extension, all the resources that went into the performance of the Mitzvah and into the making of the object with which the Mitzvah was performed, are affected in a positive way; they too become G-dly.
With the cumulative effect of Mitzvos, the world, gradually but, surely, becomes a dwelling place for G-d.
Mitzvos Bring Moshiach
This is what the Messianic Age is all about. It is a time when not only will there be world peace, but, more fundamentally, it is when the world will be what it was intended to be: a world where truth prevails because the true nature of the world’s G-dly existence will no longer concealed.
This explains the statement made by our sages: “the world was created for the Messianic Age (Talmud, Sanhedrin).” Another Midrashic passage states that the world was created for the purpose of Torah and Mitzvos. In light our analysis of the role of Mitzvos, these two passages are complementary.
Through our observance of the Mitzvos we refine the world to the point that it becomes the world that G-d had in mind at the time of creation.
The Uniqueness of Tzedakah in Making a Dwelling for G-d
Despite the fact that all the Mitzvos have the same effect: they bring holiness into the physical world; (which includes: a) the body that performs the Mitzvah, b) the object with which the Mitzvah is performed and c) the environment that provided the resources for the above), the Mitzvah of Tzedakah stands out as having a greater impact than any other mitzvah.
So fundamental is Tzedakah that our sages declared that “it balances all other Mitzvos” and in the Jerusalem Talmud it is referred to simply as “The Mitzvah.”
Totality!
What distinguishes Tzedakah from all other Mitzvos is the extent to which it refines and elevates the physical realm. In the words of the Tanya (Chapter 37):
“…it is the core of the precepts… for in all other Mitzvos only one faculty of the life sustaining soul is embodied, and then only at the time of the performance of the Mitzvah. By contrast, Tzedakah, which a person gives out of the toil of his hands, surely all the strength of his vital soul is embodied in the execution of his work or occupation by which he earned the money. Thus, when he gives Tzedakah, one’s whole vital soul ascends to G-d. Even where one does not depend on his toil for a livelihood, nevertheless since with his Tzedakah money he could have purchased necessities of life, for his life sustaining soul, hence [in effect] he is giving his soul’s life to G-d.”
In simple terms this means that Tzedakah has the greatest impact on the refinement of the person and his/her environment because it involves the totality of the human effort. All of one’s energies go into earning a living. And in those instances where one does not have to work for a living, the money given to Tzedakah is potentially sufficient for sustaining one’s entire life. Hence, giving Tzedakah is the equivalent of giving one’s total existence.
And it is precisely this type of change that the world needs to realize its final movement towards the coming of Moshiach.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Rei by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
