Re'eh
In Parashat Re’eh, in Perek 14, Pasuk 22, the Torah says. "Aser Tiaser Et Kol Tivuat Zarecha HaYotze HaSade Shana Shana". The Torah commands us to take Ma’aser, to take tithes (tenths) on all the produce of your fields. The Talmud interprets the word ‘Tiaser’, (you shall tithe) to mean ‘Teasher’, which translates; to become wealthy. According to this interpretation, the Torah promises material reward for those who give Tzedaka. ‘Aser Bishvil Titasher’, meaning that if one gives ten percent of his money to charity, in deed he will become rich. One might think that he is depleting his assets by giving Tzedaka, but the Torah is saying to the contrary. One receives much more than he gives.
The Chafetz Chayim illustrates this concept of withholding from giving Tzedaka in one of his parables. He says as follows. There was a farmer who brought bundles of product to the market place to sell. He found a buyer and they started to count the bundles. They put a coin on the table for each bundle counted in order to keep track of the count. At the end, they would be able to add up the number of coins to find out how many bundles in total there were. But the farmer thought he was smart, and he snatched up some of the coins when the buyer looked away. He figured that he would make a nice gain. He didn’t realize that for every coin he took, he lost out on the total price to be paid by the buyer. The small gain by theft was far lower than the loss of payment for his merchandise. The Chafetz Chayim means to say here that many think they are saving money by refraining from giving Tzedaka. One doesn’t realize that the gain from giving far out weighs the outlay.
We often measure investment by immediate and short term gain or loss. This is not the way a shrewd financier would operate. With Tzedaka, like many other Mitzvot, making a short term expenditure in order to achieve long term gain is a much more wise investment. The Torah is saying to give up a little now with a 10% investment, and in the long run the reward of wealth will come.
In the above story from the Chafetz Chayim, the farmer thought by taking a coin now he would reap a gain, but little did he realize that if he left the coin on the table he would have then received much more as the payment for bundles would have been far greater than the value of the coins taken.
This should be a lesson to us all. We are to get much more than what we give. This would be a proper way to look at giving charity.
