From One Mitzvah to Many Blessings: Amir’s Story

We received this moving and uplifting letter from Amir and Racheli Shalosh, a couple living in Ontario, Canada. Their story is a powerful example of hashgacha pratit, divine providence and how deeply the mitzvah of tithing (giving ten percent of income to charity) touched their lives. They’ve been committed to this mitzvah with sincerity and consistency, even when times were difficult.

“I had to write to you,” Amir begins in his heartfelt letter. “People don’t always realize how powerful tzedakah (charity) really is. Hashem promises us ‘tithe, and you will become wealthy.’ I haven’t been working for a while, and most of my energy goes into helping my wife, Racheli, build her handmade jewelry business.”

“Every time she makes a sale,” Amir explains, “we set aside a portion for tzedakah, just a few coins but we do it for every single order. Even when money is tight, we keep giving. After watching shiurim (Torah classes) about the power of ma'aser (tithing) on the Hidabroot website, we even started giving small amounts daily, whether or not we had income that day.”

Amir recalls a moment that he and Racheli will never forget. “On April 28, 2015, I went to help out at our local Chabad House, fixing a shtender (a prayer stand). Before I left, my wife said, ‘While you’re there, please give $30 as part of the tzedakah we owe.’ I wasn’t sure how she came up with exactly $30, but I respected her request and gave it.”

And Hashem answered their act of giving, measure for measure.

“That very night, the phone rang,” Amir continues, his excitement still fresh. “One of Racheli’s customers was on the line. She placed an order for a Choshen necklace for $300! Exactly ten times the amount we gave earlier that day.”

Before becoming more connected to their faith, Amir admits he and Racheli didn’t fully understand how involved Hashem is in our daily lives. But today, that’s changed. “Thanks to Hidabroot and the incredible lectures we heard about the mitzvah of tzedakah, we’ve come to see Hashem more clearly in our lives. Judaism is not just a list of ‘rules’, it’s a way of life. It lifts every part of you. It touches your home, your heart, your livelihood everything.”

Although Amir shares only one story here, he says there have been many more moments of spiritual and material blessing since he and Racheli began their journey of growth. “Thank Hashem,” he concludes, “for His kindness that continues to surround us.”