The Mitzvah of Charity: Why You Should Give and How It Will Ensure Your Financial Success

1. It is a commandment to give charity to any Jew who needs it, as it is written (Deuteronomy 15:7-8): "If there is among you a poor man, one of your brothers, within any of your gates in your land which Hashem your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother; but you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, which he lacks." When we examine these verses carefully, we find that someone who can give charity but doesn't not only neglects a positive commandment but also violates a prohibition, as it is written (Deuteronomy 15:7): "You shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother."

2. The mitzvah of charity is one of the greatest commandments in the Torah, and the Sages said about it: "Charity is equal to all other commandments combined" (Bava Batra 9a). One who gives charity emulates the attribute of Hashem, who sustains and provides for His creations. And since charity adds life to the world, it therefore saves from death, as it is written: "And charity delivers from death" (Proverbs 10:2).

3. The mitzvah of charity is not optional but an obligation that the Torah imposes on every individual and society as a whole. Its purpose is to help and support the sick and elderly, orphans and widows, who cannot sustain themselves. One who evades fulfilling the obligation of charity is considered as if they worship idols (Bava Batra 10a), because they accept the deficiencies in the world, like idolaters who do not believe in the possibility of repairing the world. The Sages said: "Whoever saves a single life from Israel, Scripture considers it as if he saved an entire world" (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5). By confronting the difficulties in the world and helping those who suffer and are poor, we repair the world and bring redemption closer, as the Sages said: "Great is charity, for it brings redemption closer, as it is said (Isaiah 56): Thus says Hashem: Keep justice and do righteousness, for My salvation is close to coming and My righteousness to being revealed" (Bava Batra 10a).

4. King Solomon, peace be upon him, said: "Charity delivers from death" (Proverbs 11:4), and the Sages interpreted this verse as follows: "How do we know that charity saves a person from the way of death? As it is said (Proverbs 11:4): 'Wealth does not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.' Come and see that by the measure a person measures, they are measured. A person gives charity in this world intending that the poor person should live and not die; likewise, the Holy One, blessed be He, intends for the giver to live and not die."

5. The Sages mentioned in the Talmud an incident where giving charity indeed saved someone from death, and the story went like this: "They said about Benjamin the Righteous, who was in charge of the charity fund. Once, during a year of drought, a woman came before him and said, 'Rabbi, support me.' He replied, 'I swear that there is nothing left in the charity fund.' She said to him, 'Rabbi, if you do not support me, a woman and her seven children will die.' He stood up and supported her from his own money. Some time later, he became ill and was about to die. The ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: 'Master of the Universe, You have said that whoever preserves a single life from Israel is considered as if he preserved an entire world; shall Benjamin the Righteous, who preserved a woman and her seven children, die at such a young age?' Immediately, they tore up his verdict, and they added twenty-two years to his life."

6. Regarding the virtue of charity, Maimonides further writes that "a person never becomes poor from giving charity, and no evil or harm comes because of charity, as it is said (Isaiah 32:17): 'And the work of righteousness shall be peace.'"

7. The goal of charity is to help our brothers exist in a dignified manner. Therefore, the highest level of charity is to help a poor person stand on their own feet, so they will no longer need to ask for charity, as it is said (Leviticus 25:35): "If your brother becomes poor and his means fail with you, then you shall support him." For example, someone who helps a poor person find steady employment or ensures they learn a profession from which they can later earn a respectable living fulfills the mitzvah of charity in the most excellent way, because this is the most dignified and effective way to remove the poor person from the cycle of poverty.

8. When it is not possible to help a poor person become self-sufficient, either because we cannot find them a job or teach them a profession, or because the poor person is sick and unable to work, then the commandment is to ensure their existence. The more respectfully we provide assistance, the more excellent the charity is. And the more we give charity in a way that embarrasses them, the lower its level (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 249:6-13).

9. The mitzvah of charity is a direct segulah (spiritual remedy) for livelihood. Hashem Himself, through His prophet Malachi, explains to us how to continue generating income in the form of tangible and concrete goods, and this is from the highest source of income itself. This way is giving charity!

These are the prophet's words: "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, so there will be food in My house, and test Me now with this, says Hashem of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing, until there is no more need. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before the time in the field, says Hashem of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land, says Hashem of hosts."

10. The depth of charity: Give without calculation, and receive from Heaven without calculation: A wealthy Jew used to secretly support Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli. He enjoyed Rabbi Zusha's blessings, and his business flourished. Once he arrived in Anipoli and discovered that Rabbi Zusha was not in town.

"Where is the Rabbi?" he wondered. "He went to visit his Rabbi," was the answer. "My Rabbi also has a Rabbi?" the wealthy man was surprised to learn.

Since our wealthy friend was a shrewd merchant, he made a quick calculation: "If Rabbi Zusha's blessings have helped so much in business success, I will transfer my support to his Rabbi, and then success will multiply several times over!"

No sooner said than done. The wealthy man stopped supporting Rabbi Zusha and began sending donations to Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch, Rabbi Zusha's teacher.

Not much time passed and his business began to deteriorate. When he understood why this trouble had come upon him, he immediately made his way to Anipoli. "I understand that I lost in my business because I stopped supporting you," he cried to Rabbi Zusha, "but was my calculation wrong?"

"Your calculation was correct and logical," the Rabbi replied, "but it originated in error. Until now, you gave charity without making calculations of profit and loss, and the Creator of the world rewarded you with wealth also without calculation. Now that you have begun to make calculations, the Creator of the world has also made His own calculation, and according to it, you are not entitled to such tremendous wealth."

This is one of the depths of giving charity: we hope that Hashem will accept us without calculations, and therefore we give charity without any calculation. Thus, we will merit to be blessed with a good and sweet year, and we will merit receiving the greatest gift of all: the true and complete redemption.