1. Meor Vision
R’ Ephraim Messing
The Gift of Giving
Midrash ­ Ruth Raba (5:9)
.‫תני בשם ר' יהושע, יותר ממה שבעל הבית עושה עם העני, העני עושה עם בעל הבית‬
More than the rich man does for the poor, the poor man does for the rich.
Q. This seems counterintuitive. Why do the Sages view it this way?
I. The Mitzvah of Charity
Shemos 22:24
:ְ‫ך‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ֶ‫נ‬ ‫ָיו‬‫ל‬ָ‫ע‬ ‫ימוּן‬ ִ‫שׂ‬ְ‫א־ת‬ֹ‫ה ל‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ֹ‫נ‬ְ‫כּ‬ ‫ֶה לוֹ‬‫י‬ְ‫ה‬ִ‫א־ת‬ֹ‫ ל‬ְ‫ָך‬‫מּ‬ִ‫ע‬ ‫ִי‬‫נ‬ָ‫ע‬ ֶ‫ת־ה‬ֶ‫ִי א‬‫מּ‬ַ‫ע‬‫ת־‬ֶ‫ה א‬ֶ‫ו‬ְ‫ל‬ַ‫ף תּ‬ֶ‫ס‬ֶ‫כּ‬‫ִם־‬‫א‬
When you lend money to my people, to the poor man who is with you, do not act toward
him like a creditor, do not impose upon him interest.
Rashi (Shemos 20:22)
‫חובה הוא, שנאמר )דברים טו ח( והעבט תעביטנו‬
This is an obligation, as it says “and you shall surely lend him”.
Devarim 15:7­8
:‫ַר לוֹ‬‫ס‬ְ‫ֶח‬‫י‬ ‫ר‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ֲ‫רוֹ א‬ֹ‫ס‬ְ‫ַח‬‫מ‬ ‫ֵי‬‫דּ‬ ‫נּוּ‬ ֶ‫ִיט‬‫ב‬ֲ‫ע‬ַ‫ט תּ‬ֵ‫ב‬ֲ‫ע‬ַ‫ה‬ְ‫ו‬ ‫ לוֹ‬ָ‫ך‬ְ‫ד‬ָ‫י‬‫ת־‬ֶ‫ח א‬ַ‫תּ‬ְ‫פ‬ִ‫ תּ‬ַ‫ח‬ֹ‫ָת‬‫פ‬‫ִי־‬‫כּ‬ …‫יוֹן‬ְ‫ב‬ֶ‫ א‬ָ‫ך‬ְ‫ב‬ ‫ֶה‬‫י‬ְ‫ִה‬‫י‬‫ִי־‬‫כּ‬
When there will be a destitute person among you… open your hand to him, and you
shall surely lend him, enough to fulfill his need, that which he is lacking.
Rashi (Devarim 15:8)
‫​ ­ אם לא רצה במתנה, תן לו בהלואה‬‫ו‬‫והעבט תעביטנ‬
and you shall surely lend him​ ­ if he doesn’t want a gift, provide him with a loan.
Sefer HaChinuch
‫וזאת המצוה של הלואה היא יותר חזקה ומחוייבת ממצות נתינת הצדקה, שמי שנתגלה ונודע דחקו בין‬
‫בני אדם וגילה פניו לשאול מהן אין דחקו ואפילתו כמי שעדיין לא בא לאותה בושה וירא מהכנס בה, ואם‬
‫יהיה לו מעט סעד של הלואה, במה שירווח מעט אולי לא יצטרך לבא לשאלה לעולם, וכשירחמנו האל‬
‫בריוח ישלם נשיו ויחיה בנותר. ועל כן הזהירתנו תורתנו השלימה על זה לסעוד המך בהלואה טרם‬
...‫יצטרך לבוא אל השאלה‬
The mitzvah of lending is greater than the mitzvah of giving because he will be spared
the shame of publicly declaring his poverty and begging from door to door. Therefore,
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2. the Torah commands us to provide him with a loan so that he can rebuild himself before
he falls too far.
So, there are 2 basic levels: 1) gift ­ a one time act
2) loan ­ a relationship
An even higher level of giving is to provide him with his specific personal needs:
Rashi (Devarim 15:8)
‫​ ­ אפילו סוס לרכוב עליו ועבד לרוץ לפניו‬‫ו‬‫אשר יחסר ל‬
that which he is lacking​ ­ even a horse to ride and a servant to run before him
Talmud Bavli ­ Kesubos 67b
‫אמרו עליו על הלל הזקן, שלקח לעני בן טובים אחד סוס לרכוב עליו ועבד לרוץ לפניו; פעם אחת לא מצא‬
‫עבד לרוץ לפניו, ורץ לפניו שלשה מילין‬
Hillel the Elder provided for a poor man who had been raised in a wealthy home a horse
to ride and a servant to run before him. Once, he couldn’t find a servant so he himself
ran before him.
Yet the highest level of giving is to empathize with the unfortunate and share his pain:
Rashi (Shemos 22:24)
‫​­ הוי מסתכל בעצמך כאלו אתה העני‬ ‫את העני עמך‬
the poor man who is with you​ ­ view yourself as if you were that poor man.
II. Bearing the Burden with your Fellow Man
Pirkei Avos (6:5­6)
...‫התורה נקנית בארבעים ושמונה דברים… נושא בעול עם חבירו‬
Torah wisdom is acquired through 48 ways… bearing the burden with your fellow man...
Tiferes Yisrael (Avos 6:6)
...‫​ ­ הן בטרחת הגוף, והן בהוצאות ממון, והן בצער נפשו, על מה שקרה לו לחבירו‬‫ו‬‫נושא בעול עם חביר‬
bearing the burden​ ​with your fellow man ​­ whether it’s physical, monetary, or
emotional; whatever is going on in his life...
Q. This sounds nice, but what does it have to do with acquiring wisdom?
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3. Pirkei Avos 4:1
‫איזהו חכם ­ הלומד מכל אדם‬
Who is wise ­ one who learns from each person.
Talmud Bavli ­ Tamid 32a
‫איזהו חכם ­ הרואה את הנולד‬
Who is wise ­ one who can envision the future.
Wisdom = Vision
True wisdom comes when you use the power of your imagination. When you view the world
from the perspective of others and see beyond your particular circumstance.
The primary exemplar of this was Moshe.
III. Moshe ­ Empathetic Leader
Shemos 2:11
‫ם‬ָ‫ת‬ֹ‫ל‬ְ‫ב‬ִ‫ס‬ְ‫בּ‬ ‫א‬ְ‫ר‬ַ‫יּ‬ַ‫ו‬ ‫יו‬ָ‫ח‬ֶ‫ל־א‬ֶ‫ֵא א‬‫צ‬ֵ‫יּ‬ַ‫ו‬ ‫ה‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ֹ‫ַל מ‬‫דּ‬ְ‫ג‬ִ‫יּ‬ַ‫ו‬
Moshe grew up; he went out to his brethren and he saw their suffering.
Rashi
:‫וירא בסבלתם ­ נתן עיניו ולבו להיות מיצר עליהם‬
and he saw their suffering​ ­ he set his eyes and his heart to experience their pain
Moshe was quite comfortable in the palace and didn’t have any need to go out. But he knew
that his brethren were suffering out there and he wanted to experience their pain. He focused
his eyes to see and opened his heart to feel. He empathized with them, bearing the burden with
his fellow man.
This is the hallmark of a great leader. God chose Moshe to lead his people out of Egypt to the
Promised Land. And this is the way of great wisdom. God chose to reveal His Torah through
Moshe, our teacher.
IV. Giving ­ key to wisdom; crucible for leadership
Now we can appreciate the depth of the Sages’ saying that a poor man does more for the rich
man than the rich does for the poor.
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4.
Rambam ­ Teshuva 5:2
‫כל אדם ראוי לו להיות צדיק כמשה רבינו‬
Every person is capable of being like Moshe Rabbeinu.
Q. How are we expected to accomplish this?
Sefer Hachinuch
‫שורש המצוה, שרצה האל להיות ברואיו מלומדים ומורגלים במדת החסד והרחמים, כי היא מדה‬
‫משובחת, ומתוך הכשר גופם במדות הטובות יהיו ראויים לקבלת הטובה, כמו שאמרנו שחלות הטוב‬
.‫והברכה לעולם על הטוב לא בהפכו, ובהיטיב השם יתברך לטובים יושלם חפצו שחפץ להיטיב לעולם‬
‫ואם לאו מצד שורש זה הלא הוא ברוך הוא יספיק לעני די מחסורו זולתנו, אלא שהיה מחסדו ברוך הוא‬
.‫שנעשינו שלוחים לו לזכותנו‬
God wants His creations to become skilled at and accustomed to having a kind and
compassionate character, and by being Good like God they in turn are able to receive
the ultimate Good. This is the purpose of allowing there to be poverty in the world.
Though God could alleviate poverty Himself, He wants us to be His messengers in
taking care of the poor.
The simple act of giving perfects our character, consistently refining our Goodness.
This is true of the most basic level of giving. But there is an added depth. When we step
out of our own perspective and empathize with the one who is suffering, when we share
in his pain and shoulder his burden alongside him, we enhance our vision and expand
ourselves, enabling us to better attain wisdom and care for the world around us. We
move another step along the path towards our potential, towards becoming visionary
leaders of our own. That is the gift of giving, a gift greater than all the money in the
world.
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