Re’eh

The passuk states: לא תאמץ את לבבך ולא תקפץ את ידך מאחיך האביון “do not strengthen your heart and do not close your hand from your brother who is in desperate need.” The Maharam Chagiv explains this is the lav of holding back from giving tzedaka and doing chessed.

The Ohr HaChaim explains that Hashem deposits the portion of a poor person in the hands of a rich person. The rich person has been granted wealth and is entrusted with the money of the poor person. Hashem gives to each person what is necessary for his needs. If because of sin one is not fit to receive these presents, Hashem does not take them back. Rather, Hashem gives it as a deposit to another person, in addition to that person’s needs. This enables one to repent, and gives the other the zechus of giving tzedaka and doing chessed. The passuk states לא תקפץ “don’t close” hinting that since he has money to help another and in truth it is meant for that person, he should not close his hand from allowing the money to be given.

The following passuk states כי פתוח תפתח את ידך לו…די מחסורו אשר יחסר לו “rather you shall indeed open up your hand to him… the amount of what he is missing.” The Maharam Chagiv explains that this is an aseh of giving tzedaka and helping out a poor person with his needs. Rashi explains this teaches that you are not commanded to make a poor person rich, rather to supply him with the needs which he was accustomed to. One needs to supply even a horse to ride on and a servant to run before him. The Gemara brings a story with Hillel HaZakein that he bought a horse for a poor person who used to be wealthy, to ride on, and hired someone to run before him. Once he could not find someone to run before this poor person, so Hillel himself ran before him for three mil!

The Gemara brings a story with a poor person who needed a chicken which he was accustomed to. He met Nechemia and said זכה עמי “take a merit with me” of one chicken. HaRav Yisrael from Shklov, a student of the Gra, explains that the lashon of זכה עמי “take a merit with me” is used, meaning do tzedaka with me, not do tzedaka for me. This teaches, more than the wealthy person does for the poor person, the poor person does for the wealthy person.

May we recognize that our means are a deposit, and every opportunity of tzedaka and chessed is more important for the giver than for the recipient!