D’VAR TORAH
There is a powerful illusion that almost every one of us struggles with: we think we own our money. In reality, our money often owns us. We work hard for it, save it, invest it, worry over it, and protect it — and slowly we begin to believe that our security rests in whatever happens to be sitting in our bank account.
Then Parshat Re’eh arrives and changes the picture entirely. Our security is not in our money; our security is in Hashem. Money is simply one of the tools He places in our hands.
This week’s parashah speaks about charity more than almost any other passage in the Torah. «If there shall be a needy person among you…» «Do not harden your heart.» «Do not close your hand.» «You shall surely open your hand.» «You shall surely give.» «And do not feel bad when you give.»
Then the Torah concludes with one of its greatest promises: «Because of this, Hashem your G-d will bless you in everything you do and in everything you undertake.»
Notice something extraordinary. The Torah does not simply command us to give — it teaches us how to give. A person can give with joy or with resentment, out of trust in Hashem or out of a feeling of pressure. When the Torah says, «Do not let your heart feel bad when you give,» it is asking for far more than our money. It is asking for our heart. The greatest gift is never the amount we give; it is the love with which we give it.
Our Sages teach something remarkable: the homeowner does less for the poor person than the poor person does for the homeowner. At first this sounds impossible. We assume the wealthy person is the one doing the helping. The Torah says the opposite is true. The poor person hands the wealthy person the opportunity to transform money into eternity — to turn dollars into mitzvot, and this world into the World to Come.
The Gemara tells us that the Roman governor Turnus Rufus once challenged Rabbi Akiva: «If your G-d loves poor people so much, why doesn’t He provide for them Himself?» Rabbi Akiva answered with striking wisdom: «So that we can be saved through them.» Hashem could have fed every hungry person directly. He could have sent angels, or rained down food from Heaven each day. Instead He chose something greater — He invited us to become His partners. Every Jew who gives tzedakah becomes Hashem’s partner in caring for His children. What greater privilege could there be?
Look carefully at the order of the verses. First the Torah says, «Do not harden your heart,» and only then, «Open your hand.» The sequence is deliberate: the hand only follows the heart. If the heart is closed, the hand stays closed; when the heart opens, the hand follows naturally. The real problem is never the wallet — it is the heart. As Rabbi Yisrael Salanter used to say, some people have open wallets but closed hearts, while others have very little money but enormous hearts. Hashem never measures the amount. He measures the love.
This Shabbat carries added meaning, because it is Shabbat Mevarchim, when we bless the coming month of Elul. Elul is not simply another month; it is the month in which every Jew prepares to stand before the King of Kings. Most of us think of that preparation as Selichot, the shofar, extra Tehillim, and stronger Torah learning — and all of that is true. But Parshat Re’eh reminds us of another essential preparation: tzedakah.
Every year on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we repeat the same famous words: «Teshuvah, Tefillah, and Tzedakah remove the severity of the decree.» Notice what we do not say. We do not say that charity buys forgiveness. We say that charity changes the decree — because charity changes the person. When we grow more compassionate, more generous, and more caring, we become different people, and when the person changes, the judgment changes with him.
There is another beautiful connection to Elul. Everyone knows the famous acronym Ani L’Dodi V’Dodi Li — «I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine.» But there is a second acronym just as beautiful: Ish L’Re’eihu U’Matanot La’Evyonim— «Each person to his friend, and gifts to the poor.» True love for Hashem can never be separated from love for His children. If we want Hashem to show us mercy, we must first show mercy to others. When we open our hands to someone in need, Hashem opens the gates of Heaven for us.
The Baal Shem Tov taught an unforgettable lesson. When a poor person knocks on your door, do not imagine that he needs you. Understand that Hashem sent him because you need him. He is not disturbing your day — he is delivering your blessing.
«Because of this thing Hashem will bless you,» says the Torah. What is «this thing»? Not the amount, not the dollars, not the check. «This thing» is the faith behind the giving — the understanding that nothing truly belongs to us. Everything belongs to Hashem. If He placed extra resources in our hands, He also placed someone else’s portion in our care. We are not owners; we are caretakers.
The world teaches that if you give money away, you will have less. The Torah teaches the opposite: when you give, you gain. That is Heaven’s mathematics. Someone once asked a wealthy man how much money he really owned. He smiled and answered, «Only the money I have already given to tzedakah. Everything else could disappear tomorrow.» How true those words are. The money we keep can be lost, and the money we invest can fail, but the money we give becomes eternal.
Our Sages tell us something astonishing: there is one mitzvah in which Hashem actually invites us to test Him — the mitzvah of ma’aser, setting aside ten percent for tzedakah. Hashem promises that blessing will follow. Sometimes it comes through business, sometimes through health, sometimes through children, sometimes through peace in the home, and sometimes through opportunities we never imagined. However it arrives, it always arrives, because His promises never fail.
Have you ever wondered why the Torah calls it «tzedakah» rather than simply kindness? Kindness means giving someone something they do not deserve. Tzedakah comes from the word for justice. Hashem has already designated part of our money for someone else; we are simply delivering what was entrusted to us.
The Alshich HaKadosh explains that Hashem could have created a world in which everyone already had exactly what they needed. Instead He created a world in which people need one another — because giving creates love, giving creates unity, giving creates community, and giving creates holiness. Perhaps that is why this parashah is always read before Elul. Before we ask Hashem to write us in the Book of Life, He asks us one question: did you help someone else live with dignity?
King Solomon writes in Mishlei, «There is one who gives freely and yet gains even more.» That sentence defies the laws of economics, but it fits the laws of Heaven perfectly. The more room we make by giving, the more room Hashem has to fill with blessing. The Zohar teaches that every act of tzedakah awakens Heavenly mercy: as we show compassion below, Hashem shows compassion above.
Now we can understand one of the most famous verses in all of Judaism: «Tzedakah saves from death.» This does not refer only to physical death, but to harsh decrees and difficult judgments. As Rosh Hashanah approaches, every one of us wants life, health, and happiness — parnassah, strong marriages, children who follow the Torah, and peace of mind. The Torah tells us that one of the greatest keys to all of these blessings is a generous heart.
There is a beautiful story told about the Chafetz Chaim. A man once came to him in tears over his financial struggles and begged for a blessing. The Chafetz Chaim asked a simple question: «Do you give tzedakah?» The man answered honestly, «Rabbi, when I become wealthy, then I’ll start giving.» The Chafetz Chaim smiled gently and replied, «You have it backwards. People don’t always give because they are wealthy. Many become wealthy because they learned how to give.» The man took upon himself to separate money for tzedakah from every dollar he earned, and slowly his situation began to change. Years later he returned to offer his thanks. «Don’t thank me,» the Chafetz Chaim answered. «Thank the Torah. It already promised you, ‘Because of this thing Hashem will bless you.'»
My dear friends, we are standing at the doorway of Elul. Soon we will hear the sound of the shofar; soon the Heavenly books will open. Every one of us carries dreams, prayers, and people we love. Let us enter this new year with open hands and open hearts, and let us make one simple commitment: to give tzedakah every day, to set aside ma’aser faithfully, to keep a pushka in our homes, and to teach our children that giving is not losing — giving is living.
Because the hand that opens for another Jew becomes the key that opens the gates of Heaven. Remember this for the rest of your life: the hand that opens to help another person becomes the key that unlocks Hashem’s blessings. Open your hand, and Hashem will open Heaven for you.
By Rabbi Asher Vaknin