The word hashkifah, look down, usually has a negative connotation, which implies a harsh scrutinizing focus on a subject. The sole exception to this rule is the hashkifah of Viddui Maaser, which is the confessional prayer that one recites upon successfully dispensing the required tithes. In this case, we ask Hashem to look down and bless us. The Midrash explains that this is the power of tzedakah. It can transform the Middas HaDin, attribute of strict Justice, into the Middas HaRachamim, attribute of Mercy. Although hashkifah generally implies something bad, when people act in accordance with Hashem’s will, dispensing their tithes to the Levi and the poor, it is transformed into a positive word.
The Kesav Sofer cites his father, the Chasam Sofer who questions this. Why should the Torah use a word that has a negative connotation only to “change” its implication into a positive meaning? Why not simply use a word that originally has a positive overtone?
The Kesav Sofer explains that prosperity and material blessing can, in fact, have a negative effect on a person’s life. First, the more material reward a person receives in this world, the less he is likely to receive in the World to Come. Furthermore, wealth can impede one’s relationship with Hashem and diminish his fear of Him. Throughout the Torah we find pesukim alluding to the negative reaction one may have to wealth and material abundance. Since the goal of a Jew is to raise his spiritual level and to serve Hashem faithfully, so that he can achieve eternal reward in the World to Come, it makes sense that too much materialism is a severe deterrent to attaining this goal.
Yet, when one makes good use of his material resources by sharing it with those less fortunate, and supporting Torah institutions, this wealth becomes a source of blessing and spiritual merit. This is the Torah’s lesson. Just as hashkifah can be transformed into a positive connotation, so, too, can material abundance be used for our spiritual benefit. It is not the resources that are inherently bad; how we use them defines their value.
