Man must realize that his wealth is bequeathed to him for a specific purpose, so that he will use it to to help others. One should not think that giving tzeddakah, charity, decreases his financial assets. On the contrary, the greatest merit for attaining financial security is to give charity to others. This is the pasuk’s message.
The Dubna Maggid offers a parable to elucidate this idea. A man went to the market with a hundred dollars in his pocket, which he later lost. The next day he returned to the market and found a wallet with two hundred dollars in it. Despite the fact that he was overjoyed by his new found wealth, he still despaired over the loss of the previous day. Indeed, he could have had three hundred dollars today, had he not lost the money he had had the day before! This person, alas, saw no connection between the first day’s loss and the second day’s gain.
This is unlike the merchant who was carrying grain from place to place. As he was passing by a field, his sack of grain opened. The grain spilled all over the field, so that he had to go home empty-handed. A few weeks later, as he went past that same field, he noticed that the grains which he had dropped and considered lost, had germinated and sprouted into crops all over the field. What he thought was a misfortune actually was the source of amazing success! Had he not lost the grain, he never would have had the crops!
This, says the Dubna Maggid, is the essence of tzeddakah. One who gives a charitable donation might mistakenly think that he is losing money. The wealth he eventually accumulates is in the merit of this tzeddakah.
Horav Zalmen Sorotzkin z.l. cites another parable to explain this pasuk. A wagon driver, who made his living by selling merchandise from the big city to the merchants in the small towns, once became stuck in the snow. His wagon wheels were imbedded in the snow and mud, and the horses could not pull it out because of the added weight. He was in a quandary. To remove part of he merchandise and lighten the load would not be fair to the merchants. After all, they were waiting anxiously for the merchandise. If it did not arrive in time, however, they would suffer serious financial losses. He thought of a solution. The mud and snow which the wheels had accumulated weighed the wagon down considerably. He would simply remove the wheels. That act would enable the horses to pull the wagon. He proceeded to execute his idea.
After a few minutes, the foolish wagon driver realized that the wagon would not go anywhere without its wheels, regardless of the weight. The same idea applies to tzeddakah. A person suddenly notices he just isn’t “making it” financially. Many demands are made upon his weekly paycheck. What is the first thing he does to “lighten” the financial load? He cuts back on his tzeddakah contributions! After all, he will not curtail his spending in the area of food, clothing, and entertainment.
People have priorities, and tzeddakah is just not one of them. This, says Horav Sorotzkin, is the pasuk’s message. vzv rcsv kkdc hf, “(Because) (that for) this thing.” The word kkdc is closely related to the word kdkd, wheel. Thus, the pasuk can be interpreted to mean: The tzeddakah contribution symbolizes your set of wheels which enables you to carry your entire load.” Indeed, charity and continued maintenance of Torah-related endeavors represent our access to success in every field.
