בס"ד
The
Avodah Of Giving
HaRav
Elazar Mordechai Kenig, shlita
Adapted
from a talk given in Hebrew
Tzefat 5761/2001
Rebbe Nachman begins Likutey Moharan Tinyana 4 with
the verse where God said to Elijah the Prophet, "I commanded the ravens to
sustain you…" (I Kings 17). He relates this to the idea of tzedaka,
charity, because when we begin to contribute money to charity, we must pass
through a stage of breaking whatever cruelty we possess in our nature and
transforming it into compassion. This is the fundamental principle of avodat
hatzedaka - the "work" of giving tzedaka.
It is written, "And the deed of tzedaka shall be
peace, and the work of tzedaka shall be tranquility and security
forever" (Isaiah 32:17). The first part of the verse alludes to the idea
of tzedaka in practice: the actual deed itself. Every time a person
gives to someone in need, it counts as the mitzvah of tzedaka. Our Sages
say, "One who gives a coin to charity is blessed." We fulfill the
mitzvah of tzedaka whenever we give something to a person in need, and
he derives benefit. However, there is also another category, called the
"work" of tzedaka.
To highlight this concept, Rebbe Nachman cites the second
part of the verse, "…and the work of tzedaka shall be tranquility
and security forever." The work of tzedaka is not only the actual
giving itself, but breaking the cruel tendency wherever it exists within us,
and turning it into compassion.
If one gives charity because of his compassionate nature,
where is the work? Even among animals, some are compassionate by nature. The
real work is to break our inherent cruelty and convert it into compassion. This
is expressed through, "And I commanded the ravens to sustain him."
Although the raven's nature is cruel, it was transformed into compassion in order
to sustain Elijah the Prophet. Likewise, anyone who gives charity because of
their inborn generosity, regardless of the amount, needs to pass through this
preliminary stage of breaking whatever cruelty they possess and turning it into
compassion.
Reb Noson writes in Likutey Halachot, that when we
see another who is starving, our compassion is certainly aroused to help him.
Of course this is a mitzvah, and we must do it, but there is also a much higher
level of giving tzedaka. Even one who has a generous heart by nature
must pass through this stage when he begins to give, pushing beyond his
compassionate tendencies. Rather, when he overcomes his inborn nature,
understanding where his compassion ends and cruelty begins, he must convert
this cruelty into compassion and give tzedaka. Without this, he hasn't
yet done the work of tzedaka. Everyone has a place where he says
"until here and no more" - this point of "cruelty" is what
he must exert himself to break.
There are many forms of doing kindness through tzedaka.
One may perform an act of tzedaka with actual money, but there also are
other ways to give tzedaka. For example, just as a person can help with
money, he can also help with good advice. Each person is limited and has a
different point where their compassion ends, depending upon the situation.
Again, the "work" of tzedaka is to push further, beyond one's
inborn compassionate nature, and convert the cruelty into compassion.
This involves a deeper understanding of giving. We need to
contemplate and realize that the need to give tzedaka does not depend
solely upon the compassion we feel. Rather, we must break through and give more
than our natural compassion dictates - ultimately because this is what the
Creator commanded.
In a related lesson, Rebbe Nachman tells us that a person
needs to turn his anger into compassion (Likutey Moharan 18). In other
words, when one begins to get the least bit angry, he must be very careful not
to act in an unkind way, which includes speaking harshly. On the contrary, he must
"sweeten" his anger with compassion. Our Sages say, "One who
breaks vessels in anger, is an idolater." We need to act in the opposite
way - "When anger and wrath come, remember compassion" (Selichot).
A person must be extremely careful about all forms of anger.
Happy is one who never gets angry in the first place, but
even if he does, he must ensure that he does not act upon it. He must not even
speak in anger. It is written, "Whoever gets angry gains nothing except
the anger." Put another way, anger never accomplishes anything. Even if
one thinks he achieved something through anger, the truth is that it wasn't the
anger that accomplished it for him - he would have accomplished far more
without it. Instead, he should remember to restrain the anger and be
compassionate.
To develop this idea further, Rebbe Nachman speaks about two
concepts: "length of days" and "shortness of days." The
term "length of days" is connected to old age. Our Sages teach that
through aging, one acquires wisdom. Rebbe Nachman says that every single day, a
person needs to add more holiness, light and Daat. Every day needs more
illumination, and it is our purpose in life to bring more light into each day.
Through this, our minds become progressively more calm and settled.
We exist in the dimension of time: a person is born,
develops through childhood to adulthood, until the point where he should
already begin to understand the need to grow spiritually every day. Practically, this means not to be on the
same spiritual level today as yesterday, by adding some type of additional hitchadshut
- newness - in serving God.
The second concept, "shortness of days," is the
opposite. He explains that there are people who live a long time and thus
appear to possess "length of days." Yet, since they blemished their
days by not adding more holiness and Daat, they draw their spiritual
sustenance from chochmat hateva - the idea that there is nothing beyond
nature. When days pass without renewal, it is the very opposite of "length
of days" and the wisdom that comes with age. This is called ketzar
yamim seva rogez - "shortness of days, filled with anger."
One of the great Breslover Chassidim from Rebbe Nachman's
time once said that if he would recite the Shema today as he did
yesterday, he would have no reason to live. In order to grow spiritually, a
person cannot remain on the same level. By living with renewal, his days are
"long" in the sense that every day has more holiness and light than
the previous one. However, on the other hand, if each day passes without any
holiness being added, he exists within "shortness of days, full of
anger."
A life of routine without renewal produces anger and
irritation. Rebbe Nachman offers a remedy by saying that when a person does the
"work" of tzedaka, by subduing and breaking cruelty and
turning it into compassion, he repairs the damage caused by living a life
without renewal - "shortness of days."
A happy and satisfying existence in the world depends upon
knowing that everything comes from God. This means believing through faith that
God created the world in the way He desired, above the dictates of nature. Even
though He created the world with nature, He preceded everything. Nothing
obligated Him either to create the world, or to continue to sustain and support
it.
A person of faith can accept and cope with everything that
happens in life. With faith, it is possible to withstand anything, without
getting angry or leaving one's senses, God forbid. A person loses faith when he
is unable to see that everything comes from God. Instead, he thinks that there
is some other force that directs the world. It appears to him that everyone
else has a better lot, and as a result, he may become angry, jealous and
hateful. One who loses faith exists in the confines of "shortness of days, full of
anger." He thinks that this is life, but anger and pain are the very
opposite of life. True life is serenity, the calm and settled mind that comes
from "length of days." Through faith, a person is able to add holy
light and Daat to every day and moment, acquiring wisdom and revealing
compassion.