August 6, 2026
Parashat Re'eh presents the precious mitzvah of tzedakah , the obligation to lend financial assistance to those in need: לא תאמץ את לבבך ולא תקפוץ את ידך מאחיך האביון. כי פתח תפתח את ידך לו... Do not harden your heart and do not shut your hand from your brother, the pauper. Rather, you shall open your hand to him… A famous pasuk in Mishleh (10:2) teaches וצדקה תציל ממות – "and charity saves from death." On one level, this means that charity saves the recipient from death. Poverty can be a form of "death." A person living in a constant state of financial stress does not truly live. By relieving a person's financial strain, one effectively restores his life. And, in reward, Hashem saves the donor from fatal decrees that had been issued against him. But additionally, charity saves from death in the sense that it defines the essence of life. We earn the privilege of continuing to live if we fulfill the purpose for which we were put here in the first place – to open our hands, to give, to contribute. In the Book of Shemuel I we read the story of Naval, a wealthy man to whom David sent his men to ask for food and provisions while they were are in the run. Naval rudely and apathetically rejected their request and turned them away. Soon thereafter, G-d killed him. This was a man who lived with his fists tightly clenched, keeping everything he was given for himself, and refusing to share it with anybody. Therefore, he did not deserve to live another day. If a person is not giving, the