In the weeks preceding the High Holidays we should also intensify in our giving of Tzedakah ( the word used for charity). In reality the word Tzedakah comes from the root word Tzedek (just). To give Tzedakah is the just thing to do. G-d asks that we give 10%of our earnings to those in need. That 10% really doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to H”S. We are His designated distributors of His wealth.
The Alter Rebbe once sent a letter to a town in Russia that was very affluent but sadly had become very impoverished. He asked them to continue sending money to the Holy Land and to keep helping their brethren there. He wrote that he understood their situation, but that now more then ever they should make the extra effort to continue giving even if they had to take loans from the banks for it. He continued to explain that in order to arouse mercy from G-d first we have to be merciful towards others.
In Chassidut this is called the masculine and feminine waters. The Feminine waters are the ones from bellow, like rivers, oceans, lakes, etc. the Masculine waters are the ones that come from above, like the rain. First the waters from bellow have to evaporate so they can rise then they become clouds which have to condense in order to produce rain. In other words, every blessing that comes to us is an arousal from bellow. Every kindness you do in this world elicits H”S kindness to you.
Make an accounting of how much money you have earned net this year and take the 10 % to give to worthy causes beginning with those closest to you. This is a very hard mitzvah to keep because we always need what we make, really we are giving away our life,that is why it is so precious to H”S and it elicits His abundance towards us.
Shabbat Shalom
Live a little higher
