Investment Property and Jail Time
Based on Ahavas Chesed vol. 2 chapter 14
Having discussed creating a personal fund to be used for the purposes of chesed, one might ask, “Why should I be the only one doing this?” (This is but one of the many weapons in the yetzer hara’s arsenal!) One might justify that others have more money for such an undertaking, or he's saving his money to leave to his children, so he might as well refrain from creating such a fund as well. The Chofetz Chaim answers this with a parable:
Let’s say that two respected real estate agents offered you the opportunity to purchase a prime piece of property. It was guaranteed to go up in value and there was no possibility that you could lose any money. Not only that, an independent expert with impeccable credentials corroborated this assessment. You would rush to purchase that property even though it was very expensive. You wouldn’t think for a second, “You know who should buy this property instead? Mr. Jones is much wealthier than I am, so it’s more appropriate for him to do so!” No, you would be happy that such an opportunity came your way, and eagerly anticipate the higher social standing it would afford you.
It’s the same here. Two respected agents – Avraham and Shlomo – have testified to the value of this “property.” Avraham, as we know, was the paragon of chesed, who set the example by establishing an eishel (either an orchard or an inn) where he fed travelers. Shlomo taught in Mishlei (21:21) that one who pursues opportunities to give tzedakah and perform acts of chesed will find life.
We also have the “expert,” who corroborates the statement of the agents. In Bereishis 18:17:19, God says, “Shall I hide from Avraham what I am about to do, seeing that he is going to be a great nation and all the nations of the world will bless themselves by him? I have singled him out so that he would instruct his children and his house to follow the way of God, acting with righteousness (tzedakah) and justice, so that God might bring about for Avraham what He promised him.” The gemara (Yevamos 79a) derives the subject of chesed from this, since chesed and tzedakah are the same thing, i.e., benefiting others.
Furthermore, we know that the “purchase” is a great investment and will be inherited by our descendants. To this end, Tehillim 103:17 teaches, “Hashem’s chesed is forever to those who fear Him.” This refers to those who internalize the trait of chesed, as per the Yerushalmi (Peah 1:1). This is actually far better than the real estate transaction of our parable. After all, a parcel of land can change hands numerous times during a person’s lifetime, and certainly after he passes on. The “purchase” of tzedakah and chesed, however, stays with a person and his descendants forever.
The “minor” tractate of Kallah (first chapter) says that Rabbi Tarfon was particularly wealthy, but he didn’t give tzedakah commensurate with his ability. Rabbi Akiva offered to purchase a few cities on his behalf, so Rabbi Tarfon gave him four thousand gold pieces to spend. Rabbi Akiva turned around and distributed those gold pieces to needy recipients. Eventually, Rabbi Tarfon asked Rabbi Akiva about the status of his investment. Rabbi Akiva took out a book of Tehillim and showed him the verse “If a person distributes charity to the needy, his merit stands up for him eternally” (112:9). Rabbi Tarfon gratefully thanked him and gave him even money to distribute. (The Chofetz Chaim goes on to explain why Rabbi Akiva referred to “buying cities,” apparently misleading Rabbi Tarfon, but we won’t get into that here.)
This addresses the excuse that someone else isn’t doing it, but what about the concern that one must hoard his wealth in order to leave it to his children? Well, that’s mistaken, too.
Of course we should leave money to our children, but one shouldn’t damage himself in order to do so. Can you imagine someone with the choice of forty years at hard labor or a $100,000 fine saying, “I’ll take the hard labor; I have to save the money for my kids”? Of course not! And if his fine was only one or two thousand dollars, he’d be thrilled for the opportunity to be done with it! No one would choose the prison sentence in order to increase their children’s inheritance by a paltry few dollars.
Well, we know what awaits us. One is the possibility of serving a term – however long or short – in Gehinnom. (We need not elaborate on how undesirable it is to serve even a short sentence there!) But we have a chance to protect ourselves from doing “hard time.” If you haven’t guessed by now, it’s by giving tzedakah and performing acts of chesed! It says in Tehillim (41:2), “Happy is the one who considers the needy on the day of evil” (i.e., the day of his judgment). If one wouldn’t choose to work on a chain gang in order to maximize their children’s inheritance, why would they opt for an even worse sentence?
If God has blessed a person with great wealth, but he feels he doesn’t have time to occupy himself with acts of chesed, then he should treat it like he does his business affairs and delegate someone to handle it for him. Because, again, why should tzedakah and chesed, which remain with a person forever, be treated with less importance than one’s business dealings, which are temporal and fleeting? (And there are likely volunteers who would be willing to act as his representative simply to be involved with the mitzvah of chesed!)
The preceding applies not only to the wealthy; everyone should put aside some money according to their ability for chesed purposes, as we have discussed. The mitzvah to lend money is the same mitzvah regardless of the amount!
The Chofetz Chaim ends this chapter by quoting the Tanna d’Bei Eliyahu Rabbah (chapter 23): “When the Jews were in Egypt, they gathered together…and forged a united covenant to extend kindness to one another.” The meaning of “a united covenant” is that everyone was included, from the richest to the poorest, each performing chesed to the utmost of his abilities. And this, we are told, was one of the catalysts that kick-started the redemption.
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