A Short Tribute

Charity is a commandment that has no limit in its reward, a commandment from which a person benefits in this world and the value of which is carried over to the World-to-Come, as the Tanah wrote. A person should be vigilant concerning this commandment, for since it is not an unaffordable expense, the punishment for carelessness is compound. Our Sages, of blessed memory, went to great lengths concerning this mitzvah and extended its worth, by saying that it is one of the world's three fundamental pillars. A discerning intelligence immediately points to the fact that the world's existence depends mainly on charity…lending to poor people and soothing them with gentle speech. For if one does not lend to them and appease them, they may die of hunger. By visiting the sick, or in helping by locating and bringing medicine one may be the agent that heals; or burying the dead, who would otherwise be abandoned on the ground. And there are many similar matters. Therefore, beyond the simple understanding of our Sages' words … we can say that the world's existence, in a natural sense, depends on charity.