There once was a rich person, a stingy and close-fisted individual, who would not take pity on the poor. He stood in the synagogue and said to the public: Listen to me – all that we pray for, that He should send us the Redeemer – the harvest is over and the summer has passed and we have not yet been redeemed. Here is advice to hasten the Redemption: Stop giving charity to the poor. They will then cry out to God out of their poverty and distress, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will hear their cry and prayers, since a poor man's prayer is desired by God and better accepted, as stated in the holy Zohar concerning the verse "A prayer of the afflicted". The congregation listened to the evil rich man's words, thinking it was sound advice, without recognizing the bad intent that originated in his miserliness. And so the poor remained hungry and thirsty, and a plague was decreed upon that town, heaven preserve us. This is what is meant by "if you should torment him", as a matter of fact, "and My wrath shall be kindled"… so the Holy One, blessed be He, says: Now I will arise in vengeance towards this evil man, and actually hinders redemption, as is stated, "Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and they that return of her with righteousness".