Wisdom & Wit

Published April 23, 2009

The Maggid of Kelm was once asked to speak in a small town which was known for its saintliness in all matters - except for tzedaka, where its members were quite miserly. In his speech, the Maggid told them:

“My friends, if a person has a garment which is missing something - a sleeve, the collar, or even a button - the person will be ashamed to walk about wearing it. If the garment is whole, he will not have any such hesitations. There is one exception to this rule. If a person had a tailor sew him a new suit, where the suit is completely ready except for the white temporary stitches that had been placed in it as the tailor worked - and these are only removed when the tailor is paid - no person would walk about with the white stitches showing, indicating that the garment has not yet been paid for.

“The same is true in our entire lives. Each time we perform a mitzva, we are adding to the ‘garment’ that we will be ‘wearing’ in the World to Come. Now, despite the performance of many mitzvot, as long as he has not paid the tailor, his ‘garment’ is incomplete. And do you know how one ‘pays the tailor’? It is by giving tzedaka. And as long as one does not give the proper tzedaka, one’s ‘garment’ for the World to Come will remain incomplete and will be an embarrassment to him.”

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R’ Shmuel of Sokolov was a very pious and devote man. His children, who had gone into business, were very successful, and had accumulated a great deal of wealth. R’ Shmuel was very much afraid that their wealth would lead them away from the true path, so he came to his Rebbe, R’ Yechezkel of Kuzmir, and asked the Rebbe to pray that R’ Shmuel’s sons would lose their wealth, and thus remain Torah-true. “That is totally unnecessary,” said R’ Yechezkel. “Hashem has His ways of ensuring things. If you are so concerned, pray to Hashem simply that your children will remain true to their heritage.”

Shmuel Himelstein has written a wonderful series for ArtScroll: Words of Wisdom, Words of Wit; A Touch of Wisdom, A Touch of Wit; and “Wisdom and Wit” - available at your local Jewish bookstore (or should be). Excerpted with permission