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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum
אם כסף תלוה את עמי את העני עמך (פרק כב פסוק כד)
The Torah tells us about the mitzvah to lend money to people in need, “when you will lend money to my nation, the poor person with you”. What is the meaning of the line “with you” and what does it have to do with giving צדקה? The Alshich explains based on a Gemara in Bava Basra (131b) that if a man bequeaths all his possessions to only one of his sons, we say that he certainly did not mean to make that son the sole owner. Nobody would willingly leave any of their children with nothing. Rather, we say that he was appointing that son as the caretaker of the estate, to safeguard the funds and provide them to his brothers when necessary. So too, says the Alshich, we are all children of Hashem, certainly He would not give one person wealth and leave others destitute. It must be that the one who has the money was just appointed as a “guardian” over the poor person’s money, that is why he has so much, and part of his job is to distribute it when needed. This perspective is being taught to us by the pasuk, “the poor person, with you”, in other words, the portion of the poor person was deposited with you- and you must give it back to him. With this perspective it is much easier to give צדקה.
ובשר בשדה טרפה לא תאכלו לכלב תשלכון אתו (פרק כב פסוק ל)
The Torah tells us that we are forbidden to eat meat from an animal that was “torn in the field”, rather we should give it to the dogs. The Daas Zekeinim says that the reason why the dog is picked as the lucky recipient, is because they would often use dogs to guard their sheep. As appreciation for all the dog’s hard work, when there is a טרפה- a torn animal, one should give it to the dog. That means, even if this time the dog’s defenses were broken through, and an animal did get killed, one must still recognize all the good that the dog does, all the sheep that it did protect, and all the other times that no animals were killed. With this outlook, focusing on the positive and appreciation, even when something went wrong, one can lead a much happier life.
