AVRAHAM OR MOSHIACH: WHO IS SUPERIOR?

“Who is greater and whose ideal is superior – Avraham or Moshiach? Is it Avraham, whose kindness and tz’daka are the catalysts that bring about the Messianic Age? Avraham is the very source and impetus for the entire process of making this world a “Dwelling Place for G-d,” which will be fully realized in the Messianic Age. Without Avraham’s initiative there would be no process. Or perhaps Moshiach is superior, because he represents the culmination of that process and the ushering in of a new world order of Divine revelation with all of its attendant benefits such as world peace…”

THE SECRET TO WEALTH

The Torah introduces the commandment to tithe our produce (and by extension to give one tenth of our net earnings to Tz’daka) by using a repetitive expression: “Tithe you shall tithe.” In most translations the repetition is simply translated as “You shall surely tithe.” The repetition is understood as emphasis, conveying a sense of urgency. However, the fact that the Torah indicates urgency by repeating the word “tithe” must serve us didactically as well.

The Talmud addresses this issue and translates the repetitious phrase in a novel way: “Tithe in order that you shall become rich.” In Hebrew, the word for “Tithe” (which means “give a tenth”), is aser. The Hebrew word for “you shall become rich” is ta’ashir. Since there are no vowels in the Torah, both words share the same consonants and are therefore understood to be interchangeable.

THE PATH TO A REFINED MIND AND HEART

One can take this promise of “Tithe so that you will become rich,” i.e., wealth as a reward for giving tz’daka, a step further:

The Talmud states: “There is no one poor except one who is poor in knowledge.” It follows, conversely, that no one is truly rich unless he is rich in knowledge. Wealth is thus primarily a spiritual concept. The reward of wealth for the giving of Tz’daka is therefore one of spiritual wealth. When a person gives tz’daka it actually has a beneficial effect on his or her mind. In the words of the Alter Rebbe in his Torah Or: “When a person gives to another his mind and heart become refined a thousand-fold!”

If one wants to enjoy true intellectual and emotional wealth he or she must give to others.

THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION IS PAVED WITH TZ’DAKA

On yet another level we can interpret this statement in a novel fashion:

Just as there is spiritual wealth and poverty which is measured by the degree of one’s intellectual and emotional sophistication, there are also historical periods which can be characterized as poor or rich. For example, the generation of the desert is referred to as the “generation of knowledge,” because they received the Torah at Mount Sinai. In the days of King Solomon, the Jewish people reached their pinnacle and enjoyed incredible spiritual—as well as material—wealth. Generally speaking, as long as we were in the Land of Israel with our Beis HaMikdash we enjoyed great spiritual affluence.

By contrast, the period of Galus, bereft of our Beis HaMikdash and exposed to great suffering and assimilation, is a period of spiritual impoverishment.

The ultimate period of wealth is reserved for the future Messianic Age, which we are eagerly anticipating.

Hence, the Torah informs us that if we tithe today in the period of exile we will enjoy great spiritual wealth in the coming Age of Redemption.

This interpretation actually echoes the words of the Talmud: “Tz’daka is great for it hastens the Redemption.” What is novel about the interpretation is the way it clarifies the connection between tz’daka and Redemption. Why is tz’daka singled out as the Mitzvah that leads to Redemption? Aren’t all Mitzvos that we perform the agents that bring Redemption? What is so unique about Tz’daka?

One answer is that Tz’daka reverses the status of a person who is poor and needy. G-d reciprocates in kind and takes us out of the state of exile/spiritual impoverishment into the state of wealth-Redemption.

MITZVAH FOR ULTERIOR MOTIVE?

All of the abovementioned explanations agree that it is appropriate to perform the Mitzvah of Tz’daka with the intention of becoming wealthy, materially or spiritually.

This accords with the Talmudic statement that it is completely justified for one to give Tz’daka with the intention, for example, that it should secure his son’s recovery from illness.

This appears to be an exception to the ideal expressed in Ethics of the Fathers that one should serve his Master without the intention of getting a reward. While giving tz’daka for ulterior motives is justified it is still not the highest form of the Mitzvah.

Upon deeper reflection, the giving of tz’daka to hasten the Redemption is not the same as giving for a personal benefit. Giving for the sake of Redemption is indeed a completely altruistic form of giving because the Messianic Age is the ultimate Tz’daka. The Jewish people and indeed all of humanity will be liberated. Material and spiritual poverty will cease to exist. Even G-d is said to be “suffering” in exile and He too will be liberated with us. There can be no greater act of Tz’daka than to bring Moshiach. Thus, giving Tz’daka so that it will lead to the ultimate Tz’daka is arguably the purest form of Tz’daka.

AN ENIGMATIC MIDRASH

With this introduction of how Tz’daka leads to Redemption we might be able to decipher an enigmatic Midrash on the words “Tithe you shall tithe.”

The Midrash cites an earlier verse in Genesis as an elucidation of our verse:

The verse in Genesis refers to Avraham’s statement to his nephew Lot before they parted ways: “If I go to the left then you go to the right, and if I go to the right then you go to the left.”

This Midrash is quite puzzling. How does this verse shed any light on the verse “Tithe you shall tithe…”?

The simple explanation given is that the difference between the word for tithing in Hebrew (Asair) and the word for “you shall be wealthy (Ta’ashir) – wealth” is the placement of the dot on the letter shin. If it is placed on the left then the letter shin is pronounced like the English letter “s.” If it is placed on the right side of the letter then it is pronounced as the English “sh.”

This then is what the Midrash had in mind:

To understand the repetition of the word “Asair-Tithe ta’asair-you shall tithe” one must look at the placement of the dot.

“If I will go left—i.e., if I will place the dot on the left and read the word “Asair-tithe,” then the result will be wealth, where the dot is placed on the right side and reads “t’ashair-you shall be wealthy.” If however, I place the dot on the right, and my focus is to get rich, and I relegate tithing to a secondary position, then the result will be that I will end up with the dot on the left; I will have only one tenth of what I could have earned.”

As ingenious as this interpretation is, we must search for a deeper meaning that will provide us with a lesson about life in the present and how we are to prepare for the future.

THE IDEAL

The following is based on the words of the Shaloh (a 16^th Century sage) who interprets Avraham and Lot as people who personify two ideals:

Avraham is the man of kindness. He is consumed with a passion to love and give to others. Lot, surprisingly, is the symbol of Moshiach! Lot was the ancestor of Moab, Ruth, King David and the entire Davidic dynasty leading to Moshiach. When we speak of the positioning of Avraham and Moshiach it emerges that Avraham, the man who epitomized kindness, is on the right. The right hand is the giving hand and therefore symbolizes kindness. The monarchy, with its wealth and power to impose itself on others is associated with the left hand. Particularly the Messianic Era is one in which the spiritual power associated with the left (G’vura) will be superior to the spiritual force of the right (Chesed).

This poses a riddle. Who is greater and whose ideal is superior – Avraham or Moshiach? Is it Avraham, whose kindness and tz’daka are the catalysts that bring about the Messianic Age? Avraham is the very source and impetus for the entire process of making this world a “Dwelling Place for G-d,” which will be fully realized in the Messianic Age. Without Avraham’s initiative there would be no process. Or perhaps Moshiach is superior, because he represents the culmination of that process and the ushering in of a new world order of Divine revelation with all of its attendant benefits such as world peace.

Hence Avraham’s question as to which direction he and Lot should go right or left was actually a theological question as to whose role is superior.

The answer is that from one vantage point the argument can be advanced that without Avraham there could be no Moshiach, while, it can also be said that without Moshiach, Avraham’s work would not be crowned with success. In addition, the fact that one may give Tz’daka with the express intention that it brings Redemption implies that it is not an inferior form of Tz’daka because the Messianic Age is the highest ideal.

This then is the connection to the idea that tz’daka leads to the era of richness, indicating, on the one hand, the preeminence of tz’daka as the catalyst for Moshiach, and also intimating, on the other hand, that Moshiach is the ideal.

In these last moments of exile as we wait for Moshiach to usher in the Messianic Age it behooves us to keep both ideals in mind: Our obsession today must be giving; giving material assistance, teaching the values of Judaism to assimilated Jews and bringing the message of the imminent Redemption to the entire world. When we combine Tz’daka with Moshiach we solve Avraham’s riddle. We have both Tz’daka and Moshiach combined!