נתון תתן לו, "You shall surely give him, etc." The reason the Torah repeats the word נתן is to tell you that if you will give the poor in adequate measure, the Lord in turn will give you in adequate measure. Our sages interpreted the words to mean that even if you are called upon 100 times to support the same individual, do not refuse. The latter demand is based on your not having given the poor enough support the first time.
Concerning this subject Solomon said in Proverbs 21,26: "while the righteous man gives without stint." Solomon means that the righteous does not allow any considerations to deflect him from giving charity. Another nuance included in the wording of the Torah נתון תתן is that one should give charity in a pleasant manner, not grudgingly. Neither should one do so in an arrogant manner. By following all these implications contained in the Torah's wording, one may merit that one's own wealth will endure. Concerning this Solomon said in Proverbs 13,8: "the poor never heard a reproof." When does a man retain his own wealth? When he does not make the poor believe that his misfortune may be of his own doing, and one gives charity with a pleasant countenance. This is reflected in the story told by our sages about Rabbi Yannai who said to a wealthy man who publicly gave an alms to a poor man: "it would have been better if you had not given to this man at all instead of publicly embarrassing him"
(Chagigah 5).
כי בגלל הדבר הזה "for on account of this matter, etc." Our sages in Shabbat 151 said that the reason the Torah did not use the word למען but בגלל is an allusion to the גלגל, "the wheel of fortune," i.e. horoscopic influences which govern the way money travels from one person to another. God is threatening here that "if you do not share your wealth with the poor by giving charity generously, I will give the wheel of fortune a spin so that the wealth which devolved upon you up until now will devolve upon someone else. We have a verse in Scripture on this subject in Psalms 75,8: "for God it is Who gives judgment, He brings down one man and He lifts up another." Our sages on the above mentioned folio of Shabbat say that a man should pray especially concerning this attribute of God, [that he should not be made to suffer from it. Ed.] for even if he himself may not suffer from it his son or grandson may be made to suffer from it.
יברכך ה' אלו-היך, "the Lord your God will bless you;" the Torah set aside a special blessing for people who perform the commandment of being charitable. Solomon went so far as to say (
Proverbs 11,
24) "some people, though they appear to be wasteful with their money actually increase their wealth." I want to urge you to appreciate another important principle concerning this most important and noble commandment which we have inherited already from our patriarch Avraham. He provided the foundation for the organized giving of charity and its mystical dimension.
We must appreciate that poor people, by reason of their dissatisfaction "spread around" the presence of the attribute of Justice so that it is poised over Israel ready to strike. This is what the psalm 102,1 תפלה לעני, "prayer of the poor," is all about. The very word תפלה
[as opposed to תחנה, בקשה and similar words, Ed.] represents a struggle, a wrangling. It has a negative connotation, is used when two litigants strive against one another. This is what prompted the sages to say that a poor man is considered like a dead man
(Nedarim 64). The wealthy man, by contrast, spreads around the attribute of Mercy seeing wherever he goes he reflects blessings received. He may be compared to the sun which enables the moon to at least shine with reflected light. He who dispenses charity is as if illuminating the eyes of the poor when the latter receives his blessing through the rich man. This is why the Torah warns that all the paths of Torah should be paths of loveliness and peace, that people who claim to be Torah-oriented should practice the virtues associated with Torah, and by giving charity in the manner prescribed enable the attribute of Mercy to abound on earth. By doing so he will ensure that the attribute of Mercy at least becomes an integral part of the attribute of Justice which is already poised. This is what ensures the continued existence of the universe. The world cannot exist unless both these attributes are working side by side (
Bereshit Rabbah 12,
15).
You are aware (of the kabbalistic concept) that the performance of acts of charity on earth will have impact on the attribute tzedek in the celestial regions. According to Zohar Bechukotai 113 the tree of knowledge represents death whereas the tree of life represents life. Giving charity (for the right reasons) saves from the clutches of death and results in the opposing forces of צדק and מלכות being able to function together in harmony for the benefit of all of mankind. Isaiah 1,21 speaks of צדק ילין בה the attribute צדק which once resided in Jerusalem being replaced through the murders committed in that city. The prophet tells the people how to rectify this situation where the Shechinah cannot feel at home anymore in Jerusalem, saying בצדק תכנני "you can be rehabilitated through charity." (
Isaiah 54,
14). This attribute צדק is mystically identified with the כנסת ישראל, the spiritual concept of "Israel." It is also the "mate" of the "Sabbath" (
compare Bereshit Rabbah 11,
9). All of the above explains Moses' concern with warning the people to be concerned with fulfilling this מצוה very meticulously.
If someone gives charity on earth he influences the relative position of the emanation צדק=מלכות, bringing it closer to the emanation צדקה=רחמים or vice versa. Concerning this phenomenon we must understand the statement by the Kabbalists that גדולה צדקה לשמה, "that charity when performed for the appropriate reasons is a great thing." They meant that the emanation חסד also known as גדולה will pour out blessing on the terrestrial part of the universe, i.e. the emanation מלכות. In Psalms 119,48 David phrased this as ואשא כפי אל מצותיך אשר אהבתי, "I stretch out my palms to fulfill Your commandments (charity) which I love."
You also find a statement in Midrash Tehillim which is an allusion to this (
Midrash Tehillim 17,
14) on the verse אני בצדק אחזה פניך, "I will be able to behold Your 'face' by means of charity (performed)." The author writes: "observe the power of charity; a person donates a copper coin to a poor person and as a result he merits a vision of Shechinah," whereas according to the norms prevailing in our world when a lady of great social standing wishes to welcome the king in her home, she makes elaborate and expensive preparations to demonstrate her regard for the honored guest. Only after such elaborate preparations will she be able to entertain the king. Jews, by comparison, only have to make a minor contribution to charity or a person in need of charity, and already they are admitted to the king's presence. The author of the Midrash proceeds to quote verse 14 in that chapter as proof.
The reason this paragraph began with the words: "in one of your gates in your land," and the paragraph also concludes with the words "in your land," teaches that the Torah places the major emphasis on charity performed in Eretz Yisrael. Chapter 12 already started with the words: "these are the statutes and social laws which you are to observe and carry out in the land which the Lord your God gave to your ancestors." Performance of the commandments of the Torah in the Diaspora basically only serves as a preservative measure, i.e. to ensure that during the long years of exile we do not forget the Torah and its commandments. This is the way Sifri explains Deut. 11,18: "put these My words on your heart;" The Torah refers to times when God's words are incapable of being carried out except with our hearts, periods when we are exiled from Eretz Yisrael. We are to continue to lay Tefillin, put a mezuzah on our houses, etc., etc., in the Diaspora to ensure that we do not forget these laws.
An alternative way of understanding the words: "in your land" is: even when you are in your land. "Even in your land where you already demonstrated that you believe that the earth is the Lord's through releasing debtor from debts, allowing all and sundry to pick the harvest of "your" field every seventh year, the Torah still commands you to perform deeds of charity as outlined in our paragraph. If you have to perform charity even in an environment where you demonstrated the virtue which charity symbolises, then when you are in the Diaspora and you cannot demonstrate this virtue in any other way you are most certainly obliged to practice charity even more meticulously. The commandment of charity is one that is called מצות הגוף, a commandment to be performed with one's body, i.e. personally; as such its application is world-wide regardless of whether the Temple is standing or not."
The meaning of the subordinate clause introduced by the words (verse 9) "be on guard against yourself, etc." i.e. that the Torah has to warn that we are urged to be meticulous with this commandment even in Eretz Yisrael, is to head off certain thoughts that might occur in your head. You might reason to yourself that seeing you have to release debtors from their debt to you, have to relinquish your field for a whole year, how could you be expected to fulfill the commandment to give charity according to the standards demanded by the Torah? Surely this will cause you to end up in the poor house yourself! In order to head off such thoughts the Torah promises that on the contrary, God will extend His blessing to you precisely because you have meticulously performed these commandments, not in spite of it. If you were to allow the needy to appeal to God (instead of to you who has denied him) then, and only then will you be guilty of a sin. The Torah concludes by saying בארצך, "in your land," meaning "even in your land," where you have already given up so much of what you would normally consider yours, you are not to withhold your generous contributions to the poor. It follows that your duty to be generous to the poor while you are in the Diaspora is even greater as you have fewer means to demonstrate this good virtue. In other words, the word בארצך here is not to be understood as something restrictive, applying only in Eretz Yisrael.
Had the intention of the Torah been to use the word בארצך restrictively, the paragraph should have commenced with the words והיה כי תבואו אל הארץ, "it will be when you come to the land, etc."