Parshat Behar: Torah and mitzvoth come to teach us to give tzedaka
From the holy words of Rav Eliezer Berland, shlita:
There’s a commentary from the Emrei Noam, Rabbi Meir of Zhikov, which explains how the subject of shemitta is connected to Mount Sinai. He says that the whole Torah is connected to shemitta, in order that we will nshamet (loosen, i.e. loosen our purse strings), and distribute tzedaka (charity).
The whole Torah is for shemitta.
Shemitta isn’t just something that happens once in a while, but rather that we should ‘loosen our purse strings’ every second. That we should physically give charity.
You only have $100? Give tzedaka! Don’t be scared. This will turn into a thousand dollars, and then turn into hundred thousand dollars. The hundred thousand will turn into a billion, and then the billion will turn into a trillion.
Don’t be scared, you’ll see for yourself.
You can test Hashem with this
Hashem said ‘you can test Me with this’. You can test Me. Giving tzedaka is something that you can test Hashem on. If a person gives $100, it will turn in a thousand, the thousand will turn into a hundred thousand, if you give hundred thousand it will turn into a million, and if you give a million, it will turn into a billion, and the billion will become a trillion.
A person can make a test of this, [Hashem says] please, test me on this.
This is called shemitta. All the Torah and all the mitzvoth was given on Mount Sinai only in order to teach us about this concept of shemitta.
This is the chiddush (original Torah thought) of Rabbi Meir of Zhikov, that the whole Torah was only because of the concept of shemitta, and giving tzedaka.
Translated from Aish Moharan, a collection of Rav Eliezer Berland’s teaching on the parsha.
