In Memory of Baruch Yitzchak ben Yirmiyahu (Barry Pessin)

The Mishna in Avos (5;10) continues by telling us about the third type of person. This person says "what is mine is yours and what is yours is yours" this person the Mishna calls a kind person.

A person who has this mindset wants to give and not take. They are happy to give of their money and possessions to help others in need and they aren't interested in getting anything back. They realize that the benefit of helping others is greater than keeping all of their possessions to themselves. Our sages teach us though, that this generosity has a limit and that a person should not give away more than 1/5 of his possessions. Although we are familiar with the fact that many people tithe their incomes there are some people who are even more generous and give away 1/5 of their income. A person is warned though, not to exceed this threshold (except for specific circumstances).

The kind person in the Mishna is someone who exemplifies the trait generosity, which can sometimes take many different forms. It is interesting that although some people may give away a nice amount of charity this doesn't really capture the true nature of generosity. We might not think twice about making a donation of $100 or even $200 to our shul or some other worthy cause but when it comes to our day to day dealings we can be exceedingly particular even with a dollar or two. How many times have we argued with someone over a small sum of money. Even if we think we are right why can't we just be generous and forgo that dollar, saving ourselves the heartache of arguing and fighting? Of course we feel we don't want to be cheated or taken advantage of but in many cases there is just a simple misunderstanding between two sides and the argument may be over a few dollars, in these cases we should strive to act with generosity as well.

My father-in-law recently told me a story about a very wealthy man who was coming to Israel to make a bar mitzvah for his son. He wanted to have the party at the most prestigious and expensive hotel in Jerusalem at the time, the King David. But, he wanted a discount on the price. He therefore request that a prominent rabbi that he knew, who also happened to be a friend of the manager of the hotel to meet with the manage and request for him a discount. The rabbi whose organizations were supported by this wealthy man was left with little choice and went to meet with the hotel manager. The manager greeted the rabbi with open arms and he spoke with him about the requested discount. The manager told the rabbi that out of respect for him he would be willing to discount the price, but he wanted to tell him a story. The manager said to the rabbi, that a few years ago the hotel was put up for sale and a number of people placed bids to buy the entire hotel. One of the people who placed a bid was this very same wealthy man who was now asking for a discount. The rabbi left feeling terribly embarrassed. Although this wealthy man gave millions of dollars to worthy causes is he truly a generous person?

We should strive to be generous not only when we "are giving charity" but when we interact and deal with people daily.

Shabbat Shalom,

Heath