[Avodah] R Asher Weiss

[Zev Sero]

saul mashbaum wrote:

> Consider the following scenario: a poor person, let's call him 
> Moishie gives his friend, Shloimie, also a poor person, $100 as tzedaka 
> (even though Moishie owes many times that amount). Shloimie promply 
> gives the $100 to Moishie as tzedaka. The friends continue to give the 
> $100 to one another, doing this dozens of times. Ultimately Moishie sees 
> that Shloimie will not keep the $100, although he wants him to, and puts 
> it in back his wallet. Now Moishie and Shloimie are each exactly as 
> impoverished as before, but each has the tremendous zchut of having 
> given thousands of dollars to tzedaka!
>  
> I doubt that this really "works" in the heavenly beit din,  but not 
> being privy to the proceedings of this most Supreme Court of all, I 
> can't really be sure.

Only a few days ago, I heard a true story about two chassidim of the
Tzemach Tzedek who, after hearing him talk about the importance of
gemilut chassadim, did exactly what you suggested - each day they
would borrow money from each other, and the next day they would repay
the debt and borrow again.  The next time the Tzemach Tzedek saw them
he said that such a bright light shone from their faces that he hardly
recognised them.  So it seems that it does work, so long as it's done
leshem shamayim, and not as a "kuntz".


-- 
Zev Sero               Something has gone seriously awry with this Court's
zev at sero.name          interpretation of the Constitution.
                       	                          - Clarence Thomas