Gaining by Giving
I was once invited to a fund-raising evening on behalf of the yeshiva Kol Torah in Yerushalayim. I merited sharing the dais with the Rosh Yeshiva, the tzaddik, Rabbi Moshe Yehudah Schlesinger, shlita. In order to encourage others to donate, I pledged an honorable amount of money. Then I doubled my pledge, so that others would take an example and do likewise.
- With HaGaon Rabbi Moshe Yehuda Schlesinger, shlita, Rosh Yeshivat Kol Torah
At the time of my pledge, I had no idea from where I would get the money. I offered a silent prayer that Hashem should help me fulfill my pledge and give the sum I had promised.
The next night, I participated in the wedding of a friend. As I was leaving the hall, a man ran after me, with a sizeable check in his hand. It was even more than the amount I had pledged to the Kol Torah yeshiva.
I lifted my eyes heavenward and thanked Hashem for accepting my prayers. He proved that when one gives, he never loses. On the contrary, he merely opens the pipelines of abundance to rain down. Our Sages exhort us (Ta’anit 9a), “Tithe so that you may become wealthy.”
