Free Favors
A man once besmirched my name in public, in a most offensive way. The day came when he was met with misfortune. His business collapsed and whatever he tried his hand at turned sour. He needed my help in order to pull himself out of the depths of indigence. I was the only one who held the key to his deliverance. Indeed, I helped him tremendously until he was able to stand on his own two feet once again. I even came to his new home and affixed the mezuzah to his doorpost, blessing him with all things good. I also presented his family with a respectable gift in honor of their new home. It was a picture of my grandfather, the tzaddik, Rabbi Chaim Pinto, zy”a.
The man and his wife were awestruck by my unconditional generosity. They did not know how they could ever thank me enough, especially after the way the man had treated me. I harbored no resentment whatsoever in my heart.
They thanked me over and over again. Tears formed in their eyes. They pulled out wads of money from their pockets in recompense for all my help. But I politely declined their offer. I did not want to receive monetary payment for my gestures.
Tears once again formed in their eyes. These were tears of repentance. Today, they are completely Torah-observant and keep all of the mitzvot like any other Jew.
When I was asked why I had refused the offer of money from this couple, I replied that had I taken the money, they would have considered it atonement for the lashon hara the man had spoken about me. They never would have done complete teshuvah. But when I refused their offer, they understood that they had to do specific teshuvah for that sin regardless of the favors I had done for them. In this way, they merited doing complete teshuvah.
