English translation — ראה ב

Sicha on page 82

A.

On the verse¹

"For you shall surely open your hand to him" Rashi explains "surely open" — "even several times",

and afterwards on the verse²

"you shall surely give to him" he explained — "even a hundred times"³.

And behold, in my books on the verse⁴

before us, it is stated in both of them "a hundred times"⁵

: "And from where [is it derived] that if you opened once, you open even a hundred times? The verse states 'for opening you shall open your hand to him'..

And from where [is it derived] that if you gave to him once, you give to him even a hundred times? The verse states 'giving you shall give'"⁶.

And simply, one can say the reason of Rashi,

the plain sense of the verse — the first verse teaches us only "how many times",

and the second verse "giving you shall give" — comes to add "even a hundred times".

But it is difficult, because simply, one can explain that in the first verse

("for you shall surely open")

it speaks

(primarily⁷)

about the obligation of charity,

and in the second verse "you shall surely give" it refers

(primarily)

to the commandment of gemilus chasadim.

For this verse comes as a continuation of what is said⁸

"Beware for yourself lest there be a base thing in your heart, saying, 'The seventh year, the year of release, is near,' and your eye be evil against your needy brother and you give him not, etc.'",

that regarding the year of release, the concern is in connection with gemilus chasadim,

as it is said before this⁹

"And this is the matter of the release: every creditor shall release his hand, etc., he shall not exact from his neighbor, etc.'",

and upon this it continues "you shall surely give even several

(one hundred)

times" also in gemilus chasadim¹⁰.

And similarly we find in the commentators¹¹

who wrote that the two expositions in the Sifri are necessary,

"one for one who gives in the manner of charity and one for one who lends at the time of his distress,

and it teaches us that also one who lends at the time of his distress, charity is accounted to him, even though he later collects from him."

[There is another version¹²

in my books: "And from where [do we know] that if you opened once, that in the end you will open many times? The verse says 'for you shall surely open your hand to him'"¹³,

And in the verse "you shall surely give" "I have only once; from where [do we know] even a hundred times? The verse says<pg>83</pg>

you shall surely give",

that is, that "you shall surely open" is not a command but a promise and a blessing,

"that if you opened once, that in the end you will open many times"¹⁴,

Even though it is simple that this is not the plain meaning of the verse.

And from Rashi's language in both verses "even several times",

"even a hundred times" it is understood that he interprets both as a command,

as its plain meaning].

2.

And behold, there is room to say,

according to the distinction in the content of the verses: in the verse "Open you shall open" it is said "the sufficiency of his need which he lacks",

for even though "you are not commanded to enrich him"¹⁵

nevertheless they need to give him all "which he lacks",

"even a horse to ride upon and a servant to run before him"¹⁶

— and in this they are obligated "even several times",

whereas in the verse "Give you shall give" it deals only with giving alone — and in this the obligation is "even a hundred times".

And one may add a reason for this law — because in the verse "Open you shall open" it speaks of abundant giving to complete all the needs of the poor, they are not commanded "a hundred times",

for the Torah speaks of the majority,

and the verse speaks of the common occurrence¹⁷,

that such giving "a hundred times" is not [common] except only "several times",

lest one say that since he already gave the poor man the sufficiency of his need which he lacks he has fulfilled his obligation; but not so in the verse "Give you shall give" where there is no such emphasis of "the sufficiency of his need which he lacks",

Rashi explains "even a hundred times",

for in giving in general,

a small gift¹⁸

it is applicable that it be "even a hundred times".

But still needs explanation,

that ultimately, since the obligation to give to the poor is

(as in the first verse)

"his sufficiency, that which he lacks",

behold it is understood that also what is said "give, you shall give"

(which is in the following verse)

includes the obligation of giving charity,

which is discussed in the previous verse¹⁹,

in a manner of "his sufficiency, that which he lacks".

3.

And it seems to say simply,

prefacing the precision in the wording of Rashi,

that in the first verse he quotes from the text only the words "open, you shall open",

and whereas in the second verse he quoted "give, you shall give to him"

(even though the teaching "even a hundred times" is only from the words "give, you shall give").

And one must say the explanation in this: In the verse before this²⁰

it is said "If there will be a poor person among you etc. do not harden your heart and do not close your hand from your poor brother",

and upon this it continues "for you shall surely open etc.",

and the verse "you shall surely give" comes

(as above)

in continuation of the concern that since "the year of release, the year of the sabbatical, approaches and your eye will be evil towards your poor brother and you will not give to him etc.".

<pg>84</pg>

And from this it is understood,

that the verse "you shall surely open"

(which comes after the warning about hardening the heart and closing the hands)

deals with opening the heart and hand of the giver,

but the verse "you shall surely give" speaks

(primarily)

about giving to the poor person and the borrower.

And therefore specifically in the verse "give you shall give" Rashi copied from the scripture also the word "to him" and not in the verse "open you shall open",

to inform us,

that here the main emphasis is on the action with "to him" — on the recipient of the charity.

[And based on this it is simply understood that specifically in the second verse Rashi explains the word "to him" — "between him and you"²¹

and not in the verse "open you shall open"

(even though also in the first verse the word "to him" is not obligatory,

for he could have said "for open you shall open your hand and lend you shall lend him sufficient for his need which is lacking to him")²²

— because only in the second verse the main emphasis is on the giving to the recipient,

and therefore he infers "to him" — "between him and you",

how the manner of giving in practice should be "to him",

to the recipient; but not so in the verse "open you shall open" where the main point is

(not the giving from the giver to the recipient,

but rather)

the opening of his heart and hand of the giver,

if so one cannot infer from this the word "to him" regarding the manner of giving

(and perhaps one can say that the word "to him" here means "for him",

that he opens his heart for the poor person)].

And according to this, one must add: that in the verse "give, you shall give him" Rashi explains "even a hundred times",

and in the verse "open, you shall open" he writes "even several times":

In the verse "open, you shall open" that the main emphasis of the command is not on the quantity of giving to the recipient but on the opening of the heart and hands of the giver,

namely the quality of the giving from the side of the giver,

there is no place to explain "even a hundred times",

because this is appropriate only when the discussion is about giving to the recipient,

that in this the verse emphasizes that this act must be "even a hundred times",

but not so when the discussion is about the content of the opening of the heart and hands of the giver.

But there, it teaches us "even several times",

for although the verse commands the giver of charity "open you shall open",

it is not sufficient that this be only once,

at the first time that he gives charity,

rather, a person must endeavor that every act of charity be in a manner of "open you shall open your hand",

the opposite of hardening the heart and clenching the hands²³.

4.

And one may add regarding the halachah.

Here there is to investigate: if the giving of charity out of desire of the heart and with a pleasant countenance is a part of the essence of the commandment of charity,

as opposed to with less than this,

even though he fulfilled the commandment,

this is only in the manner of a part of the fulfillment of the commandment; or that the essence of the commandment&lt;pg&gt;85&lt;/pg&gt;

of charity is the giving,

and with a pleasant countenance is an additional "virtue" in the giving²⁴.

And behold the Rambam in the Laws of Gifts to the Poor,

in explaining the commandment of charity,

writes²⁵

"It is a positive commandment to give charity to the poor according to what is fitting for the poor if the hand of the giver reaches, as it is said etc.",

And he goes on to explain the details of the laws in giving charity and in supporting the poor and their manner.

And after several chapters²⁶

he elaborates in explaining the greatness of the virtue of charity,

that it is a sign of a righteous person, a seed of Abraham our father²⁷,

and a person does not become poor from charity²⁸,

and that its giving must be with a pleasant countenance and with joy and he laments with him over his distress²⁹,

and he goes on to count eight levels in charity³⁰.

And in these levels themselves — in the two last levels

(the inferior ones)

he writes³¹

"Less than this is that he gives him less than what is fitting with a pleasant countenance.

Less than this is that he gives him with sadness."

Behold it is explicit that also this

(giving with sadness)

is the commandment of charity —

And particularly that the Rambam divided them into two chapters

(and with an interruption of several chapters),

And in the first chapter when he explains the essence of the positive commandment he did not mention about the levels in the manner of its giving,

but wrote them in a separate chapter — behold that according to the opinion of the Rambam,

the "positive commandment" is giving charity to the poor according to what is fitting for the poor,

that is, that the act of giving in practice according to the need of the poor is the entire definition of the commandment³²,

but the manners of its giving and the giving with a pleasant countenance are levels

(additional³³)

in the commandment of charity³⁴,

Therefore also when he gives it with sadness

(it is explicit in the Rambam that)

he fulfills the commandment of charity³⁵.

<pg>86</pg>

But according to the above in Rashi,

in the distinction between "open you shall open" and "give you shall give",

that the verse "for open you shall open" comes in continuation of the command of charity "you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand"

(as Rashi explains³⁶

"there is a person who is distressed whether he will give or not give..

there is a person who extends his hand and closes it etc.'"),

that the giving should be in a manner of "open you shall open",

with will and desire of the heart,

with a pleasant countenance³⁷

; and the verse "give you shall give" comes to warn and negate "and your eye is evil etc. and you shall not give to him",

i.e., the act of giving in practice — thus the beginning and start of the command of the mitzvah of charity "open you shall open" is

(not only on the actual giving but also)

on its giving with desire of the heart.

And on this Rashi explains "even several times",

that also the giving of charity in this manner must be several times — for this is the essence³⁸

of the mitzvah of charity³⁹.

But then he adds,

that also in man⁴⁰

that the desire of the heart is lacking in him, so that it could be possible for him to have the thought that he will not give

("and your eye is evil toward your needy brother and you will not give to him"),

nevertheless the Torah commands "you shall surely give",

namely that it should not be lacking

(at least)

in the actual giving.

And based on this it is understood what it continues and adds in the verse "and let your heart not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work etc." — for it speaks about a type of giver of charity in whom the desire of the heart is so lacking that he needs to be assured "because for this thing etc.",

that he will profit and receive reward for this.

5.

Based on the above, one can also explain the allusion in the "wine of Torah"⁴¹

that is in Rashi,

the difference between what Rashi wrote on the verse "you shall surely open" — "<pg>87</pg>

"even several times",

And what is said in the verse "give you shall give" — "even a hundred times".

And with the introduction of the inner explanation in what Rashi said⁴²

"There is a person who is distressed whether he gives or does not give",

for seemingly it should have said "who is distressed in his giving" and the like

[And likewise in the continuation of the language⁴²

"There is a person who extends his hand and closes it",

for also here it should have said "there is a person who closes his hand from giving" and the like]?

And it can be said that Rashi's intention here is to hint that it deals with a most elevated type in the giving of charity,

which comes about through free choice in the ultimate sense,

and this is "that he is distressed whether to give or not to give",

that he is in a state of distress and war between the two souls,

the good inclination and the evil inclination⁴³,

that the good inclination wants to give the charity and the evil inclination does not want him to give⁴⁴,

and the person chooses to give the charity in the manner of "open, you shall open",

an opening of all the powers of his soul,

until the root of his soul which is "a part of G-d from above literally"⁴⁵,

from which comes the true power of choice in Israel,

that "behold the man was as one of us"⁴⁶,

and therefore there is no one who restrains him, like the Holy One, blessed be He, of whom no one restrains His hand⁴⁷.

And behold, this that we learn from "open, you shall open" and "give, you shall give" — even a hundred times,

is explained in the Rambam⁴⁸

and brought in the commentaries here⁴⁹

that it is because it is stated in the language of "infinitive"⁵⁰

— "open",

"give",

and the "infinitive⁵¹

applies to the little and the much, and therefore he is obligated because it is an infinitive etc. even a thousand⁵²

times",

that "the concept⁵³

of the infinitive — that it includes many until infinity,

and this is 'a hundred times' because such is the way of the Gemara when it wishes to say an infinite amount it says a hundred times".

And it is explained elsewhere⁵⁴

the reason for this in the inner aspect of the matters,

because action in itself is in measure and limitation,

and even when the action comes from the powers of his soul, his intellect and his emotions,

that then his action is with vitality,

nevertheless it is in limitation,

because even the intellect and emotions of man are limited.

But when the action comes from the will in the soul,

and all the more so when it comes from the essence of the soul, in which there is no limitation — this also affects the power of action to be without limitations.

And this is the reason that a command in the language of "source" indicates "even a hundred times",

because a simple command is connected to the power of action of man

(that the command is about his action),

but when the command is stated in the language of "source" it means that this action comes from the "source",

from the will of his soul which is the source of all the powers,

and therefore it is "even a hundred times",

because through the essence of the soul all limitations are nullified.

But although in general "one hundred times" indicates the absence of limitation,

nevertheless from this itself&lt;pg&gt;88&lt;/pg&gt;

that they say a limited number "one hundred times",

implies that there is some limitation to it.

[And as explained in Likkutei Torah&lt;sup&gt;55&lt;/sup&gt;,

that the number "one hundred" indicates the perfection of the chain of descent,

that the chain of descent is divided in general into the number ten — ten sefirot,

ten faculties of the soul, etc.,

and their perfection,

when each of them is comprised of ten,

is the number one hundred,

and as he brought from one of the great ones, the Maharsha, in explanation of the Sages' statement&lt;sup&gt;56&lt;/sup&gt;

"It is not the same one who studies his chapter one hundred times as one who studies his chapter one hundred and one times",

that "the number&lt;sup&gt;57&lt;/sup&gt;

one hundred reaches to soul, spirit, and breath-soul, which are the aspect of the tenth unit of hundreds, etc.,

but one who studies one time more than this is a part of G-d above"],

But not so the expression "how many times",

in which no specific number is stated,

it can include both few and many and applies to whatever number it may be,

and this also hints at the absence of limitation,

above the chain of descent.

And this is from the differences between Rashi on "patoach tiftach" — "even several times" and his explanation on "naton titen" — even a hundred times:

Also "naton titen" is said in the language of "source",

for the act of the commandment of a Jewish person in whatever state he is — behold, according to the well-known ruling of the Rambam⁵⁸,

there is in it the "source" — the truth and innerness of his will that "he desires to do all the commandments and to distance himself from transgressions"

[And especially the act of charity, for "we are obligated to be careful in the commandment of charity more than all positive commandments, for charity is a sign for the righteous, the seed of Abraham our father, etc., and the throne of Israel is not established and the true religion does not stand except through charity, as it is said⁵⁹

through charity you will be established"⁶⁰].

But since this does not come and penetrate into the powers of his soul until action,

for in externality and in revelation it is possible for him a state of "and your eye is evil towards your destitute brother etc.",

and there is need to inform him that it is for his benefit⁶¹

"Because of this thing the Lord your God will bless you etc." as above,

and therefore the hint and the action that comes from the source is "even a hundred times" which is a specific and limited number.

But when a person chooses to give charity from the source of his soul,

and this shines for him in revelation — "open you shall open" in all the powers of his soul until the power of his action — this is hinted in the wording "how many times" for superiority — without any limitation at all.

And through the fulfillment of the commandment of charity,

and especially during the days of the month of Elul, when they increase in charity⁶²,

and as is explained in the acronym of Elul⁶³

"A man⁶⁴

to his fellow and gifts to the poor",

and the combination of the name Havayah that shines in the month of Elul emerges⁶⁵

from the end-letters of the verse⁶⁶

"And charity shall be for us because"

— they merit each and every one to be inscribed and sealed in the book of complete tzaddikim,

until — the true and complete redemption⁶⁷,

that "Israel⁶⁰

is redeemed only through charity, as it is said⁶⁸

Zion shall be redeemed with justice and her captives with charity" — speedily, literally.

(From the sicha of Shabbos Parshas Re'eh 5743)