וזהו שכתוב: עשה צדקה ומשפט, נבחר לה׳ מזבח
And this is the meaning of the verse,37 “G‑d prefers tzedakah and justice38 over offerings,”
לפי שהקרבנות הן בבחינת שיעור ומדה וגבול
because the sacrifices are defined in terms of quantity, dimension and limitation,
מה שאין כן בצדקה, שיוכל לפזר בלי גבול לתקן עונותיו
while charity can be dispensed without limit, for the purpose of rectifying one’s sins.
Although (like the sacrifices) tzedakah also effects atonement, it may be offered (unlike the sacrifices) without limit. It is therefore able to draw down Divine illumination that is correspondingly infinite, and thereby secure a superior order of atonement.
ומה שכתוב: המבזבז אל יבזבז יותר מחומש
As for the ruling that39 “He who is unstinting [in his charitable giving] should not expend more than one fifth [of his earnings],”
היינו דוקא במי שלא חטא
this applies only to one who has not sinned,
או שתקן חטאיו בסיגופים ותעניות
or who has rectified his sins by means of self-mortification and fasts,
כראוי לתקן כל הפגמים למעלה
as indeed all the blemishes Above should be rectified.
Since such an individual need not give tzedakah to rectify his sins, he should not give more than a fifth.
אבל מי שצריך לתקן נפשו עדיין
But as to him who still needs to remedy his soul,
פשיטא דלא גרעה רפואת הנפש מרפואת הגוף
the healing of the soul is obviously no less a priority than the healing of the body,
שאין כסף נחשב
where money does not count.
וכל אשר לאיש יתן בעד נפשו, כתיב
As Scripture states,40 “Whatever a man has he will give on behalf of his soul.”
The simple meaning of the verse is that a person will forego all his wealth in order to save his life. However, since the word “soul” is used rather than “life”, we may also understand this to mean that a person will give everything he has in order to save and rectify his soul.
* * *
The Alter Rebbe now returns to the verse quoted at the outset of this Iggeret HaKodesh: חסדי ה׳ כי לא תמנו וגו׳ — “The kindnesses of G‑d have surely not ended….”
There he had asked: If the verse refers only to G‑d’s kindness, why does it use the verb tamnu (in the first person plural), which would make the phrase mean, “we have not been brought to an end,” rather than tamu (in the third person plural), which would mean that “the kindnesses have not ended”?
He answers this by saying that חסדי ה׳ (“the kindnesses of G‑d”) refers also to the giving of tzedakah without limitation. Accordingly, the verse may be understood, as he now goes on to explain:
והנה מדת חסד זו, בלי גבול ומדה, נקראת על שמו של הקב״ה
Now, since this is G‑d’s manner of practicing benevolence, this mode of unlimited kindness is known by the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, [viz.,]
חסדי ה׳
“The kindnesses of G‑d,”
כדכתיב: וחסד ה׳ מעולם ועד עולם כו׳
as it is written,41 “and G‑d’s Chesed is everlasting….”
כי הגם שכל ישראל הם רחמנים וגומלי חסדים
For though42 “All of Israel are compassionate and practice kindly deeds,”
ברם יש גבול ומדה לרחמי האדם
nevertheless there is a limit and measure to man’s compassion.
אבל הקב״ה נקרא אין סוף ברוך הוא
But the Holy One, blessed be He, is called the Ein Sof — “the Infinite One,”
ולמדותיו אין סוף
and His attributes (like Himself) have no end,
כדכתיב: כי לא כלו רחמיו
as it is written,43 “…for His mercies never cease.”
When a Jew echoes G‑d’s boundless kindness and compassion, his actions are thus termed “G‑d’s acts of kindness.”
וזהו שאמר הנביא אחר החורבן והגלות: חסדי ה׳, כי לא תמנו וגו’
And this is the meaning of the prophet’s words,44 after the Destruction and the exile: “The kindnesses of G‑d have surely not ended (ki lo tamnu).”
פירוש: לפי שלא תמנו, שאין אנו תמימים ושלמים, בלי שום חטא ופגם בנפש ובעולמות עליונים
That is: “Because we are not perfect,45 inasmuch as we are not perfect (temimim) and whole, without any sin or blemish in our soul nor in the higher worlds,
על כן צריכין אנו להתנהג בחסדי ה׳, שהם בלי גבול ותכלית
we therefore need to conduct ourselves in accordance with ‘G‑d’s kindnesses,’ that are without limit or end,
כדי לעורר עלינו רחמים וחסד עילאה, שהוא רב חסד ורחמים, בלי גבול ותכלית
in order to call down upon ourselves Supreme compassion, i.e., rav Chesed, and unlimited, infinite compassion,
כמו שכתוב: כי לא כלו רחמיו
as it is written, at the conclusion of this verse, ‘for His mercies never cease….’”
Since we are in need of drawing down this level of compassion, our own practice of kindness must echo “G‑d’s kindness.”
Thus the Prophet is telling the generations that follow the Destruction that they should practice unbounded kindness because they are not in a state of tamnu. Being imperfect, we need to arouse G‑d’s infinite kindness and compassion in order to rectify any sins and blemishes.
(Moreover, since these latter generations are too weak to engage in fasting and self-mortification, the only means now available to secure full atonement is through tzedakah.46)
וזהו שאמרו רז״ל: אין ישראל נגאלין אלא בצדקה
And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, meant by saying that47 “Israel will be redeemed only through charity.”
שיעשו גם אם יהיו פטורים מדינא
[This refers to the charity] that they will perform even if they are legally not obligated,
כי אין בן דוד בא כו׳
for48 “[Mashiach] the son of David will not come [until the pocket will be empty of even the smallest coin].”
I.e., even if (Heaven forfend) there will not be a solitary coin left in one’s pocket, tzedakah will still be given. And it is this boundless level of tzedakah that secures a complete atonement for the sins of our people, after which49 “they will immediately be redeemed.”
The Rebbe explains that the Alter Rebbe does not conclude the above-mentioned quotation about the precondition for the coming of Mashiach because it is quite possible that he did not want to write out the last words (viz., “until the pocket will be empty of even the smallest coin”); and this precondition of the Sages can be fulfilled on the spiritual level, by conducting oneself with the humility of the destitute.
This could also explain why the Alter Rebbe does not say…כשיהיו (“when they are legally not obligated”), but rather…אם יהיו (“if they are legally not obligated”).
Note of the Rebbe: “It would appear that this phrase (‘most commandments have a delimited measure’) seeks to highlight their maximal limits, especially since the Alter Rebbe qualifies the noun ‘measure’ (shiur) with the adjective ‘delimited’ (metzumtzam). (The commandments that follow would then be instances of Chesed olam, being no higher than the finitude of a worldlike Chesed). Paradoxically, however, the examples that the Alter Rebbe then gives all indicate the minimal limits of each mitzvah! […] Indeed, even when the mitzvah of tzedakah is carried out at the [boundless] level of Chasdei Havayah it has a minimal limit — i.e., [the obligation obtains only when the donor owns at least] a perutah (whereas from the finite perspective of Chesed olam he would be exempt from it, as is discussed at the very end of the present Epistle).“
By way of resolving this anomaly, it could be suggested that the Alter Rebbe seeks to point out […] that tzitzit which are thirteen thumbbreadths long are in no way superior to tzitzit of twelve; hence the measure of the mitzvah of tzitzit has a maximal delimitation. The same may be said of the other examples, such as the dimensions of tefillin, and so on.”
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 32:39.
Note of the Rebbe: “At first glance, this requirement would appear to be out of place in a list of dimensions; rather, it would appear to be merely a restriction (disqualifying round ones, for example), though no mention is made of the many comparable restrictions that pertain to tzitzit or to tefillin.“
It may be suggested by way of explanation that this phrase [does indeed relate to a dimension, inasmuch as it] seeks to exclude a shape of five (or six or more) sides that encompasses (and is greater than) a square. This exclusion does not apply to tzitzit (cf. the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 10:1). This gives significance to the word ‘necessarily’, which might otherwise appear superfluous.”
Note of the Rebbe: “In light of this explanation, what is the relevance here of justice?“
Paradoxically, it could be explained that it is specifically this word that explains why tzedakah is preferred over offerings. For the kind of tzedakah that can be done equally by all — the regular, unqualified commandment of tzedakah which is one of the pillars upon which the world stands — would appear to belong to [the finite category known as] Chesed olam, as stated explicitly above. How, then, can it be found preferable to offerings? The verse therefore specifies that the subject at hand is the kind of tzedakah that is closely accompanied by justice, i.e., the tzedakah whose goal is the just rectification of one’s sins.
“This concept is related to that in Torah Or (p. 63b), but it is not exactly the same. As to the difference in order between ‘tzedakah and justice’ and ‘justice and tzedakah,’ see Avot deRabbi Natan, beginning of ch. 33, and Or HaTorah, Parshat Vayeira, p. 99a.”
