Thursday, August 13th, 2009...9:21 pm
Why doesn’t tzedaka have a blessing?
“Why doesn’t tzedaka have a blessing? The Rashbah writes that blessing on a mitzvah when more than one person is involved is inappropriate, because if the poor person refuses the tzedaka, the blessing would be taking G-d’s name in vain. Rebbe Mendel of Rimnov says that a blessing is appropriate when a person does a commandment with a full heart, which, unfortunately, may not always be the case with tzedaka. Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech of Rimnov feared that individuals would be so involved in preparing for the mitzvah (one would go to the mikvah, another would meditate, a third would wash his hands) that the poor would suffer as a result. This sounds a bit tongue in cheek, but the Lubavitcher Rebbe says that this reason is based on a Talmudic story (Taanis 21a) in which Nachum Ish Gam Zu, a tzadik from Safed, tarried a tiny bit too long before feeding a poor man, and the needy man passed away. (Tzohar L’Tayvah)” B’H week of Re’eh 5769: An essay by Rabbi Shaul Leiter AscentOfSafed
1 Comment
August 14th, 2009 at 1:19 am
very good question…lots of answers, none really hit it with me. i have researched this for many years (including via tzedakah maven danny siegel - www.dannysiegel.com ) and just don’t know….
giving tzedakah comes in many shapes and sizes - sometimes to a pushka (easy to make a bracha since none of the ‘excuses’ apply), sometimes to a person (hard to make a bracha - seems like it is embarrassing to the recipient that i am reciting a bracha, thanking Gd that he, the recipient, is in need!)
so….not so sure….
arnie draiman
www.draimanconsulting.com
www.mitzvahheroesfund.org
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