- Why Is Tzedakah Compared to Planting?
- The verse says:
“One who sows righteousness (tzedakah) reaps salvation.”
- Tzedakah is called sowing because, like a seed, a small act produces a far greater result.
- The spiritual fruits that grow from charity are much greater than the original gift.
- Rabbi Elazar’s Practice Before Prayer
- Chazal teach:
Rabbi Elazar would first give a coin to a poor person and only then pray.
- He based this on the verse:
“Through righteousness I will behold Your face.”
- Tzedakah prepares a person to experience a deeper revelation of Hashem during prayer.
- Divine Revelation in Prayer Is a Gift
- The awareness and feeling of Godliness that a person experiences during prayer is not earned solely through personal effort.
- It is fundamentally an act of:
- Divine kindness
- Divine compassion
- A gift from Above
- The Light That Shines in the Higher Worlds
- In the spiritual worlds, Hashem’s light shines openly and intensely.
- Angels and souls are so overwhelmed by this revelation that they are completely nullified before Him.
- The descriptions of heavenly chambers (heichalot), angels, and souls mentioned throughout the Zohar are manifestations of this Divine illumination.
- Bringing That Light Into Our World
- Prayer draws a ray of that higher revelation downward into the physical world.
- It reaches:
- Those who fear Hashem
- Those who meditate on His Name
- Those who sincerely seek to serve Him through prayer
- “Hashem Illuminates My Darkness”
- Through prayer, the darkness and concealment of the physical world can be illuminated.
- This fulfills the idea expressed in the verse:
“Hashem illuminates my darkness.”
- Divine Kindness Is Compared to Water
- The descent of this spiritual illumination is called Hashem’s kindness (chesed).
- Chassidus often compares kindness to water:
- Water naturally flows from a high place to a lower place.
- Likewise, Divine kindness flows from the highest spiritual levels down into this world.
- The Role of Tzedakah
- Tzedakah awakens this flow of heavenly kindness.
- By showing compassion below, a person arouses compassion Above.
- This creates the spiritual channel through which Divine light can descend during prayer.