The pasuk says in Mishleh, וצדקה תציל ממות – charity saves lives.
A very wealthy man from our community told me that he recently survived a very serious car accident. As a result of a certain medication, he became very drowsy while driving and fell asleep at the wheel. When he opened his eyes, he saw he was in the wrong lane and a large truck was heading straight toward him. The truck was able to swerve a little, but the collision was unavoidable. The man closed his eyes and hoped for the best. Baruch Hashem, he miraculously got out of his car after the crash alive and well. This man donates very large amounts of charity every day. He told me that less than two weeks before his accident, he spoke at a fundraising dinner, and his entire speech was devoted to the concept of וצדקה תציל ממות – how charity can save lives. He believed it, he acted on his belief, and indeed charity saved his life.
Any kind of charity yields great benefits, but helping widows and orphans brings special merit. In an edition of Emuna Daily several months ago, we told the story of a man who paid for an orphan’s wedding and then made weddings for all three of his daughters within a span of 18 months. Recently, I received two different emails – on the same day – from people who were affected by that message. One woman told me that after reading that story, she immediately thought of her good friend, Sophia, who was still single. She started making phone calls in order to sponsor an orphan’s wedding in her merit. Sure enough, she heard of an orphan bride in Israel, and she and some friends joined together to sponsor the entire wedding. Now, less than three months later, Sophia is engaged. Indeed, the pasuk in Tehillim says, אשרי שומרי משפט עושה צדקה בכל עת, and Rav Shemuel Bar Nahmani explains the second part of this verse – “who does charity at all times” – as referring to those who supports orphans and helps them get married. And the great Kabbalist Rav Herschel of Ziditchov once remarked, “I don’t know if I did any good deeds the way they should be done, but I know that I married off many orphans, and this will bring me merit.”
The second email I received was from two sisters who are both single and anxious to get married. They wanted to sponsor a wedding for an orphan as a source of merit, but they could not afford to do so themselves. They decided to ask their single friends to get involved, but even with their help, the project was not successful and they could not raise the necessary funds. Just a few days before this past Rosh Hashanah, one of the two sisters decided that the project must be completed before the new year. Sure enough, they managed to raise the money. Their Rabbi is close with Rav Pinhasi, an Av Bet Din in Jerusalem who runs a bridal fund, and seeing how badly the women wanted this project to be completed before Rosh Hashanah, the Rabbi called Rav Pinhasi to ask if he knew of an orphan who needed money for his or her wedding. Rav Pinhasi said that he was not aware of any such orphan, and added that the sum of money which was donated far exceeded the cost of a single wedding. The Rabbi asked Rav Pinhasi to inform him if he hears of any orphans in need of money for a wedding.
The very next day, somebody came to Rav Pinhasi and told him of an orphan boy who was engaged but had no money with which to pay for his share of the expenses. Unless he came up with the money, the engagement will have to be called off. It turned out that the amount he needed was almost exactly the amount donated by these women.
They wanted to do the mitzvah, and Hashem made it happen. Be’ezrat Hashem we will soon hear the good news that they all became brides.