Charity Is Good

More than once, I have heard my husband illustrate the intrinsic morality of making money by relating a story about a roofer who is heading on an outing with his children on a rainy day when the phone rings. A customer is beside himself as his leaking roof is causing damage to his home. The roofer explains to his family that he needs to postpone the outing because he must care for his customer. He is not doing this job for the money; he is doing it for the relationship and the opportunity to help another human being. Of course, he will be paid, but it is not the reason he is working despite it being an inconvenient and disruptive time.

More than once, I have seen my husband donate to charity, both in dollars and with his time. We are currently in the middle of Passover (I wrote and prepped this Musing in advance). In the lead up to the festival, we have an opportunity and obligation to participate in a specially named charity appeal, called Maot Chitim. Literally, those words mean ‘funds for wheat,’ referring to the money necessary to buy matzo, a required item on Passover. More generally, Passover expenses loom large. Even a modest Passover observance that fulfills the holiday obligations puts a stress on most budgets. For this reason, the community is asked to stretch its charity muscle during this time.

Here is where these two stories intersected recently. Thankful that we have funds to help others, we contributed to a number of Maot Chittim campaigns. But something else happened in the same time span. In addition to buying special foods, another part of Passover preparation involves meticulously cleaning our homes with an emphasis on the kitchen. This is where we found ourselves in the position of the homeowner with a leaky roof.

Except, it wasn’t the roof, it was the oven. And it wasn’t leaking, it was…. well, here’s the story: To best clean our oven, I removed the oven door, per the instruction manual, just as I do annually. This makes it easier to clean the door and access the inside of the oven. As the instruction book for the oven makes clear, this is a reasonable thing to do. In this case, however, it was the first time I was doing so with this particular oven. To both my husband and my dismay, while the door came off easily enough, the same cannot be said for it going back on.

My husband is one of the handiest men I know. He once built boats for a living with his own hands, he enjoys working with wood, he is competent with electricity and tools. Yet, each time we attempted to return the door to its proper position, we were stymied. We re-read the instructions, watched videos, and sought advice online from others who shared our model number. None of the suggestions helped. Having spent an unproductive hour trying to solve our dilemma, we proceeded to seek recommendations for a handyman. We left a message and soon received a call back. Within a few minutes, Akiva, who understands the importance of an oven when preparing holiday meals, came over and, seemingly effortlessly, slid the door into place. With a smile, he shared that we were not the only people he was helping with the same issue.

We joyfully paid Akiva’s bill. I hope we gave charity joyfully as well, but this transaction contained an extra fillip. Akiva’s budget, too, is stretched this time of year as is true for almost all observant Jews. Handing money to him in recognition of helping us out and knowing that in paying him we were helping him out, clearly expressed what my husband calls the morality of the marketplace. And while Maot Chitim helps a needy family enjoy Passover, it is a band aid, not a cure for financial difficulties. Were we able to help someone establish himself in business so that next year instead of being in need he would be the one generously providing charity, that would truly be the highest level of giving.

P.S. I’m enjoying watching the numbers on my Substack blog rise. This week, I reprinted a Musing with a book recommendation. If you have a chance, check it out.

---

What do you think? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this Susan’s Musings post.
We Happy Warrior members can both read and write comments HERE.

Not a member yet? Susan’s Musings is a reader-supported publication.
We truly appreciate those of you who sign up for a Basic membership. This lets us know we are providing value to you.

---