A Timeless Message from the Chafetz Chaim
Many today assume that with charity and chesed so widespread, there’s no need to say more. But this is a dangerous illusion.
Charity is not a box to check. It’s a living, breathing responsibility — judged not by what you gave yesterday, but by who stands in front of you today.
The Torah tells us:
“You shall surely open your hand to him and surely lend him sufficient for his need” (Deut. 15:8).
Not just something. Not just your leftovers. Sufficient. For his need.
In earlier generations, the needs of the poor were minimal. A pair of shoes, some bread, a coat — and they were grateful. With very little income, a poor man could live with dignity and even contentment. There was no obsession with luxury, and no endless cycle of consumption. Today, our expectations are inflated, our expenses multiplied, and the costs of basic survival — housing, clothing, healthcare — have exploded.
If our lives are so costly, how much more so for those who have nothing?
This is why the Chafetz Chaim writes:
“Today… the costs of almost everything have doubled and quadrupled. Hence the obligation to satisfy the needs of the poor also requires much larger sums.”
The needs have changed. The Torah’s standard has not.
Even more so when a person is on the verge of collapse — when they can no longer stand on their own — you are commanded to uphold him.
As the Torah states:
“If your brother becomes poor and his means fail with you, then you shall uphold him… and he shall live with you.” (Lev. 25:35)
This isn’t simply a loan or a handout — this is a life-preserving act.
“If you do not help him, your own security, God forbid, may collapse too.”
You think he is the one falling? You may be next.
Help him stand, and you may be saving your own future.
In today’s world, giving to charity doesn’t exempt you when someone collapses in front of you.
“Even if you have upheld him four or five times — uphold him again,” say our sages.
Why? Because this is the highest form of charity. This is real Torah economics — not theoretical kindness, but active prevention of human destruction. And when you save him from falling, you are fulfilling the verse:
“Happy is he who considers the poor; God will save him on the day of evil.” (Psalms 41:1)
And don’t think you fulfill this obligation by giving your cast-offs.
The Torah clearly states that when someone comes to you in need — for clothing, food, shelter, or basic dignity — you are required to provide at the level that you live. If you wear a Moncler or Prada coat, it is beneath the standard of a frum Jew to hand someone a used jacket from Kohl’s or Target. That is not charity — that is insult disguised as help.
The Torah expects you to keep your brother living beside you — not beneath you.
If your neighbor is cold, you wrap him in the same warmth you expect for yourself. That is Torah. That is faith. That is justice.
So open your mind, learn your Torah, have real emunah — and give generously, not below your level of living, but in line with it.
Bottom Line
1. Charity must match the times. The poor of 100+ years ago lived simply. Today, costs are higher, pressures greater, and dignity harder to maintain. You can’t measure your giving by yesterday’s standards.
2. Charity must match the person. The Torah commands sufficiency, not token amounts. Don’t give what you can spare. Give what they need to survive — at your level.
3. Charity must match the moment. When someone is collapsing in front of you — act. Your past giving does not absolve you of present responsibility.
Give like someone’s life, dignity, and future depend on it — because they do.
Small tidbits and Sparks of wisdom 
Leave a comment