Small tidbits and Sparks of wisdom

Full Transcript of a 1981 Speech
A person must understand that there are other needy people in the world besides himself. The Torah established two kinds of obligations. One obligation is to give from what comes in — from income, from profit, from grain. But that is not enough. There is also an obligation to give from what a person spends.
When a man gathers grain for his own needs, he must recognize that just as Hashem provided for him, there are others in the world who also require provision. This is why the Torah commands תרומות ומעשרות, and beyond that, חלה.
A person might say: “I already gave from my income. I already separated maaser.” We answer him: from what came in — yes. But you are still obligated to give from what you spend. Each act of spending creates a renewed obligation. A person cannot exempt himself by saying that he already gave once. Every expense requires a new calculation and a renewed responsibility.
This is why חלה is unique. When bread is baked for one’s household, when money is spent for one’s own table, from that very act a portion must be separated. Not just once a year, and not only from surplus, but again and again, from the very act of spending.
Sometimes a person will say: “But I already gave money.” The Torah teaches him that he is not free from this obligation. Even if he gave from his income, he must still give from his grain, from his dough, from his expenses.
This type of giving is sharper and more difficult, because it is felt. It touches a person at the moment when he feels the burden of expense. And precisely because he feels it, that is where the Torah promises blessing.
The Navi says:
רֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵכֶם תִּתְּנוּ לַכֹּהֵן לְהָנִיחַ בְּרָכָה אֶל תּוֹךְ בֵּיתֶךָ (יחזקאל מ״ד:ל׳)
This is not a general blessing. It is a blessing that is brought into the home, to remain there and to stay as security.
And the opposite is also true. Chazal say:
על מעשרין רעבון של בצורת, ועל תרומות רעבון של מהומה, ועל חלה רעבון של כליה (שבת ל״ב ע״ב)
For withholding maasros comes a famine of drought. For withholding terumos comes a famine of confusion. But for withholding challah comes a famine of destruction.
Why is the punishment for challah more severe? Because this is not a failure to give from what one claims he does not yet have. This is a failure to give from what one is actively using and consuming, from what is in his hand at that moment.
A person may spend on a good house, on a fine car, on a large expense he never planned, more than he even dreamed. Sometimes he even goes into debt for it. Yet at that very moment, he must know that just as he has expenses, the poor person also has expenses. From every outlay, a portion belongs to others.
This is the purpose of חלה, which we learn from the parsha that we read. From every spending, something is taken for Hashem, for the kohen, and for the needy.
For this reason, the reward for challah is even greater than the reward for giving from income, for תרומות ומעשרות. Because this giving does not come from surplus. It comes from what a person needs for himself.
This teaching changes how a person understands limits such as one-fifth. The limitation applies to giving from income. But giving from expenditure is not a matter of generosity beyond obligation. It is obligation itself.
Through this system, the Torah trains a person not to live enclosed within himself. Each time he spends, he is reminded that there are others in the world who also have needs. And through this, blessing is brought not only to the world, but into his own home —
לְהָנִיחַ בְּרָכָה אֶל תּוֹךְ בֵּיתֶךָ.