“Oh, just what I needed, another shnorrer (beggar)!!”said the man who opened the door as I was fundraising for my Yeshiva.

“That’s Rabbi Flom!!” his embarrassed wife whispered to him.

“Please come in, Rabbi,” he said, as if I could just ignore his rudeness. [Obviously, everyone has the right to choose his or her favorite charities etc., but no one has the right to be rude.]

“If you shall lend money to my people, to the poor that are with you, you shall not be to them as a demanding creditor…” (Shemos 22:24). Rashi says that whenever someone comes to borrow money from you, you should put yourself in his position (that is the implication of “the poor that are with you”). It certainly also applies to giving charity, giving advice, or any other way we are asked to help others.

Unfortunately, since I have been ill, I’ve had to be on the receiving end of chessed (which is certainly part of my nisayon, test, from Hashem). B”H, I’ve dealt with numerous chessed organizations, Darchei Miriam for example, on a daily basis,and never once was I made to feel like a shnorrer!!

Have a great Shabbos!!

Rabbi Chaim Flom

Text Copyright © 2008 by Rabbi Chaim Flom and Torah.org