A giving nature is a good trait – when a person is giving with his money for a mitzvah, such as doing tzedakah and acts of kindness, or to do all the mitzvos as they are meant to be kept. Such obvious truths need no proof. All believe that a person who uses his money on mitzvah expenses is like he has given a loan to Hashem at a thousand percent interest – or more! – for there is no amount to it. Such a person eats the fruit of his good deeds in this World, in the form of wealth and honor, while the principal is still reserved for him in the World to Come. Yet while the person is in the midst of the deed, and he is called upon to let go of his money for the sake of a mitzvah, he does not feel it, and he doesn’t give any thought to the fact that if he would only give more now, Heaven will give him more; and if he gives less, then Heaven will likewise give him less. This is merely a wicked heart, for the Evil Inclination for money is intense and unyielding like iron. It is not for naught that our Sages said that a person can be “judged through his purse.” But a generous person will run to every mitzvah with love, and he sits among all people with tranquility. He increases the honor of his household, and honor will be his when he is laid to rest. Fortunate is he in this World and it is good for him in the World to Come.
