Fear of Doing Chesed

Based on Ahavas Chesed vol. 2 chapter 8

If, as we’ve discussed, the rewards for chesed are so tremendous, why are people generally so bad at it? If we figure that out, perhaps we can improve ourselves in this area.

Some people are simply too scared to do chesed. For example, one might hesitate to extend a loan for fear of not being repaid. The Chofetz Chaim debunks this concern as follows: there’s an obligation to give tzedakah, as well as one to help support others (Leviticus 25:35). If it’s not a particularly large sum, one might be obligated to gift the recipient this money because of these obligations. Even if it’s a large sum, one could still extend the loan by taking some collateral as a security, so there’s really no excuse not to lend the money.

Another type of fear is the fear that one might lend money to another and then need it himself. Now, if the lender legitimately needs the money to support his own family, that’s a valid concern, but how often is that the case? Similarly, it’s one thing if the borrower wants a long-term loan; the lender might want cash on hand for potential investment opportunities. But such opportunities are not likely to arise immediately, so we shouldn’t let such concerns cause us to deny, say, a two-week loan.

And this is only the case for a person of average means. A well-to-do person who has more money available than he could conceivably need for investment opportunities that might arise certainly has no excuse to deny loans to people who are creditworthy or who offer collateral as security. The idea of “saving your own life takes priority over saving the life of another” (Bava Metzia 62a) doesn’t apply because the potential lender doesn’t need the money to sustain himself, only to make himself richer, which doesn’t take priority. If we said that it was valid not to lend money to others because one could use the funds to further enrich himself, then no one would ever be obligated to lend money!

There’s a third kind of fear: fear that word of his generosity will get out and he’ll develop a reputation for being wealthy, leading to higher tax assessments and the like. The Chofetz Chaim dismisses such a concern as simply ridiculous. This is basically the same as refusing to give tzedakah for fear of becoming impoverished, which Chazal consider deeply misguided. According to the gemara (Kesubos 66b) such a person will ultimately lose his money because of the refusal! As the minor tractate Derech Eretz Zuta puts it (chapter 4), those who give tzedakah merit money, while those who don’t use their money charitably will lose it in the blink of an eye.

Accordingly, one should not fear being publicized as a rich person, even if that reputation has financial consequences, as God will surely repay a person for the incidental expenses incurred. Also, let’s be logical: a person wouldn’t refrain from being successful in business out of fear of being called rich and paying higher taxes! If doing business wouldn’t stop a person, neither should giving tzedakah. As the Midrash asks (Rus Rabbah 5:4), will a person deprive himself of the merits of tzedakah because he’s afraid of losing a few small coins?

If someone is truly concerned about developing a reputation for having wealth, the Chofetz Chaim provides a simple workaround: just give the money to a third party to administer on your behalf, maintaining your anonymity in the transaction.

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