Everyone is looking for zechusim and yeshuos today. Chazal say “Kol hamrachem al habriyos merachmanin alav min hashamayim“. Hashem’s rachmanus means an abundance of kapparah and brachos, which the Torah promises to those who embrace chesed wholeheartedly. However, we’re also very time-constrained, and most have limited tzedakah funds. Read on. You can do plenty, regardless of your situation.
Yeshuos Hidden in Plain Sight
I conducted an informal poll of a diverse group of frum yidden, and surprisingly, most were unclear that gemach lending is absolutely obligatory (Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 66). A must for every Jew. Start by perusing Sefer Ahavas Chesed, authored by the heilige Chafetz Chaim zt”l, and you will be blown away.
The sefer clearly outlines the chiyuv to help others with parnassah and the abundant brachos promised to those consistently involved in chesed, especially helping yidden with parnassah. This will inspire you to grab onto this top priority mitzvah with both hands.
I’m not offering my own homemade psakim, shmuesen, or havtachos here. Just open up Sefer Ahavas Chesed. There are English versions and summary versions of this vital volume, by the way. So, no excuses!
Massive Zechusim Via Gemach Lending
The clearest obligation and an easy way to chap arein in parnassah chesed is to lend money b’chesed. If doing so yourself seems daunting, consider finding a reputable gemach. Ask around, gather the details, and lend a gemach some money you don’t need for the foreseeable future. Losses are rare, and if you only lend amounts you can afford to write off as tzedakah, then it’s really a no-brainer. Speak to your rav and learn Sefer Ahavas Chesed for much more guidance and chizuk. There’s no reason why every frum Jew isn’t involved in this massive mitzvah of gemach lending in some capacity.
Better Than Tzedakah!
The mefarshim (See Maharsha, Shabbos 63a) explain that lending money to help others financially is a higher form of tzedakah than donating cash. People are often embarrassed to accept tzedakah, and helping them avoid the need for charity is superior to bailing them out after the fact. Beyond gemach lending, any way you can help people improve their parnassah is included in this top level of chesed (See Ahavas Chesed 2.21). Even if your funds are limited, you can be a massive ba’al chesed at the highest levels!
Here’s how.
Share Your Knowledge
Sharing your knowledge, expertise, and experience can be a fantastic way to improve others’ parnassah with no outlay. For example, I once publicized a little-known but significant federal grant that was available at the time to many small businesses. The impetus for that article was a woman who, b’chesed, took the initiative to help others gain awareness of and claim the grant. Her efforts collectively brought many millions of dollars in parnassah to hundreds of frum families, and it cost her no money! You can probably impart some valuable knowledge of chesed on some level. Everyone knows valuable things that others don’t.
Be a Parnassah Shadchan
The famous saying is “It’s not what you know, but who you know”. A frum fellow in Lakewood has used his connections to find hundreds of people jobs, as a side chesed “hobby”. When someone approaches him for a job, he quickly and quietly taps his network. Mitzvah goreres mitzvah, and he has become a chesedclearinghouse, matching companies looking to hire with job seekers. Think! You can probably help someone massively by connecting them with a customer, investor, supplier, client, broker, seller, etc. Parnassah connection is a massive act of chesed, often worth more than money.
Generally Support Frum Networking
I once witnessed someone pulling down advertisements from the shul bulletin boards, feeling it wasn’t an appropriate place for business. A talmid chacham standing there, however, disagreed, noting that the gemara (Sukkah 51) describes how the seating arrangements in the massive shul in Alexandria, Egypt, facilitated job networking. Shul parnassah networking dates back a long way!
Beyond shul coffee rooms, the frum world has a growing schedule of business networking events. To maximize the parnassah impact, networking opportunities require participation from established players. Even, especially, if you’re fortunate enough not to need networking to grow your own business/career, attend to try and help others grow theirs!
Be Generous, Beyond Tzedakah
Another massive parnassah chesedis to support new businesses, even if they’re not yet as experienced and efficient as established players. I have a friend who prides himself on seeking out new businesses and becoming their first customer, to get the ball rolling!
Conversely, some people suffer from financial “schizophrenia”, being generous tzedakah-wise but brutally skimpy with employees, vendors, and stores trying to make a bekovodik parnassah. If you can afford it, try to pay employees a bit more, pay vendors as quickly as possible, and generally act with a lifnim mishuras hadin approach. Hashem will reciprocate, promises the Chafetz Chaim!
Fargin Competitors
One of the bakers who helped establish the kosher baked goods industry after the war used to rejoice when yet another competitor opened shop in his neighborhood. “Baruch Hashem, now I have more help feeding Klal Yisroel“, was his refrain. How beautiful is that perspective?! At a minimum, a frum Jew fargins a competitor, knowing that parnassah comes from Hashem. Ideally, competition is viewed in a friendly, collaborative light. There are often ways to help others in your industry without compromising your own customers or trade secrets. An ohev chesed will do what they reasonably can to lift everyone up.
Inspire Rachamim and Bracha
Of course, doing these parnassah loans and other chasadim may mean forgoing interest, commissions, or fees. Indeed, the Sefer Ahavas Chesed clarifies (2:15) that even someone whose livelihood is derived from lending money (with a heter iska) isn’t exempt from gemach lending. See the details there. But the Chafetz Chaim invokes the tremendous brachos, kaparos, and rachmanus that the Torah promises to those pursuing chesed with an ahavah, i.e., diligently and consistently, are promised wealth and healthy children. Sounds like something to grab on to, especially in these trying times.
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