Mishpatim (2): Show Me the Money

אם כסף תלוה את עמי את העני עמך

If you shall lend money to my nation, to the peasant amongst you...

All things physical share one central denominator: they are all finite and passing. No possessive relationship can ever last. Either the owner will live to see the object's obsolescence, or the object will out live its owner.

Chazal convey this idea through the teaching, "אין מלוין לאדם לא כסף ולא זהב אלא תורה ומעשים טובים" - 'Gold and silver cannot accompany a man to his afterlife. Only Torah and Mitzvos will carry on with him.' This is because death simultaneously marks the soul's departure from the finite constricts of this world and its entering into the world of infinity. Gold and silver are used to assess value; this connotes their essential limitation. They are home in the world of metrics, not the spiritual realm. Physicality cannot follow a man on his journey into Olam HaBa.

This is the self-evident meaning of the concept "שכר מצוה בהאי עלמא ליכא" - There is no reward for Mitzvos in this world. Mitzvos are our tools for interfacing with the unbridled energy of Hashem's Divine Will.  They are a connective force (the word מצוה is rooted in צוותא which means 'together') that binds our very being into the endlessness that is Ratzon Hashem. To this end, there is no physical means of giving humanity its due payoff in this world for doing the right thing. Only once the soul is stripped of its earthly confines can it enter a realm that is fitting to receive the proper bounty. (For more clarity on this topic, see here.)

A clear divide emerges: Physical actions, the ones that are devoid of cosmic content, are destined to have their effects play out only in this world alone. On the other hand, when we insert spiritual significance into our deeds they become a vehicle of infinity, connecting us to an incomparably higher source of being.

With this in mind, the phrase "אין מלוין לאדם לא כסף ולא זהב אלא תורה ומעשים טובים" takes on new meaning. In order for our actions to stay on with us in the world of infinitude, they too must be injected with a facet of endlessness.

Mitzvos provide us with this crucial opportunity. Most of the Mitzvos that we do require a physical vessel to serve as a conduit for their spiritual impact. In order to shake a Lulav one needs palm, myrtle and willow branches. Mezuzos, Tefilin and Sifrei Torah all require cow-hides. This applies to everything we do. When we perform a Mitzvah with a physical object we tap it in to a more sublime state of being.

Says the Kotzker Rebbe zya"a; in terms of money, if we want it to become eternal, if we seek to free it from the constrict of Chazal's dictum of "אין מלוין לאדם לא כסף ולא זהב" then it needs to be directed towards means of Tzedakah. When given to the poor it becomes a Mitzvah and in turn becomes connected to "שכר מצוה בהאי עלמא ליכא".  The money becomes relevant in Olam HaBa.

This is the meaning of the Passuk "אם כסף תלוה את עמי את העני עמך". The word "תלוה" can alternatively mean "to accompany". Thus the verse can be interpreted as follows: "אם כסף תלוה את עמי", If money accompanies my people (to the next world) it is because "את העני עמך" - it was given to the poor among them.