By Rabbi Nissan Telushkin for COLlive and Hasidic Archives
The Alter Rebbe, author of the Tanya, was once traveling from city to city collecting money to redeem a Jew imprisoned for financial reasons.
He came to a city known for its misers, where even the wealthy ate dry bread with onions and cold water, opting for a life of poverty.
The Alter Rebbe understood that it was unlikely he’d raise more than a few coins.
He thus decided to forgo the task at hand, and instead of fundraising, he gave a lecture to the community on the “sin in their hearts.”
He repeated what the Talmud (Nedarim 10a) says about one who becomes a Nazarite: “Just as this Nazirite, who causes himself suffering only by refraining from wine, is called a sinner, one who causes himself suffering by refraining from everything is all the more so to be considered a sinner.”
He told them that because of their ways, they will be reincarnated as people who enjoy worldly pleasures and appreciate the now.
After some time, the people began to change their personal lives. Only then did he tell them that he was in need of a large amount of money to assist another Jew.
Once they had grasped the mindset of largesse, they were able to help another person generously.
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