Giving Daily — Even a Little — Is the Key

One bad middah of which I’m blessedly free is jealousy. Sure, I’m frequently dissatisfied with myself. But I never saw any point envying others for qualities I’m lacking rather than simply seeking to improve myself in those areas.

To this general rule, however, I recently discovered an exception, in the form of Dr. Jonathan Donath, a chiropractor in White Plains, New York. Why? He found a way to give away $3.7 million annually, despite having no personal fortune of his own. That ability to donate vast sums is something I have frequently dreamed of.

It may even be an inherited desire. I can remember my father once telling me, “The only thing that bothers your mother about the decline of her family’s fortunes is that she doesn’t have more money to give.” Well into her nineties — and long after there had ceased to be money in her account — my mother’s mother used to sit at her desk every afternoon, elegantly dressed, wearing her pearls, writing “checks.”

Some of her choices were a bit odd — e.g., the National Sheriffs Hall of Fame. But my grandmother was of the firm opinion that anyone who asked was in need, and even if they weren’t, soliciting money was so inherently degrading that they should receive.