Each Time We Give

It happens. You give money for tzedakah to someone you were told needs it desperately and the next week you see them driving a brand-new car.

Maybe not exactly a new car but …

I remember we once gave tzedakah to a family and the following week I saw the mother in a toy store her arms full of toys up to her eyes.

When she saw me she flinched and I did too. For a second.

Then I thought Just because she needs money her children don’t deserve toys? Maybe it’s for her grandchildren. They don’t deserve toys? Because she needs money does that mean she — as a mother and grandmother — shouldn’t have the ultimate pleasure on Earth giving to her children and grandchildren? And maybe someone gave her a certificate to this toy store.