DVAR TORAH: Tzedaka
Mrs. Hadassah Wiesel, a beloved teacher in Jerusalem was walking down the street on a hot summer day and ran into one of her favorite students - now a married young woman pushing a baby carriage. Despite the scorching summer heat, the woman was wearing a child's pair of red, rubber winter boots.
"Why are you wearing those boots?" Mrs. Wiesel asked.
"I can't afford shoes right now," her student replied.
Hearing this Mrs. Wiesel pulled out the equivalent of $50 and put it into her student's hand.
"Buy yourself a good pair of shoes."
Several days later they ran into each other once again. And once again the young woman was wearing those rubber boots.
"I gave you money for new shoes, why are you still wearing your boots?"
"How can I buy new shoes when I can't even feed my children?" came her anguished reply.
Now Mrs. Wiesel heart was torn. She remembered this girl as being a bright-eyed student. So full of life and promise. Now look at the crushing burden she had to suffer. It was as if she had gone from young lass to old lady over night.
Mrs. Weisel did not just shrug off this incident with a sigh of 'nebuch (pity).' Another person might have said, "What a shame? Too bad I can't do anything."
She did do something. This moving episode served as the impetus to the founding of Yad Eliezer. Through a unique partnership of American donors and Israeli farmers, food maunfacturers, truck drivers and other volunteers, Yad Eliezer has become one of the most efficient tzedakah conduits in history - distributing food on a massive scale to the poor of Israel.