Cast your bread upon the face of the waters, for in the multitude of days you shall find it

Strengthening moral stories about the power of charity and loving-kindness – how every good deed returns to the person, the virtue of bestowing loving-kindness, the reward of charity, and the wondrous Divine Providence that accompanies whoever does good to [fellow] people.

28 Iyar 5786 | May 15, 2026 | 12:40

What you give – you shall receive!

"Cast your bread upon the face of the waters, for in the multitude of days you shall find it" so said King Solomon (Ecclesiastes 11:1). It is like a spiritual law, that all the good and loving-kindness that a person does for his fellow, it is guaranteed to him that he will not lose from it. On the contrary, he will only benefit from it in the future.

An amazing event that occurred in our time will illustrate these things to us well. This event stands us upon the severity of the matter, and how much one must be meticulous about the giving of tithes (ma'asrot) to the tribe of the Priesthood (Kehunah), and to know clearly that in this lies all the material abundance of the person. This is how the system operates – all the time that he gives, he will also receive, but when he ceases from giving, he stops and disconnects the channels of abundance; from Heaven they signal to him by this action so that he will understand how much he erred in his conduct, placing him in a situation where he finds that his financial situation stands upon the exact same amount that he actually needed to give to the Priest (Kohen), the same quantity that he had to give to the Priests – "to him it shall be" (lo yihiyeh) – that is what will finally be to him. This is a true test in faith (emunah).

The following event before us will clarify these things to us well: An event concerning a certain stingy wealthy man who dreamed a dream. In his dream, he sees himself inside a large hall with tables set with every good thing, and with people dining at those tables. And behold, as he stood at the entrance, one of the waiters approached him and requested of him to accompany him. That same waiter seated him at a specific table, and gave him a plate with a single piece of chicken that was dirty with dust. To the wonderment of that wealthy man, the waiter answered him that here, everyone receives what he gave.

The wealthy man awoke drenched in sweat, while the appearance of the dream echoed in his memory. Immediately he approached the Rabbi so that he would solve the dream for him. The Rabbi asked him: "Have you given charity in your days?" The wealthy man nodded in the negative, and confessed that in his days he never gave anything. The Rabbi said to him: "Try to remember nonetheless." And indeed, suddenly the wealthy man remembered, that when he wedded his son, a certain poor man appeared at the entrance and requested a portion to eat. The wealthy man refused at first, however after the entreaties of that poor man, he looked and behold, there was thrown in the dust a piece of chicken that had apparently fallen from the plate of one of the celebrants. He lifted it and handed it to the poor man. "This is the only charity that I gave," replied the wealthy man in shame to the Rabbi. "This, if so, is the solution to your dream; this feast that you saw in your dream, this is your reward for the World to Come. Behold you saw, that they gave you exactly what you gave"... The wealthy man was ashamed and took upon himself from then on to distribute his money with a wide hand.

A man of loving-kindness benefits his own soul

A person must know that when he bestows loving-kindness upon his fellow, he will never lose from it. Even if for a brief moment it will seem to him that his action for the sake of his fellow comes at his own expense and causes him a certain loss, this is nothing but an error originating from shortsightedness. In the end, sooner or later, the bestower of loving-kindness will come upon his reward twofold and manifold, and everyone will see and know that in doing good to others, he did good to himself as well.

And it is possible, that regarding this our King Solomon said in Proverbs (11:17): "A man of loving-kindness benefits (gomel) his own soul." The man of loving-kindness, who does good to his fellow, is nothing but bestowing good upon his own soul. The following story before us will illustrate these things to us well.

A G-d-fearing Jew was traveling in his vehicle on one of the roads of the land, while a pouring rain beat forcefully upon his vehicle. And behold, during the drive, he notices that at a short distance, on the side of the road, a car stood still and activated signals (hazard lights). Our acquaintance, who saw a vehicle parking on the side of the road in a pouring rain, debated in his heart: "Perhaps this is a person who is stuck and is in need of help, and according to the Halakha (Jewish law) I am obligated to help him! But on the other hand, perhaps it is just a person who stopped for a rest or for a short telephone conversation?".

The fear of Heaven within him did not give him rest, and he pulled off the road and stopped near the car. He exited his vehicle in a torrential rain, approached the window of the driver, and behold, he notices an elderly woman, sitting and waiting for help. He knocks for her on the window and asks her: "Excuse me, is everything okay? Are you perhaps in need of help?", the woman, who was stunned by the offer of the driver, said with joy: "Yes, certainly. A puncture occurred to me in one of the wheels on the vehicle, and driving with it is very dangerous, I will thank you from the depths of my heart, if you will help me to change it" – she requested. The driver replied to her and said: "Sit inside the vehicle and I will already change the wheel for you." The driver returned quickly to his vehicle, took out work tools that were in the trunk, and began to dismantle the wheel, and assembled in its place a spare wheel, while he was entirely wet to the marrow of his bones. He knew, that for a thing like this they pay much in Heaven, as the saying of our Sages (Avot Ch. 5 Mishnah 23) "According to the pain – is the reward" (Lefum tza'ara agra) [according to the pain of the person in doing the commandment – so will his reward increase].

After long minutes, the mission ended, and the vehicle was ready for travel. The elderly woman, who marveled at the generosity of his heart and at his many efforts that he made for her sake, thanked him and blessed him with all her heart, and during this she took out from her pocket a sum of two thousand dollars!!! And said: "This is for you, for all the tremendous effort for my sake." The precious Jew, in whom fear of Heaven pulsed, did not get confused for a moment, and replied to her on the spot: "I do not take from you even a shekel, since I did a commandment for the sake of Heaven. My reward I will already receive in the World to Come, and I do not desire to receive from you any compensation for this. If you wish to listen to me, give this sum to the first needy person that you will meet on your way!" he concluded with strong discipline.

The woman was doubly astonished by his reaction, and tried to persuade him nonetheless, but he returned to his car and continued in driving. The woman also returned to her vehicle and continued on her way. After some time, the woman stopped at a local restaurant in order to drink something, and suddenly she hears shouting. It was the owner of the restaurant who began to shout at one of the workers in the restaurant in the sight of all: "You are fired! I do not want to see you anymore here. Go away!". The poor worker began to beg before the owner "Please! Understand me! I am in need of the money, otherwise, I will collapse financially, continue to employ me", but the owner plugged her ears and drove her away; the wretched worker took her belongings and went out in tears and crying.

The elderly woman pitied that worker, and remembered the request of the driver who assisted her "Give the money to the first needy person you see on your way." And immediately she took out from her pocket the two thousand dollars, and handed it to her, saying: "This is a gift for you, but it is not from me, it is from a Jew who requested of me to transfer this to the first person I see who is in need of it." The worker was stunned by the bundles of dollars, stopped the crying, and thanked her without end.

Sad and emotional, the worker made her way to her home to tell her husband about her firing, and about the 'compensations' that she received. She arrived at the house, and waited for the return of her husband. And behold, a knock was heard at the door, and her husband entered while he was entirely wet from head to foot. His wife was frightened by his appearance, but he told her how he helped an elderly woman who wanted to bring him in return two thousand dollars. His wife was so emotional, and told him that exactly that same woman handed her two thousand dollars because of him...

Thus the Holy One, Blessed be He, watches and sees our good deeds, and keeps for us the reward for the day on which we will be in need of it. Whoever helps and assists another, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will pay his reward, as King David, peace be upon him, requests (Psalms 125:4): "Do good, O Hashem, to the good and to the upright in their hearts" – do good and you shall find good!

What a person does – for himself he does

An event concerning a destitute poor woman, who resided in a dilapidated house at the edge of the city adjacent to the forest. That same woman would go around the openings (beg from door to door) in order to receive coins, with which she sustained her soul. And a custom she had: when someone gave her a donation, she would not thank him and bless him, as is customary, rather constantly she would say to anyone who gave her charity: "All that a person acts – not for the sake of others does he act, but for the sake of himself." Thus she would say, and the creatures (people) – although they were puzzled to hear such words – had already become accustomed to hearing them.

On one of the days, that poor woman happened upon the entrance of the palace of the Queen. As was her way, the woman requested charity also from the Queen, and after the Queen gave her a respectable gift, the poor woman said to her the words regular upon her mouth: "All that a person acts – not for the sake of others does he act, but for the sake of himself."

Not one time alone did the poor woman benefit from the gift of the Queen's hand; several times she returned and came to the entrance of the palace, and every time that she received a donation of money from the Queen – the poor woman rewarded her with the proverb regular upon her mouth. At first the Queen heard the words in a good spirit, but when she heard this time after time, the matter aroused the anger of the Queen: 'That a poor woman should dare to say to me, to the Queen, such words, and not thank me at all for the donation that I am granting her? – It shall not be!'

And indeed, the Queen made up her mind to punish the poor woman who so dared her face against her. She commanded her cooks to bake for that poor woman a challah of fine flour and to introduce into the midst of the challah poison!

The cooks fulfilled the command, prepared the challah, introduced into it the drug of death, and even saw to it that that same challah would reach its destination – they delivered it into the hands of the poor woman at the time that she came to request a donation at the entrance of the palace.

At the sight of the handsome and fragrant challah, the eyes of the poor woman lit up, and this time too she rewarded her benefactor with the proverb regular upon her mouth: "All that a person acts – not for the sake of others does he act, but for the sake of himself." And with these words she left the place, carrying the challah with care. The fragrance that the challah emitted was pleasant, and yet that poor woman overcame the impulse to eat from it. She returned to her dilapidated house, and decided that before she would slice the challah and eat from it – she would benefit from its handsome appearance and its good smell for a number of days. The time would yet arrive to eat the tasty baked good...

In those days, the son of the Queen went out for hunting in the forest, accompanied by his slaves and his servants. The hunting was wearying and exhausting, and upon his return from the hunting journey the son of the Queen was glad to see a hut at the outskirts of the forest. "Come, let us enter into the hut and rest a little," he said to those accompanying him.

That same hut, into which the son of the Queen entered, was the wretched hut of that poor woman. At the moment in which the door opened, and upon the threshold stood the son of the Queen – the owner of the hut recognized who the one entering into her meager dwelling was, and a wave of joy flooded her over the honor which fell to her share.

"It is for great honor to me to host the Prince in my dwelling," she said to the high-ranking guest, and without delaying she served him refreshment – the fresh and fragrant challah, which she received from the cooks of the palace.

The Prince was hungry, and with great appetite bit from the challah. And behold, as he tasted but a little from the baked good – he collapsed to the ground and died. The drug of death that was introduced into the midst of the challah reached his mouth, and caused his immediate death!

At her seeing that which occurred, the poor woman was terrified. And the slaves of the Prince and his servants – their souls went out from fear! And yet, the owner of the hut did not lose her composure. Quickly she rushed, ran to the palace, to tell the Queen things as their essence (exactly as they happened).

When her spirit returned to her, the Queen turned to that poor woman and said to her: "Now, in the bitterest and hardest way, I have learned that you were right in your saying 'All that the person acts – he does not act for the sake of others, but rather for the sake of himself.'"