My special mitzvah

"I'm happy that I'll be able to go back to giving tzedakah. That's my greatest joy. The happiest days of my life were those in which I gave tzedakah. For me, it's not just the mitzvah of maaser, it's my special mitzvah. I believe my soul came to this world to give tzedakah to Jews."

Yosef Gutnick, Australian businessman quoted in Mishpacha magazine

Rabbi Pesach Lerner wrote an article in the Mishpacha magazine last week about chesed. He began with a story of a man who was extremely involved in communal affairs. His wife urged him to forgo his morning communal activites as she felt he was losing potential profit from his business because he was keeping customers waiting. The man agreed to go to the Chofetz Chaim to ask his advice. He spent Shabbos in Radin and heard the great sage speak during Shalosh Seudos. The Chofetz Chaim asked why the passuk in Mizmor LeDavid states, "Only goodness and kindness should pursue me all the days of my life". The Chofetz Chaim continues, "Why do we pray that we should be pursued? Why not just pray for tranquility?"
The Chofetz Chaim explained: "We are going to be pursued in this world. That is the nature of our existence. We should pray that if we are to be pursued, it should not be by issues of health, jobs or troubles with our families. If we are to be pursued, we pray that it be by the needs of others, by requests for doing good deeds of chesed."

Rabbi Lerner continues with the following advice.

"Hashem has given each of us a skill, a set of experiences, an opportunity to share. In addition to general opportunities to help Bnei Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael, we all have very specific opportunities to assist our shuls and schools, our communities, and various individuals.

Whether our specific expertise is as a plumber, electrician, printer, banker, lawyer, doctor, or another of the myriad professions or skills, if we were to share some of our expertise with community institutions or individuals, we would all gain from it."

Rabbi Lerner's words struck a chord when I read the following post.

"Recording artist Shea Rubenstein has announced his offer to perform free of charge at events held by charities and other nonprofit organizations for the duration of 2009. “Charities face so many obstacles in the current economic turndown, with more people in need, and fewer donations pouring in,” Shea explains. “I want to give back to those who give to many.”

To read full article, click here.

Kol Hakavod to Shea for utilizing his special talents to give to the community. Let's all grab our special mitzvah and use our skills for the good of the klal.