The Tzedakah Box in Chelm

A story is told of the legendary town of Chelm, which was known throughout the world because of its residents. The people who lived in Chelm, though they were all kind and well-meaning people, were all fools. Their hearts were all in the right place, but nevertheless, Chelm had a well-deserved reputation for being the hometown of fools.

One morning in Chelm, the rabbi arrived at the synagogue to find that, during the night, someone had broken in and stolen the tzedakah box where money was collected during the week for donation to the poor. The rabbi was dismayed, and immediately called a meeting of the synagogue’s leadership to search for a solution.

All of the synagogue’s leaders were as shocked as the rabbi had been that someone would dare to steal from Chelm’s tzedakah box. What were they to do? Finally, they arrived at a brilliant solution: from now on, the tzedakah box would be hung from a chain on the synagogue’s ceiling, far too high overhead for anyone to steal it!

After a few weeks, the wise rabbi of Chelm came to another disheartening realization. Hung so high above everyone’s heads, no one was able to reach the tzedakah box anymore in order to deposit their donations! Again, the council of synagogue elders convened to try to come up with a wise solution to the problem. At last, the rabbi himself came up with the answer.

“I’ve got it!” he cried. “We’ll put up a very tall ladder, leading up to the tzedakah box on the ceiling. And we’ll put a sign on the ladder reading: ‘This ladder is to be used only for giving, not for taking!’”

The story about Chelm’s tzedakah box is silly, but a serious lesson can be found in it as well: What our synagogues give is as important as what they receive.

The message for us young adults is clear as we begin to form relationships with our own synagogues and communities of friends. Giving and receiving always happen in the same place. Giving of our time, our energy, and our selves to our congregational home means that every time we return, we will be able to make a “withdrawal” from the community we find here. Making the effort to build a home at Temple will mean that this congregation will be a source of comfort and support and friendship for us.

Anyone who has volunteered time or made financial donations to a nonprofit organization is accustomed to being asked to think about what we can give to the institution. Instead, this year, I’d like for you to think about what you can get from your membership at Temple Emanu-El. Many of us may not be used to thinking about a synagogue as our “home,” as a primary source of community and support. But I urge you to try seeing it that way this year – and I can assure you that as you put more of yourself into it, much more will be available for you to draw out from it. This synagogue – any synagogue – unlike Chelm’s tzedakah box, can be a resource that continues to give and give and give.

Thank you for making this place your home.

L’Shalom,
Rabbi Oren J. Hayon