3913 —נתינת צדקה בכל יום ולא בבת אחת

B"H, the first day of Rosh Chodesh Kislev, 5716

Brooklyn.

Blessing and greetings!

In reply to your letter of 11/8 with the enclosure, in which you also write that Mrs. ... told you that, as for putting something into a tzedakah box every day, she does not know whether she will be able to carry it out.

You should explain to her that what is meant is not that she should give more than she is able, but that what she gives, instead of giving it all at once, she should give in small amounts every day. For although for the tzedakah fund it makes no difference whether she gives at once or gives it in several installments, for the person who gives the tzedakah there is indeed a great difference, because one must accustom oneself to give tzedakah every day. Just as a person makes expenditures every day for the things that he needs and wants, so one must also make expenditures every day for the things that G‑d, blessed be He, wants and commands to be given, which is the matter of giving tzedakah. And what is even better: that through this G‑d, blessed be He, should every day hearken to the prayers and requests of the person — and to G‑d, blessed be He, one must after all come every day, and not only once in many days. And surely you will find the fitting words to explain this to her: that tzedakah — however much it may be, more or less — must be given every day (self-evidently, except for the days on which one may not handle money, Shabbos and Yom Tov). And thank you for your trouble in this.

With blessing,

In the name of the Rebbe shlita

Secretary

Publisher's notes

Printed in Likkutei Sichos, vol. 9, p. 295.