Can money atone for sin? Can zechuyos be purchased? Is money truly worthless in the Next World?
Can anything be done after death to change one’s standing in the World of Truth? If he neglected to give tzedakah, for example, can his children rectify that sin?
Can someone do a mitzvah and transfer its reward to another? Can a child hire someone else to say Kaddish for his parent? Why did Rabbi Akiva wait for the wicked man’s son to grow up and say Kaddish instead of arranging for someone else to say it in his place?
Chazal speak of “acquiring an advocate.” How is buying a mitzvah different from creating one? Could someone “buy” a fast, Torah study, or a place in the World to Come? Why does a donor who supports a Torah scholar receive reward without having “bought” his Torah?
What can the living do for the dead? Why is Yom Kippur the time for giving tzedakah to elevate the souls of the departed?
In our Rosh Hashana article, we touched upon the question how and if it is at all possible to help the souls of the deceased. This week, we will explore this topic further and explain why Yom Kippur is the appropriate time for this form of chessed.
Tzedakah = Atonement
In Sefer Mishlei, Shlomo Hamelech says (10:2): “Treasures of wickedness will not avail, but tzedakah saves from death.” No money in the world can atone for the wicked or save him from paying for his misdeeds, but “tzedakah saves from death.” Apparently, there is a way to use money to save oneself from punishment: by giving it to tzedakah.
Shlomo Hamelech repeats the idea elsewhere in slightly different words (Mishlei 11:4): “Wealth will not avail on the day of wrath, but tzedakah saves from death.”
By contrasting the two opposites, Shlomo Hamelech teaches us this important lesson: money alone cannot save a person or purchase atonement, yet atonement and salvation from death can be attained through the mitzva of tzedakah.
This leaves us with the question: how helpful is money? When can it help, and when not?
Atoning for The Deceased
Chazal instituted that in the first year after the passing of a parent or rebbe, his child or student say “May I be the atonement for his resting place” upon his every mention. In this statement the child or student takes upon himself the suffering that the soul of his parent or rebbe deserved, and spares him punishment in the World of Truth.
From this halacha, the Shibolei Haleket (239) proves that pidyon nefesh, tefillah, and Yizkor can benefit the departed: if a son or talmid’s statement can make a difference, all the more so are tefillos recited in his merit.
While this teaching seems clear, it leaves us with another question: are aveiros, mitzvos, and their consequences really something that can be traded? Can one simply say, “I take so-and-so’s punishment upon myself” in order to make real change? How powerful are words?
Selling the Zechus
The Maharam Alshaker (101) who lived approximately four hundred years ago, wrote about a custom people had in his day: they would sell or purchase the zechus of certain mitzvos from one another. The Maharam Alshakar was asked whether such a transaction was actually effective. Can the buyer really acquire the reward of the mitzvah? And does the seller lose his reward by selling it?
The Maharam Alshakar answers that this question was addressed in Rav Hai Gaon’s responsum, who had been asked exactly this question. His answer was written so clearly that there was nothing to add to it.
In Rav Hai Gaon’s days, people understood the merit of fasting Mondays and Thursdays. On the other hand, fasting is hard, and they wanted to eat every day. To acquire the merit, one would approach another Jew and offer to pay him to fast every Monday and Thursday for a full year. One might even go further and pay someone retroactively for the merit of having fasted Mondays and Thursdays for a year.
There was also another similar phenomenon in which one would buy another’s merit of Torah study if he could not, or did not want to learn Torah himself.
Untradable Reward
Rav Hai Gaon explains that people who make these transactions lack basic understanding of what reward in Olam Haba actually is.
Olam Haba is not a physical reward that can be traded or transferred from one to another. Olam Haba is a process through which the neshamah is transformed. When one forgoes his desires, conquers his yetzer hara, overcomes temptation, and does Hashem’s Will, he effects real changes in his neshamah.
The changes bring him praise and honor in Olam Haba. His neshamah purified and refined, allowing him to enjoy the Shechina’s radiance. The more refined and sanctified his neshamah becomes, the greater its ability to experience that pleasure. The honor and distinction it receives, are likewise commensurate with the effort and hardship he endured for Hashem’s sake. These are real changes that cannot be bought and sold.
In the World of Truth, a person cannot be praised for mitzvos performed by someone else. Purchasing another’s mitzvos without doing them himself effects no changes to the neshamah. His neshamah remains in its previous state and has not acquired the capacity to enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah.
This is the concept expressed in Yechezkel’s prophecy (18:20–23): “The soul that sins shall die. A son shall not bear the sin of his father, and a father shall not bear the sin of his son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the wicked person turns away from all the sins that he committed, observes all My statutes, and does justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he committed shall be remembered against him; through the righteousness that he has done he shall live. Do I desire the death of the wicked, says Hashem, rather than that he return from his ways and live?”
In the eternal world, “the soul that sins shall die.” A sinful person’s soul is lifeless, because there, only the righteous have vitality. Those who lived wickedly are dead.
Hashem, however, is Ba’al HaRachamim. He is forever merciful, and wants all of Klal Yisrael to merit eternal life. Therefore, Hashem created another reality, a place between life and death. This place is called Teshuvah. One who merits doing teshuvah erases the evils of his past and earns eternal life in the World of Truth.
Those are the only ways to earn eternal reward, and no other form of reward or punishment can be bought or sold. Just as one cannot be punished for another’s aveiros, even those of his father or son (unless he bears direct or indirect responsibility for them), neither can he acquire eternal life through someone else’s mitzvos. The buyer, therefore, gains nothing from the money he shelled out, and the foolish seller loses the reward for his fasts by selling it and demonstrating that his fasting was merely a business venture. And even more so, he may even deserve punishment for having degraded Hashem’s honor by turning a mitzva into commercial merchandise.
Effective Spiritual Transactions
On the other hand, Rav Hai Gaon writes that there is a way to acquire tremendous zechuyos with money: when the money is spent for mitzvos. By enabling Torah learning – financing printing of seforim or supporting Torah learners, or as tzedakah to support the poor, one can acquire zechuyos that earn him a place in the World to Come.
So, what is the difference? Why can’t one buy merit, while he can use support another’s mitzvos? The difference here is crucial. One does not buy the zechuyos. He creates them.
With money one does not buy the mitzva of talmud Torah. Instead, he becomes a partner in the learning of another. The talmid chacham devotes his time to Torah, and the donor underwrites all financial needs. Through his support, the donor frees up the talmid chacham’s time so he can learn without worry.
Instead of buying the merit of Torah from the talmid chacham, the doner and scholar become partners in Torah. Each contributed his own part, and together they learn Torah.
Similarly, one cannot pay the poor for their zechuyos. But one can support them and provide for their needs, and through fulfilling the mitzvah of tzedakah be saved from death (both physical and spiritual).
The wealthy man does not receive reward for another’s mitzvos or Torah. He receives reward for the mitzvos he created himself. His neshoma is uplifted when he overcomes his natural inclination to keep his money safely tucked deep inside his own pocket. His neshamah becomes refined when he rejects the approach that looks down upon lomdei Torah. He becomes sanctified by valuing those who learn Torah and by putting his money where it is really important.
Then, after 120, he will rightfully sit in his exalted place in Gan Eden, and his neshamah will be able to enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah because of the Torah and mitzvos he created: the mitzvah of tzedakah, the mitzvah of supporting Torah, the mitzva of choosing right and fighting his yetzer hara.
Finance a Defense Attorney
Often, we see advertisements proclaiming, “Buy yourself a defender for the Yom Hadin!” or “Buy zechuyos with your money!”
Clever copywriting can be helpful in convincing the yetzer hara to finance a mitzva. Similar terms are even used by Chazal. But ultimately, the idea is not the full truth. The truth would be: “Use your money to generate zechuyos! A wise businessman uses his money to create defense attorneys, zechuyos, and an Olam Haba for himself.”
Hiring Someone to Say Kaddish
Can Kaddish after the deceased be recited by a non-relative? The Ben Ish Chai (Torah Lishmah 516) discusses this question, and proves from the story in the Gemara (see last week’s article) that it is impossible: Rabbi Akiva could not say Kaddish himself for the suffering neshamah he encountered. Instead, he had to wait until the man’s son grew older, teach him to say Kaddish and Barchu, and only then was the punishment of the wicked man eased.
On the other hand, the Ben Ish Chai notes that the Magen Avraham (132:2) writes that if a son is unable to say Kaddish himself due to circumstances beyond his control, he may hire someone else to say Kaddish in his place. Apparently, even the Kaddish of a non-relative can help.
If so, why didn’t Rabbi Akiva simply say Kaddish himself? The Ben Ish Chai answers that it works only when the son is the one who pays the other person. In that case, the Kaddish is considered as though the son himself had said it.
In the same responsum (Torah Lishmah 516), the Ben Ish Chai discusses another case involving a dispute that arose after a man died without leaving any children.
His nephew inherited the estate, and the widow demanded that, as was customary, part of the estate be used to support two poor talmidei chachamim who would learn Torah and say Kaddish for the benefit of her late husband’s neshamah. She also demanded that the heir purchase Maftir every Shabbos, make an azkarah for her husband, and donate money to tzedakah, in accordance with the accepted custom in Baghdad.
The nephew refused, arguing that none of this would benefit the deceased. Whatever the man had accomplished during his lifetime was his; whatever he had failed to do could not be acquired for him afterward. The widow therefore had no right to dictate how he should distribute tzedakah from property that now belonged to him. In his view, the custom of donating money for the benefit of a departed neshamah was simple foolishness, of which he wanted no part.
The Ben Ish Chai answered that, in fact, both were correct. The heir was correct that “the primary zechus a person receives from mitzvos and tzedakah comes from what he himself does during his lifetime,” not from what others do for his neshamah after his death.
However, the widow was also correct. The Baghdadi custom, like all other communities, is certainly not a foolish one. There is indeed benefit, although on a lower level, in what others do for another’s merit, and certainly, when a neshamah is suffering and needs an aliyah, it is appropriate to do everything possible to help it. The widow was therefore correct in demanding that the estate be used in accordance with the accepted community custom.
Levels of Tzedakah
The Chida (Pnei David 28) describes three levels among those who give tzedakah: zahav, kesef, and nechoshes — gold, silver, and copper.
Zahav is an acronym for “zeh hanosen bari” — “one who gives while healthy.” A person in the prime of his life who gives voluntarily, of his own initiative and without being forced by his circumstances, gives the loftiest form of tzedakah.
Kesef is an acronym for “sakanah pizer” — “in danger, he distributed.” A person finds himself in danger and begins distributing his money. Illness or the threat of death reminds him that “tzedakah saves from death.” This is still an extremely high level, but it is lower than the first.
Nechoshes is an acronym for “nesinas choleh she’amar tenu” — “the gift of a sick person who said, ‘give.’” In his final moments, one suddenly remembers that within a short time nothing will help him except tzedakah, and he therefore writes in his will that a certain amount should be given to tzedakah.
Since this tzedakah is actually distributed only after his death, although he himself initiated it in his lifetime, it is on a lower level. Nevertheless, it still brings considerable benefit to the departed.
The fourth level — in which the donation made for the benefit of the neshamah, after his death, without any initiative from the deceased -- is an even lower level. The Ben Ish Chai here teaches that even this mitzva can have an effect, although it is considerably weaker than the previous levels.
This explains the story of the wicked man who complained to Rabbi Akiva. Apparently, he possessed some zechus through which he merited appearing to Rabbi Akiva. Yet his neshamah could not be rectified unless his own son said Kaddish. Rabbi Akiva could not help him himself.
Others, however, who were not so bad as him, might benefit from even this lower level of tzedaka.
Donating Tzedakah for All Neshamos of Klal Yisrael
Sefer Chassidim (170) relates that a certain chassid would donate tzedakah to benefit the neshamos of all of his relatives. He then decided to give tzedakah for the rest of the neshamos of all those who had passed away from Klal Yisrael. The chassid explained this by saying that he benefits from the deceased — as the Zohar (Acharei Mos 71a) teaches that the world exists only in the merit of the dead. Therefore, the chassid decided it would be wrong for him to be ungrateful, and he must do something in their merit.
The Sefer Chassidim here teaches us that this chassid was not simply doing a favor out of kindness and compassion for random neshamos with whom he had no connection. Only after identifying the connection can he donate tzedakah in their merit. After understanding that he was living in their merit, he felt it was only proper for him to do something for their souls.
Without a connection to the departed neshamah, an act performed for its aliyah does not have the power to achieve the same result.
Similarly, the poskim (Rema 376:4, among others) write that the final Kaddish in every prayer (among other things) is recited for all the deceased from Klal Yisrael.
Souls That Can Be Helped, and Souls That Cannot
Sefer Chassidim (170) cites several contradicting sources: some indicate that a neshama can be elevated, while others show it is impossible. He reconciles the contradiction by explaining that it depends on who the deceased was.
One who deserves Olam Haba, yet also committed aveiros, has a place in the Eternal World, but cannot access because of his sins and suffers punishment. This person can benefit from mitzvos done for his neshamah, as they can help remove the aveirah. Then his way will be opened, allowing him to receive what he himself earned through his own zechuyos.
However, one who did not earn any place at all, no mitzva performed by others can give him something that he never did during his lifetime
Based on this principle, Sefer Chassidim (611) explains how Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yochanan were able to extract Elisha ben Avuyah from Gehinnom and bring him into Gan Eden, despite the fact that he had abandoned the Torah. Before that point, he had been a holy Tanna. They were therefore able to remove the barrier created by his aveiros that prevented him from enjoying the Olam Haba he had already earned.
Yom Kippur
The Rokeach (Hilchos Yom Hakippurim 217) records the custom to pledge tzedakah for the benefit of the neshamos of the departed specifically on Yom Kippur, more so than on any other Yom Tov. He finds a beautiful allusion to this in the juxtaposition of two psukim in the Torah. Parashas Tetzaveh ends with the pasuk (Shemos 30:10), “Aharon shall make atonement upon its horns once a year, with the blood of the chatos of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations.” Immediately afterward, Parashas Ki Sisa begins (30:12), “Each man shall give an atonement for his soul to Hashem.”
The position of these psukim alludes to a special time, “once a year,” when one can give a kofer nefesh, an atonement for the soul, even “throughout your generations” — for the generations that are no longer living. That once-a-year opportunity is when Aharon Hakohen makes the atonement on Yom Kippur. This concept is also mentioned in Mateh Moshe (Yom Kippur 874).
This statement again raises our original question: How can tzedakah given by the living benefit the neshamah of someone who can no longer do mitzvos himself?
The Rokeach answers that the merit depends on the deceased’s wishes in his lifetime. A miser who did not want to give tzedakah while he was alive cannot benefit from tzedakah that others give on his behalf after his death. But one who genuinely wanted to give, but simply lacked the means for it (perhaps because he was poor and did not have money), when others give tzedakah for his neshamah, they give physical expression to his good intentions. Then, the tzedakah of the living joins, so to speak, with the deceased’s will, and effect an aliyah to his neshamah.
And why is this specifically on Yom Kippur? On Yom Hadin, Hashem judges everything one did – not only his visible actions, but also those desires that lay hidden deep within his heart, even those intentions that were never translated into actions. Then, when the deceased’s true wishes are revealed – that he would have given tzedakah had he possessed the means for it, the tzedakah given by the living join with his true desire, and create merit for his soul.
The Mishnah Berurah (621:19) rules that the departed also merit kappra on Yom Kippur when tzedakah is pledged on their behalf. He explains that if the deceased was poor but pure of heart, and wanted to give but lacked the means to do so, his good intention can now be made into reality through the tzedakah given on his behalf.
However, if the deceased would never have given tzedakah in his lifetime, no tzedakah given by others can create a zechus for him. Nevertheless, if such a person did teshuvah during his final moments, it is possible to act for the benefit of his neshamah. There is also another exception: when a son gives on behalf of his father, his tzedakah has a unique power to benefit his father even if the father was wicked and did not do teshuvah.
Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld (Toras Chaim 86) offers an additional explanation why this is done specifically on Yom Kippur. On this day, the Gates of Atonement are opened for the living. When there is atonement for the living the departed can join them, even if they themselves cannot create that zechus.
Wishing all of Am Yisroel a Gmar Chasima Tova. May we merit a kapparah for ourselves and the neshamos of our departed loved ones and all of Klal Yisrael. And may we make the most of the precious opportunity we still have: to create our own zechuyos through Torah, mitzvos, tzedakah, and teshuvah.
