Going Public
‘From A Wealthy Roman Lady’
(Nedarim 50a)
Our daf relates that Rabbi Akiva once borrowed a large sum of money from a Roman lady of distinction to pay for the academy’s expenses. The lady wanted guarantors for the loan, so Rabbi Akiva said that heaven would be one guarantor and the sea near her house would be the other one. She agreed.
When the day of payment arrived, Rabbi Akiva was unable to return the money because he had taken ill. When the Roman lady realized that Rabbi Akiva was not coming, she went to the seashore and asked G-d, one of the guarantors, to provide the money. That very day, a spirit of madness seized the Roman Emperor’s daughter. In a fit of anger, she took a chest full of treasures out of her father’s vault and tossed it into the sea. The sea carried the chest directly to the astonished woman who had just requested the return of her loan.
When Rabbi Akiva recovered from his illness, he went to repay his debt. The Roman lady told him that the loan’s guarantors had already taken care of the matter. In fact, the worth of the treasure she had received was far greater than the sum of the loan, and she generously offered to return the difference to Rabbi Akiva. According to Rashi, she gave Rabbi Akiva gifts of very great value.
Charity Of Heathens
Elsewhere (Sanhedrin 27b), the Gemara states that a gabbai tzedakah should not accept donations from heathens to help Jews. This is codified in halacha (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 254:1). If Hashem’s people depend on other nations for support, it is a profanation of G-d’s name.
If so, though, how could Rabbi Akiva have accepted gifts from the wealthy Roman lady? How could he even accept the difference in value between the treasure she had received and the loan she had extended?
Our Sages provide an additional reason for their objection to the acceptance of charity from heathens (Bava Basra 10a-b). R. Yehuda said, citing Isaiah (56:1), that charity brings the redemption of the Jewish people closer. And R. Yehoshua pointed out that the Proverbs 14:34) – “Righteousness exalts a nation…” – refers specifically to the nation of Israel. When we give charity, we bring our own redemption closer.
Heathens, however, do not give charity to fulfill a commandment. Rather, they do so to exercise dominion over the world.
A Sign Of Esteem
An interesting answer is given in the work Lehoros Nossan, based on the words of the Taz (Yoreh De’ah ibid.), who states that if a non-Jew makes a donation for personal reasons, with no intention of fulfilling the mitzvah of charity, one may accept it, for in such an instance the reward is considerably smaller. According to this interpretation, Rabbi Akiva presumably accepted the money because he knew that the Roman lady was giving it to him out of respect and not in order to fulfill the mitzvah of tzedakah.
Darkei Shalom
Another reason may be based on the statement in the Shulchan Aruch (ad loc.) that if the heathen offering money is honorable and well known, and declining his donation may offend him, one may accept it in order to maintain peaceful relations (darkei Shalom).
A Public Charity Box
It once happened that a charity administrator in London decided to place charity boxes in several offices of the London Diamond Exchange, where many Jews are employed and do business. On the boxes it was written that the money was intended for the Rabbi Meir Ba’al HaNes charity fund, and the administrator’s intent was to afford Jews the merit of the mitzvah of tzedakah. After a while, though, it became apparent that many non-Jews had put large sums of money in the boxes as well. The surprised charity administrator saw this turnoff events as problematic and asked a rabbi what he should do.