Segula: Not to Give Tzedakah at Night

Segula: Not to Give Tzedakah at Night

There are two types of mazikim (harmful spirits), and we see the names of these types in Tehillim (6:2): יְֽהוָ֗ה אַל־בְּאַפְּךָ֥ תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִי וְֽאַל־בַּחֲמָתְךָ֥ תְיַסְּרֵֽנִי׃ “Adonai, do not rebuke me in Your anger, and do not chastise me in Your wrath” — (G-d, do not punish me in Your anger, and do not chastise me in Your fury). These two types of mazikim are “anger” (אף) and “wrath” (חמה), and David HaMelech asks for protection from them in this mizmor. There is a segula according to which one should preferably not give tzedakah at night. It is based on a story related in the tractate Pe'ah of the Jerusalem Talmud (chapter 8, folio 37b): “Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa would set aside tzedakah at night. Once, the head of the evil spirits began tormenting him. He said to him (Rabbi Hanina): ‘Did our Rabbi not teach in the Torah: “Do not move your fellow’s boundary marker”?’ Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa said to him: ‘Is it not written: “A gift given in secret allays anger”?’ The spirit then bent away from him and fled.” From this passage, it is clear that setting aside tzedakah at night is regarded by the evil spirits as an encroachment on their territory. Why? Because nighttime is the period when evil spirits arrange for harsh decrees to be carried out. The Arizal HaKadosh says: “Since the evening is a time of complete judgment, it is not an appropriate time to give tzedakah.” In other words, the evil spirits, having received a harsh decree against a person, are already deciding how best to carry it out, while the person disrupts everything with his tzedakah. We know that tzedakah annuls harsh decrees. We might therefore think that, on the contrary, tzedakah should be given at night. However, as I understand it, the reasoning is this: Give tzedakah during the day, and avoid unnecessary conflict with the evil spirits so that they do not torment you needlessly. However, Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa says that tzedakah given in secret (and nighttime is precisely a time when everyone is asleep and one need not worry about prying eyes) neutralizes anger. And judging by what happened next, this extinguished anger has a very concrete effect on the evil spirits: they begin to keep their distance. Why, then, does the Arizal say that it is better not to give tzedakah at night? Perhaps because we are not quite on the same level as Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa, and should not take risks. Here I would like to point out that in the Talmudic account concerning Rabbi Hanina, the subject is not giving tzedakah to the poor, but setting it aside. That is, Rabbi Hanina would open his wallet, see how much money he had available, set aside a portion of it, and designate it for the needs of the poor. What, then, does the Talmud say about directly giving money to a poor person? “If you gave a prutah (a small coin) to a poor person in the morning, and another poor person comes afterward and stands before you in the evening, give to him.” This is a quotation from chapter 3 of Avot of Rabbi Natan. Here there is an explicit directive to give tzedakah in the evening if a poor person is standing there and asking. This chapter, incidentally, concludes with the words: “And tzedakah saves from death.” We see the same thing in the account related in tractate Shabbat 156b: “Rabbi Akiva had a daughter. The Chaldeans (astrologers) told him: On the day she enters the bridal canopy, she will die. Rabbi Akiva was distressed by these words. During the day (on her wedding day), she removed a hairpin and stuck it into the wall, accidentally striking a snake in the eye. When she went to retrieve it in the morning, she saw the snake. Her father said to her: What did you do that saved you? She said to him: The previous evening, a poor man came to the door, while everyone was occupied with the meal, and no one paid attention to him, so I gave him my portion of food. Rabbi Akiva said to her: ‘You performed a mitzvah!’ Rabbi Akiva went out and explained this incident: ‘And tzedakah saves from death.’” In this story, too, the fact that the tzedakah was given in the evening is significant, and nothing terrible happened. On the contrary, the terrible event did not happen precisely because tzedakah had been given in the evening. Here, too, one might say that according to Kabbalah, tzedakah at night is undesirable because of the processes associated with the execution of harsh decrees. But Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef also addresses this question (Yabia Omer, part 9, Yoreh De'ah, siman 15): “It is also permitted, according to the Kabbalah, to give tzedakah at night, and there is no reason to be stringent in this matter.” Relying on the opinion of this sage, one may give tzedakah at night. Nevertheless, regarding setting aside tzedakah (rather than giving it) at night, one should give the matter some thought: Perhaps it is worth exercising caution and postponing this important act until morning? However, if a needy person comes in the evening and asks, there is no need to hesitate or be apprehensive—one should certainly fulfill the mitzvah of tzedakah even at that time.     (Rabbi Alexander Zvi Sypkov)