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- Torah and Jewish Thought
- Emuna - Jewish Thought
- The Resurrection of the Dead and World to Come
Question
My question is , does accepting free money from the Government, in regards to making Aliyah, or any benefits at all, reduce my portion in the world to come? and also does accepting tzedakah in general, when I have no money, reduce my portion, if I dont actually need the tzedakah because my environment is taken care of? or should I accept it from an individual to allow them to do a mitzvah, and so too, with the government, what am I meant to do? I dont want my heavenly portion to be reduced by accepting Kesef. please advice me well
Answer
ב"ה
Shalom,
Your question is so sincere, I pray that I am worthy of answering it. I wish everyone should have such considerations when performing a mitzva.
I don't know what exactly the government offers these days when people make aliya, but whatever it is, it is not given as "Sechar Mitzva"= as reward for a mitzva, it is given to make your absorption in Israel easier. Therefore, in my humble opinion, I don't think receiving reductions in taxes or other benefits takes away from your portion in Olam Haba. Especially since these benefits assist in the "zerizut" = swiftness of doing the mitzva.
I thought the following example may make this a bit clearer. Imagine you want to drive to minyan in the morning. One way the road is clear but another way there is traffic. Should you go the way there is traffic, just because there is anguish along the way waiting in traffic and get reward for the "Tza'ar = anguish your experienced along the way? I think the choice is simple. You go the quick way and get the reward of "zerizut".
In any case, each person may encounter hardships which you overcome for which you get reward.
Please forgive me, but I didn't completely understand your question about Tzedakka. If a person doesn’t have the money , he may take it and if not he should not.
In any case, have an easy "Aliya"
יְבָרֶכְךָ ה' מִצִּיּוֹן וּרְאֵה בְּטוּב יְרוּשָׁלִָם כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ.וּרְאֵה בָנִים לְבָנֶיךָ שָׁלוֹם עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל:
All the best

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