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Sukkah Decorations

Tzedakah & chesed Children & shidduchim

A story ofRav Chaim Halberstamהרב חיים בן אריה לייבוש הלברשטאםProfile ›

The Bobover Rav once told how, on Erev Sukkos, the Divrei Chaim explained to them that there is an especially great mitzvah of tzedakah on Erev Sukkos, and that tzedakah is the most beautiful decoration a sukkah can have. The ushpiz (heavenly guest) of the first night is Avrohom Avinu, whose attribute is chesed, and so we give extra tzedakah in order to merit having Avrohom, the pillar of chesed, as a guest in our sukkah.

The Bobover went on to say that on that Erev Sukkos the Divrei Chaim had already given away all his money. Yet the Sanzer Rav felt he had not yet fulfilled the mitzvah of tzedakah to its full extent. What did he do? He noticed all the esrog merchants packing up to go home, went to them and begged them to lend him their money. “Surely you have money from selling esrogim,” he said. “Lend me some for Noy Sukkah, for decorations to light up my sukkah.” They did, and the Sanzer Rav immediately set about buying the most exquisite sukkah decorations he could think of, by distributing all that money to the poor as tzedakah.

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