A little boy wanted $100 so badly that he prayed for two weeks, but nothing happened. He decided to write a letter to the Almighty requesting the $100. When the postal authorities received the letter addressed to "G-d" they decided to send it to the President of the USA.
President Obama was so impressed and touched that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5 bill. Mr. Obama thought this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy.
The little boy was delighted with the $5 and sat down to write a thank-you note to G-d, which read:
"Dear G-d,
"Thank you very much for sending me the money. It's just a pity you had to send it through Washington, D.C. and, as usual, those idiots deducted $95."
***
Most Jews today mistakenly think that the word Challah means braided bread. Rather, the mitzvah of Challah appears in this week’s parsha, Shelach, as follows: “The first portion of your dough, you shall separate challah (a loaf) for a gift” (Bamidbar/Numbers 15:20). So challah actually means a loaf. And the Torah commands us to separate a loaf from the kneading bowl. This separated dough was – in Biblical times and the Temple era – gifted to the kohanim/priests. Today it is simply burned/discarded.
Why does the Torah ask us to give raw dough to the kohanim? Why not give them a ready-made product? Wouldn’t they prefer a hot loaf of bread over a raw piece of dough?
***
The truth is that gifting to the priests, the poor and the foreigners is a common concept in the Torah. When talking about tzedakah, the Torah commands us to give continually, again and again. But here the Torah adds something more. The Torah does not instruct us to bake our bread and then pick a piece to give the Kohen. Rather, “The first portion of your dough” is what is gifted.
In other words, the Torah is teaching the Jewish way of giving.
We do not take care of ourselves first and then check what is leftover in order to help the needy. Tzedakah is not meant to come from discretionary spending funds. Gifts to G-d and those He charges us with helping come first. We first give tzedakah – a set minimum – and only then do we take for ourselves.
***
But – people argue – shouldn’t I take care of myself and my family first and then see what I can afford to give?! Shouldn’t I prepare dinner (bread) for my family and then distribute the leftovers to the poor?
The reason we often have that attitude is because we view ourselves as the true owners of our hard-earned money. As such, we feel justified in using as much as we want and then being generous with the remainder.
But Judaism views it differently. The resources all belong to G-d. We are simply His agents. True, we must provide for ourselves. And that’s why –unless you are wealthy – you are obligated to give at least 10% but not more than 20% of your income to tzedakah. But that is simply the math. Here we are discussing attitude. Who gets the first bite?
By telling us to separate challah first, G-d is giving us an attitude adjustment about our income and our giving.
The poor may be receiving only 10%, but they get their cut first!
The boy, did get it right after all. Money may come through Washington. But it’s not from Washington.