The special reading for this Shabbat (Deut. 15:9-16:17) concludes by telling us that one should not appear before God during the holiday with empty hands, “but each with his own gift.”
Not appearing empty handed is symbolic of a greater truth – there is no person who does not have a gift to give. One of the explanations for Jewish wedding ceremonies including a ring is that one cannot be married to another without giving a gift. Love itself is a gift, and the ring is the physical instantiation of one’s love. On Purim, we are mandated to give gifts, and every individual is thought capable of giving. Even though Tzedakah is not, strictly speaking, a ‘gift,’ in Jewish law instructs one who receives tzedakah to give some portion to another who is less fortunate. There is none so poor that they cannot give.
To offer a gift is a statement of gratitude for abundance – I have enough that I can give to another. It is also a statement of relationship: we give gifts to connect to others for whom we care. As Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote: “To give is to affirm the worth of the other.” And more cosmically, the Maggid of Mezeritch declared that, “The act of giving draws down Divine blessing.”
Consider the place of this idea at the Seder. Matzah, the bread of affliction, becomes the symbol of freedom when we say, “Let all who are hungry come and eat.” The act of giving transforms pain into joy. Through the years, I have counseled people who feel down and depressed to volunteer at a soup kitchen. Almost invariably, the act of giving lifts the spirits of the giver even more than the recipient.
We live in a time when acquisition is the ideal. Many miss the spiritual lift that comes from being the benefactor to another. When the Torah advises us not to appear before God empty handed, it is not because God is in need of a gift, but because we are in need of giving. Giving to another curbs animosity, stirs the spirit, and creates connections. The Torah directs us to greet one another with full hands and open hearts.
