One Who Gives Charity Is Saved from Transgression

116 – One Who Gives Charity Is Saved from Transgression One who gives charity (tzedakah) is saved from transgression. For anyone who has mercy upon other beings, Heaven has mercy upon him (Shabbat 151b). And anyone who lacks understanding— it is forbidden to have mercy upon him ( Berakhot 33a). Therefore, once Heaven has mercy on him, it necessarily follows that they grant him understanding ( da'at ). And through this he is saved from coming to transgression, for no person commits a transgression unless a spirit of folly enters him ( Sotah 3a). But when he possesses understanding, he is protected from sin.