The tzedaka a person gives throughout his life precedes him in olam haba- the world to come- and will give him a highly regarded reputation. The tzedaka he gives also has a protective nature (protects him from punishment). In this week’s parsha, the Midrash speaks of three different types of tzedaka, which can be compared to gold, silver, and copper (all different materials used to build the Mishkan in order to atone for sin). When a person is happy and healthy in his life, the tzedaka he gives is comparable to gold. This type of tzedaka has the most powerful effect in Heaven. The person has no present reason for giving it; however, the donor is giving it in order to protect himself from possible future occurrences.
The second kind of tzedaka is comparable to silver. When a person gives tzedaka when he has a minor illness, his tzedeka is comparable to silver; however, this type of tzedaka is less effective since it was given in time of personal need.
Moreover, if a person is seriously ill, the value of his tzedaka is compared to copper, because he only gave tzedaka in times of true despair. Nonetheless, his tzedaka is still of worth.
In all, from this we can see how crucial it is for a person to give tzedaka, for the merit he gets in this world and the next. Rather than waiting for troublesome times to push us to give, we should all be motivated to give tzedaka all the time, even more so when Hashem gives us health and happiness.
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