Giving in Love: Part Eighteen: Marc Gafni

On Being Charitable and Being Choosy…

“One Second,” I say before my tourist friend can run away, “Let me tell you a story of the Great Master Zusia of Onipol.”

Zusia had a disciple who would visit him occasionally and donate funds towards his support. The disciple became very wealthy. At some point, the disciple discovered that Zusia himself had a master whom he would go visit, the Master of Mezritch. Reasoned the disciple, surely the master is greater than the student. And with that he stopped visiting and supporting Zusia, switching his allegiance to the master.

From that point on his business began to fail, getting worse and worse as time went by. Realizing this was no coincidence, he went to visit his original master Zusia. “Holy master,” he said, “Surely even you agree that your teacher from Mezritch is greater than you. So why should I not be allowed to give my support to the higher master!?”

Zusia responded with a twinkle in his eye. “You see, my son, God is our shadow. His dealings with us are but an imitation of our dealings with others. As long as you gave without judging first to see if the person was worthy or not, as long as you would support someone as undeserving as Zusia, the universe imitated you and was willing to support you without checking exactly what you deserved.

But once you became selective and began to support only those who you thought deserved it, the universe also became more selective in choosing where it sends its support.”

marc gafni
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