Tzedakah  saves from death — but what if one was not giving tzedakah?

T

he wedding took off with all the pomp and circumstance you might expect from prestigious and wealthy families celebrating the joyous marriage of their children. Food was piled high and the band played merrily as guests milled about waiting for the chuppah, enjoying the beautiful décor and flowers.

And then came time for the chuppah. A hushed silence fell as everyone watched the chassan and kallah underneath the beautifully decorated canopy. As rabbanim were called up to recite the brachos, a tall, disheveled figure dressed in black pushed his way through the crowd. His eyes were fixed on the chassan and kallah. It was the same piercing stare he had directed toward them just a short while earlier.

As the brachos were recited loudly and joyously, the beggar’s own voice pierced through the room.

“I have come to take!”

The chassan slumped forward, collapsing onto the floor. There was nothing anyone could do. He was no longer among the living.