One of the most famous parts of the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur davening is when we say “Teshuvah (repentance), Tefillah (prayer) and Tzedakah (charity), will remove the evil decree.”

Certainly Teshuvah and Tefillah belong here, but why is Tzedakah included among the three?  One answer is because when we give tzedakah – money that we worked hard for – we are essentially giving over ourselves, our time and our lives for someone else.  So just like we give our lives to someone else, we ask Hashem to give us life this year.

We all give tzedakah, but here are some suggestions that perhaps you might want to implement.

I was recently very inspired by a D’var Torah I read by R’ Avigdor Miller zt”l which can be found here (https://torasavigdor.org/parshas-shoftim-2-the-third-witness/).  I highly recommend you read it, but the conclusion was that when you join in with a group who is performing a mitzvah, you get rewarded with the group, even if you joined late or had just a small part of it.  This applies even when they don’t need your help.  By you joining, it shows that you want to associate with those people who are doing a mitzvah and therefore, you get the full credit.

For instance, maybe you are not currently learning in yeshiva, but you want to be a part of their learning.  Therefore, let’s make a small donation, maybe $18 each week, to a different yeshiva.   Start now and by this time, next year, you will already have joined in the mitzvah and merit of over 50 yeshivas!    There are thousands of yeshivas that need our money.  Make a list, start donating each week and let’s join them in this incredible mitzvah of Talmud Torah.  What an opportunity!

Another idea that I try to post every year before Rosh Hashana is to give to “Keren Hashana” a fund that the Lubvaticher Rebbe established many years ago,  that will disburse your tzedaka (charity) to worthy causes, daily, giving you the benefit of this mitzvah every day of the year!

You can give as little as 10 cents per day ($35.50 for the year) for you and each of your family members to ensure that you and your family don’t go a day without giving tzedaka.

Right now, before Rosh Hashana is the perfect time to set it up.  You can easily do it online by using this link https://lubavitch.com/donate.html?o=2026760&src=side If you wish, you can then email hq@lubavitch.com to send the names of your family members so that it is clear that the charity is coming from each member of your family.   If you prefer to call them, the phone number is 718 774-4000.

Don’t wait!  Now is the time to take care of this.

Lastly, consider the following:

“Causing others to give tzedaka is greater than giving tzedaka yourself” (Bava Basra 9).   Therefore, pass this on!  By forwarding this to friends and family, who knows how many people will sign up for this great mitzvah and how much of an effect it will have on your neshama going into Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.