וכן בכל המצות,
ובפרט מצות הצדקה, ששקולה כנגד כל המצות
Iggeret HaKodesh, Epistle 30
To return now
to the opening teaching — that whoever is accustomed to come to the synagogue,
and one day did not come, G‑d inquires after him. This does not apply only to
the communal prayer of which the Gemara speaks; rather:
וכן בכל המצות,
ובפרט מצות הצדקה, ששקולה כנגד כל המצות
The same applies to all
the commandments, and especially to the precept of charity, which is3 “balanced against all the
commandments.” Thus, if the above teaching applies to prayer, it
surely applies to charity: If a person retreats from his customary
charitability, “G‑d inquires after him.”
הגם שהיא בלי נדר,
חס ושלום
Though [one’s regular
giving] is not bound by a vow, heaven forfend, for
one should of course see to it that an accustomed mitzvah
should not become subject to the legal force of a vow,4
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