That same night his brother could not sleep. "I am surrounded by family who can help provide a livelihood now and in the future. My brother has nothing and is all alone. Let me take some of my food and provide for him, for who knows when he will be in need and will be too proud to ask." So he bundled up his good and brought them to the top of the hill. That night the two brothers met and, realizing what each was trying to do for the other, they embraced each other.

Jewish tradition tells us that God decided at that moment to place the Holy Temple at the top of that very mountain. To me this is a perfect story about tzedakah. Tzedakah begins the moment we decide to think about other people besides ourselves. When we think of how blessed we are and that it is our obligation to share our blessings with others, the impulse for tzedakah is born. We pray that Rodeph Sholom, shul and school, will help to foster that instinct and that we will continue to pass it on from generation to generation as one of Judaism's most important teachings.