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Only this, I have found, is a real good: that one should eat and drink and get pleasure with all the gains one makes under the sun, during the numbered days of life that God has given one; for that is one’s portion. Also, whenever one is given riches and property by God, and is also permitted by God to enjoy them and to take one’s portion and get pleasure from one’s gains - that is a gift of God. For [such a person] will not brood much over the days of their life, because God keeps them busy enjoying themselves. יז) הִנֵּה אֲשֶׁר רָאִיתִי אָנִי טוֹב אֲשֶׁר יָפֶה לֶאֱכוֹל וְלִשְׁתּוֹת וְלִרְאוֹת טוֹבָה בְּכָל עֲמָלוֹ שֶׁיַּעֲמֹל תַּחַת הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ מִסְפַּר יְמֵי חיו חַיָּיו אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לוֹ הָאֱלֹהִים כִּי הוּא חֶלְקוֹ:
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Honor the Lord with your wealth, and from the first of all your produce. כַּבֵּד אֶת יְקֹוָק מֵהוֹנֶךָ וּמֵרֵאשִׁית כָּל תְּבוּאָתֶךָ
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To set apart one day a week for freedom, a day on which we would not use the instruments which have been so easily turned into weapons of destruction, a day for being with ourselves, a day of detachment from the vulgar, of independence of external obligations, a day on which we stop worshipping the idols of technical civilization, a day on which we use no money…is there any institution that holds out a greater hope for man’s progress than the Sabbath?
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Being seen as a ba’al tsedakah (a “master of righteousness”) or a “giver” in the Jewish community sometimes puts one into a difficult position. There are hundreds of causes, a great many of them worthwhile, and they all seem to pursue the same givers. To divide our ability to give by all the many causes that approach us can make each gift too small to be significant, while to give to one and ignore all the others seems somewhat heartless. It was for this reason, to avoid excessive competition among causes, that Jewish federations were first established.
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To my son: Money is only a goal and not an end in itself. Your grandfather taught me that a man should earn his money till the age of forty, enjoy it till fifty and then give it away, that a man who dies rich is a failure as a human being. I say this because I know that your abilities will make you a wealthy man materially. But my real desire is that you be rich in heart and soul.
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In relation to the obligation to pay the costs of saving the life of a sick person who is in danger of dying: From the straightforward reading of Sanhedrin 73a , we see that one is obligated to do everything to save him, and if not, one transgresses the negative commandment: “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.” (According to my humble opinion, it’s clear that the sick person is obligated afterwards to repay the expenses.) And if we say that the commandment is directed at action, and therefore one is not under an obligation to spend all his money, nevertheless 10 or 20% of his בענין החיוב לממן את ההוצאות להצלת חייו של חולה מסוכן מפשטות הגמרא בסנהדרין ע"ג ע"א רואים דחייב לעשות הכל להצלתו ואם לאו הוא עובר בלאו של לא תעמוד על דם רעך (לענ"ד פשוט שהחולה עצמו שפיר חייב אח"כ לפרוע לו), ואם נאמר דעל לאו שחיובו מעשה ליכא חיוב לבזבז כל ממונו, מ"מ מעשר או חומש מיהא חייב, ובפרט דמסתבר יותר שלאו זה הרבה יותר חמור ושפיר חייב לבזבז כל ממונו. אך לצערנו נתקלים בזה תמיד ולא עושים כך, ושמעתי שהגאון ר' ישראל מסאלאנט זצ"ל הסתפק הרבה בענין זה.
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So far as we feel sympathy, we feel we are not accomplices to what caused the suffering. Our sympathy proclaims our innocence as well as our impotence. To that extent, it can be (for all our good intentions) an impertinent — if not an inappropriate — response.
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One who trusts God is not hampered in his trust by great wealth because he does not rely on it. He sees it as a reserve he has been commanded to make use of under certain specific and temporary circumstances. He does not become arrogant if he remains wealthy, he never reminds anyone he gave money to what he did for him and he never asks compliment for his gratitude. Instead he thanks his Creator for having made him an agent to His kindness.
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A rich man used to donate money to the community’s tzedakah fund and ask the administrator to distribute it to the poor. Now this rich man had an impoverished brother; in fact, all of his relatives were destitute. The rabbi told the rich man, “The money you dole out to the poor through the tzedakah fund is not tzedakah. Rather, it causes tze’akah, sobbing by your relatives. It is far better that you give these funds to your needy brother and penniless relatives.”
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If a poor person comes and asks according to his or her need and the giver cannot afford to give, the giver should give according to his ability. And how much is that? The greatest way to fulfill this commandment is to give up to one fifth of your wealth. The average way to fulfill this commandment is to give 10% of your wealth. Less than this is considered an evil eye. One should never give less than 1/3 of a shekel in a year, and anyone who gives less than this has not fulfilled the commandment. בא העני ושאל די מחסורו ואין יד הנותן משגת נותן לו כפי השגת ידו וכמה עד חמישית נכסיו מצוה מן המובחר, ואחד מעשרה בנכסיו בינוני, פחות מכאן עין רעה, ולעולם לא ימנע עצמו משלישית השקל בשנה, וכל הנותן פחות מזה לא קיים מצוה, ואפילו עני המתפרנס מן הצדקה חייב ליתן צדקה לאחר. 
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