One night – it was the last night of Rosh Hashanah – R. Johanan b. Zakkai dreamed that his sister's son would lose seven hundred gold florins. So he went to his sister's son and said, "My dear friends, give me some money, for there are people who are in need of alms."

And he arranged with his friends to collect money from them from time to time during the year. In this way he took from them during the year money for charity up to seven hundred gold florins, less ten (r. seventeen) florins which they had not yet given him when the year came to an end, namely, the year from the night of his dream until the following New Year.

On the eve of the Day of Atonement of the following year there came an order from the Emperor that they should immediately appear before him. They were very much alarmed, fearing that they would be heavily taxed. So they went to their uncle, R. Johanan, and asked him what to do.

R. Johanan replied, "Fear not, for you will not have to pay more than seventeen

gold florins."

Then they said to him, "How do you know?"

He replied, "I have seen it in a dream."

When they came to the Emperor, he imposed a fine of seventeen florins.

They said then to R. Johanan, "Dear uncle, since you knew that we would lose seven (r. seventeen) florins, why did you not tell us? We would have given you the entire seven hundred gold florins the first time for charity."

R. Johanan replied, "I will tell you the reason. If I had asked you to give me as much as seven hundred florins in one sum, you would not have given it willingly and it would not have been a pious deed. As I came to you from time to time asking small amounts you gave them to me with a willing heart, for unless one gives charity with a willing heart, it is not reckoned as a pious deed. On the contrary, it is considered like a sin."

Rabbi Joshua says concerning this that when a man turns away his eyes from charity and does not give alms to the poor, it is considered as if he were. worshiping idols, for concerning charity it is said in the Torah, "Beware lest there be a wicked "thought in thine heart, not to give charity (Deut. 15.9), and in the same way, wickedness is used in connection with the worship of idols, as it is said, "And there came out wicked men" (I Sam. 2.12). As the word wickedness here means that they were worshiping idols, so the word wicked used with reference to charity means that if one does not give charity, it is the same as if he worshiped idols.