יִפְתַּח יְדוָד  לְךָ אֶת־אוֹצָרוֹ הַטּוֹב אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם לָתֵת מְטַר־אַרְצְךָ בְּעִתּוֹ וּלְבָרֵךְ אֵת כׇּל־מַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶךָ וְהִלְוִיתָ גּוֹיִם רַבִּים וְאַתָּה לֹא תִלְוֶה׃

One of the brachos written in our parsha is, “Hashem will open for you, His bountiful storehouse, the heavens, to provide rain for your land in its due time, and to bless all the work of your hands. You will be a creditor to many nations, but debtor to none.” (Devarim 28:12)

Chazal (Taanis 8b) explain the phrase, “‘And to bless all the work of our hands:’ And Rabbi Yitzchak said: “Rainy days are remarkable, as even small change (peruta) in one’s pocket is blessed,” as it is written, ‘ … to provide rain for your land in its due time, and to bless all the work of your hands.’” In other words, not only does Hashem bless fields with rain but Hashem also blesses a person’s money.

Zera Shimshon asks: How does rain affect money in your pocket? Money—unlike crops—does not grow or flourish with rain! What then do Chazal mean when they said, even small change (peruta) in one’s pocket is blessed?

Some mefarshim propose that the abundance of rain leads to cheaper fruits and vegetables, thereby extending the illusion of increased financial resources. Zera Shimshon, however, refutes this interpretation. He contends that if this was the underlying principle, the Torah would have no need to clarify it through an additional phrase. The increase in purchasing power resulting from an abundance of produce is a self-evident outcome, one that individuals would naturally understand.

Zera Shimshon explains by referring to a discussion in the Gemara, specifically in Mesechta Bava Basra (91b). In this Gemara, the conditions that either permit or prohibit leaving Eretz Yisroel are spelled out. Rabba bar Chana—citing Rabbi Yochanan—establishes that the primary condition that would permit one to leave Eretz Yisroel is the hardship in earning money, irrespective of the regularity in the cost of produce. There is no difference if the price of produce is very high or is normal—if it is hard to earn money, one may leave Eretz Yisroel. We learn from this that the mere availability of affordable food is not what determines if there is a famine or not; rather, the critical criterion is the difficulty in securing financial means to buy that food. When you think of this it makes a lot of sense—it makes no difference how much food is around, if a person cannot get a hold of it!

Building on this Gemara, Zera Shimshon explains what Chazal meant when they said that rain causes the money in one pocket to grow. It obviously doesn’t mean that the moisture of the rain makes the money grow. This is impossible! Rather, when Hashem bestows upon us a prosperous harvest—for it to be truly a present for us—Hashem simultaneously imbues our financial resources with blessings. In other words, the rain causes blessings in this money—but only indirectly. This dual blessing is the only way to ensure that we are adequately equipped to fully partake in the divine reward for our proper behavior.

To summarize, Rabbi Yitzchak—as written in Mesechta Taanis—says that blessings on rainy days reach even to the smallest coin in one’s pocket. Zera Shimshon, however, questions this logic. Money isn’t a living thing; how can it grow? He finds his answer in a specific Gemara from Bava Basra. The Gemara there establishes that it is permitted to leave Eretz Yisroel only when it’s hard to earn money, irrespective of crop prices.

Thus, Zera Shimshon concludes that Rabbi Yitzchak’s point isn’t that money will literally grow due to rain. This is unthinkable. Rather, he suggests that the blessing on one’s money is an indirect result of the rain nourishing the crops, allowing us to truly benefit from them.

When writing this dvar Torah, it occurred to me that apart from the primary message—that Hashem grants blessings in the most complete manner—there also lies in it an important lesson for us. To truly emulate Hashem, our acts of chesed must be executed in a manner that maximizes benefit to the recipient. The focus should be less on the act of doing chesed and more on the person who stands to benefit from our kindness.

HaRav Shimshon Nachmani—author of Zera Shimshon lived in Italy—about 300 years ago, in the time of the Or HaChaim HaKodesh. The Chida writes that he was a great mekubal and wrote many sefarim—including sefarim about “practical Kabbalah”—and asked that all of his sefarim be buried after he passes away, except for Zera Shimshon and Niflaos Shimshon on Avos. HaRav Shimshon Nachmani had one child who died in his lifetime (hence the name “Zera Shimshon”) and in the preface, he promises for people who learn his sefarim after he dies, “ … And your eyes will see children and grandchildren like the offshoots of an olive tree around your tables, wise and understanding with houses filled with all manner of good things … and wealth and honor … ”