Comentario sobre Pirkei Avot 5:13

FOUR TYPES OF PEOPLE WHO GIVE TZEDAKAH. This mishna is taught here because the previous mishna was also discussing stipends for students, as Rav writes there—Midrash Shmuel. Maharal writes in Derech Chaim that this mishna should have come after mishna 10, “what’s mine is mine, etc.”, but the mishna of “quick to learn, etc.” is more similar to mishna 10 because they both say “his gain is offset by his loss, etc.”²²⁸This does not explain why that mishna is mishna 12, and a different mishna is mishna 11; presumably, our mishna should have been mishna 11, mishna 12 should be mishna 12, and mishna 11 should be mishna 13. See Derech Chaim on mishna 11 for a full treatment of the issue.

There are four temperaments, etc.: One who wishes to give, but [that] others not give: He wants the good and the praise for himself and his want is not for the benefit of the creatures.

Observe how he called one with [so] much mercy that he does not suffice that he alone should have mercy, [but only] that others should also have mercy, a pious man. And he called a cruel one, evil.

And "he has an evil eye regarding himself" because he has brazenness of the heart. And it is not similar to "he has an evil eye regarding others" - Rashi. But rather it is to say, it is like the "evil eye" in Mishnah 19, [of the one] who does not suffice with what is his and covets that which is fitting for the poor person. And there is an objection: If so, he is an evildoer, as he transgresses against "do not harden your heart." And it is possible that here we are speaking about the [case] that there is no lack to the poor person and it comes out that he does not harden his heart from giving to the poor person what he lacks. And if [the poor person] did not have someone to give to him, he would have given. And his desire is to give when he finds a poor person who has no givers; and nonetheless, this is brazenness of heart. And now it comes out well that "[to] give and [that] others give -- [that's a] pious person"; as there is an objection that such is the temperament of every man. But rather here it is concerning a poor person who has what he needs, through the giving of one of them. But he wants that he give and [also that others] give - so as to fill his requirements with plenty. It is fitting that such a person be called a pious person. So does it appear to me.

There are four temperaments among givers of charity: meaning to say in the giving of charity, and not literally among givers of charity. As behold, there is among them the one who does not give. And so [too] in the adjacent [mishnah], "among those who attend the House of Study," is in the going to the House of Study.

There are four types of charity givers. He who wishes to give, but that others should not give: his eye is evil to that which belongs to others; He who wishes that others should give, but that he himself should not give: his eye is evil towards that which is his own; He who desires that he himself should give, and that others should give: he is a pious man; He who desires that he himself should not give and that others too should not give: he is a wicked man. This mishnah is straightforward and not difficult to understand. However, a few notes can be made. First of all, the “evil eye” is one that begrudges and does not want to give charity to the poor. The mishnah is not only concerned with whether or not a person gives charity but whether or not he encourages others to give charity. The truly pious person gives of himself and encourages others to do the same. The type of person who wants to give but does not want others to give is probably a familiar figure. He wants to give not because giving is the correct thing to do, but because of the honor he will accrue from being known as generous. Others giving more than him eclipses his honor and hence he begrudges their generosity. He is not looking out for the ultimate welfare of the poor who really need the charity. One who does not want to give and also does not want others to give, is probably the most wicked type of person we have yet encountered in this series of mishnayoth. Despite the fact that he does not benefit from others’ generosity, his cruelty towards the poor and his desire to see them suffer, makes him begrudge even others’ generosity. It is also possible that he does not want others to give so that they should not be seen as more generous than him. His greediness and pursuit of honor at the cost of the welfare of the needy make him an evil and perhaps even dangerous figure.

HE HAS AN EVIL EYE FOR OTHERS’ THINGS. Rav: because he knows that giving tzedakah brings wealth to those who do so and he does not wish for them to become wealthy. So also Rashi, who adds: and “he has an evil eye for his own things” means that he has a toughness of heart; the term does not mean the same thing as it does in the phrase “he has an evil eye for others’ things.” That is, in the second case it means the same thing as the “evil eye” of mishna 19, because he is not content with what he has and covets what should go to the poor. The difficulty with this explanation is that if so, he transgresses the prohibition of “do not harden your heart” (Deuteronomy 15:7).
But perhaps our mishna is discussing a poor person who really is not lacking, and so one who does not give to him is not “heardening his heart” and not giving the poor person what he needs. If there were nobody to provide him with his needs he would give, and his desire is to give to a poor person that has nobody else giving to him. Even so, this is a toughness of heart.
According to this, we can understand why one who desires that he and others give is called a “pious person”. For there are those who object that this is the way of all people, to give and to desire that others give. But in our case the poor person would have what he needs whether others give but not he himself or he himself but not others. And yet, he both wishes to give himself and wishes for others to give, in order to provide the poor person with what he needs in abundance. Such a person is properly called pious.

[One who wishes that] others give, and he [himself] not give as he is stingy.

he has an evil eye with respect to others: As it is known that [giving] charity makes one wealthy and he does not want others to get wealthy. Another explanation: There [exists] one who is concerned about the money of his relatives more than about his own money. And even though he gives, he does not want his relatives to give, so that they not lose their money. And [this explanation makes] "he has an evil eye with respect to others" similar to "he has an evil eye with respect to himself" at the end [of this part of the mishnah].

[One who wishes to] give and [that] others give: And this is what King Shlomo, peace be upon him, stated (Proverbs 11:25), "A generous soul" which is one that gives charity with a good eye "will prosper," but "one who benefits others" is greater, as he is one who benefits others and teaches them that they should give charity - as he wants to "give and that others give" - and this is [the meaning of the end of the verse,] "shall also be sated." And so [too] did Yishayahu state (Isaiah 32:8), "But the generous advises generosity and he stands upon generosity"; meaning to say, he advises himself to give, but he also stands on generosity - on the generosity of others who he tells to do like himself.