Testing G-d With Charity
a scientific religious story
Author's Note: There is a biblical commandment to give 10% of one's income to tzedaka, charity. The prophet Malachi says “Test Me in this, says the Lord of Hosts."1
In this story, a modern day scientist tries to test this Divine promise.
Rabbi Cohen stood still in his laboratory as the Tzedacalculator's screens flickered. His research partner, Dr. Eli Roth, was a brilliant quantum physicist who had spent the last decade helping develop the Tzedacalculator. Like Rabbi Cohen, he'd been drawn to the intersection of science and faith, though his interest came more from statistical anomalies he'd noticed in charitable communities than religious conviction.
"You know, we'll both be jobless if this fails," Eli muttered. "The SEC and international regulatory bodies have a strict 'no biblical prophecy' policy for market crashes. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Instead of responding, Rabbi Cohen walked over to the activation switch, which was located near the bookshelves.
The lab itself was a strange mix of the spiritual and the scientific. Bookshelves packed with well-worn prayer books and other holy books stood next to others packed with technical and scientific books. The Tzedacalculator was positioned near the center. In one corner, the air had the faint scent of coffee burning in a pot, but the pot had long been replaced with a Keurig with stickers indicating it was dairy. Pieces of old electronics littered the floor.
Reaching his goal, Rabbi Cohen flipped the switch. The Tzedacalculator hummed to life, its screen showing a global web of charitable transactions and economic shifts. But it was the center of the screen that drew Rabbi Cohen's attention. There, ancient text appeared with each new calculation:
"עַשֵּׂר בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁתִּתְעַשֵּׁר"—"Tithe so that you will become wealthy."
"Primary systems engaging," Eli announced, his voice steady despite the tension. "Processing charitable transactions from... New York, London, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Jerusalem." He paused, frowning at his screen. "These are patterns I've never seen before."
“Like what?” Rabbi Cohen queried.
"Look here," Eli said, pointing to the screen. “Not only do communities with sustained charitable giving clearly show lower business failure rates during recessions, stronger local credit markets, and more stable employment, the effect compounds over time!"
Rabbi Cohen breathed, feeling deeply validated. During the 2008 financial crisis, he had observed charitable communities maintaining remarkable economic stability despite the global downturn, their mandatory tithing systems creating resilient micro-economies. He'd even submitted a paper on the topic to the Journal of Impressive Economists.
The editors had rejected the paper immediately. "Coincidence," they'd said. "Religious bias." Everyone except Eli, whose own research into quantum microfinance had resulted in similar data. But now it was undeniable.
"The double-blind controls?" Rabbi Cohen asked anxiously.
"No change." Eli's fingers flew across the keyboard. "Random sampling across different faith communities, secular populations, varying economic strata—the correlation is undeniable. Rabbi, we're actually measuring it. G-d's promise is manifesting in real economic terms. And the effect follows exactly what the Talmud promises in Taanit 9a2 - a direct correlation between charitable giving and economic growth."3
The words of Malachi suddenly blazed across the screen: "Test Me in this, says the Lord of Hosts."
Graphs on the side screens tracked emerging patterns. For example, local economies displayed enhanced resilience in high-giving regions, likely due to increased social cohesion and consumer trust during market downturns. The effect rippled through the global markets as trading sessions opened across time zones.
But something started to go wrong, and the data became less clear cut with time. It looked like the algorithms were incorporating charitable giving metrics into their trading strategies, turning acts of kindness into market signals. In fact, this pattern was becoming dangerous. Each measurement, each quantified return on charitable investment, was reducing to mere mathematical formulae, cascading through the global financial system with devastating precision.
Rabbi Cohen watched as trading algorithms began assigning precise valuations to each charitable act. Donations once made out of compassion now risked becoming cold, calculated transactions, their spiritual essence replaced by quantifiable returns.
"The markets are destabilizing," Rabbi Cohen said, gripping the edge of the table. "But it's worse than that. We're reducing faith to an algorithm. If people only give for a calculable return—what will happen to the spiritual aspect of giving?"
The Tzedacalculator vibrated and squeaked as trading algorithms across the world began responding to the strange patterns. Rabbi Cohen felt his confidence wavering—had his quest for proof undermined the very essence of charitable giving? That was their worst case scenario, and he took Eli's place at the controls, his mind racing with possible implications. "We need to document this very, very carefully," he told Eli. "The market circuit breakers will engage if volatility exceeds limits, but we need to track how the pattern propagates through different sectors."
The Tzedacalculator's screens lit up with readings from charitable acts across the world. Meanwhile, Rabbi Cohen and Eli analyzed the emerging patterns.
"The field isn't following our predictions," Eli finally murmured. "The relationship between giving and return isn't linear. Should we be worried?"
"No," Rabbi Cohen agreed, his voice quiet but hopeful. "Because we were measuring the wrong thing. The promise isn't only about direct financial return, measured in numbers. Every genuine act of giving creates more support for everyone, and that's what generates real prosperity."
"Then what have we proven?" Eli asked, gesturing at their instruments. “Charity works in quantum mechanisms, but not in standard economic constructs?”
Rabbi Cohen smiled. "We've proven that God's promise is real, just not in the way we expected. The divine multiplier isn't in the numbers alone, that's all, it's in the spiritual dimension and powers the entire—world. But we should activate our emergency protocol. ”
Together, they cautiously started transferring funds through a network of charitable foundations, creating a dampening effect on the amplification cascade. "M"I’m channeling excess liquidity through high-frequency trading firms to dampen volatility," Eli muttered, typing furiously. "Simultaneously, we’ll automate small, consistent charitable donations across diverse regions. Diversifying the impact zones should smooth the liquidity spikes and restore market balance.”
Rabbi Cohen nodded. "Diversify the foundations globally. It’s not just about money—it’s about distributing the impact evenly."
As the markets settled, headlines began flooding their phones:
WALL STREET JOURNAL: "Divine Returns? Religious Algorithm Disrupts Global Markets"
THE ECONOMIST: "The Invisible Hand Gets Religious: How Two Jewish Scientists Proved Charity's ROI"
THE NEW YORK TIMES: "Charity Disrupts Capitalism: A Rabbi's Algorithm Changes Everything"
BLOOMBERG: "Market Watch: Unprecedented Surge in Charitable Giving Crashes Trading Systems"
TECHCRUNCH: "This MIT Rabbi's Startup Just Quantified God's Promise"
FORBES: "The Tzedakah Effect: Why Your Next Investment Should Be Charitable"
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: "Quantum Philanthropy: When Charity Defies Economic Laws"
Rabbi Cohen couldn't help but smile at the last one. If they only knew how close that headline came to the truth.
When the experiment ended, Rabbi Cohen sat back, his hands steady now. For the first time in history, humanity had successfully tested God's promise—exactly as He had invited them to do. The data was irrefutable: charity generated measurable economic returns, even if not in the direct way they'd initially theorized.
"We did it," Eli said, his voice hushed with awe. "The only experiment G-d dared us to try—and we proved it. But what now?"
Rabbi Cohen smiled faintly, the weight of their success settling on him. "Now we remember what this really means: blessings come not from the act of giving, but from G-d.4 Science only proved what faith already knew."
As the Tzedacalculator dimmed, Rabbi Cohen lingered in the laboratory. "The data proved the promise," he said to Eli. "But it's not the numbers that matter." The numbers had proven God’s promise, and the light behind the screens—the spiritual light of giving—was what made it real.
Malachi 3:10
https://dafyomi.co.il/taanis/backgrnd/tn-in-009.htmTractate Taanis 9a
https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16221/showrashi/true/jewish/Chapter-3.htm#v10
Malachi 3:10
Whew! That was an insightful read. I was worried that you'd end it as Asimov did "Jokester" but yours entered beautifully on an up note.
You call this humor? Maybe H”S’s humor, but should be to our exclamations!