“And offer [your soul] to the hungry” (Isaiah 58:10); if you merit, [you will give] to the hungry of Jacob; if not, to the sated of Esau.34If you do not contribute sufficiently to charity, your money will be confiscated by the non-Jewish authorities. In the time of the Sages, this was Rome, which is identified as a descendant of Esau. “And bringing home the wretched poor” (Isaiah 58:7), these are the poor from their youth.35They present themselves as needy even though they are no longer poor.
Some explain that this refers to the governmental authorities, who would demand payment as though they were poor, and were used to doing so as though a lifelong habit. Thus, if you do not “offer your soul to the hungry,” you will “bring home the wretched poor” (Etz Yosef). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Like that blind person that they call full of light.36It was common to euphemistically refer to a blind person as full of light.
That is why it is stated: “And bringing home the wretched poor.” Alternatively, “and bringing home the wretched poor,” these are homeowners who lost their dignity and their property. What caused them to become impoverished? It is because they did not extend their hand to the poor and did not fulfill the will of their Father in heaven.
That is why it is stated: “And bringing home the wretched poor.”37Thus, the verses are understood to mean that if you do not “offer your soul to the hungry,” you will bring “the wretched poor” into your own home, meaning you will become poor. Alternatively, “wretched poor,” these are mourners and embittered souls, whose spirits are forlorn. What gladdens them? It is wine, as it is written: “Give intoxicating drink to the desolate and wine to embittered souls” (Proverbs 31:6).
That is why it is stated: “And bringing home the wretched poor.”38According to this interpretation, the verses address two different cases: One must provide basic sustenance to the poor, but this is not sufficient for mourners and the forlorn; one must bring them to one’s house, and provide them with wine. Another matter, “and bringing home the wretched poor,” these are Torah scholars who enter the homes of the ignorant and saturate them with matters of Torah.
That is why it is stated: “And bringing home the wretched poor.” Alternatively, “and bringing home the wretched poor,” these are Torah scholars and their disciples who teach Israel ritual impurity and purity, what is prohibited and permitted, and they teach them to perform the will of their Father in Heaven. That is why it is stated: “And bringing home the wretched poor.” Rabbi Avin said: Anyone who hosts a Torah scholar in his house, the verse ascribes it to him as though he offered first fruits.
“Bringing [tavi]” is stated here, and “bring” is stated there: “You shall bring [tavi] to the house of the Lord your God” (Exodus 23:19). Just as there it is first fruits, so too, here, it is first fruits.