When nothing can be done something still can be done TB Baba Batra 11

With daf TB Baba Batra 11 the sugia on the importance of tzedakah concludes. The following story teaches us that when nothing can be done, something still can be done.

“§ It is taught in a baraita: The following was said about Binyamin the righteous, who was appointed supervisor over the charity fund. Once, a woman came before him during years of drought and said to him: My master, sustain me. He said to her: I swear by the Temple service that there is nothing left in the charity fund. She said to him: My master, if you do not sustain me, a woman and her seven sons will die. He arose and sustained her with his own funds. After some time, he fell deathly ill. The ministering angels said to the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, You said that anyone who preserves a single life in Israel is regarded as if he has preserved an entire world. Should then Binyamin the righteous, who saved a woman and her seven sons, die after these few years, still in his youth? They immediately tore up his sentence. A Sage taught: They added twenty-two years to his life.” (Sefaria.org translation)

This story challenges me as a rabbi. I have a discretionary fund and use the funds to help people who call upon me. Some people need rent money; some people need food; and some people asked me to pay utility bills. I never have a lot of money in my discretionary fund and sometimes I find myself just in Binyamin the righteous’ position and I cannot meet a person’s particular need. I aspire to do what’s right, but I have to admit that I am no Binyamin the righteous. Nevertheless, sometimes I do rise to the occasion when nothing can be done, something still can be done thanks to the story.