The Act That Changes Everything
When facing a difficult diagnosis, a court case, or a crisis, the worry can feel overwhelming. You have davened, but you are still looking for a way to protect your family.
Chazal offer a clear path forward based on the teachings of Shlomo HaMelech. Mishlei (Proverbs) 10:2 says it plainly: “U’tzedakah tatzil mimaves”, and tzedakah saves from death. The Gemara in Bava Basra (10a) builds on this pasuk and teaches, through story after story, that this segulah is real. Giving to others has the power to avert harsh decrees.
Before You Say This Tefillah
Before saying these pesukim, take a moment to focus. Speak to Hashem in your own words:
Ribono Shel Olam, I come before You with a full heart. You know every worry I carry, every fear I cannot put into words. I am placing my trust in You and in the power of tzedakah, which Your Torah promises can save from death itself. Please accept the tzedakah I give as a zechus for me and my family. Avert any harsh decree. Open the gates of rachamim for us. I have no one to rely on but You. Elokah d’Meir aneni.
If giving tzedakah, add:
In the zechus of the tzedakah I am giving for Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, please let this act of chesed rise before Your throne of mercy. Just as You promised that tzedakah saves from death, please let my giving bring protection, healing, and shalom to those I love.
Mishlei 10:2 and 11:4: The Full Text
לֹא יוֹעִילוּ אוֹצְרוֹת רֶשַׁע וּצְדָקָה תַּצִּיל מִמָּוֶת
לֹא יוֹעִיל הוֹן בְּיוֹם עֶבְרָה וּצְדָקָה תַּצִּיל מִמָּוֶת
Loi yoi'ilu oitzrois resha, u'tzedakah tatzil mimaves.
Loi yoi'il hoin b'yoim evrah, u'tzedakah tatzil mimaves.
Lo yo'ilu otzrot resha, u'tzedakah tatzil mimavet.
Lo yo'il hon beyom evrah, u'tzedakah tatzil mimavet.
Ill-gotten treasures are of no avail, but righteousness saves from death. (Mishlei 10:2)
Wealth is of no avail on the day of wrath, but righteousness saves from death. (Mishlei 11:4)
Shlomo HaMelech chose to repeat this teaching twice, in nearly identical words. The Gemara in Bava Basra (10a) asks why, and answers: one refers to being saved from an unusual death, and the other refers to being saved from the judgment of Gehinnom. The message is the same both times. When everything else fails, when money and power and connections cannot help you, tzedakah stands before Hashem on your behalf.
Understanding the Pesukim
U’tzedakah tatzil mimaves “And righteousness saves from death.”
Shlomo HaMelech says tatzil, it saves. The Gemara in Bava Basra (11a) tells the story of Binyamin HaTzaddik, who was in charge of the communal tzedakah fund and sustained a starving woman and her seven sons from his own pocket when the fund was empty. He became deathly ill, and the malachei hashareis (ministering angels) pleaded before Hashem: “You said that saving one life is like saving a whole world, and Binyamin saved eight lives.” His decree was torn up, and twenty-two years were added to his life. This is the power of these five words. Giving tzedakah is not just a nice gesture. It is a powerful zechus.
Loi yoi’ilu oitzrois resha “Ill-gotten treasures are of no avail.”
Shlomo HaMelech sets up a contrast. There are two kinds of wealth in this world. There is money that a person hoards, protects, counts, and clings to. And there is money that a person gives away. The first kind, oitzrois resha, cannot help you when it matters most. It sits there useless on the day you need rachamim. We all know there are moments when no amount of money can fix what is broken. That is what Shlomo is describing. He is telling you plainly: do not trust your savings to save you. Trust your giving.
B’yoim evrah “On the day of wrath.”
The Metzudas Dovid explains that yom evrah refers to a time of harsh judgment, when a decree hangs over a person or over Klal Yisrael. These are moments of crisis, such as a severe diagnosis or a court date, when a life can change in an instant. Shlomo HaMelech is saying: on that day, the only currency that counts is tzedakah. The Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (16b) lists tzedakah among the actions that tear up a harsh gezar din, and the Unetaneh Tokef tefillah of the Yamim Noraim teaches that teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah together avert the harshness of a decree. Tzedakah is not just one of the three. According to these pesukim, it is the one Shlomo singles out as having the power to save from death itself.
Loi yoi’il hoin “Wealth is of no avail.”
Hoin means wealth, abundance, everything a person has accumulated. And the pasuk says flatly: it will not help. A person does not need to be wealthy for their tzedakah to have this power. A poor person who gives a few coins with a full heart stands before Hashem with the same power as a wealthy person who writes a large check. This segulah is not about the size of the gift. It is about the sincerity of the heart behind it.
How to Say This Tefillah
These two pesukim from Mishlei can be said at any time. Many people say them before giving tzedakah, as a kavanah to connect their giving to the promise in the pasuk. Others say them during a time of trouble, when they need to remind themselves that Hashem has a path forward even when the situation looks impossible.
You can say them sitting or standing, at home or in shul. Say them in Hebrew if you can. If not, the transliteration or even the English carries the same tefillah. What matters is the kavanah in one’s heart.
Before giving, you can say: “Hashem, I am about to give tzedakah and say these words from Your Torah. Please let this act be a zechus for me, for my family, and for all of Klal Yisrael. Tear up any harsh decree that has been written against us.”
Tefillah and tzedakah together are more powerful than either one alone. When you say these pesukim and give tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, you are combining the words of Shlomo HaMelech with an act of real chesed for the poor of Eretz Yisrael. Your davening and your giving ascend together. After saying the pesukim, you may add: Elokah d’Meir aneni.
Give Tzedakah to Avert a Harsh Decree
Rabbi Meir Baal Haness was one of the greatest Tannaim. The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 18a-18b) tells how his sister-in-law was held captive by the Romans in a terrible place. Rabbi Meir went to rescue her. Rabbi Meir bribed the guard to release her by proving the power of the words “Elokah d’Meir aneni,” that he could use to save his life in case he was caught. Based on these words, she was released, and the guard save his own life through these words once he was caught.
When you give in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, you are asking Hashem to hear your tefillah in the combined merit of this great tzaddik and your own act of chesed.
Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities was founded in 1799. The charity supports Torah scholars and the poor in Eretz Yisrael. For generations, Yidden have turned to this tzedakah at moments when they needed rachamim the most. Give today and let your chesed speak for you before the Kisei HaKavod. Tzedakah saves from death. This is exactly what the pasuk promises.
Submit your name for prayer, and the scholars will daven at the kever of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias for those who reach out to them.
A segulah is a spiritually powerful practice that carries a special promise from the Torah or from Chazal. This refers to the teaching in Mishlei 10:2 that giving tzedakah has the unique power to save from death and avert harsh decrees. It is not a lucky charm. It is a Torah-based truth, confirmed by the Gemara in Bava Basra 10a through multiple real stories of people whose lives were saved through tzedakah.
Yes. The Gemara teaches this explicitly. In Bava Batra 11a, we learn of Binyamin HaTzaddik, whose life was extended by twenty-two years because of the tzedakah he gave. The Gemara in Rosh Hashanah 16b lists tzedakah, tze'akah, shinui hashem, and shinui ma'aseh as four things that tear up a person's harsh decree, and Unetaneh Tokef teaches that teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah avert the severity of the decree.
The Torah does not set an upper limit, and Chazal teach that what matters most is the kavanah of the giver — 'echad hamarbeh v'echad hamam'it u'vilvad sheyechaven adam et da'ato lashamayim' (Mishnah Menachot 13:11). A person who gives a small amount with genuine kavanah and mesiras nefesh can bring about the same yeshuah as someone who gives a large sum. The key is sincerity. Give what you can, from a place of real caring for another Yid.
Rabbi Meir was one of the greatest Tannaim in the era of the Mishnah. The Gemara records that when he called out “Elokah d'Meir aneni,” a his sister-in-law who was trapped in an impossible situation was saved. Giving tzedakah in his zechus is asking Hashem to hear your tefillah in the combined merit of this tzaddik and your own act of chesed. Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities, founded in 1799, supports Torah scholars and families in Eretz Yisrael.
Any time. Many people give before davening, before Shabbos or Yom Tov, or at a moment of particular need. Some give when they receive a medical diagnosis, before a court date, or when facing any situation that feels beyond their control. The pasuk does not limit the segulah to a specific time. Whenever your heart moves you to give, that is the right time.
A Brachah for Your Salvation
When you are worried about a loved one or facing a harsh decree, Hashem hears your tefillos.
May Hashem accept the tzedakah you give as a zechus for you and for your entire family. May He tear up every harsh decree and replace it with rachamim. May you see, with your own eyes, the power of giving, the way a simple act of chesed can open gates that seemed locked forever. May you see a complete yeshuah and experience true menuchas hanefesh.
You can submit a prayer request to the scholars at the kever of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias at no cost. They will daven for you by name through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. And if you would like to give tzedakah in Rabbi Meir’s zechus as well, your kindness will rise together with your prayer.
