It’s not only a segula, it’s a mitzvah too!

Weather you call it a “segulah”, a “mitzvah”, or whatever, it still comes across as offensive in many advertisements where the solicitation implies the more you give the bigger the “dividend”. If you’ve ever mistakenly tuned in to some religious informercial in the wee hours of the AM where they literally claim a specific percentage “return” on your donation or some miracle healing (aka “healing of one paralyzed leg for X dollars and both for Y dollars”) . Whether promising marriage, children, a job or recovery from illness in return for donations is offensive to many yidden where it would seem that davening with real kavanah would have equal if not greater returns).

Tzedaka is a mitzva. To give to Rabbi Meir Baal Hanes in case you lost something is a segula.

“We are cheapening Hashem’s mitzvos by selling them as a segula.”

We are also cheapening the chashivus of gedolim by reducing them to mere marketing props and tools.

PY makes a great point with respect to the large number of solicitations for funds in return for segulahs, barachos, special davening etc. which picture a gadol or gadolim as “sponsoring” the effort and promising their personal intercession on behalf of donors, specifically mentioning them in their tefillos at some special time or makom kodesh. In reality, a large percentage of these have been shown to be scams, where the Rav has not personally given informed consent to the solicitation where is name/image is used and in some cases, the Rav’s gabboim have approved the use of the rav’s name/image in return for some “consideration”. Really important to do your diligence before making such contributions. I’m assuming there is such diligence on ads running here on YWN and the other major websites but even those should be scrutinized .

Employment is a segula for parnasana,sholom bayis and health among other things.

To me, this issue becomes a Brisker question. Is zdakah a din in the gavra or in the chefttza? If the mitzva is on the gavra then fine, I give my donation! If the mossad or the meshulach are crooked or are con men, that’s on their heads. If, on the other hand, the cheftza of zedaka is the mitzva, then I, as an apitropos of Hegdesh, must take due diligence to assure that the donation is to a person or organization that is on the up and up.
I agree with APY that is is extremely distasteful and disrespectful to feature Gedolei Yisroel as shills for this or that organization.

Note to Milhouse: Some citations would lend verisimilitude to your blanket statement.

“Weather you call it a “segulah”, a “mitzvah”, or whatever, it still comes across as offensive in many advertisements where the solicitation implies the more you give the bigger the “dividend”. ”

There is no question that the more you give, the bigger the dividend. Otherwise everyone would give pennies.

“Both the Tanach and the gemoroh explicitly endorse giving tzedokoh in the hope of a reward. Calling it “avoda zara” is outright apikorsus.”

Not every thing that is wrong is apikorsus. Calling everything apikorsus is not only incorrect; it cheapens the label for when it is appropriate.

GH
I agree . I take the sy syms approach of being an educated consumer. The vast majority of my tzedakah goes to private individuals and institutions that I have vetted based on several criteria.

I was taught that Meiser is halocha and that tzedoka is a mitzvah. We all MUST give meiser and tzedoka is what we give in addition to this. I give my 10% to the organisations here where I live in Australia and anything else I give (the money before Shabbos, Chachnosas Kalla etc) is my Tzedoka.

Reading this thread makes me very optimistic that we are finally catching on to the below-the-radar assimilation that’s plaguing us. This whole segulah-for-whatever is straight out of Marketing101 and a simple extension of the secular idea that you can “buy” happiness. Or in this case, a specific result. Davening is the real segulah, as are chesed and giving tzedakah l’shem shomayim. If you give tzedakah in return for a specific result, you are not performing a mitzvah, you are making a purchase. Perhaps publicizing that there is a particular family is in need of a lot of help is all right, but putting their faces and life stories on the internet is demeaning and an invasion of privacy. Chazal say that when you give tzedakah you must be careful not to embarrass the recipient. Putting a young lady’s face on the internet is certainly not respecting her privacy, nor is exploiting the tears of an orphaned child. We should be prepared to help without any promises of reward in Olam HaZeh.

Not a segula. But the Possuk says Uvchanuni na b’zos. Chazal darshan that this in one place where one is permitted to ‘test’ Hashem. Aser T’aser – Aser bishvil shetis’asher.

Someone who knows my identity and saw this discussion last week just sent me an audio from Rav Reismans july 4 hakel on mishley.
He starts off the shiur by discussing these tzedakah “segulah” ads
He first starts by stating that many of these ads are straight out sheker and therefore the tzedakah is guilty of theft (he told a story of someone borrowing money to get a promised segulah)
But after saying that he feels the gedolim need to make a macha, he says “I want to stay out of the politics and instead discuss why people are so dumb that they actually believe these promises” (His words, not mine. feel free to find the cd and listen)