Rav Scheinberg and the Young Man Who Lost a Fortune

There was a young man who tried his hand at investing and was blessed with success. He started with trading stocks and then moved to options. He had good weeks and bad weeks but ultimately managed to turn $3,000 into close to a million dollars. He was single, living alone, and didn’t have any major financial obligations. He began to give charity in amounts that he never dreamed possible. In the end, some bad trades doomed him, and he lost everything. He went to Rav Pinchas Scheinberg, zt”l, with one question. “Doesn’t giving tzedakah protect a person from losing his wealth?”

Rav Scheinberg explained to him, that in his view, one of two solutions is possible. Either he will get his money back at some later date, or perhaps he had been destined to die young and his money was taken instead of his life. This individual, who had been dating for a while, was soon after introduced to his future wife. The young man’s rebbe told him, “Perhaps you needed some type of kapparah to merit finding your wife, and the loss of your wealth was it.”