Torah 264 · תורה רס״ד

Charity is a rectification for the brit. Blemishing the brit is defined as a person having been required to provide, in holiness, for that place which he was to have provided for, but [instead] his having removed the provisions from there and drawn them, God forbid, to some other place. Therefore, the rectification is through charity. Through this he again provides for the holiness and is thereby rectified.

This is the aspect of “The men accompanied the women” (Exodus 35:22) mentioned in connection with donations for the Tabernacle—i.e., the aspect of union that was made through the charity donated to the Tabernacle, as explained above.

Therefore, when someone gives to an undeserving pauper, then, on the contrary, he increases the blemish. For he is once again providing for a place that he should not. See also elsewhere, where it is likewise explained that charity is a rectification for the brit .<I heard many more things regarding this from [Rebbe Nachman’s] holy lips, but forgot them, because they were not written down immediately.>