And I am more amazed, etc., [at one who receives what] he is compelled to give him, and he humbles himself to him, etc.: that is, he gives no praise and thanks to Hashem, may He be blessed, who arranged his livelihood through this [man] and made him a guardian over him; he humbles himself only to this man, and flatters him, as if he gave him of his own. This will be explained at length in the commentary on the third part, and from there you will also understand what he said, “he is compelled to give it to him,” which is somewhat difficult: for tzedakah is a positive mitzvah, “You shall surely open [your hand]” (Devarim 15:8), “You shall surely give” (Devarim 15:10), and so too several warnings about tzedakah; how can we say that a person is compelled to give it to him? And so he wrote further on, in the commentary on the second part: “And if they were wise and understood that it is not in their ability or in their power either to give or to withhold from one for whom the Creator decreed [it] through them, they would not hope in another, etc.” And so he wrote several more times. And truly it is a clear matter that a person is watched over in all his affairs, and especially in the matter of his livelihood and his needs; and on the face of it these contradict one another. And to reconcile these matters too, it is as I wrote in chapter 9 of the third gate, see there; and it follows the author’s premise in several places in this gate, and especially in the commentary on the fourth part, see there: that the completion of anything is not in a person’s hand, only the choice and the consent to the matter, and Hashem, may He be blessed, is the One who completes and finishes all things. If so, we can say that this is the measure: a person is obligated to choose and to consent, and to set aside of his wealth for tzedakah as his heart moves him, to give to the poor or to this poor man. And when the Creator wishes to sustain this poor man from that donor, He brings them together, and he gives it to the one the Creator wishes, and sometimes to another, according to His wisdom, may He be blessed; or, if it is not good before Him, He makes him stumble with people who are not fitting, or [with] other hindrances. But the main thing is that he exert himself to do his part, to give tzedakah and to do kindness; and if he is prevented from completing it, he has done his part and will receive his full reward from Hashem. And so it is with all the mitzvos and with all the deeds in the world, as he wrote at length at the end of the chapter, in the third part. And so “the judgments of Hashem are true; they are righteous altogether” (Tehillim 19:10). And with this you will understand what he wrote at the beginning of chapter 3, “And all the mercy and compassion [that come to a person] are all from the mercy of G-d”: that Hashem, may He be blessed, puts it into the heart of this one to give to that one. And with this several difficult matters are explained in the particulars of how Hashem, may He be blessed, conducts His world, for one who looks into it; and with this you will understand most of this gate, with the help of Hashem, may He be blessed.