vayechi

When Yaakov gave the berochos to the shevatim before he died, he put Zevulin who went to work & supported Yissachar, before Yissachar who studied Torah. ספורנו says that the reason for that is because it's impossible to devote oneself completely to Torah unless he first has a way to support himself. When one supports his friend in order for him to be able to devote himself to Torah, then the toil of the one who dedicates his life to Torah is attributed to both of them, because אם אין קמח אין תורה. The חפץ חיים once asked, in ברכת המזון we say שלא נבוש ולא נכלם לעולם ועד: that we not feel inner shame nor be humiliated forever and ever. Does a person live forever that he could be embarrassed for eternity? He explained as follows. There's a person who throughout his life had no time to learn, however, in lieu of learning himself he supported someone who was sitting and learning, hoping that he would share in the merit of that learning. After 120 the heavenly tribunal asked him, why didn't you learn Torah? He answered, so & so learned for me, & in exchange I supported him. The חפץ חיים continued, saying that the deal only works if the person whom you supported was learning לשמה. However, if he had ulterior motives, it doesn't work. When they go look at the one he supported, & they find his Torah was lacking, then there will be eternal embarrassment for having relied on someone else and not learning himself. The question we're all asking, is how do you know? How can we be certain the person we support is real & not taking us for a ride?
The (בית דוד - מורשת אבות) brings down a story of a rabbi who was walking down the street & saw an old jew selling drinks & cakes out of an old pushcart. The rabbi, feeling sorry for the old man, went over & bought something from him. While he was there, the old man, realizing that he had the ear of the rabbi, started telling him his life story. One of the stories he told was about when he was young & lived with his parents in a small town in ליטא. They lived next door to the rabbi who was very poor & had a son who was an עלוי. One day he overheard the father telling the son that as much as he would like to, he had no money to send him away to yeshiva. The son, who had an intense desire to learn, was heartbroken, & was crying that he wanted to go to yeshiva to learn. The old man said he was so touched by the son's desire, that he committed himself to make the money needed. In those days it was hard for anyone to make money. However, the kid's cries were ringing in his ear so he worked day & night until he had the money needed, & brought it to the father who thanked him with tears in his eyes, & sent the boy off to learn. The rabbi, fascinated by the old man's story, asked him, do you remember the name of this boy that you worked so hard to send to yeshiva? The old man replied, sure his name was אהרן קוטלר. When the rabbi heard that name, he grabbed the old man with both hands & said, do you have any idea who he is today?? He's the גדול הדור, one of the most prestigious ראשי ישיבה of our time! You have no idea what your efforts gave to the Torah world!
Maybe from this story we can learn how to make sure our money goes to the right people. If we give it לשמה like the old man gave it, because we want to help people grow in Torah, then just like the old man who helped one of the greatest people of our generation, our money too, will go to those that are in it for real, ensuring us a place for eternity!