Once, when Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok, the Rebbe Rashab's son and future successor, set out on a journey, his father asked him to try to do a certain favor for one of the chasidim, a businessman, who was in need of help.
When Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok returned he told his father: "I did everything you told me to do, and the favor to that man I did meticulously."
"You err," said the Rebbe Rashab. "You did a favor to yourself, not to him. G-d did a favor to him, by arranging for an emissary, such as yourself, to help him."
The Rebbe taught us an important lesson. When we do a mitzva, especially one which ostensibly allows us to help another person, we are G-d's emissaries. And, more than helping the other person we are, in essence, helping ourselves.
As our Sages teach, "More than charity does for the poor person, it does for the rich person."
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