DEUT763 We must refrain from slandering a poor person to whom we did not give charity. This verse warns against two things: not giving charity to a needy person and having an evil eye against him. The Dubno Magid explains the latter point in the following manner. The Sages (Pirkei Avos 5:13) state that someone who does not give charity himself and stops others from giving is wicked. Very rarely will someone explicitly tell others not to give charity. But in view of the above-mentioned verses, we can understand how the statement of the Sages has a wider application. There are people who are miserly and do not want to give to the poor. They are honest about their stinginess and will openly admit that they do not want to part with their money. There are other miserly people who are embarrassed to explicitly say that they are stingy. They therefore slander the poor person and say that he is unworthy of receiving help. The difference between these two is this. If someone admits that he is stingy, others will have mercy on the poor man and will give him financial assistance. But if someone slanders the poor man, others might believe him, and although they might have previously been prepared to offer assistance, now they will refuse. It is these misers to whom the Sages refer when they say that someone who prevents others from giving charity is wicked. This is alluded to in our verse: "Your eyes be evil against your needy brother," meaning that you will maliciously slander him and tell others that he is unworthy of receiving charity. (Ohel Yaakov, on this verse). Rabbi Shmelke of Nicolsburg said, "When a poor man asks you for aid do not use his faults as an excuse for not helping him. For then God will look to your offenses, and He is certain to find many of them. Keep in mind that the poor man's transgressions have been atoned for by his poverty while yours still remain with you." (Fun Unzer Alter Otzer, vol. 2, p. 99)