Talmud zu Mischlej 10:2

There is a story of a certain saint who would regularly give charity. Once he went and sat on a boat, and a wind came along, and his boat sank into the sea. Rabbi Akiva saw it happen, and came before the court to testify that his wife was free to marry again. Before he had a chance to get up, that very man came in and stood before him. [Rabbi Akiva] said: Are you the one who sank in the sea? He replied: Yes. [Rabbi Akiva continued:] And who brought you up out of the sea? He replied: The charity I gave is what brought me up out of the sea. [Rabbi Akiva said:] How do you know that? He replied: When I went down into the depths of the abyss, I heard a voice coming from the roar of the waves, each one saying to the other, Come, let us crash together and raise this man up from the sea, for he gave charity all of his life. Immediately, Rabbi Akiva opened his mouth and said: Blessed is God, the God of Israel, who chose the words of the Torah and the words of the sages, for the words of the Torah and the words of the sages endure forever and ever! For it says (Ecclesiastes 11:1), “Send your bread forth upon the waters, for after many days, you will find it,” and it also says (Proverbs 10:2), “And charity saves from death.”